Originally Posted by big boy phil
Hey all you folder fanatics!!
I have signed up for the Cool Breeze Century taking place on 8/18 in Channel Islands, Ca.
This will be my first century ever attempted. My initial intentions were to do this on my road bike, but after the last few weeks of hard commuting on my Swift, I got the silly idea of doing the century on my folder!!
...
I feel that I may be lacking in both the high and low gears.
So I'm going to throw it out to the net and get some opinions from fellow small wheel riders.
GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For most centuries, the issue isn't gears, it's comfort. I like a nice balance between weight on the seat and weight on the hands. I am too upright on my DT Mini right now to consider a 1 hour plus ride, but I would consider riding a century on my DT VIIIH.
A century will probably take you 5 to 8 hours depending on how fast you ride. That's a long time to be on a bike. I normally figure you can easily ride 3 to 4 times farther than your average ride without major discomfort. My commute is about 10 km each way, so I could easily ride 30 to 40 km without additional trainining. If you want to ride 100 miles you should try and ride 25 to 40 miles several times in the weeks before the century.
Bike comfort is everything on long rides. Multiple hand positions are nice too, so when you get tired in one position you can move to another. I would recommend some sort of drop bars or long bar-ends with a curve or right angle out near the ends if you are riding flattish bars. Longer bar-ends are out of fashion right now, but they give you three distinct postions - normal on the bars, on the bar ends where they point out, and on the bar ends where they are more parallel to the handlebars. By comparison, the mini bar-ends that come on the DT VIIIH have only two positions, on the bars or on the bar-ends perpendicular to the handlebars. The DT Mini has no bar-ends on the stock bike which is why I added the Scott 4-Pro bars which have multiple positions.
I also like to be streatched out enought to get a reasonable weight distribution between butt and hands. The old rule of bike measures is that distance from the end of your saddle to your drop bars should be about the distance between your elbow and fingertips (a cubit) to be in the right position. For flat bars I like that to be a couple of inches more than that.
I don't see any reason why you shouldn't ride your Swift if it fits you. My first metric century was on an old Schwinn Varsity that weighted 40 pounds + and since I was used to riding it I had a great time!
The other thing I would worry about for Oxnard in August is water and hydration, so make sure you have a hydration pack or at least two water bottles. Rest stops are OK, but I find I do better if I don't stop too long. For me it is better to stop less and rest more by riding slower. Don't forget to keep eating either.
I think you will really enjoy your first century and it is definately a ride to remember and be proud of... The Swift should give you a psychological advantage since us small-wheelers know that most everyone else will think you are Superman for attempting a century on a kids bike!