And Sheldon goes into a lot of detail about various metal frames and dismisses carbon frames as unsuitable for touring, which may be the case. But there is more to it than stiffness. If you tap a steel frame vs. an aluminum frame vs. a carbon frame you get three different sounds, each progressively duller. Since the medium of sound transmission is essentially plastic resin in the case of the carbon frame, more is absorbed, hence the duller sound. If you hang a bare steel frame on a string and tap it, it will ring like a bell. Not so a carbon frame.
There is more to this than Modulus and Yield point
Have you ridden another bike with exactly the same components and frame geometry, except steel or aluminium framed? If not, sorry I’m not interested. Even if you had, I’d next ask if you’ve done it blind (ie not knowing which bike you are riding). Different bikes feel very different to ride. All you have to do is change the handlebars and seat and they’ll feel different. The question is whether, all else being equal, frame material has effects as sometimes assumed.
As to tapping the frame, vibration at audible frequencies has stuff all to do with absorption of road shock. Not only that, but if you look at the post to which I was responding, it is aluminium that has the reputation for being stiffest, yet as you say it “rings” the least.
Christ, did it ever occur to you that composites are different than metal alloys? They are an entirely different animal. It is like concrete. Under compression, concrete does fine, but under tension or flexion or torsion or any other ion, it crumbles. Add some rebar however…
Composite materials are neither fish nor fowl and they don’t act like homogeneous materials. EVEN SHELDON ADMITS THAT THE ONLY WAY PROGRESS CAN OCCUR IS WITH NEW MATERIALS LIKE CF. He dismisses them as premature for TOURING, and really offers no opinion other than that they are not proven for TOURING. Hell-oo-oo, I am doing short fitness rides, so what he has to say has “stuff all” about what I am into.
As far as whether resonance at audible frequencies has “stuff all” to do with ride comfort, all I can say is that the CF seems to eat up the surprisingly high frequency vibrations that are set up when everything on the bike wants to sing. Sir, have you ever ridden a carbon frame?
Sheldon has a lot of good advice, rest his wonderful soul, he sounds like he was a wonderful guy, and I agree with most of what he has to say through my own experience, and certainly learned a few things. I thank you for introducing me to the website. He may be right as far as various metals are concerned, but he really has nothing to say about CF bikes.