road Buzz, best bang for buck

gazhilla

I have been suffering some severe road buzz on my caad 8 due in the most to not enough hours on it, old injusries mean my elbows are pretty ruined so after 50 miles they build up a bit of pain.
Now I have changed tyres to conti gp4000s in 25mm and it helps a little but thinking of changing to carbon forks to help or possibly change the front wheel.
Open to ideas really as I have a charity 170 miler to do in three weeks...

declan1

Carbon forks should make a huge difference. Also try double bar tape or at least thicker/gel tape.

iPete

Carbons forks + carbon seat post

imposter2.0

What psi is in your tyres ?

vmaxphil

try padded mitts or bike fit to get less weight on your arms
phil

gazhilla

thanks all, the bike fit is spot on, just the injuries though I suppose I could flip the stem and try it.

itboffin

Carbon seatpost on my alu bikes for me was the most noticeable that and making sure my position was balanced so I didnt have too much forward weight on the bars.

declan1

gazhilla wrote:

thanks all, the bike fit is spot on, just the injuries though I suppose I could flip the stem and try it.

If the bike fit is perfect don't go messing with the stem. It'll just end up putting everything else out of place.

Paul E

Tyres, bigger the better for killing high frequency vibrations

Anonymous

Latex tubes?

declan1

Carbonator wrote:

Latex tubes?

Probably not a good idea for a 170 mile ride.

NITR8s

I would suggest a new bike, but then thats my answer to everything.

Seriously though you should consider a bike that has carbon forks and a carbon rearstay. When I bought I bike with this setup I couldnt beleive how much smoother, every single road was.

By the way you dont even need to spend much for bike with a carbon rearstay.
Triban 7 comes in at only £599
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-7-road-bike-black-id_8239802.html

itsnotarace

The fork on your CAAD8 is already carbon, it just has an alu steerer. Let a bit of air out of your tyres and consider re-wrapping your bars with some padded tape, or tape with gel inserts underneath

declan1 wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Latex tubes?

Probably not a good idea for a 170 mile ride.

Explain? Do you think it will leak all it's air out during that 1 ride?

hipshot

Best bang for buck? Reduce tyre pressure and double up the tape on the flats.

Anonymous

declan1 wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Latex tubes?

Probably not a good idea for a 170 mile ride.

Good point.

Latex tubes + pump?

Anonymous

Perhaps a carbon pump

declan1

Carbonator wrote:

Perhaps a carbon pump

:P

racingcondor

Tyres was a good start apart from using Conti's (I love to hate Conti's, best all rounder on the UK's awful roads but the ride is harsh). Vittoria Pave with latex tubes would still be tough and quite abit smoother.

I got tennis elbow the moment I started using Brooks leather tape (shame really as it last forever). Moved back to Fizik Microtex and it went so my vote for a cheap fix is bar tape.

If you really want something plush then Lizardskinz DSP really has a very nice thick feel to it. Wrap that with some cloth tape underneath.

Bar Shaker

A metal bike will always transfer high frequency vibration, it is one of the properties of almost all metals.

A carbon seat post won't help as the carbon has to be so thick to take the clamp loads that it won't loose the high frequencies. Also the exposed length is relatively short. Compare the sound of a flick on a seat post with a flicked finger on a carbon downtube.

If the buzz is a problem for you and lower pressure in 25 section tyres doesn't help, then you should consider changing away from an aluminium frame to a carbon one. I am running Vittoria Open Corsa Evo tyres which are 320 tpi rated. They are very smooth but so were my GP4000S tyres. A gel saddle and double thick gel bar tape may also help.

If it gets to the point where you are getting 'white finger' or tingling in your fingers, then you should seek medical attention. You can cause permanent damage to your blood vessels if you ignore this. Exposure to vibration is a big health issue at work these days and there are very strict limits as to what I can expose my workforce to. No such limits apply to cycling.

A frame that transmits high frequency vibration will be like sitting/gripping onto a Power Plate for x hours. Not an ideal way to perform on long rides.

gazhilla

Thanks all, double wrapped the bars and feels better. Caad8 will have to stay for now but eyes are set on full carbon new mitts ordered too.

Anonymous

declan1 wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

Perhaps a carbon pump

:P

Thanks declan. Have been meaning to get a mini pump with flexible hose for a while and seeing the carbon one made me pull my finger out.

Went for the non carbon version in the end as carbon one can only go to 90 psi.
Its only slightly heavier, a lot cheaper and I think nicer looking too.