Some frame materials scratch fairly easily -- carbon is probably among the easiest, along with bamboo.

Aluminum and titanium seem to be in the middle.

Hardened steels would probably be near the top.

What are the numbers though? Exactly how soft and scratchable is carbon?

There are several different hardness scales. Does anyone have hardness ratings for any of the frame materials?

It's surprising this isn't more of a consideration for those buying multi-thousand dollar carbon frames, when it is a major concern or consideration in smartphone and jewelry design, even at the less expensive levels. It relates to how well they keep their looks over time -- how well they hold up to abuse and accidents, and to typical daily use and wear and tear.

Exactly how much difference between frame materials? Is 953 harder or softer than the latest Gorilla Glass, quartz or topaz?

Paint and clear coat is going to get scratched before the frame

I don't think you're really too concerned about scratches, as opposed to the implications of scratches.

Steel or Ti or Al get scratched...so what? Shed a tear and get out the touch up paint, buffer etc. Other materials may have different implications.

For your reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_s...neral_hardness

a lot of carbon bikes are sporting matte paint these days, and I feel like matte paint on anything is prone to showing marks.

I don't wear my bicycle daily, nor do I keep it inside my pocket. What do phone and jewelry finishes have to do with paint on a bike? It gets ridden and washed more than my car. And as mentioned, if all you're worried about is appearance over time you should be more worried about the quality of the paint finish rather than the hardness of the material beneath the paint.

Who cares, really. Scratches show character. If the bike is still going strong in 20 years it gets renamed from scratches to patina. I love me some patina

To put it as succinctly as possible: I don't think your question is wrong, but it is the wrong question.

I mean, I've worn a hole in a CAAD9's chainstay with my heel. If you ride enough **** just happens.

Also I've certainly done more crash damage to metal frames than to carbon frames. Provided a tube doesn't take a direct impact on something or someone my experience is that carbon is much more resilient than aluminum and any crash that would kill a carbon frame is going to kill a metal frame as well. AND you can usually have your carbon frame repaired!

Glass.

Best frame material - very scratch resistant.

I should show you my phone.

I like my diamond frame.

Lonsdaleite

Probably no better or worse than any auto on the market. They are both clear coated. People worry about the strangest things.

You should see mine. Had it in a pocket while I was running a couple days ago, it fell out and landed on the sidewalk. Now it's in a ziplock bag until I replace it so I don't get glass shards in my thumb.

The Mohs Scale of Hardness for Metals

Here is a list of the hardness grades for some of the metals that you are most likely to come across in your everyday life...:
•Lead: 1.5
•Tin: 1.5
•Zinc: 2.5
•Gold: 2.5-3
•Silver: 2.5-3
•Aluminum: 2.5-3
•Copper: 3
•Brass: 3
•Bronze: 3
•Nickel: 4
•Platinum: 4-4.5
•Steel: 4-4.5
•Iron: 4.5
•Palladium: 4.75
•Rhodium: 6
•Titanium: 6
•Hardened steel: 7-8
•Tungsten: 7.5
•Tungsten carbide: 8.5-9

Why It Is Important to Know the Hardness of Metals

When the German geologist Friedrich Mohs devised the scale of hardness that we use today, he used a simple principle to determine the grade for each material: Which materials can scratch it, and which materials it can scratch.

corundum

C'mon guys, do you really like to see your frame get scratched?

Or does it bug you?

Just a lil bit? Maybe?

Kind of?

Real world here.

Do you have a reaction, just a bit maybe?

Be honest.

What does frame material have to do with it though?

My frames are painted and clear coated, or powder coated. That's what gets scratched, not the material underneath, unless I do something really bad.

So the glass on my watch can scratch a steel bike.

Steels vary quite a bit, from 4.5 (butter knives and soft mild steels) all the way to 8.5 for the hardest hardened steels.

Glass varies quite a bit too....

So what frame do you own and why?

Sapphire is 9. Watch glass is still harder than the toughest steel frame.

I have most of the frame materials, just recently carbon. No bamboo, no stainless, although I admire 953, partly because it doesn't need paint and is probably the most scratch and damage resistant of all the major frame materials. There are pictures on the steel or titanium thread of a 953 bike that is a jewel. Any frame material that excels at keeping its beauty and freshness and shine, and remains scratch free through the years and the decades gets my attention.

And before someone says that bikes and jewels are totally different, it's clear that many people like their bike frames in much the same way. Beauty matters to them, and scratches are not good points in their minds or perceptions.

I also have a beater that I like precisely because I can be free with it and lean it against all kinds of things, and feel little or no pain when it gets scratched....

My fame is made of carbonite. Where is that on the scale?