Cycling UK Forum

With many bikes now coming with carbon forks, one of their claimed benefits is that they dampen road buzz. But what exactly is road buzz and how long have we been suffering from it?

I take it to mean the high-frequency vibration we get from road surfaces that have the chippings standing proud of the asphalt. I hear it from the tyres, more as a whirr than a buzz. Maybe I don't cycle fast enough.

horizon wrote: But what exactly is road buzz and how long have we been suffering from it?

To answer the second question first, we (that is, your everyday cyclist, rather than professional teams) have been suffering from "road buzz" ever since the "designers" of fashionable bikes designed out all the aspects of a traditional bike which insulated the rider from minor surface irregularities. You know, things like tyres wider than your thumb, head angles of less than 73 deg, light steel forks, fork offsets of more than an inch and three quarters. (I allow myself to lapse into English units of length at weekends, particularly after a glass of Rioja.)

So what is "road buzz" ? Well, now its a MARKETING OPPORTUNITY. Having done their best to inflict road buzz on all and sundry, the "designers" are now busy flogging us more stuff to moderate the effects of their dreadful bike design.

( Favourite definition....."a cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing". George Bernard Shaw, I believe, but that could be the Rioja. In any event, by that definition, I dont come even close.....I understand the value of a decent fork offset)

It was Oscar Wilde.

snibgo wrote:It was Oscar Wilde.

I feel sure he would forgive me. And the Rioja.

You can say it's marketing or you can say that it's just a way of coping with the really dreadful road conditions we have? the roads used to be a lot smoother.

In reality I'm sure it is a way of expressing that modern bikes are more comfortable to ride than aluminium bikes. Alu was the material a while ago, no rust, nice and lightweight. Until they realised it it wasn't very nice to make forks from.

gilesjuk wrote:Y the roads used to be a lot smoother.

Tarmac technology is SO much better these days - I can't believe you mean that!

horizon wrote:With many bikes now coming with carbon forks, one of their claimed benefits is that they dampen road buzz. But what exactly is road buzz and how long have we been suffering from it?

I thought I had road buzz, as my town bike is an old road bike with aluminium forks. The hands were almost numb after a long ride

But following several years of dreadful road buzz, I accidently passed a magnet across the aluminium forks and discovered they'd been traditional steel forks all along. I no longer have an issue with road buzz, as I now know the forks are steel

deliquium wrote:
Tarmac technology is SO much better these days - I can't believe you mean that!

When the road is brand new and unused yes. But not when it has been chewed up by cars and HGVs.

gilesjuk wrote:


When the road is brand new and unused yes. But not when it has been chewed up by cars and HGVs.

So roads weren't smoother before? Sorry gilesjuk - we wouldn't have roads if it weren't for the horrible motor cars - and the Tarmac we have is smoother in parts, because of improved technology.

As I get older and use increasingly fatter tyres to keep up with my waist - and have the joy of several sections of newly laid roads in rural North Wales - I rarely get road buzz.

deliquium wrote:So roads weren't smoother before? Tee hee! Sorry gilesjuk - we wouldn't have roads if it weren't for the horrible motor cars - and the Tarmac we have is smoother in parts, because of improved technology.

As I get older and use increasingly fatter tyres to keep up with my waist - and have the joy of several sections of newly laid roads in rural North Wales - I rarely get road buzz.

Due to vastly increased road usage it becomes much harder to close roads to resurface them. Often many roads just get a dressing of tar and chippings when the road is very uneven.

Nobody is saying roads should be for bicycles only, just that the amount of vehicles on the roads is increasing.

gilesjuk wrote:You can say it's marketing or you can say that it's just a way of coping with the really dreadful road conditions we have?

you can't go back in time to old roads with a modern bike. but you can ride an old bike on modern roads. i do just that, and i think colin's right

I get road bus from my light road bike with rock hard skinny tyres. My tourer with its 26x1 3/4 Paselas and gel saddle and Ergon grips just floats over it. Tar and chippings are the worst.

al_yrpal wrote:Tar and chippings are the worst.

Agreed. Our main road that I use a lot was done last September, it had hardly had chance to bed in when we had the really cold December, now it looks like a B road in Beirut.

It's absolutely terrible to ride on and that's coming from someone with 26 x 1.5" and 60psi, I can't imagine what it would be like on the rubber bands the Lycra brigade use.

531colin wrote:

horizon wrote: But what exactly is road buzz and how long have we been suffering from it?

To answer the second question first, we (that is, your everyday cyclist, rather than professional teams) have been suffering from "road buzz" ever since the "designers" of fashionable bikes designed out all the aspects of a traditional bike which insulated the rider from minor surface irregularities. You know, things like tyres wider than your thumb, head angles of less than 73 deg, light steel forks, fork offsets of more than an inch and three quarters. (I allow myself to lapse into English units of length at weekends, particularly after a glass of Rioja.)

So what is "road buzz" ? Well, now its a MARKETING OPPORTUNITY. Having done their best to inflict road buzz on all and sundry, the "designers" are now busy flogging us more stuff to moderate the effects of their dreadful bike design.

( Favourite definition....."a cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing". George Bernard Shaw, I believe, but that could be the Rioja. In any event, by that definition, I dont come even close.....I understand the value of a decent fork offset)

In the grey light of a wet Sunday morning, I stand by last night's rant about bike "designers".
I suppose the bike buying public should bear some portion of the blame, though, for two things in particular:-
1) driving ever downwards the amount they are prepared to spend
2) being seduced by light, shiny, sexy road bike lookalikes they havn't a cat in Hells chance of being comfortable on.