Alloy Frame Fatigue

Lysander

I have Alloy Dedacciai SC61.10A Ciocc Challenger. I have had the bike about 6 years and have done about 4000 miles on it, I weigh just under 12 stone.
My question is do you think the frame is coming to the end of its life? I have heard that some people replace these frames after three years or so. Has anybody here had a SC61.10A frame fail on them? I regularly check the frame and it seems fine. I just don't want it failing on me when I'm out on a long ride.

Smokin Joe

Jumbo jets are made of aluminium and many of them are still flying after 30 or more years, so I wouldn't loose any sleep over a bike frame.

andy_wrx

4000 miles ?

I did more than that last year and I'm not replacing my frame

chuckcork

4000 miles? At my present rate of around 1200km a month thats a bit less than 6 months of cycling, the frame isn't about to fall apart yet.

Thats on a road bike of course, but then Irish roads....

redddraggon

If you are less than 12stone I wouldn't worry just yet. If you've checked the frame and can't see any visible damage and there are no creaks coming from the frame it should be fine for a good while.

Monty Dog

By my calculations, your frame should be due for retirement somewhere about 2050! The main problems with 6000 series alloys is problems caused by incorrect heat treaments which can result in 'brittle' failures - your frame's probably seen enough use to have seen-off such problems. Crash damage is more likely to 'kill' your frame than fatigue - keep up your regime of periodic inspections and enjoy the ride.

Lysander

Thanks guys thats very reassuring. Its a lovely bike and I'd hate to part with it.
Its just that you hear horror stories!