Originally Posted by
BigAura
The aluminum frame is very stiff and instead of flexing like a steel bike, it may have vectored more impact to the wheels. Nicely over-built wheels and fat-tires would be they way I'd go.
I don't doubt that that was a factor. It's hard to overstate just how bad many of the "roads" were on this trip, basically mountain biking without the mountain bike (and heavily loaded to boot). I wouldn't recommend this setup to someone embarking on the same kind of journey, but I think it shows that aluminum frames can be quite strong and certainly sufficient for a paved road trip in the US (at least for the frame I used, I feel like it deserves a spot in the hall of fame).