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Been riding steel, carbon and titanium frames. Steel failed the most, especially after many years (+30) of service. Weldings doesn't last. Carbon frames and fo

Been riding steel, carbon and titanium frames. Steel failed the most, especially after many years (+30) of service. Weldings doesn't last. Carbon frames and forks I have seen in freak accidents. Like snap-cracking by not even hitting some hard. This too me has been pure structural issues, since with metal, it has always been the weldings. Titanium I have seen tore apart as well, again all about the weldings. As for component failures, I have experienced rim-walls explode due to brake heat, rimes fall apart on flat tires, chain snapping and seat post clamps suddenly break and riders losing their saddle :) I am going for a ride in a few hours. Can't wait!

michaelt 1y ago
> Steel failed the most, especially after many years (+30) of service. Congratulations on reaching your 90th birthday!
rich_sasha 1y ago
Haha, so much for "steel is real". I must say, the more I research this, the more I admire aluminium. Other than street cred and the alleged road vibrations, it's incredible how strong, light and cheap it is.
- deleted 1y ago
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- master_crab 1y ago
  Aluminum has noticeable fatigue life though, unlike carbon. Something to keep in mind if you are considering it.
  - potato3732842 1y ago
    Carbon is basically "fancy fibrous plastic" though. It still degrades. Just in different ways than aluminum or steel.
  - rich_sasha 1y ago
    Well, sort of. But as I understand it, that limit is orders of magnitude over mine, or almost any cyclist's 5-year, say, mileage. Over my 10k km or so mileage on my current alu frame, I had 0 issues so far, despite a few crashes.
Gualdrapo 1y ago
Huh. I've been riding steel bikes pretty much all my life too (from local cheap-made with national tubing to Columbus SL tubing and the like) and never have seen a single one failing at any weld. When they break, and in the rare event they happen to break, it's about corrosion.

michaelt 1y ago

> Steel failed the most, especially after many years (+30) of service. Congratulations on reaching your 90th birthday!

rich_sasha 1y ago

Haha, so much for "steel is real". I must say, the more I research this, the more I admire aluminium. Other than street cred and the alleged road vibrations, it's incredible how strong, light and cheap it is.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
master_crab 1y ago
Aluminum has noticeable fatigue life though, unlike carbon. Something to keep in mind if you are considering it.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  Carbon is basically "fancy fibrous plastic" though. It still degrades. Just in different ways than aluminum or steel.
- rich_sasha 1y ago
  Well, sort of. But as I understand it, that limit is orders of magnitude over mine, or almost any cyclist's 5-year, say, mileage. Over my 10k km or so mileage on my current alu frame, I had 0 issues so far, despite a few crashes.

Gualdrapo 1y ago

Huh. I've been riding steel bikes pretty much all my life too (from local cheap-made with national tubing to Columbus SL tubing and the like) and never have seen a single one failing at any weld. When they break, and in the rare event they happen to break, it's about corrosion.