7 years seems like an entire subjective amount of time to put on a certain material's lifespan in relation to bikes. Over what kind of riding, how often, what terrain, what climate? Just seems artificial to me to try and assign an actual number, why not just say "aluminum doesn't last as long as steel (but also doesn't rust)". A steel frame could easily die in 7 years time too if someone doesn't guard against rust and leaves it in the rain too much, or it could be on the road 50 years later with proper preservation.

53 years after it first rolled out of Nottingham... it was ridden regularly since it was new and I am only the second owner of this bicycle. There is a patina of age but no rust.. the original Dunlop EA1 wheels and spokes are stainless.

This is not a conversion.



At one time fixed gear bikes were not the sole domain of track riders, urban hipsters and Luddites like me... they were what people rode on a daily basis.

Because of that my Lenton has a geometry which is pretty much identical to the new Surly LHT and it makes for an equally comfortable riding bike that is good for many types of riding rather than one specific area like the track.

These were used for touring, time trials, road racing, and simply for day to day transportation.