Originally Posted by
Trucker Dan
Back when everybody was running light weight aluminum frames in the late 90s, 4 years seemed to be about the average life span. Aluminum has a finite fatigue life. Every mile you ride is one mile closer to developing cracks. Newer aluminum frame may be better but not as many people ride them so its hard to say. There will always be outliers in both directions.
Since mine was built in the late '80s I guess I don't have to worry about this. Currently at 110 kmiles and I hope it has many more to go. So far the only bike frame material with which I've had durability issues is steel.