What Bike for long distance rides?

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vorsprung

Veteran
Location
Devon
What does he want to do after LEL? That is as big a factor as any IMO.

I remember having a beer was my #1 priority after LEL
 
Obviously you can ride any distance on any bike but it is easier and more pleasant to ride long distances at a steady pace on a bike other than a full on racing road bike or a shopper or a BMX.

it's 'easier and more pleasant' to ride those distances on a bike you can be comfortable on. There's no reason why 'full on' racing bikes should be excluded from that...
 

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
I don't understand what you've got against steel. I'd also throw titanium into the mix. I've done rides approaching the 250 mile mark in under a day on a mainly carbon Giant and a titanium Planet X. I wasn't uncomfortable on the Giant but I was much more comfortable on the Ti bike. From what I've heard the ride comfort on steel is even better than Ti.

Not in my experience. Ti frame + CF forks (VN Yukon) soaks up the bumps much better than my 531ST frame & fork Galaxy.

That said... Whilst the Yukon would definitely be the ride of choice for my LEL, if it were (heaven forbid) written off or stolen the day before, the Galaxy, although 24 years old, would be perfectly adequat, and I've done long rides on both. The distances between saddle, bars and pedals are pretty similar on the two bikes, although the angles are "softer" on the Galaxy.
 

Rob3rt

Man or Moose!
Location
Manchester
TBH, if you are planning on being a bit of a long distance fiend, Vorsprung, PpPete and Frank9755 are probably pretty good authorities to go to for advice with bike choice, that is who I would be asking!
 
U

User6179

Guest
it's 'easier and more pleasant' to ride those distances on a bike you can be comfortable on. There's no reason why 'full on' racing bikes should be excluded from that...

Maybe for you this is true but for others the statement is most definately untrue, I simply cant get the handlebars high enough on on bikes with small head tubes !
On bikes with longer head tubes I still have to flip the stem and tilt the handlebars upward to get my prefered position!
 

vorsprung

Veteran
Location
Devon
it's 'easier and more pleasant' to ride those distances on a bike you can be comfortable on. There's no reason why 'full on' racing bikes should be excluded from that...

I've ridden the Bryan Chapman Memorial 600km audax on an Orbea Gavia racing bike, an old SJS cycles touring bike, a custom Ti bike and a Specialized Roubaix.

For comparison sake, consider the Custom Ti bike and the Orbea

Orbea: Aluminium frame, 25mm tyres, no mudguard at the back, useless clip on mudguard at the front, normal race geometry

Ti bike: Ti frame, 28mm tyres, full mudguards, long head tube and short top tube

Both bikes had gears from approx 100" to 30"

The Ti bike was more comfortable because it was designed to do that sort of ride. The bigger tyres give a smoother ride over rough roads. The mudguards keep the dirt off you. The more relaxed geometry is easier on the body. Titanium soaks up more road noise than Aluminium

The Orbea is faster but any ride over about 50km I would definitely prefer the Ti bike.

I'm not "excluding" racing bikes. But in my experience, riding these sort of distances is easier on a bike with features that racing bikes do not have. A lot of people say that riding long distances is as much a mental discipline as a physical one. So feeling it's an easy ride can make the difference between getting there or giving up
 
U

User6179

Guest
I've ridden the Bryan Chapman Memorial 600km audax on an Orbea Gavia racing bike, an old SJS cycles touring bike, a custom Ti bike and a Specialized Roubaix.

For comparison sake, consider the Custom Ti bike and the Orbea

Orbea: Aluminium frame, 25mm tyres, no mudguard at the back, useless clip on mudguard at the front, normal race geometry

Ti bike: Ti frame, 28mm tyres, full mudguards, long head tube and short top tube

Both bikes had gears from approx 100" to 30"

The Ti bike was more comfortable because it was designed to do that sort of ride. The bigger tyres give a smoother ride over rough roads. The mudguards keep the dirt off you. The more relaxed geometry is easier on the body. Titanium soaks up more road noise than Aluminium

The Orbea is faster but any ride over about 50km I would definitely prefer the Ti bike.

