I’ve got a 2 and a half year old Rocky Mountain ETSX70 which has done getting on for 10,000 entertaining miles. Any pointers on how long aluminium frames last? The original one (2003 model) snapped after a similar duration however that part of the seat tube appears to be bomb proof on the 2006 frame I got under warranty.

cheers

Matthew

i reckon there are far too many factors governing the ageing of a frame to predict anything

my ali klein has lasted 11 years of serious abuse

*Just off to measure a piece of string*

Right, I have the answer, approximately this <——————————————————————————> long.

Sorry, it’s one of those. Look after it and it’ll last a lifetime, ride it for purposes more extreme than it was intended and never service the bearings or pivots, and it may not last a year!

Early ETSXs had a design fault. Nearly all of them snapped or cracked.
Other frames: how long is a piece of string.

My brother still has my 1998 RM Instinct and thats not busted. He’s a big chap too.

how long is a piece of string.

I think we’re in some agreement there then!

My 04 SWorks Enduro is still on its original bearings/bushes, albeit with a tiny bit of play in the upper shock bushing now. Has been ridden as a main bike for probably 3 of the last 5 yrs due to SS & HT affairs. It carries a few battle scars but is still a superb bike.

My 04 ETSX is still going strong despite serious downhill/urban terrorism abuse.

Well, I’m still on my 2001 Stumpjumper FSR, but I live in the flatlands of East Anglia so don’t think it gets that much abuse – although throwing it down a few Spanish hillsides didn’t seem to harm it.

I only changed the original mechs late in 2008, as well as the forks, crankset and brakes. Hey, it’s practically a new bike.
I know of people though who would have killed this frame a long time ago, judging bt their lack of fear and penchant for throwing themselves off large drops.

Dependent more on a frames design than abuse then?

50.3445 million cycles 😉

How long that is will really depend on how much/how hard/what you ride and how well designed/made it is. It really is a ‘how long’s a piece of string’ question.

If you see any cracks in the frame then it’s probably coming to the end of its life…

“Dependent more on a frames design than abuse then?”

No. His 2004 Stumpy FSR is on it’s first bearings. With mine, bearings lasted a few weeks at a time.

I think it’s more to do with the tiny differences between one frame and another, some will be a tiny bit straighter, some bearing housings will be a tiny bit slacker etc.

I suspect that the real life limiting issue will be suspension bushes and shock seal availability as opposed to the life of aluminium

…but you can always keep putting new bearings and even new shocks into an old frame, at least until standards change, the manufacturer goes bust and the sizes become unavailable.

(Where have all the old Proflexes gone? Is there a big scrapyard of them somewhere?)

(Where have all the old Proflexes gone? Is there a big scrapyard of them somewhere?)

I think I saw one on the Classified today actually !

Nothing else to add that hasn’t already been said. Look after it and it should last a lifetime – however long that is !!!

My old 1995 Turner Burner frame is apparently still going strong for the second owner, despite being ridden regularly for 14 years and being dropped off a roof rack at 50mph… (No, that wasn’t me that did that…) 🙂

My ’97 Norco Bomber died last year – the shock split & it’s irreplaceable and irrepairable. Bummer.

There’s some odl squishy bikes on Retrobike that are still going strong a long way in to their second decade (Think of some of the early Manitous and the like)

As others have said, a lot of it is down to the quality of manufacture in the frame, but a lot will also come down to the care and attention the bike receives, both when ridden and fettled. And dropped from the roof of a car, of course.

In my experience, ali full sus aywhere from 14 days (Orange Sub 5) to 3 days over the warranty (Rotwild RDH), steel Kona…14 years including being driven over!

Getting close to 2 years apiece out of my Coves though so prob why i’m looking to change as its been a necessity in the past to change when they snapped rather than when i got bored. I did used to ride like a **** though.

Look after them and they may outlast you… unlesss its ali.

Last year I gave up waiting for my 97 Marin to crack and bought a four year old 5spot. Would have liked to have taken Marin up on their replacement warranty but I’m not going to break it on purpose.

super – its great to ride, the bearings get changed when they get wobbly (18 months from last set) so I’ll not worry about it any more and keep flogging it.

No idea how long they last, however 70+ miles a week, every week, for two and a half years is pretty damn good going if I may say so.