Originally Posted by
SaltyShorts
Unfortunately, since it was steel, I broke it, at the bottom of the seat tube, just above the bottom bracket. That seems to be the most common place for steel bikes to break. There was not a speck of rust in it either. I have several friends who've broken steel frames, one of them having broken several. I got a new tube put in mine, and broke it again, all in under 20,000 miles. I decided my next one would have to be carbon. I have 64,000 miles on my carbon Trek now (and I have a friend who races and has over 200,000 miles on his carbon Ridley).
I've broken one frame: my mid-80s Raleigh Alyeska (555T tubing). I broke a weld at the top of a seat stay. I probably overloaded the rack (many times). I got it re-welded and broke the same weld a couple years later. I have no idea about the mileage, but it probably didn't have 20,000 miles on it.