Peter_B

First climb after the winery was steeper than Kiler Canyon and much shorter.

lenos

[QUOTE=Bjbusa;18580016]Thanks for all the info guys. I'm signed up for the 100 miler.

So since I can't do that much to change the chainring sizes, sounds like I need an 8 speed 11x34. I have never seen a Dura Ace larger than 12x28....so any suggestions as to what 11x34 cassette will fit my Eddy Merckx Team 7-Eleven Dura Ace rear wheel!! I thought about Shimano 600, Ultegra....but no luck.

There is probably a Shiman omountain bike cassette that will fit and work perfectly. Deore or Deore XT from that era.

rccardr 

Correct, Shimano makes them in several grades:
New Shimano HG41 8 Speed 11 34T Cassette with KMC x8 93 Chain 8 Speed | eBay includes a nice new KMC chain, cost = about $35 shipped. Many others on eBay for less but getting a new chain is also nice. However, this would still require a switch to a different RD as the 740X DA RD will only pull up to about a 28.

What I don't understand is why it would be so hard to change the crankset? For example, this compact will fit on the existing bottom bracket & would take, oh, maybe ten minutes to install: Sugino XD2R Road Bike Crankset 50 34T 172 5mm 110BCD Silver JIS Square Taper | eBay . It's also a screaming deal at $75 or so shipped. Add a new 12/28 8 speed cassette (an 11 won't work because of the freehub design but you could juggle the cogs and spacers to add the 28) and you're gold. Larger rear cog and smaller chainring means you can probably use the existing chain.

So for about $100, you'd get exactly the kind of gearing you need, which can be removed for future use. That's about the same price as the entry fee.

Bikegeek1968

It looks like the short but steep climb after the winery has been eliminated from the route. There are a few other changes as well. Kiler Canyon remains the hardest climb in my opinion. Last year I cleared it with a bit of effort in a 42x30 on a Mavic SSC group. As long as you can carry some speed and get a clear line, it is not too tough. The problem is that it is a bit lumpy with baby head cobble, and the good line can only fit one bike at a time. Last year we followed a van up the hill while it was taking video and pictures. You can see us in the vid grinding it up the climb. (Black, red and white GS Quaranta jerseys, we are alos on the Eroica CA home page)

lotsabikes

My buddies and I went down a month ago and test rode most of the 67km route. Aptly named "Killer" Canyon Road was brutal because of the sticky clay mud. Most of us were on modern road bikes, most with compact cranks' 12/28 cassettes, 25C tires and very little mud clearance. We stopped many times to clear mud as our front tires jammed at the fork. Worst was a guy with 28Cs and virtually no mud clearance - he stopped ~20 times to clear mud with a twig. One of us had a cross bike with an easy a 24x28 gear and loads of room for mud clearance plus 28C tires and even that bike got stuck once with a jammed front wheel. The other "gravel" climbs were slick with thin layer of clay mud but not as deep and clingy as the initial Kiler Canyon. The roads really are not gravel, they are clay dirt. It did not rain while we were riding, but it had rained two days before. If there has been any rain in Paso Robles early in April may I suggest that you dig up an old touring bike with cantilever brakes, 1-1/4in wide tires and a triple!

thunderworks

An era appropriate Shimano Crane GS rear derailleur is a wonderful option to handle large cogs in back. They show up on eBay periodically. It will work with freewheels and cassettes through 7 speed - not sure about 8, 9 or 10 speed.

Classtime 

We still have 3 months to prepare. That is 4 blocks of training to get ready for the climbing and the "vintage" roads EROICA CA to me is kind of like taking the dogs for a walk. I have a vintage bike that needs to get out for a ride and smell some other vintage butt. My bike is not interested in visiting with triplizers and 1:1 gearing.

obrentharris 

Let's not get too carried away here with the predictions of doom.

I'm 65 years old and did the Coastal Route last year with C-Record 39-28 gearing without walking. I'm a fit cyclist but I'm certainly not Andy Hampsten.

