whats ya frame preference alloy or steel

[Moqi]

steel and titanium fatigue

not wishing to be pedantic but the statement "Not true for steel or titanium - a frame made from either will last for ever unless one of two things happen"
is not true.

All metals will suffer from fatigue under cyclic loading and the fatigue is cumulative. Steel may have a higher cumulative tolerance than aluminium alloys but it has a finite life under cyclic loading.

A good example would be car suspension springs - especially of the leaf type. Other examples of the top of my head would be certain bridges and structures failing.

If aluminium was used of course then the limit would be reached much earlier but to say steel doesn't suffer from fatigue is just plain wrong.

Theres plenty of stuff on web about fatigue in metals

 

[terryhfs]

From Wikipedia;

Some materials (e.g., some steel and titanium alloys) exhibit a theoretical fatigue limit below which continued loading does not lead to structural failure.

As you say, lots of material on the web - but almost all remark on the unique characteristics of steel (and to some extent Ti) to not exhibit failure through cumulative strain. A steel frame will almot always fail thrugh corrosion rather than anything else, assuming high-quality materials and construction.

 

[feetabix]

I'm no materials expert but I have a dave Yates, a '90 clockwork and an attitude as my retro steeds....... The Klein is great but the 'feel' of the other two so much more natural...... Steel all the way for me!!!....

 

[Moqi]

fatigue

I'm sorry but still got to disagree "the unique characteristics of steel (and to some extent Ti) to not exhibit failure through cumulative strain"

This is only depending on the application to which the steel is put to - ie a bicycle will not suffer frpm fatigue failure unless the material is too lightweight and/or badly designed. It is unlikely that the steel will ever reach its fatigue cumulative limit. However it still does have one. I can guarantee that if you made a bicycle frame of too light weight steel it would suffer from fatigue.

Steel does have a cumulative fatigue limit - witness steel springs as an example.

As for Ti it seems a very difficult material to work with and seeing the various cracked frames that appear regularly on bike forums something some manufacturers have not mastered.

 

[dyna-ti]

Re: fatigue

I'm sorry but still got to disagree "the unique characteristics of steel (and to some extent Ti) to not exhibit failure through cumulative strain"

This is only depending on the application to which the steel is put to - ie a bicycle will not suffer frpm fatigue failure unless the material is too lightweight and/or badly designed. It is unlikely that the steel will ever reach its fatigue cumulative limit. However it still does have one. I can guarantee that if you made a bicycle frame of too light weight steel it would suffer from fatigue.

Steel does have a cumulative fatigue limit - witness steel springs as an example.

As for Ti it seems a very difficult material to work with and seeing the various cracked frames that appear regularly on bike forums something some manufacturers have not mastered.

Sorry but i find this meaningless in respect of the issue at hand

 

[porkypaw]

Well... in my experience, I have found that 'I' exhibit fatigue failure long before any of my bikes have.
My choice would would be to go with the steel, much nicer on the road than ally.
I think steel feels much more alive than the dullness of the soft stuff.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Current poll stands at
36 to Steel
2 to Aluminium

Answer is obvious.

 

[mickyc]

love a good debate

 

[Defiant]

i thought it was called aluminot!

Steeeeeeeeeeeel!

 

[Moqi]

alu and steel and fatigue

Hi Dyna

"Sorry but i find this meaningless in respect of the issue at hand" - yes maybe, but when such sweeping (and incorrect statements) such as

"alloys crack with age" and "Not true for steel or titanium - a frame made from either will last for ever unless one of two things happen;

-it's stressed beyind its ultimate tensile strength (crash or bash).
-it rusts. "

I thought I would look into the fatigue issue and find out the facts.

I've 6 bikes - 3 re steel and 3 are alloy /carbon. So I am not prejudiced either way. Ive had crap steel frames and crap alloy ones.

What I do think though is that The Orange Evo2 is a great frame and performs a variety of duties really well and quite honestly is the most versatile bike that i have used - anything from singletrack, nasty rock strewn downhill in lake district, coast to coast and daily commuting. If I had to settle for one bike out of the six - it would be the Orange.

To dismiss a bike solely because it's not steel in my opinion could be a bad choice. As olddave said "IMO/E frame material per se has next to nowt to do with "comfort". Geometry, fit, tyres, contact points etc etc all of much more relevance."

I would choose the EVO2 because from my experience it makes a great bike.