How heavy is your bike when doing a 100 mile day ride?

[in4]

I'm musing on doing a charity day ride later this year. Sense tells me to do the 50 mile option but ego tells me to do the 100! Assuming i've got the legs for it, what's your gut feeling re doing the 100 mile option on a bike weighing 16kg? Would you be happy with that sort of weight or would you trim a bit off if  possible? Oh, I'm 80kgs so not too much of a pie-eater but blessed with the odd ounce of lard here and there

[DAntrim]

The 100 mile option would depend on if there was a time limit involved, and the 'average speed' you can achieve, though shaving a few pounds of the bike would make both easier getting up the hills ......

I ride the 50 mile Liverpool - Chester charity event and they introduced the 100 mile option. I ride part of that on my daily commute, I wouldn't tackle the 100 miles in the 7hrs which is allocated - leave that to the whippets.

Carlos

[jags]

Well if you can knock a few kg off the bike then why not.i done 110 miles on the sherpa with rear panniers  few years back  no problem at all but yeah pretty knackered when i got back home .
have a great ride  just make certain you have plenty of the right food energy drinks and gels.,

anto.

[brummie]

I think firstly be honest about your own fitness & secondly don't worry too much about the weight of your bike, too many people & the cycling media in particularly are too obsessed with lightness. I've ridden numerous 100+ mile rides on "not light"  bikes, even carrying camping gear. Comfort is key, along with pacing. A heavy bike maybe slower than a lighter one up hills, but if your gearing is low enough you can still get to the top relatively easily, on the flat & down hill there will be less of a disadvantage.

[geocycle]

I do a hilly 100 miles once a year first on my old RT and now RST. Both are relatively heavy but the RST is about 1 kg lighter. To be honest I don't notice the difference, I'm slow on both! The only time I struggled was when I had two full panniers.

[mickeg]

Is this ride on a bunch of hills or reasonably flat and level?

Do they have adequate food stations along the route? 

Will the weather cooperate?  Of course you have no clue on this, but there are long term averages, is likely temperature range something that you would not find to be problematic?

Are your tires good easy rolling ones that won't suck up all your energy?

I try to eat about 200 to 250 calories per hour when on a long ride.  Helps a lot.  I would check my tire pressure the day before to make sure it is in the range I want it.

Regarding weight, of my questions above, only the first one is critical regarding the weight of your bike, if it is pretty flat the weight of your bike does not matter.  A friend of mine just rode about 3,000 miles on a touring bike with 35mm wide tires.  No gear on the bike, they had van support.  But his friends with 25mm wide tires had many flats and he had very few with his wider tires.  He was happy he took his touring bike instead of his lighter bike with skinny tires.

[Danneaux]

Hi Ian!

Assuming there aren't a lot of hills, I don't think a heavy bike will be much of a detriment to you on a Century ride. Once up to speed they just roll along if you do. Weight is a factor in hills and if you accelerate/start/stop frequently, moreso if the wheels are real heavy. My Nomad weighs 20kg dry, and I find it no trouble to do regular 200km/125mi rides on it, though my times aren't as good because it tempts me to go off on gravel side roads and dirt. If I stay to pavement, then my hundred-mile time is pretty consistent at around 5 hours 50 minutes in mixed terrain if I put my head down and go and don't stop.

My rando bikes are 14.5kg dry and they're what I have and use for 200, 300, and 400km day rides including in sustained climbs (there is one long 5% grade for 53 miles going up to Santiam Pass in the Cascades and it is a haul). The rando bikes are more pavement oriented (32-34mm tires, either Bontrager road slicks or Paselas) and lighter, so I tend to take them for the really long rides which are also on pavement. If there's much rough stuff (heavy rock ballast, logging roads) then I take the Nomad with its 26x2.0 Duremes. The thing that makes the choice is not so much the weight or distance, but the surface.

On both bikes, on day rides in summer here I usually carry my rack pack with a wind jacket, and perhaps my small spirit stove kit and some energy bars, and each bike has minimal tools in an underseat bag along with patch kits and a spare tube. I typically carry about 3 liters of water with me and refill completely if it is over 37°C.

I'm not far off your weight at 78kg and have my pie packed on to the "corners" near my kidneys. As to making the bike lighter, I think I'd look at what I really needed. Water weight is my biggest offender, followed by food and some means to prepare it, then clothing. My complete rain gear weighs 1kg (Generously vented waterproof jacket with hood, waterproof/breathable helmet cover, Gore-Tex pants, neoprene booties, and Gore-Tex gloves), so that stays home if is is to be truly dry for the duration, but sometimes the weather is drastically different 50-100 miles away and at altitude, so I often pack it anyway. If it is a charity ride and your bike is already in good shape, you'll not need many tools. If there are water stations, you can scrimp there. Otherwise, I don't think you can do much to lighten your present bike enough to make a difference. If you were to change to a lightweight road or Audax/randonneur bike, yes - you'd definitely notice a difference, but I can't imagine the extra weight of your bike being the deciding factor in doing the Hundred or not.

I agree with everything Brummie wrote: Fitness, comfort, and pacing are really more important. All the points made by others are sound as well.

In DanneauxWorld, a 16kg bike is not bad for putting in the bigger miles.

All best wishes to you on your effort, Ian. For charity!

Dan.

[JimK]

I try to eat about 200 to 250 calories per hour when on a long ride.

One of my favorite road snacks is a whole grain baguette from which I can munch a few inches per hour!

Another thing that seems to help is to mix some sports electrolytes into my water bottles, e.g.

http://www.emergenc.com/products#specialty-formulas.electromix

[in4]

Many thanks for all your helpful comments. With these in mind I'll stick with my bike's current set up. Its not too heavy, its very comfortable and rollls well on my Marathon Supremes. There will be pit-stops on my proposed run but I'll carry my own fuel anyway. I'm a terrible one for thinking 'I'll just get to X before I eat/drink' so I'll have to make a conscious and sensible effort to fuel en route. Much munching on malt loaf, nuts, bananas etc awaits. Thanks again.

[Peejay]

Hi Ian,

It's a bit of a mental thing - you've got to want to do it!

Last year when training for my LeJog ride - I did several 80 to 105 mile rides on my Raven with F & R rear panniers filled with bodybuilding weights, the bike weighed approximatley 30kgs loaded up and I averaged around 12 mph. I'm no lightweight at 18 stones too, but have cycled all my life.

Just go for it - on a 16kg bike you'll be OK. As others have said - bike fit and saddle comfort is the most important. Eat normal food and concentrate on drinking enough water.

Good luck - you'll do it!

Pete.