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I use a bike as my primary transportation (I live in a very, very bike friendly city) and I don't think I have ever seen a wooden bike. Vibrations from the roa

I use a bike as my primary transportation (I live in a very, very bike friendly city) and I don't think I have ever seen a wooden bike. Vibrations from the road is not something I've ever considered since it has not been a problem in any of the bikes that I've had. My primary considerations when considering a bike would be: * Price * Durability * Cargo support (like basket and rear hub)

mymythisisthis 8y ago
If you do a road trip more than 80km, you feel the vibration. I find aluminum is worse than steel. With short, daily trips, I don't think people notice vibration.
- dsego 8y ago
  My 2 cents, steel is better, I've had wrist issues with an aluminum bike that I just don't get with the steel one. It seems to dampen and absorb the high frequency vibrations.
  - toxik 8y ago
    The real solution to vibrations is a thoroughly damped bike, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39uwTykTQk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39uwTykTQk -- it features some next-generation thinking in its spring system.
  - Fricken 8y ago
    I'm loyal to steel because of it's stiffness. It's almost twice a stiff as the next best material, and 20x as stiff as wood, according to the chart in the article. So I don't think wood is for me.
  - halbritt 8y ago
    Generally speaking this stiffness is the result of the tube shapes necessary to achieve similar strength and stiffness of a steel frame while weighing less. A perfect example of this is the Cannondale CAD3. It had a massive downtube and huge (straight) seat stays as well. It was extraordinarily stiff and terribly unpleasant to ride, for most. Cannondale improved that to some degree by using S-shaped seat stays on the CAAD4 making the frame a less-efficient conductor of vibrations. Modern aluminum bikes use hydroformed tubes with optimized shapes and shouldn't really have these problems. Unless you're talking about something with an aluminum fork. That's just a cheap bike. Aluminum forks are terrible.
    - specialist 8y ago
      "hydroformed tubes" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WpGsJKVhZY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WpGsJKVhZY Thank you. I kinda always wondered how bike frames were made. This is really cool.
    - johnvanommen 8y ago
      It's rare to see a fork that's NOT aluminum. Even "carbon forks" are typically aluminum forks covered in carbon. Source : I've shortened a lot of forks.
      - halbritt 8y ago
        Eh... Most steerer tubes are aluminum for exactly the reason that you've shortened a lot of forks. In the field, Joe Mechanic is less likely to screw up an aluminum steerer vs. a carbon one. As to what's rare, hell if I know. Aluminum forks are fairly common on low to mid-tier bikes and the cheap ones tend to suck.
    - dsego 8y ago
      Yes, I'm talking about a cheap frame with an aluminum fork.
- gameswithgo 8y ago
  >I find aluminum is worse than steel. Try to do a blind test on yourself sometime, with the same tires and tire pressures. I don't notice "vibration" at any distance unless its nasty chip seal at which point nothing will save you short of a mountain bike.
  - MrMid 8y ago
    I don't think you want to do a blind test on a bike.
    - mrob 8y ago
      You could wrap the tubes in cardboard tubes so you couldn't see what they were made from.
- mrob 8y ago
  I've done longer journeys that that on a steel frame touring bike with 1.5" tires and I didn't notice any problems with vibration. I think most people complaining about vibration are probably using excessively narrow tires.
- anon_cow1111 8y ago
  I've done a road trip more than 1000k on a ~$100 aluminum frame and vibration was never even a minor concern. If you're going at very high speed or constant rough ground I can see how it'll get you, but seat design and quality of shifting/braking components were by far the biggest factors.
- mancis 8y ago
  Great bikes! Ordered a frame form Materia bikes nearly 4 years ago. The bike is still in perfect condition and I am really enjoying it. If we are talking about bike stiffness and vibration damping - the front triangle (Top-tube, Bottom-tube, seat-tube) is made from solid wood, that is why I found the ride much smoother compared to my old carbon or aluminium bikes. - the rear triangle (seat-tube, chain-stay, seat-stay) is made from laminated wood so the rear end for the bike it is really stiff and hard, what is good for performance.
- vanderZwan 8y ago
  Is this assuming a racing bike or something? I biked 20km back and forth to school daily for six years, and 80km road trips are not something out of the ordinary. I don't think I've ever noticed anything about vibration. But that is in the countryside of the Netherlands, with flat terrain and good roads. The worst thing I ever had was stiff knees for a week after, from inflammations caused by biking in too high a gear for too long.
louisswiss 8y ago
We have quite a few wooden (I think mainly bamboo) bikes in Switzerland. I've never used one (they're quite bulky and expensive) but they are definitely common enough for people not to take notice of them when they cycle past.

