frank theriault wrote: >You're right about aluminium's longevity (or lack of it). It >literally starts micro-cracking the moment it's put together. 3 to 5 >years is the longest I'd ride one (meaning that my Fondriest is >getting very long-in-the-tooth). For a messenger frame, which tends >to have a short lifespan anyway, it's not such an issue, but for the >average cyclist, it is something to consider.
FWIW, I think this is mostly urban legend, passed down through cyclists, mechanics and (ahem) bike shop owners. Aluminum is used for frames of racing motorcycles and aircraft and lasts a lot longer than 5 years without trouble. Granted, it's likely to be different alloys, etc, but the basic technology is the same. I know plenty of people who've used aluminum-framed bikes for 10 years or more. A more cynical note: I can't believe aluminum-framed bikes would be sold *at all* in the liability-lawsuit-crazed U.S. if half the stories of their limited lifespans had much truth to them. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