As for tires, I used tubular Challenge Paris Roubaix tires with no problem. I carried 2 spares (If I had been on clinchers I would have brought 2 spare tubes) but needed neither.

Rims overheating and melting the rim cement? That's a new one on me. Perhaps someone from an area with only small hills might find the descents on this ride intimidating but someone who rides regularly in mountainous territory may find them disappointingly short.

I actually found this to be a fine and tiring "Sunday Fun Ride" but then I only logged about 7,000 feet of climbing on The Coastal Route in contrast to the 10,000 feet mentioned in the gloom and doom post.

I do agree with the "Heed the advice and warning at your peril."

My Eroica Bike:



Brent

jimincalif

A friend loaned me a bike for this last year, we did the coastal route. He did set it up with a triple, I think my low gear was 28-32, and I was darned glad to have it. The Cypress Mountain climb is tough, lots of people were walking. I did not walk, but as I neared the top I was giving it some thought. Then I saw the photographer, so pride kept me cranking.

I rode on 28mm clinchers and they were adequate. I would have liked to go wider to run lower pressure, but they would not fit. I felt pretty beat up after the ride.

I did reach the limits of my brakes at one point heading down from Cypress Mtn to Cambria, I'm about 205#. I did not lose control but I remember thinking if I'd come into that stretch any faster I might have been in trouble.

Definitely not doom and gloom, I enjoyed the ride and may do it again sometime. At the end of the day I had two regrets felt in my butt and my feet. I should have used my Specialized saddle from my road bike. I wore some sort of Sketchers soccer shoes and the soles were way too flexible, I used my platform pedals and toe clips from my old Trek 850 , but my feet were killing me the last 25 miles. Notwithstanding "the rules", I saw a number of other riders using their modern day clipless pedals and shoes. I might do the same. I used to wear old style leather shoes with slotted steel cleats, but that was back in the 70s and they are long gone.

Low gears, wide tires, stiff soled shoes and train for climbing and descending. Then you should have a great time.

Barrettscv 

I actually find the advice here to be very good for many vintage cyclist riding hilly routes on gravel. It's not very difficult to use period correct cranksets and derailleurs and still achieve a 1:1 ratio between the smallest chainring and the largest cog. My 1971 Peugeot PX10 has a Red Clover Triplitizer with 46, 42 & 30 chainrings and a 13-30 freewheel. I'm using a long cage Simplex rear derailleur and the bike looks stock.

See: https://www.redclovercomponents.com

I can also run 700x33 Cyclocross tires at 45-65 psi on the PX10.

I've also modified a Motobecane Grand Record with a TA 50.4 bcd crank and 48 & 34 chainrings. This combined with a 13-32 freewheel provides a reasonable climbing range. The Grand Record will accept 700x35 tires.

I'd much rather use these iconic French bikes with a few modifications on gravel than my De Rosa, Paramount or Eddy Merckx. It's just a matter of having the right tool for the job.

rhm

So, assuming they intended this ride for a stock vintage bike, what bike would that be? Is the general consensus that a 1970's racer with Nuovo Record crank and derailleurs isn't going to cut it? If that's the case, what exactly are the planners thinking?

If I do this, I'll be on a 1960 bike, the lowest gear being 38/24, or maybe 38/26.

Barrettscv 

I had a new Schwinn Paramount in 1974, it came with a 53 & 49 chaining set and a 14-24 freewheel. The Paramount was a popular choice for performance and racing cyclist during the 1971-1980 "bike-boom" period. I now have a 1972 Paramount with a 42 chainring and a 26 large cog on the freewheel. This bike will fit a 700x28 with reasonable mud clearance, but not a 700x32. However, most recreational cyclist would end-up walking longer hills above 12% with this bike. Certainly not my first choice for a hilly gravel ride.

Unless a cyclist fitted a french crankset or a triple to his bike in the 1970's, it would be difficult to find a bike from this time period with suitable gearing for Eroica California.

obrentharris 

Among the group that I rode back up from the coast with last year were several with typical Nuovo Record setups. They were very strong riders however: I could barely stay with them.

