mtn.cyclist

This is my 2006 Litespeed Solano with Shimano 105 11 speed and Ultegra wheels. I did a couple centuries on it last year and will do at least that many this year. This bike is so easy to ride!

Drew Eckhardt 

1996 Litespeed Natchez titanium / Look carbon fork first built for me from a frame in 1997


50-39-30 FSA SLK-Light carbon crank x 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-26 10 cogs. Tight gears for flat ground with limited front shifting, low enough for climbs pushing 10% at an endurance pace. Wave spring end overlap removed with a Dremel tool for proper preload.

2010 Campagnolo Centaur Carbon Ultrashift levers - 5 cogs smaller, 3 larger, and no G-springs to wear out

2004-2006 Campagnolo Record titanium triple front & long cage rear derailleurs

2001-2006 Campagnolo Record titanium differential brakes, with ball bearing pivots on the front

Shimano PD-M540 pedals. SPD in an inoffensive silver color

Wheels by me:
32H Velocity Fusion rims with HALO retro-reflective power coating

DT 2.0/1.5 Revolutions spokes and alloy nipples. I measure ERD and size spokes to reach the nipple slots for no nipple breakage, and lubricate spoke threads + rim sockets with anti-seize so everything turns freely a decade later.

SON28 dynamo front hub. High power at mountain climbing speeds, the least drag of 3W hubs, and 50,000km bearing life. Silver anodized to match everything else.

1997-2006 Campagnolo Record front skewer because it's pretty

PowerTap SL+ rear hub

Kurt trainer rear skewer because I dislike both missing workouts and rain, have been riding intervals indoors since crashing, and am not going to trouble myself swapping between it and a Record skewer.

Specialized Toupe Plus saddle

Late 1990s Campagnolo Record SP10-RE seatpost. It works. One bolt. No teeth in the clamp/post interface limiting the possible angles. Maintains adjustment with minimal torque.

25mm Continental GP4000SII tires. No more flats than Gatorskins outside the rainy season, 10-15W less at 15 MPH, and ludicrously long life (6500 miles out of the last rear).

Primary dynamo lights: Scmidt Edelux ii front (silver anodized), B&M Line Plus rear. 5+ hours from home after dark it's nice to have lights which don't depend on batteries that may have less than a full charge.

Backup battery lights: B&M Ixon IQ Premium front, Cygolite HotShot rear. The front light runs ~6 hours on 2500maH NiMH AA batteries, has the same optics as the Edelux, and could get me home if I had a wiring failure perhaps with battery changes.

B&M USB-Werk power supply for GPS/phone. Includes a tiny cache battery for no "external power lost" messages. Charges at low speed. Should be as efficient as the adjustable E-Werk.

Mini-banana plugs on the fork connecting the dynamo hub which are easier to remove than the standard Schmidt connector at the hub.

Slipgrip phone mount atop RAM bar mount for backup electronic navigation

Shimano Di2 water bottle cage adapters - seat tube cage down so a 25oz bottle clears my frame pump, down tube cage up to clear the other one.

Blackburn frame pump. 100 strokes, I'm riding again, and my T-rex cycling arms haven't fallen off

TiGr titanium lock. If I must pit-stop someplace my bike isn't welcome it's better than a cable lock but easier to stow and lighter than a U-lock.

Arkel tail rider trunk bag. Probably grizzly bear proof. Expands to hold enough extra layers for a 40 degree F temperature swing, spare tire, food for over 200 miles, and the saddle bag it displaces. Waterproof zippers and built in rain cover.

The stem needs to go in favor of a silver Ritchey C220 classic in my parts box, I need to clean the decal adhesive off my front wheel, and I'll get rid of my excess light / USB-Werk cable length once I'm satisfied I won't be moving anything to make room for a different GPS or whatever.

rex615

Love the Ti bling on this page.
Here is one more.
Love this bike for long or hilly rides. Only one century on it so far, but more to come.

Mostly stock with its original 105 x 11 speed drivetrain.
Mods have been geared towards comfort;
Brooks, Nitto North Road, bar end shifters and 40mm tires.

jamesdak 

Hmmm, I don't think I've ever posted to this one.

So, lets see....

Several Century on this 2000 LeMond Zurich, quite comfy for the long haul.



Then I believe only one of this 1999 Schwinn Circuit which I foolishly sold one day.



Several on this Trek Madone 5.9, I no longer have this either. Just not as comfortable as my steel rides.



Also this 2003 LeMond Tourmelet built up with Dura Ace and Ultegra parts. It's sporting a WickWerks 53/34 chainring setup that shifts like a dream.



