WARNING: Frequent inspection of your bike is important to your safety. Follow the Mechanical Safety Check in
Section 1.C of this Manual before every ride.
Periodic, more detailed inspection of your bicycle is important. How often this more detailed inspection is needed
depends
upon you.
You, the rider/owner, have control and knowledge of how often you use your bike, how hard you use it and where you
use it. Because your dealer ca nnot track your use, you must t ake responsibility for periodically bringing y our bike to
your dealer for inspection and ser vice. Your dealer will help you d ecide what frequency of in spection and service is
appropriate for how and where you use your bike.
For your safety, understanding and communication with your dealer,
we urge you to read this Appendix in its entirety.
The materials used to make your bike determine how and how frequently to inspect.
Ignoring this WARNING can lead to frame, fork or other component failure, which can result in serious injury or death.
A. Understanding metals
Steel is the traditional material for building bicycle frames. It has good characteristics, but in high performance bicycles, steel
has been largely replaced by aluminum and some titanium. The main factor driving this change is interest by cycling enthusiasts
in lighter bicycles.
Properties of Metals
Please un derstand that ther e is no simp le st
atement that c an be ma
de th at characte rizes the use of di fferent met als for
bicycles. What is true is how the metal chosen is applied is much more important than the material alone. One must look at the
way the bike i s desi gned, te sted, manuf actured, su pported al ong with t he ch aracteristics of the metal rath er tha n seeking a
simplistic answer.
Metals var y widely in the ir resist ance to corrosion. S
teel must be prote cted or rust will att ack it. Aluminum an d Titanium
quickly d evelop an o xide fil m that protect s the met al from further corrosio n. Both ar e therefore q uite resist ant to corrosio n.
Aluminum is not perfectl y c orrosion resist ant, and particular ca re must be us ed where it cont acts other met als and ga lvanic
corrosion can occur.
Metals are co mparatively ductile. Ductile means bend
ing, buckli ng and stretching b efore breaking. Generally speaking, of
the common bicycle frame building materials steel is the most ductile, titanium less ductile, followed by aluminum.
Metals var y i n density. D ensity is weight p er unit of mater ial. Steel
weighs 7.8 grams/c m3 (grams p er cubic c entimeter),
titanium 4.5 grams/cm3, aluminum 2.75 grams/cm3. Contrast these numbers with carbon fiber composite at 1.45 grams/ cm3.
Metals are s ubject to fatigu e. With eno ugh cycles of us e, at high
enough loads, metals will eventually develop cracks t hat
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