Hi Sam-- Are you serious? Or is this intended to be humor of some sort that I don't understand? (That's the trouble with e-mail; we lack the tone of voice that is needed for full understanding.)
Seeing ~one~ frame break is hardly a reason to worry and it is just anecdotal "evidence" at its worst. On the other hand, a dozen clubmates and I rode for a week through the mountains prior to the Markleeville Death Ride a couple years ago. On the rest day prior to the big event, we all washed the road grime off our bikes. Two riders with carbon fiber frames (different manufacturers) discovered small cracks in their frames that required subsequent factory repairs. The steel frames among us were still a-ok. So what does this mean? Nothing--it is too small a sample to get excited about. But it does re-confirm that in my 30+ years of cycling, and over half of that being in the business, I've seen ~every~ kind of frame material fail. Sure, '70s era bikes can break... they're old and probably have (hopefully) been ridden a lot! How, then, to explain the failure of the two-year-old Merlin Ti frame I saw break a while back? Or the virtually new aluminum GT road bike? Neither had riders too heavy for the intended usage or were abused in any way that I could see. Go figure. At any rate, there is nothing wrong with steel frames. Do they break? Sure, ~some~ do, but since 99% of all bikes ever manufactured were made from steel, you're bound to see some failures along the way. Relax.
Bill "I guess I had better park my old steel bike for safety" Bryant Santa Cruz, California
Wornoutguy@aol.com wrote:
> Well, in one case I can tell you this is the truth. A friend of mind has a
> 1970s model that one day when we were riding decided to break. It failed
> between the bottom of the down tube and the BB shell. I am not trying to
> make the statement that all old bikes fail but this one certainly did. I
> VOW NOW NEVER BUY ANOTHER OLD BIKE only aluminum titanium and carbon fiber
> for me. I should go with the carbon fiber by doctor recommended fiber years
> ago and I did not listen.
> Sam DiBartolomeo in Southern CA