the "sound" of carbon

[Bob Ross]

(hijacked from another thread)

I don't think aluminum and carbon fiber actually feel that much different, but they SOUND different (like when you go over bumps or on rough pavement) and that SOUND makes it SEEM like it feels different.

I've noticed a characteristic sound of my carbon frame (Cannondale Synapse) that I also noticed rather blatantly when I test rode a Kestrel Talon SL, and, to a lesser extent, a Giant TCR & an S-Works Tarmac: It's like a "clattering" or almost a wooden "clackety-clack" when I ride over very rough pavement.

Anyone else notice this? Is it literally the sound of the frame vibrating, or is it indicative of some loose component rattling *against* the frame?

 

[DiabloScott]

(hijacked from another thread)

I've noticed a characteristic sound of my carbon frame (Cannondale Synapse) that I also noticed rather blatantly when I test rode a Kestrel Talon SL, and, to a lesser extent, a Giant TCR & an S-Works Tarmac: It's like a "clattering" or almost a wooden "clackety-clack" when I ride over very rough pavement.

Anyone else notice this? Is it literally the sound of the frame vibrating, or is it indicative of some loose component rattling *against* the frame?

I think it's an echo of road noise being transfered from the wheels to the dropouts. The speed of sound in a material is pretty much related to it's density and the echo effect is related to the material hardness. Carbon fiber probably absorbs more of the high frequency noise leaving a lower-pitched sound to echo inside the tubes. Hard metals echo a fuller profile of the noise.

Or maybe I'm full of it.

 

[John M]

(hijacked from another thread)



I've noticed a characteristic sound of my carbon frame (Cannondale Synapse) that I also noticed rather blatantly when I test rode a Kestrel Talon SL, and, to a lesser extent, a Giant TCR & an S-Works Tarmac: It's like a "clattering" or almost a wooden "clackety-clack" when I ride over very rough pavement.

Anyone else notice this? Is it literally the sound of the frame vibrating, or is it indicative of some loose component rattling *against* the frame?

I have ridden a Kestrel for 13 years. I agree with DS that it is the echo of every little noise (road, cables rattling, chain bouncing, etc...) through the carbon frame.

 

[531Aussie]

Yeah, alu definitely makes a differnent sound to steel. I figure it's at least partly because of the stiffness of aluminium, causing more road vibrations to reverberate through the frame.

The biggest difference is the sound of cables hitting the frame. With alu, it's a dull "tonk", but with steel, it's a pleasant "ting", almost like a tuning fork