Old 04-21-12, 08:29 AM
  #86  
2manybikes
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Originally Posted by PStephens
He told me that I probably wouldn't have to worry about what kind of tire to have because I'm so light anyways. So I don't know if the same could be said of an aluminum frame. I don't weigh very much. I took a welding class in high school and I do remember that we couldn't weld aluminum. I spent that whole class making a skeleton looking hand out of metal.
Aluminum frames are strong enough and durable enough, don't worry about that. The only problem would be if you crash and bend or damage something. It's not likely to happen. Steel is best, but everything does not have to be ideal to do this. It's important that you know, but, the decision is up to you. I have bent back steel forks on a couple of old bikes I have found, but I have never damaged any frames in 40 years. It is a good point that lightweight steel road bikes might be more flexible than you want for a heavy load when touring. A true steel touring bike is built to be stiff and handle well with a load.
Any decent MTB frame would be OK. A lightweight road racing frame would probably be a mistake, unless you know enough about the bike design, or get help selecting it.
So far you seem to be doing good research, and understanding good advice. That's a good start.
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