mymythisisthis 8y ago

If you do a road trip more than 80km, you feel the vibration. I find aluminum is worse than steel. With short, daily trips, I don't think people notice vibration.

dsego 8y ago
My 2 cents, steel is better, I've had wrist issues with an aluminum bike that I just don't get with the steel one. It seems to dampen and absorb the high frequency vibrations.
- toxik 8y ago
  The real solution to vibrations is a thoroughly damped bike, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39uwTykTQk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39uwTykTQk -- it features some next-generation thinking in its spring system.
- Fricken 8y ago
  I'm loyal to steel because of it's stiffness. It's almost twice a stiff as the next best material, and 20x as stiff as wood, according to the chart in the article. So I don't think wood is for me.
- halbritt 8y ago
  Generally speaking this stiffness is the result of the tube shapes necessary to achieve similar strength and stiffness of a steel frame while weighing less. A perfect example of this is the Cannondale CAD3. It had a massive downtube and huge (straight) seat stays as well. It was extraordinarily stiff and terribly unpleasant to ride, for most. Cannondale improved that to some degree by using S-shaped seat stays on the CAAD4 making the frame a less-efficient conductor of vibrations. Modern aluminum bikes use hydroformed tubes with optimized shapes and shouldn't really have these problems. Unless you're talking about something with an aluminum fork. That's just a cheap bike. Aluminum forks are terrible.
  - specialist 8y ago
    "hydroformed tubes" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WpGsJKVhZY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WpGsJKVhZY Thank you. I kinda always wondered how bike frames were made. This is really cool.
  - johnvanommen 8y ago
    It's rare to see a fork that's NOT aluminum. Even "carbon forks" are typically aluminum forks covered in carbon. Source : I've shortened a lot of forks.
    - halbritt 8y ago
      Eh... Most steerer tubes are aluminum for exactly the reason that you've shortened a lot of forks. In the field, Joe Mechanic is less likely to screw up an aluminum steerer vs. a carbon one. As to what's rare, hell if I know. Aluminum forks are fairly common on low to mid-tier bikes and the cheap ones tend to suck.
  - dsego 8y ago
    Yes, I'm talking about a cheap frame with an aluminum fork.
gameswithgo 8y ago
>I find aluminum is worse than steel. Try to do a blind test on yourself sometime, with the same tires and tire pressures. I don't notice "vibration" at any distance unless its nasty chip seal at which point nothing will save you short of a mountain bike.
- MrMid 8y ago
  I don't think you want to do a blind test on a bike.
  - mrob 8y ago
    You could wrap the tubes in cardboard tubes so you couldn't see what they were made from.
mrob 8y ago
I've done longer journeys that that on a steel frame touring bike with 1.5" tires and I didn't notice any problems with vibration. I think most people complaining about vibration are probably using excessively narrow tires.
anon_cow1111 8y ago
I've done a road trip more than 1000k on a ~$100 aluminum frame and vibration was never even a minor concern. If you're going at very high speed or constant rough ground I can see how it'll get you, but seat design and quality of shifting/braking components were by far the biggest factors.
mancis 8y ago
Great bikes! Ordered a frame form Materia bikes nearly 4 years ago. The bike is still in perfect condition and I am really enjoying it. If we are talking about bike stiffness and vibration damping - the front triangle (Top-tube, Bottom-tube, seat-tube) is made from solid wood, that is why I found the ride much smoother compared to my old carbon or aluminium bikes. - the rear triangle (seat-tube, chain-stay, seat-stay) is made from laminated wood so the rear end for the bike it is really stiff and hard, what is good for performance.
vanderZwan 8y ago
Is this assuming a racing bike or something? I biked 20km back and forth to school daily for six years, and 80km road trips are not something out of the ordinary. I don't think I've ever noticed anything about vibration. But that is in the countryside of the Netherlands, with flat terrain and good roads. The worst thing I ever had was stiff knees for a week after, from inflammations caused by biking in too high a gear for too long.

louisswiss 8y ago

We have quite a few wooden (I think mainly bamboo) bikes in Switzerland. I've never used one (they're quite bulky and expensive) but they are definitely common enough for people not to take notice of them when they cycle past.