# Aluminum frame lifespan?



## The Sundance Kid (Oct 2, 2007)

What is a reasonable lifespan to expect from an aluminum cx frame? My cx bike only really gets used for cx racing and training in the fall (one bike, no switching back and forth between two steeds). I'm only 140 lbs if that helps. Any anecdotes? Have any of you had an older frame fail or get noticeably less stiff than when it was new?


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## knucklesandwich (Feb 23, 2007)

At 140lbs...10 weeks.
Send me yours so you don't hurt yourself.
I'll dispose of it properly.


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## al415 (Aug 30, 2007)

I've wondered the same thing. When I got into road racing in the 1980's the only Aluminum cx bikes people talked about were ALANS. It was taken as a given that they were "disposable" bikes. I've kept this notion in my head about Alu' bikes, but if you think about it alloy mountain bikes (trek, specialized etc) have been coming with long warranties since the 1990's. I don't know if they are that much overbuilt vs. a cross frame. Or if the technology has just moved on. I just ordered my first alloy cross frame, so I'm banking on the latter.


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## TWD (Feb 9, 2004)

Slightly more than 5 years. 

At least in my case. My Bianchi lasted until the 5 year warranty was up then developed a huge crack through the bottom of the seat tube into the downtube.

Of course, I ride my cross bike year round, commute on it, race it, ride it on tons of single track and all around pound the snot out of it, and I weigh nearly 50lbs more than you......so YMMV.


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## achiral (Feb 24, 2005)

The Sundance Kid said:


> What is a reasonable lifespan to expect from an aluminum cx frame? My cx bike only really gets used for cx racing and training in the fall (one bike, no switching back and forth between two steeds). I'm only 140 lbs if that helps. Any anecdotes? Have any of you had an older frame fail or get noticeably less stiff than when it was new?


This question is inherently ill-defined. A well-designed, well-built frame that isn't crashed should last nearly forever regardless of frame material.

Again regardless of frame material, a poorly-designed, poorly built frame with bad materials may break in a year.

Ride it until you want another bike (or it breaks). Then ride the new bike and either sell this one or use it as a back-up.


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## The Sundance Kid (Oct 2, 2007)

As you point out (paraphrasing) you can make a nice durable bike or a POS out of aluminum or anything else depending on the design and execution. Thank you for that pearl of wisdom. I'm just looking to hear people's actual experience with off the assembly line cyclocross frames that they kept riding for years and years. 

There are a range of opinions on the topic out there and you hear lightweight aluminum race frames described as disposable quite a bit. At least according to one bench test I found several high end aluminum road frames lasted longer than carbon, ti or steel (which surprisingly came in last by a wide margin): http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/EFBe/frame_fatigue_test.htm
OTOH this is an old test with old frames. Their Merlin broke at the down tube shifter bosses.

Regardless their data showing that alumninum frames were among the most durable tested flies in the face face of the conventional wisdom which is that ti and steel frames last a lifetime and that high end lightweight aluminum is to be "raced and replaced".

And BTW you do realize there is a small problem with your "ride it until it breaks and then use it as a backup bike" suggestion, don't you?


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## brownfeesh (Sep 8, 2003)

*5yrs and still rolling*

I'm trying to convince myself that my 2003 Fuji is worn out -- so I would then of course need a new Gunnar Crosshairs or some other steel beauty. This is my 7th cross season on the Fuji, I weigh 200lbs and I've crashed it a couple times on the road and innumerable times offroad. I've broken or worn out everything but the frame, and maybe the rear brake or some random thing. It may be less stiff than when it was new -- hard to tell. While I really would like to get a new frame, I think rationally the old Fuji has plenty of life remaining.


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## Export A (Mar 18, 2007)

I have a 91 aluminum frame mtb. I bent the frame 7 years ago, I was riding it until last year.
The only reason I retired the frame was because it was a 7 speed cog and It needed a lot of work, rims etc.I decided not to spend the money and stripped the parts off it. That frame is still ride able even with a bent chainstay.


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## LetsGoOutside (Dec 2, 2005)

At 140 you are not going to kill any frames in 5 years unless you beat on that bike hard. I have a 2000 Cannondale Cross bike with 25k+ miles on it and it still is just as stiff as it's ever been. I'm 140 lbs too and have always bought alu bikes (mainly because they are cheap) and have only been able to kill one, but I am pretty sure it was a manufacturers defect.


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## achiral (Feb 24, 2005)

The Sundance Kid said:


> As you point out (paraphrasing) you can make a nice durable bike or a POS out of aluminum or anything else depending on the design and execution. Thank you for that pearl of wisdom. I'm just looking to hear people's actual experience with off the assembly line cyclocross frames that they kept riding for years and years.


Anecdotal evidence on a small scale on a wide variety of manufacturers, designs, and materials (and ignoring problems with other frame materials) effectively gives no useful information on choosing whether to buy brand Z's aluminum frame made in 200x. 

If you were looking to buy a new Ridley frame and had asked if anyone had issues with that specific frame or Ridley's manufacturing, then that would provide useful information.



The Sundance Kid said:


> There are a range of opinions on the topic out there and you hear lightweight aluminum race frames described as disposable quite a bit. At least according to one bench test I found several high end aluminum road frames lasted longer than carbon, ti or steel (which surprisingly came in last by a wide margin): http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/EFBe/frame_fatigue_test.htm
> OTOH this is an old test with old frames. Their Merlin broke at the down tube shifter bosses.
> 
> Regardless their data showing that alumninum frames were among the most durable tested flies in the face face of the conventional wisdom which is that ti and steel frames last a lifetime and that high end lightweight aluminum is to be "raced and replaced".


If this is the information that you were attempting to garner, you should have asked about all frame failures on cross bikes. That would have at least been useful, even if not in anything approaching a statistical manner.



The Sundance Kid said:


> And BTW you do realize there is a small problem with your "ride it until it breaks and then use it as a backup bike" suggestion, don't you?


Eh? I suppose I should have added a third option in the 'or' statement in the second sentence (toss the frame). Regardless, it is impossible to construe that the boolean structure of the overall statement says one should ride a frame after it breaks.  


achiral said:


> Ride it until you want another bike (or it breaks). Then ride the new bike and either sell this one or use it as a back-up.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

*just an anecdote...*

but my training partner is 190-ish lbs, and rides pretty hard. He had an AL bike that was his main ride for 3 seasons, but never crashed. The downtube cracked in half, essentially, after the 3rd season.


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