Originally Posted by slim_77
I converted a Miyata 110 steel frame a few years ago and have been building it up since. I like the geometry of a road bike with the simplicity of a fixed.
My BIG concern is eventual failure. I am 6'2" 180lbs and ride pretty hard from time to time...and that the frame is more than 20 years old concerns me. I check the welds for cracks but am still terrified by a complete failure at some point (like around 25 mph on a street). What can I do to check the strength of the frame?
Any suggestions?
Just monitor the joints and around the joints for cracks. If you see a crack retire the frame. I've eventually cracked every steel frame I've ever owned, except the one I'm currently riding, and I was always able to find the crack long before it failed catastrophically. Mostly these have all been TIG welded BMX frames, but this year I cracked a low-end 80's bianchi road frame that I had set up as a beater fixie. I'm bigger than you 6'2" and 205 lbs. I rode the piss out of it for about 2200 miles and the bottom bracket shell finally started to crack.