If anyone can help me, I would greatly appreciate it. I have been riding approximately 12 miles a day on a 12 year old Diamondback hybrid. I'm ready for a rode bike, and I have a budget of $2000 - $2500. My problem is that I will have to keep this bike for a long time. I have had a few wrecks on my hybrid, and nothing major has happened to my bike. What material frame should I get? Should I be wary of carbon and aluminum frames? Will they break if you fall? How long will they last?

The better the bike handles the less likely you will crash, regardless of material.

Or, was it the better a bike handles the more likely you'll crash at a higher speed...

in a crash, especially with another mobile or immobile object, frame material has absolutely nothing to do with it's survivability.

if you're that worried about crashing and destroying it, then you should go with a cheaper frame to boot and manufacturer that has a crash replacement policy.

cannondale, trek, specialized and giant all have crash replacement policies.

Carbon fiber and aluminum frames manufactured nowadays are very durable and can tolerate quite a bit of abuse. There are freak accidents that happen; a cheaper aluminum frame that I owned several years ago spontaneously sheared near the seat tube/down tube junction, for example. However, these are rare occurrences and should not be strongly considered when purchasing your next bike. I have seen cyclists on carbon fiber frames from the mid-90s, like the Kestrel 200Sci, Trek 5000 OCLV series, etc. that seem to be doing just fine, as well as several people on OLD aluminum bikes holding up nicely. A large disadvantage with carbon fiber is that it holds up very poorly when cracked, since they can cut right through the material much quicker than metals can. However, if you care for your bike, you should not have this issue, and if something does happen, most manufacturers have very nice warranty replacement programs.

With $2500, you can get a decent bike with a carbon-fiber frame, or a exceptionally well-equipped bike with an aluminum frame. Your choice of components depends on your level of riding and what you are looking to get out of it.

Hope this helps!

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I disagree with this. There are plenty of instances where carbon fiber frames get trashed in that a metal frame would survive. There are some carbon fiber frames that hold up very, very well and aluminum frames that hold up very, very poorly, but I believe that this is the general case.

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steel, aluminum, carbon & titanium all snap, bend, crumple and sheer when they are subjected to loads they're not designed to handle, such as the case with crashing.

especially when you hit another object.

Can you comment on specific bikes? What about steel bikes?

Anyone?

Steel sucks.

well, what kind of ride are you looking for?

Strong, light, steel... pick any two.

True. However, Titanium is much more elastic than CF. Based on riding and crashing a Ti bike, and seeing a lot of CF bikes crashed, there is zero doubt in my mind that there are crashes where a Ti bike will spring back with little or no damage that destroy CF bikes.

Also, scrapes on Ti are much less likely to be a problem than on CF, where abrasions can be an issue.
I've never seen a Ti frame destroyed by chainsuck, I've have seen that for CF.

Nothings going to last forever. But if long term durability is the number one criteria, Ti, which doesn't rust, is springy, and not particularly prone to damage by abrasions is going to be the best bet over the long haul.

Plus, a Ti bike will keep looking good for a long time. My Merlin is 11 years old, with 40,000 miles on it, and if I would clean it would look brand new.

I think pcad's Merlin cracked (in two places!) at about 40,000 miles...

In my last car/bike accident, where two of us were T-boned, my LOOK carbon frame came out unscathed, but the other rider's Klein aluminum folded like a beer can. I can show you pictures of a Litespeed Ti frame where the CF fork survived, but the head tube was sheared off at the welds.

I've been riding carbon frames in three other wrecks and never damaged the frame. In one, I hit a car, but got the bike turned, so it wasn't a T-bone and the other two were slide-outs. In all those wrecks, my body suffered the damage, not the frame.

There are no "general" cases in wrecks.

Complete B.S. There are some great steel bikes out there that are both strong and light. They are not, however, cheap.

