On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:14:16 GMT, Jose Rizal <_@_._> wrote:
>Ed Chait:
>
>>
>> "Gearóid Ó Laoi/Garry Lee" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
>>
news:[email protected]...
>> > Frame material makes no difference at all to comfort. Full stop.
>> >
>>
>> It makes a great deal of difference in regards to transmission of high frequency vibration to
>> the rider.
>
Gee ....to fan the flames or not...
sadly gonna have to come down on the fan side...
Before I say anything else ... I do not know of ANY studies on this subject specifically related
to cycling, neither in identifying and quantifying "road buzz" as a vibration source, nor in
measuring vibration in a bicycle...
To make matters more fun, asking someone to define or quantify "comfort" is silly... you may as
well ask what is the best colour?
There is a great deal of information on the vibration
dampening/transmission qualities of differing materials..
(heck there are whole scientific fields based around that principle)
(there is an interesting but not too readable chart on page two here
http://silver.neep.wisc.edu/~lakes/VEHierCmp.pdf )
(okay so if you want to argue that start here)
Next..
There is no small amount of medical information regarding the effects of both high and low
frequency vibrations on health. (OHAS now has standards for exposure/and protective gloves)
specifically due to something they call Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome.
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board as recently identified "whole body vibration" and
"Segmental Vibration" as contributing factors to "Raynaud's syndrome ...shoulder problems, low
back pain, stomach disorders, general fatigue, and irritability" (these would certainly affect MY
comfort) amongst heavy machinery operators. They go so far as to specifically recommend
"Equipment controls should have vibration-reducing material built into the grips. "
(OK so if ya wanna argue with that start here)
Now comes the undocumented bits... and this part you can scrap about...
I think I would be correct to say that everyone who has ridden road knows there is a difference
between riding on freshly laid asphalt and on a surface that is much older. The feel is quite
different ... and the difference is vibration.
As I said there is no scientific test that I know of that shows exact frequencies or
amplitudes(1), but realistically does that really matter? If you can feel the change it is there
..after all you don't need the thermometer to tell you if you're cold.
So ...
1) you do feel vibration from the road surface when you ride.
2) vibration does have an effect on your body.
3) Different materials transmit or dampen vibration differently.
It is far more accurate to say that frame material CAN affect comfort than it is to say it does not.
I'll not deny that there are other factors that have a greater effect (far greater in some cases),
but to dismiss the idea outright is wrong.
(if anyone is interested in underwriting a test I figure I can put one together for about 5K all
that is needed is a few accelerometers and a data collector... though I would need people to
volunteer frames, there might be some marring where the accelerometers were mounted.)
