Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
So a steel frame has an unlimited life as long as the stresses are below some threshold and Al will fail at some point no mater what the stresses are. That is why you don't see Al springs as example. Andy
I'm aware of the different properties of steel vs aluminum, and why we don't make aluminum springs. You can break anything. I've broken steel, (carbon and stainless) Aluminum, and Titanium. I guess it's whether you view a bike frame as a rigid structure or a flexible one.
I think it's the 'Steel Frames are Infinite, and Aluminum Frames WILL break!' mantra that gets tossed around every time frame material comes up.
If an Aluminum bike is on borrowed time from the moment it rolls out of the shop, what's the lifespan, then? 5,000 miles, 10K, 100K?
I suspect that it's long enough that none of us will be able to 'just ride' an aluminum bike to the point of failure.