Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Mountain Biking
Reload this Page >

Aluminum Frame Life Expectancy?

Notices
Mountain Biking Mountain biking is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Check out this forum to discuss the latest tips, tricks, gear and equipment in the world of mountain biking.

Aluminum Frame Life Expectancy?

Old 09-27-22, 06:54 PM
  #26  
XTR
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 77

Bikes: Cannondale Delta V 2000, C-dale SuperV Active, Bridgestone RB-1, Colnago Master, Izalco Pro 4.0, Carbon Superfly 100

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts
I still ride a Cannondale Delta V frame from '93 from time to time, no issues here.
XTR is offline  
Old 11-16-22, 06:50 PM
  #27  
Jax Rhapsody
Rhapsodic Laviathan
 
Jax Rhapsody's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 1,003

Bikes: Rideable; 83 Schwinn High Sierra. Two cruiser, bmx bike, one other mtb, three road frames, one citybike.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 222 Post(s)
Liked 123 Times in 91 Posts
Originally Posted by ClydeClydeson
Depends. Fatigue stresses does accumulate on aluminium, but aluminum bike frames are generally so overbuilt that you can get billions of 'cycles' (one cycle = one excursion from high stress to low stress at any given point on the frame) before failure. But this is assuming the frame is made in such a way, and used in such a way, that no part sees higher stress than the designer anticipated - things like a bad weld, a void in the material, or a very heavy or strong rider, can result in stresses that will fatigue the frame earlier than you'd expect. Also, heavy jumping or crashing or other non-standard applications of stress are more likely to cause non-fatigue failure.

So the rule is, check your bike regularly for any cracks starting to develop, more often if you feel you are putting higher than normal loads on the frame by the way you use it. Especially check spots near welds and suspension pivots.

I am a big guy who rides a lot of miles and I have only ever had one aluminum frame fail, and it was a road-touring frame I did lots of thoughtless off-roading on, and I was riding it for months not knowing there was a crack before I retired it. I replaced it with an identical aluminum frame and have 10s of thousands of kms on the replacement so far, but fewer abusive 'off road' rides than I had done on the original.
same. It was a Mongoose xr250 and I think I had the seatpost too high, because the tube snapped above the top tube. I've had two steel bikes fail on me, though.
Jax Rhapsody is offline  
Old 11-17-22, 07:10 AM
  #28  
staehpj1
Senior Member
 
staehpj1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 11,837
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1236 Post(s)
Liked 744 Times in 554 Posts
My 1990 Cannondale is still fine. It saw very hard use for the first 15 years of it's life and a bit less and maybe easier use after that. I destroyed a nice steel frame with the same level of use in just a couple years just before I got the Cannondale. I am not blaming the steel, but just saying that it is more about how well it is designed and built, what kind of use it sees, and just plain luck of the draw.
staehpj1 is offline  
Old 11-19-22, 11:49 AM
  #29  
georges1
Steel is real
 
georges1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Not far from Paris
Posts: 2,262

Bikes: 1992Giant Tourer,1992MeridaAlbon,1996Scapin,1998KonaKilaueua,1993Peugeot Prestige,1991RaleighTeamZ(to be upgraded),1998 Jamis Dragon,1992CTWallis(to be built),1998VettaTeam(to be built),1995Coppi(to be built),1993Grandis(to be built)

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 624 Post(s)
Liked 897 Times in 585 Posts
I have a mountain with a frame from a mix of an aluminium bonded front triangle and a rear chrome moly seat which is 30 years old, a merida al bon and it is as robust as a tank.
georges1 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.