Originally Posted by ChromePista
3. It must have been an aluminum fatigue fracture. This has never happened on any of my steel bikes.
refer to post by brooklynmachine. realize that the weakest point on any welded item (with the exception of a few alloys) is the area right next to a weld, called the heat affected zone. Add to this the fact that aluminum is a much less forgiving metal, since it is an excellent conductor, it's much easier to overheat than steel.