Useful life of an aluminum bike

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by srfkook
I have a 20 year old aluminum (Canondale) touring bike. It may have 20K miles on it. I really like the bike but it needs updated components and paint.

So how much more useful life is there in such a bike?

If you mean fatigue life of the frame, that's anyone's guess. If it's a touring model, likely the frame is fairly heavy, and you haven't hammered it too hard, unless it's been loaded down on rough roads for much of it's life. Could last another 20K miles, or 20 more years for you....or you could have a stress crack already that will be visible when you strip the paint off.

But, economic life is another matter. By the time you get done updating components and having it painted, you'll have spent as much as a new one costs. I'd go for a new bike.

As was previously stated Al alloy fatigue is highly dependent upon its specific use ( a nice thing to remember the next time you get on a 30 year old Boeing 737!!) An 80's Cannondale frame will probably outlast a new one if it hasn't been damaged. I have a 1986 Cannondale road frameset that has faired better than other 5 year olds. But sometimes new components can come close to the total price.

One thing that is probably a limiting factor, however, is the rear dropout spacing if you want to update the components. It is probably 126mm at best, and Al is not fond of reshaping.

Thanks for the info. I should have mentioned that I am planning some long distance tours (1000 miles). I would prefer to use the old bike; it's proven that it works well for that purpose in the past. I can deal with the usual breakdowns but a catastrophic failure of the frame is not in the plan.

Based on your recommendations, I think I will have the paint stripped and, based on how that looks, I'll go from there. Makes sense?