I'm not "excluding" racing bikes. But in my experience, riding these sort of distances is easier on a bike with features that racing bikes do not have. A lot of people say that riding long distances is as much a mental discipline as a physical one. So feeling it's an easy ride can make the difference between getting there or giving up

Ok so basically the bike made for comfort over speed is more comfortable than a bike made for speed over comfort !:whistle:
 

zigzag

Veteran
my input for what it's worth. when i decided to ride lel i didn't know much about bikes and internet forums. so after some research online, came to a conclusion that a suitable bike for lel would be some 531c steel racer capable to accept full mudguards (which is what i bought). there were a lot of praise for brooks saddles, so i got that as well. i managed to get around lel, but only just, and my body was aching everywhere - especially knees, achilles, lower back and arse. was it the bike's fault - no, i was simply unfit to ride such a distance, irrespective of bike.
fast forward to last summer, i rode 1200km in good comfort on an aggressive geometry race bike, and there were no aches or pains after the ride, just general fatigue, which is kinda normal. and again, it wasn't the bike that made me "comfortable" - i was much fitter last year than before lel.
now - i haven't ridden much during last three months (elbow surgery, holidays etc.) and did 200km ride last saturday on the same bike. my knees, achilles and lower back are still sore - and it's already tuesday!

so my conclusion - comfort depends on rider's fitness, and not a bike (although correctly set up bike is important).
 
U

User6179

Guest
my input for what it's worth. when i decided to ride lel i didn't know much about bikes and internet forums. so after some research online, came to a conclusion that a suitable bike for lel would be some 531c steel racer capable to accept full mudguards (which is what i bought). there were a lot of praise for brooks saddles, so i got that as well. i managed to get around lel, but only just, and my body was aching everywhere - especially knees, achilles, lower back and arse. was it the bike's fault - no, i was simply unfit to ride such a distance, irrespective of bike.
fast forward to last summer, i rode 1200km in good comfort on an aggressive geometry race bike, and there were no aches or pains after the ride, just general fatigue, which is kinda normal. and again, it wasn't the bike that made me "comfortable" - i was much fitter last year than before lel.
now - i haven't ridden much during last three months (elbow surgery, holidays etc.) and did 200km ride last saturday on the same bike. my knees, achilles and lower back are still sore - and it's already tuesday!

so my conclusion - comfort depends on rider's fitness, and not a bike (although correctly set up bike is important).

Ok if this statement is true then riding lejog on a bmx will be comfortable if your fit ! :wacko:
 

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Gosh there's been some junk posted on this thread:-

does a comfort bike exist? - of course it does in the same way that a hybrid, a MTB, a Trail bike, etc, etc exist - they are whatever the manufacturer chooses to define as such and it's just a handy label - if you're looking for a bike then it's easier to be able to narrow down your search

As for which bike is right for you and your needs, you may not know that until you have a few hundred miles under your belt and it may vary depending on how your fitness levels vary. As ZigZag says above your fitness and core body strength are a huge part of comfort. If you get a full on race machine and have it set up in a position that is comfortable...that will only stay comfortable as long as you are able to maintain the correct posture with minimal effort. Once you lose that posture even the best fitting bike in the world can become excruciating.

A good reason that the 'comfort' range of bikes has become more popular is not just that it enables Mamils to feel like they're on full road bikes. It's because they are more conducive to a setup that allows for longer distances, in comfort, with a lower level of core fitness. It's a combination of what your physical limits are and how much the bike will do for you. Bigger tyres at lower pressure may be/feel slower over a shorter distance but may end up faster on a long distance as they reduce the energy you need to expend on holding your posture and reacting to road conditions. A lot of distance cyclists also prefer being able to fit full mudguards and being able to carry luggage via a rack.

If you're fit enough you'll get round LeL on any bike setup correctly for you, if you're not fit enough then a more aggressive position will see you feeling the pain sooner. Personally I'd choose the bike based on three criteria:-

1. how fit you're prepared to get in preparation
2. if you want to be able to fit racks and guards
3. what you want to be doing with the bike longer term
 

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
Ok if this statement is true then riding lejog on a bmx will be comfortable if your fit ! :wacko:
While I'll let zigzag answer for himself, I will say for what it's worth that when it comes to long distance riding the people I ask for advice are zigzag, frank9755 and arallsopp. :biggrin:
 

Zakalwe

Well-Known Member
+1 for what MacB said. I'd put a lot of emphasis on point 3, long term intentions.

I'd be inclined to suggest that if you don't know what bike you want to ride an Audax on, you probably don't know if you will actually like doing an Audax. If that's the case, is a 1400km, 4 day jaunt really the best way to find out? There's plenty of shorter rides to be done while finding out what suits you.
 
U

User6179

Guest
While I'll let zigzag answer for himself, I will say for what it's worth that when it comes to long distance riding the people I ask for advice are zigzag, frank9755 and arallsopp. :biggrin:

What I was trying to say is it doesnt matter how fit you are if the bike isnt right then you will not be comfortable and reading zigzags post again i dont think he is disagreeing with that but in his opinion he puts fitness ahead of geometry where I would say you need both .
 
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