# life span of a road bike



## robm90 (Aug 5, 2010)

I am thinking about buying a road bike and watched some reviews on test rider. They mentioned that the frame of the bike would deteriorate over time. Does any body here have an opinion or knowledge about what the life span of a carbon fiber bike would be in miles or years? Many thanks for trying to help this newbie.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

My carbon frame was made in 1988...I still ride it almost every day.....


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## civdic (May 13, 2009)

It's like most things. If you care for it it will last you a long time, no matter what material it's made out of.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

A steel frame will last forever, unless it is exposed to water after midnight. Then it disintegrates into a pile of rust within 3 days.

A carbon Fiber frame will begin exploding the second it is exposed to sunlight. Also, scratches in the clearcoat will remove all lateral stiffness and replace it with vertical compliance. 

Aluminum is just outdated and anyone who rides it probably has a beard and a helmet mirror. But if you can live with this unfashionableness, it will last forever, or until you lean it against a tree, at which point it will fold in half. 

Titanium will last forever but it is radioactive and too stiff and too flexy all at the same time. Also, you must have graduated from dental school to buy a TI frame. If you try to buy TI without a Dental degree, you will be sold steel that's been painted to look like TI.


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## J24 (Oct 8, 2003)

buck-50 said:


> A
> A carbon Fiber frame will begin exploding the second it is exposed to sunlight. Also, scratches in the clearcoat will remove all lateral stiffness and replace it with vertical compliance. QUOTE]
> 
> And here I was believing that carbon frames turned into a nano-tube mist and evaporated the day after the warranty expired.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

J24 said:


> buck-50 said:
> 
> 
> > A
> ...


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## J24 (Oct 8, 2003)

buck-50 said:


> J24 said:
> 
> 
> > How many ever last that long?
> ...


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

buck-50 got it.  

As well...
I've got an aging aluminum frame...but sadly, I think I'd get more from a contemporary can of soda at the recycling center. Oh well. CF...possibly attraction of dark matter, I am afraid to be tele-ported away while riding it. Steel...it is real but post nuclear steel just doesn't cut it. 

Seriously, bike frame longevity is shortened by crashes. CF by improper install techniques and or manufacturing issues. That can also apply to alu or steel. Buy it, ride it, enjoy and when you tire of it, just get another. However long it lasts, can be a day or decades+.


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## tjjm36m3 (Mar 4, 2008)

It's good until the next crash.

On all seriousness, a local LBS owner once told me the most common mode of failure, regardless of frame material, he seen in his 20+ years of business are rear dropout failures. Usually the bond or the weld to the dropout develops a crack even from everday use and moreso if a rider is heavy or goes over lots of potholes. Makes sense to me since most of the weight is in the back and the chainstays act as a cantilever.


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## BlueMasi1 (Oct 9, 2002)

*A long time*

Steel custom -- 30 years and counting (upgraded components)

Steel commuter -- 26 years and counting

Carbon custom -- 6 years


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## icsloppl (Aug 25, 2009)

Titanium is forever :aureola: 

pretty much

or until you get bored and buy carbon :mad2:


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## armybikerider (Oct 27, 2009)

I once had a "glued and screwed" Vitus 979 that came apart at the bottom bracket shell. When I stood up on the pedals the BB would pull away from the seat tube. I noticed it on a ride because everytime I stood up the front der. shifted. That frame had several thousand miles and was about 7 years old. I have a circa. 1993 Cannondale 2.8 frame that is going strong - outlasting a Campy C-record left side crank arm that snapped in half. 

My current fave is my Lynskey which I hope to be riding forever.....or until I get bored with it and buy......another Ti bike!


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

have a 1992 Specialized Allez Epic...carbon tubes glued to alum lugs.

this thing has got to have at least 45-50K miles on it.

getting ready to take it out tonite for a 25-miler.


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## tjjm36m3 (Mar 4, 2008)

Oxtox said:


> have a 1992 Specialized Allez Epic...carbon tubes glued to alum lugs.
> 
> this thing has got to have at least 45-50K miles on it.
> 
> getting ready to take it out tonite for a 25-miler.


