Originally Posted by
RoadLight
There are some good aluminum alloy bikes now but aluminum is a flawed material because of the way it accumulates stress---even minor stress will add up over time to failure.
All my bikes are aluminium and I've never had a failure, in decades and thousands of km's
Carbon bikes on the other hand are notorious for failing. Yes they will last a lifetime, but only if you take extra special care with them.
"As robust as carbon composites can be, Chuck Texiera (a senior engineer at Specialized) pointed out that there are some threats that are easy to overlook. “The greater hazards are just maintenance, people taking things apart and overcooking clamping,” he said. “Also, travel is not very good on bikes.”
The key message here is to avoid any kind of impact or excessive local forces to preserve the integrity of the composite."
https://cyclingtips.com/2015/08/what...-carbon-frame/
There's a very good reason why many "good" alloy frames come with composite forks instead of alloy.
And that reason is fashion.
Google "aluminium frame failure" one hit A 1995 mountain bike, a non threatening failure on an old cheap design.
Another aluminium frame failure - Cycling UK Forum
Considering how long Aluminium has been on the market that says it all. Aluminium is a tried and tested material.