Originally Posted by
tjspiel
If you hang around here a few years you will probably here about some steel frame failures. A friend of mine even had a titanium frame crack around the water bottle bosses.
I've seen that too, on a LeMond.
Regarding whether to pick steel or aluminum for my commuter, I was using an aluminum Gary Fisher Ziggurat for a while as my main commuter, then got a Surly Troll (butted chromoly). Now I've switched back to the Zig; the Troll is so heavy it's actually tough to get up/down a flight of stairs, which is something I do four times a day when commuting. Anyone who thinks it's worth that much extra weight will have a chance to bid on a 22" Troll at Ebay very, very soon
Finally, I'll ask the question I always ask in the 'steel vs aluminum' debate: If you are so concerned about longevity and strength, why aren't you riding on steel wheels with steel stems and steel seatposts and steel handlebars and steel crank sets? You are the one who said that "aluminum is an inferior metal when it comes to fatigue life, stress thresholds, and flexibilty as compared to steel"
Not to mention flying on steel aircraft
I see the aluminum Boeing B-52 strategic bombers will be in service for about 90 years before ultimate retirement. I do still have one steel bike (Soma Smoothie ES) but wouldn't hesitate to knock a few pounds off that one with an aluminum frame upgrade either.
What I find amusing is that someone is criticizing aluminum for durability, while his signature has links praising bikes with some of the worst track records anywhere for breakage. If I had a dollar for every broken Madone I've dealt with, I could have pizza for a week