Here's the deal with carbon in a crash as opposed to Aluminum, Steel, or Ti. It can fail in a pretty catastrophic manner. It might end up in 2-4 pieces. The AL, steel, or Ti bike that you put through the same crash would be dented and if not unridable at least undesirable. Overall, the frame material is kind of a 'drop out' on the design process. It's not even close to important as some people make it out to be. You can get great bikes made from any number of materials.

You've got enough money to buy a nice bike and enough time riding to deserve something nice. Check out the search function to see a listing of nice bikes. We've had a couple of steel threads lately you can check out if that's what floats your boat.

wrong (as is often the case when the word "absolutely" is used in statements) for reasons already mentioned.

to the OP - i second the vote for Ti, with Alu being a good second choice for a bike that will last for a good while. steel is good, but if you rough it up over time and dont stay on top of it, rust can be a long term problem.

if you're in a big wreck, it doesn't matter what the frame is made of...it'll be toast. so if you're really concerned about wrecking a bike, get a affordable frame that you can easily replace.

I'd agree with that, owning bikes made of Ti, CF, Steel, Al, and Boron Carbide Ceramic metal matrix.

However, if the question is which frame material is the most durable, I would put my bet on Ti.

If you've just crashed your bike, the catastophe has already occurred!

I had a Ti frame break due to a manufacturing defect. It did take about 15,0000 miles to break though.

I have had a 30 mph crash on my carbon Cervelo R3 where it wasn't even scratched. I didn't fare as well. Even with good healthy insurance it would have been cheaper if the bike had been totally destroyed instead. OTOH, a teamate had a low speed crash on his R3 where a large sprinter dude landed on his frame the wrong way and broke it. I have seen steel and aluminum frames damaged or destroyed in crashes.

Crash damage is really a crapshoot. It's not a case where one frame material always survives and another doesn't. Any bike that is light enough to be a pleasant ride will not be 100% crash proof.

One of the advantages of carbon fiber is that it is easier and cheaper to repair than steel or Ti or especially welded aluminum. My teamate's R3 should be repairable by Calfee at a cost of $2-300.

In any case, unless you crash a lot, you shouldn't make your buying decision solely on crashworthiness. Chances are you will never crash. If you do crash, chances are that it will be a low speed crash where nothing happens other than maybe a scraped knee. Pick your bike based on fit, ride, component quality. Make sure that there is a frame warranty and that the company is large enough to be around in three or four years should you need to warranty the frame.

FWIW fullforce I chose a TI bike because I wanted the same thing, a bike I can keep for a long time. But the reality is you never know, you could crash it out two weeks after you buy it. Sounds to me like a nice steal or TI frame is the best bet for you. Carbon frames are almost exclusively racing frames and no matter what anyone tells you here they are subject to more damage. One bad dropped chain can burn a hole in a carbon chainstay, I've seen it happen a few times in fact to one of my bikes. If you are like me and don't have winter bikes or rain bikes and don't have to fuss around cleaning the damn frame after every ride because you are afraid of salt or road grime get a TI bike

Any bike, regardless of material, will last longer than most people want. Forgetting about C&V, who wants to be riding on a 20 year old frame with all the improvments since then? Sure, you might have a serious crash that causes damage. But for the most part (disregarding individual tales of my XXX frame material suvived when frame material YYY wouldn't), serious damage isn't dependent on material. Just buy a frame that fits you and you like.

ahh

If you want it to last forever and survive a few scrapes, then a fairly heavy (3.5 lb) titanium frame is the best choice. Steel is probably the second choice, followed by aluminum and then carbon. Carbon frames can be light and strong, but if the yield point is ever exceeded (which can easily happen in a crash) then they are toast.

Here is a Ti frame that would fit your budget: https://www.habcycles.com/road.html

I would honestly just go for a cheaper bike that fits you and your riding style with the intention of having a crash replacement.
that or hire a coach to work on 'not crashing'.

there has to be a reason why you are this crash prone.