[trhway]

aluminum is nice, yet once in a blue moon you get something like this year an aluminum hiking pole broke when i lost my balance on a slippery slope and put a lot of weight on the pole and falling i almost got skewered by it's broken off jagged lower piece. I really want steel poles now, yet can't find them to the point of pondering DYI-ing from some Home Depot steel tubing.

[ndsipa_pomu]

That's a problem with aluminium - no fatigue limit. This means that cyclic loads on an aluminium frame (or pole) will eventually cause it to fail. Steel does have a fatigue limit such that cyclic loads below that threshold won't cause eventual failure.

There's some good info on bike frame materials here: https://bike.bikegremlin.com/11144/bicycle-frame-materials-e...

[prmoustache]

It is only really an issue with aluminium forks and non traditionnal construction.

With a "diamond shaped" traditionnal cycling frame you have nearly 0 chance of a frame failing catastrophically. Usually the weaker part crack and your bike just end up creaking horribly and/or feel noodly. I have suffered and witnessed a number of alu and alu+carbon bonded frame failing at the glued joints.

[mtillman]

Wasn’t this solved by Klein?

[ndsipa_pomu]

No

[loeg]

Carbon hiking poles are the way to go, they're very light and very affordable.