Really hard to justify comparison between carbon frames made in the early days versus ones built today. In my opinion, most frames designed in the early days were over designed because engineers then didn't know the limitations of carbon fiber due to impact, fatigue, strength, etc. Today's engineer are pushing the envelope on the design boundary to get the lightest carbon frame out in the market. Look at a mid-range carbon frame today and it's like a little over 2 lbs, or that new Cervelo R5ca at 700g (~1.5 lbs)! I would only imagine that the sidewalls of both the downtube and top tube are so thin that the result of the bike tipping over will cause significant damage to the frame.


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## CougarTrek (May 5, 2008)

tjjm36m3 said:


> ...I would only imagine that the sidewalls of both the downtube and top tube are so thin that the result of the bike tipping over will cause significant damage to the frame.



You can "imagine" all you want, doesn't make it fact.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

tjjm36m3 said:


> Really hard to justify comparison between carbon frames made in the early days versus ones built today. In my opinion, most frames designed in the early days were over designed because engineers then didn't know the limitations of carbon fiber due to impact, fatigue, strength, etc. Today's engineer are pushing the envelope on the design boundary to get the lightest carbon frame out in the market. Look at a mid-range carbon frame today and it's like a little over 2 lbs, or that new Cervelo R5ca at 700g (~1.5 lbs)! I would only imagine that the sidewalls of both the downtube and top tube are so thin that the result of the bike tipping over will cause significant damage to the frame.


I didn't see anything in the OP regarding what types of carbon frames he was interested in hearing stats for...so, I contributed my data point. he can use it or not use it for his purposes.

fwiw, Specialized issued a notice that these particular frames should be retired from service after 10 years of use. I elected to ignore their advice as I assume it was a CYA from their legal counsel.


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## robm90 (Aug 5, 2010)

Thanks for all the responses. I was posting to get a feel about buying a 2-3 year old upper end type bike, and if it have more good years of service left in it.


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## tjjm36m3 (Mar 4, 2008)

CougarTrek said:


> You can "imagine" all you want, doesn't make it fact.


Okkkk.... that's a weird comment by cougartrek.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

A bike will last until you either

1) Crash it
2) Get bored of it
3) Can't get parts to fix it
4) You physically outgrow it or it rusts out (both happened on my first "real" Raleigh)

I wind up giving away my old bikes... after about 20-25 years of use. That includes a "composite" Kestrel. I actually have given a lot of stuff away over the years, it has enabled many of my friends to get into cycling, and by now 4-5 of them are more bike crazy than me!


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## Hula Hoop (Feb 4, 2009)

I have an 87 Specialized sirrus that still gets ridden. Replace bearings, drivetrain
wearables, tires, etc and keep it in tune. What was your question now?


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## Pieter (Oct 17, 2005)

My 1988 Cannondale started making weird noises when it was 10 years old. I was convinced the aluminum has fatigued to the point of collapse.

I kept riding it and another 12 years on, all kinds of noises have come and went.... the frame just keeps going. I don't see why it won't be able to do another 22 years.

Some of the components are another story, though. Rims, spokes, headset, rear hub, derailleurs... all replaced, not suprising though. 

If you have a not too special frame - however good its integrity still is - the cost of replacing a bunch of components might well prove uneconomical compared to a nice new bike. So the (economical) life span of a bike can be a more complex matter than simply the when of a crack developing somewhere.


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## Pirx (Aug 9, 2009)

robm90 said:


> They mentioned that the frame of the bike would deteriorate over time.


That's an old fairytale, regardless of frame material. Unless your frame starts to disintegrate (meaning, literally, "break apart", because of cracks that can separate when loaded) your frame will behave in exactly the same way from the first to its last day.


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## 91bravo (Jul 26, 2010)

deleted


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

If you keep your bike inside and clean it regularly, it will last you twenty years or more.
After ten to twenty years the components and technology on it will be so outdated that you may actually ponder selling it.


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