Originally Posted by
Kimmo
Aluminium fatigues, so it's less than ideal for a heavy rider - if you keep it long enough, it may break.
What's wrong with steel, or better yet, carbon? A 1.5kg carbon frame is tough as nails.
There are many 80's and 90's Cannondales that are uber strong and stiff. People are still racing on older framesets. By the way, Trek rates the max rider weight of their carbon bikes at 250 lbs (113 kg), whereas their aluminium bikes have a max rider weight of 300 lbs (136 kg). Carbon's weight to strength ratio is higher than aluminum, but manufacturers offset that by using less to make it lighter. So, it's really not stronger overall in it's application, plus it's weakness is still impact. I have owned (and still own) carbon frames and they were and still are great. So is aluminium.