Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
Of course. That's my point. Steel is by definition an alloy. Steel doesn't exist until you mix iron and carbon together. Aluminum is an element of itself. You can have pure aluminum with nothing else in it. My peeve is with people using the word "alloy" as though it were a synonym for "aluminum".
I'm pretty sure Thermionic Scott is right, however, and it's not going to change.
My first two bikes were chromoly and steel, third was aluminum. All said "alloy" on a sticker somewhere, so when I hear "alloy" I just think "cheap metal", or revert back to chromoly. Either I don't hear people referring to aluminum as "alloy" much, or it's selective hearing due to my assumption that they are referring to cheap Target/Walmart/Toys'R'Us chromoly. I honestly don't really hear the word alloy that much. Maybe it's regional?