Perhaps this disparity of gearing and of rider ability is why the organizers make a variety of different length routes available with varying amounts of climbing.
Brent

davester

Is this a serious question? The Eroica organizers are quite clear about what this race is about. It's a celebration of the time when the Italian heroes rode these early racing bikes with the gearing you describe over the difficult, steep, and largely unpaved terrain of the Giro D'Italia. Obviously, the current crop of typically 50 and 60 year old recreational riders who choose to join in this celebration are not in as good a shape as the 20 year old italian heroes who rode bikes for a living. This is why the organizers allow and suggest that you adjust the gearing on these vintage bikes to something more sensible.

rhm

Ah, excellent, so my Allegro is exactly the bike they had in mind. Good to know!

rccardr 

Some people walk and some people ride. I've done both.

In 2016, rode the Cinelli set up with Super Record, 28's, a 14-28 freewheel, and an SR Apex 50-34 compact double that looked pretty much like a stock crankset. I walked up the last bit of both Kiler Canyon and Cedar Mountain, maybe 1,000 feet. Might have made it up Kiler but it was slippery & riders were falling down in front of me. Rode all the way up Santa Rita, albeit not too quickly.

In 2017 rode the Gugie-fied Voyageur with 650B 42's, 50/34/24 6206 based triple and an 11-34 cassette. Was able to ride up every climb, no walking, although it should be pointed out that in 2017 they re-routed us around Kiler Canyon due to the deep mud. Still had to go up and over the same elevation, just not Kiler. The gearing was slightly overkill, only used the 24/34 a few times and could probably have made it with a 28. The larger tires did make things more comfortable, but at the expense of a slower climbing rate. The downhill from Santa Rita was a blast, however.

For 2018, will wind up somewhere in the middle, likely a compact double with a 34 bailout in the back and Continental GP4000 II 28's, which on my rims measure out to 30mm. Might be the Pelizzoli, or the Merckx Century, or the gray Ironman. I'll also be running dual pivot brakes this year, my hands have cramped in thr past going down the back side of Cedar Mountain with the single pivot Campagnolo Record ones as well as the Mafac centerpulls. I like me some braking power.

Rudy, you wouuld be challenged but successful riding your bike as described.

One final thought: am I the only guy who notices the number of riders in those old TdF pics who are walking up some of the steep inclines?

non-fixie 

Guys, this is Eroica. It means HEROIC. How heroic are you going to be with a triplizer, an MTB derailleur, a pie plate sized freeewheel and 24" gearing?

No, at the start you'll need to look like this:



Going up steep hills will look like this:



And yes, after 80 miles you'll feel like this:



And at the finish line you should be like this:



Now, that is "Eroica".

John E

You and I have similar taste in gearing -- really nice 1.5-step-plus-granny. (I run 48-40-28 in front on my mountain bike, with 12-13-15-17-19-21-24-28, but I would change that to something like 13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32 for really steep hills, or substitute the 24T granny ring I have for the 28.)

jcb3

Even with a 26 front and 32 rear, the last few miles of Cypress Mt is a lung-buster. As @jimincalif said you know it is steep when you hit a flat stretch to recover and the garmin says 6%

rhm

Nice shoes, dude!

Colnago Mixte

Hey, those are just rolled-down men's dress socks! I should try that.

I do like the goggles. And the straws in the waterbottles, that guy has thought of everything. Bet the shorts and gearing are pretty uncomfortable over those unpaved mountain roads.

Dude is definitely built for cycling though. He could be an excellent Tyrannosaurus Rex for Halloween.

non-fixie 

Aren't they?

And this is what they looked like ninety years or so later:

iab

Well then. It means I'm out.

non-fixie 

Oh no, you don't get out that easily. That '33 Frejus is geared just right.

Colnago Mixte

Don't forget the raw steak in your shorts as a chamois. Gotta keep things authentic here.