Reliability as previously mentioned is a matter of meeting a certain criteria as spelled out in an engineering context. As an example, one could say that an aluminum bicycle can reliably carry 90 lbs. There is a definite boundary listed so you can judge suitability by measuring to that limit.
The only reason I am going there is back in my Wheelman days there was a bike called Lu-Min-Um that was considered reliable enough for production. It was built of Aluminum before the turn of the century. I am going to go through some of my old cycling magazines from that period to see if I can turn up anything. I do remember seeing one or two of these in museums.
There was a more common use in the 30s for bicycle manufacture. Another name creeps up from that period. The name Monark bicycle is from my days as a balloon bicycle collector. I have had a few of these that were very stylish and some of their price values today would make a vintage MASI blush. Bicycles this early on in the Aluminum history timeline were even offered in various colors of annodization and hexagonal tubing.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