Originally Posted by
joesch
Aluminium alloys are important for transport applications because they are light, which improves fuel efficiency. But, their fatigue properties are notoriously poor compared to steel of similar strength
Evidently, it's all in the engineering and quality of fabrication. If you haven't seen it before, here's
a report from the late '90's on the results of fatigue tests of high-end aluminum, carbon, steel, and titanium bike frames.
From the conclusion of the report:
"
The myth of early failure of aluminum compared with always-superior titanium and steel can be set aside." (Spoiler: two aluminum frames and one carbon frame completed the fatigue testing without any failures. None of the steel or titanium frames did.)
The testers did note that the failures in the tested steel and titanium frames could have been avoided by the use of more care in the design and fabrication of the frames.
The whole report is fascinating and well worth a read.