Change fit to do a Century?
 

For a rider whose typical ride is 25-60 miles, is it recommended to change the bike fit when doing a century ride (or longer)?
If so, what adjustments are common for such a situation?

RB

I'd try a few rides of 80 miles before jumping to 100. If you can ride that distance without great discomfort then you are ready for 100. Don't rush it - life is not a sprint. It is a marathon.

The only thing I changed for my first century was raising my stem. Other things to try would be thicker bar tape, wider tires run at lower pressure, clip-on aero bars to give your arms somewhere to rest, those types of changes to improve comfort. Or just gradually build up so there isn't a shock to your system. I didn't make any changes when I rode my first double century after building up to it over a couple months, felt little discomfort afterwards other than tired legs.

I wouldn't change anything right before a Century. The time to change things is probably 300 or so hundred miles before. That way you have enough time to find out if it is wrong for you.

+1 for clip-on aerobars, which are great for relieving: fatigued hands, wrists, triceps, shoulders, and back. Just don't use them while drafting someone, or riding right next to them, since they can make your steering very squirrely, and they put your hands further away from the brakes. I installed mine a week or two before before a 525km 24-hour solo ride, and my upper body felt (relatively) great afterwards. Now I put them on for any ride of 4+ hours.

If you have a proper fit already, no.

Thanks all for taking the time to share your input. I've completed two century rides in previous years and raised the handlebars for a more upright relaxed posture. I've recently purchased a new bike this past winter and, always looking to learn more, was curious of others' input on changing the bike fit for alternate riding events/types.

Do you really feel that raising the handle bar height helped for the century or long rides? For me, that seems to put more weight on my butt, which I'd rather not have on a long ride. Going lower has seemed to reduce the weight on my butt as well as my wrists. Presumably on my wrists because I can only bend so much and my core body structure is supporting the load that would otherwise go to my wrists. And since the CG on that load is forward, then not only is the power from my legs lifting me up, but balance too reduces the weight on my butt.

However it might be something I should play with more.

I found out the hard way about changing my saddle right before my first century. Had saddle sores even while using Chamois Butt’r. Almost ruined an already hard day on the bike.

Thanks for contributing to the discussion.

my bike fits me correctly and I do not have to change anything whether I’m riding 20 miles or 120 miles. Up until now I have never heard anyone of changing anything for a long ride.

If you ride 60 miles, 100 miles is not a long ride, just a bit longer.

Why change for that?

I would not change up to do a long ride. When I had a fit that worked for a 60 mile day, I tried it a couple of days in a row, since I was working up to a 5-day 360 mile supported tour.

If I'd been planning for a 100, I'd have probably done the two in a row, and then did a single 80 miler about 2 weeks before the day of event. Do tapering workouts before the event. It worked well for me.

By the time my tour began, I knew enough about refining my fit to be able to adapt anything that was necessary after 120 miles over two days.

if current fit comfortable then go with that! A late change may cause more grief...

I've been discussing a century with some coworkers recently. We've tackled a few 50s, and I feel mentally ready for the jump.

Fitment-wise, I may be good, too. I have a pretty decent rack bag and tool kit...not sure what else I might add.

Not sure on the physical side of it. If I'm averaging 12.5mph on a half century, is this a speed I should be able to sustain on the 100? Seems like I should slow my roll even more for a full century...

Just keep working on the physical side. At 12.5, you'll be 8 hours moving time to the finish. And if the ride is an organized ride with a time limit, then with rest stops and socializing added in, you might exceed that end time.

I'm in no way trying to discourage you from doing the ride. You'll never get better if you don't ride. And people sometimes think that they need to do special things to get ready for long rides. They don't really, other than just ride.

If your coworkers are 16 mph avg riders, then they might get a little discontent if they have to stay with you. Riding in a group and pulling turns on the front can add quite a bit to your average speed and energy saved. But that takes practice together to know what length of pull each should do under what conditions.

Don't forget your mask and hand sanitizer. I've actually found that heavy pleated masks pretty breathable while riding. Though when the get sweat soaked it gets harder to breathe. So several mask will be required if you are going to ride around large groups of unknown persons for a length of time. USA cycling still recommends them.
https://usacycling.org/event-organiz...vent-resources

Scroll down to the videos too.

I've raised my stem 1/2 a cm for rides much longer than I've been doing. In my racing days. I slammed my bars for criteriums and late int eh season when I was very comfortable on the bike. I started the season about 1 1/2 cm higher. It came down in increments over the summer, getting bumped up for long events.

I still like quill stems because they make that process so simple.

Ben

I went with that group yesterday on a 17mi speed run and found I'm actually the middle-fastest rider. I averaged 15, which, for me is HAULING. :D

All of us seem to be similarly-wired and the speedball of the group is content with 11-12-13mph.

Looks like it's gonna happen, and we'll just make a day of it.