Originally Posted by
Artkansas
I've had two frames fail on me. Both were steel. But then, I've never owned an aluminum frame.
One was a Montgomery Ward 10 speed, its downtube pulled out of the bottom bracket while I was riding along a bikepath. Suddenly the bicycle felt soft like a Claes Oldenburg sculpture. The other was a Diamondback Ascent and one of the dropouts cracked.
These problems could all have been resolved by welding.