Yesterday I picked up an 1988 performance bike. I bought it for the parts. It rode really good and now I'm deciding to keep it as is but I'm wondering if the bike is safe to ride. I've hear of aluminum horror stories and I'm assuming old aluminum isn't asnymore safe.Should I toss the frame and put the parts on a steel frame I have or ride it and not worry about it failing.
nah, it;s fine i have a 1999 GT al frame with 44000 miles ain;t dead or cracked yet carbon is the thing with the real horror stories Should I toss the frame and put the parts on a steel frame I have or ride it and not worry about it failing. --no, too much trouble for nothing wle
It would most likely be fine! Aluminum is actually stronger than steel in a pound-for-pound comparison. In addition to that aluminum does not rust like steel would have over the last 26 years.
I've ridden old Cannondales for years. I've never heard a horror story, if anything it is overengineered. With any frame, you need to see if there is any damage.
Aluminum frames can last a really long time. But it depends more on how they were ridden and what kind of conditions they have seen than age. For example, I would never by a frame from a current bike racer even if it's only a year or two old. That frames seen a lot of stress and been put through a lot. Now a frame that my dad has had in the garage for the last 10 years hardly ridden, it's still practically new. That's a different story. I would recommend taking it to a local bike shop and having them look it over. This will actually achieve two things. 1. It'll let you know what kind of condition the frame is in. And 2. It'll help you build a relationship with your local shop and community. Keep in mind, that some shops aren't worth going to because they'll hassle you and tell you it's too old and you need new this and that. While some or all of that might be true, how they tell you will clue you into how they treat their customers. I've worked in the cycling industry for 10+ years and I can tell you that the condition of the frame is a case by case scenario. As such, you should have someone with some experience look it over.
1988? Why do you believe it is aluminum? So far as I can recall, Performance didn't begin offering bicycles AT ALL until about 1992. Even then they had steel frames... their bikes were supplied by a Taiwanese company by the name of UEC who also made (and makes) KHS brand bikes. Regarding early aluminum failures, yes, there were many simply because factories were unfamiliar with the material and thought they could get away without the post treatment that a welded aluminum structure often requires. Another reason for aluminum frame failure was when a few factories attempted to bond aluminum tubes to lugs. This is also a problem with carbon fiber bikes. This is because the epoxy used degasses, or hardens and becomes crystallized. The now brittle epoxy cracks and results in catastrophic failure. This, in the factory's opinion, was not a warranty event. I'll tell you what. Grab a magnet off of your refrigerator and see if it sticks to the frame. if it does- even a tiny bit- then it is steel. If the frame is WELDED aluminum it should be retired since there is no way of telling whether the frame was properly post-treated. If the frame is BONDED then it should be retired because of the possibility of the epoxy fracturing.
