I've gone through four five frames in the last decade or so, all from different manufacturers, all steel but both lugged and welded both steel and aluminium. Every one of them has eventually developed a crack, and the steel ones have been repaired and then re-developed more cracks until I give up and get a new one.
It's usually on the seat tube down near the bottom bracket, but once on the down tube near the headset, and once twice on the chainstay.
I generally just use the bike for commuting (~150km / week) and occasional weekend riding—all on the road. I weigh about 90kg. It's never cold enough for the ground to frost here, but it does get hot: 48°C or more sometimes! I've been on my mountain bike for the last couple of years, but I miss my skinny tyres and I'm thinking of getting a new road bike.
Does this point to something wrong with the way I ride? Do you think doing track stands at lights would exacerbate the problem? Is there anything I can do to make it last longer than a couple of years or should I give up and just stick to mountain bikes?
Here's a list of the frames I've broken:
Make or Seller | Material | Origin | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
City Cycles Sydney | steel | unknown | really nice |
Cecil Walker Melbourne | steel | Ken Evans, a well-respected local framebuilder | custom fit for me, also very nice |
KHS | steel | Korea | kind of cheap and nasty |
Kona | aluminium | Taiwan (?) | |
Soma Doublecross | steel | USA | from the weight of it, I thought it would last, but no |
Seems I don't buy bikes, I rent them.