Then in the last 3 weekends I've used these 3 Bikes.

Giordana XL Super (Superleggero) - My all around favorite and some comfortable during the century.



This 2009 Scott CR1 Pro is great for fast rides and climbing but sucks for Centuries. It's for sale now, LOL!



And this 2015 Lynskey R265 bought to be my Century bike. It rides nice but to be honest I live the Giordana better.



And while I haven't done century yet on them, these two are going to be added into the mix real soon.

1989 Greg LeMond Ventoux sporting a Brooks saddle and cushy 700 x 28C Conti GP 4000s tires. I did a very comfortable 50 miles on this one just this morning. Still a work in progress.



And this 1989 Giordana Antares is comfortable and real fast. I've got a 11-speed Anthena groupset ready to go on this. Just having a hard time convincing myself to pull off the fabulous old Dura Ace 7400 on it.

kingston 

Your Giordona XL inspired me to get an Athena group for my 89 Miyata Team, but I would never consider for a minute replacing the 7400 on my 85 KM Proracer. Don't do it. Just get another bare frame for the Athena. There are plenty of nice ones out there.

jamesdak 

;
Saw this right after I got done this morning puttin 50 miles on the Antares. You'll be relieved to know that as I rode it this morning I keep looking at that beautiful groupset and decided not to change it.

I thought my legs were flat today because I was real sluggish during the ride. Then around mile 38 I realized I had been an idiot and had not put air in the tires. I run latex tubes on this and had not ridden the bike since last weekend. So I knew they had to be really low. Decided not to put air in them and finished out the ride. Got home and found 57 in front and 60 in back. I normally ride these at 80/90. Maybe my legs weren't so bad today after all, LOL!

Now to figure out what to do with the Athena groupset. It would look good on the steel grey Ventoux but I'd have to sort out some wide Campagnolo wheels for it as I want to keep the cushy 28C tires on it.

kingston 

That would work. The group you have on there now (7800?) didn't age well. I think some Campy Record hubs with Open Pros would look good on that bike. They can take 28c tires.

jamesdak 

To be honest I had planned all along to upgrade the drivetrain on the Ventoux. But in practical use yesterday it did very good and if I'm being honest its a much lighter action with those old brifters to shift up 3 cogs than it is on the Athena set on the Giordana. Made me sorta want to keep it.

kingston 

I'm sure it works fine. The Athena looks a lot better.

jamesdak 

Hmm, and with the compatibility between 11 speed brands I guess I could put the Athena on this but keep on the wide Team 30 wheels with a Shimano 11-28 tooth cassette. I'll just be giving up one tooth to Athena and truth is a really climb heavy century will mean using one of the lighter bikes with lighter wheels, not this one. Hmmmm, have to think about this.

Hypno Toad

In a silly goal, I'll planning to ride all of my bikes for a century in 2016. I was most concerned about 100 miles on a fatbike, but the Pugsley was great for the Almanzo 100 (gravel century).

The only other bike that hasn't done a century in 2016 is the Globe Daily (city bike). That will be easy bike to ride for a century, it'll just be a slow roll century.

jamesdak 

Well the verdict is in on the 1989 Greg LeMond Ventoux. I just finished the most comfortable century ride ever on it. The pace was just barely slower than a couple of the other centuries I did last month but the ride this time was harder. More and steeper climbing as well as strong winds for the last 40 miles.

I ran the tires at 70/80 psi and finally got the tilt of the Brooks saddle right. First time since I used Brooks saddles years ago that I got through a 100 miles without once thinking about the saddle. Oh and the bar gel on the handlebars combined with some nice synthetic cork tape kept the hands happy the whole ride.

Now to decide if I build this up or keep it as is.



Once concern is how little clearance there is for the big tire on the rear. If I lose any clearance by "upgrading" this with the Athena Brakes I'll be in trouble. I got my first pebble up there today and it really bogged me down for a second before it jammed up into the brake body. There must be a way to gain a tad more clearance there although one rock in a couple of hundred miles isn't that bad I guess since it did happen when riding on a bad road with a lot of loose gravel.

kingston 

@jamesdak, I think you really need another bike that can accommodate wide tires. If you like the ride on 28c, you should feel what it's like on 32c or even 38c.

Jmpierce

I'm not sure how many centuries I've done but I rode 6 in 2006 when I turned 50.

The drive train was all Dura Ace 7400 series 52/42 front and 12-21 rear. I couldn't do that these days. It's set up with (still DA) 50/39 front and 12-25 rear now.

jamesdak 

There's not much less space on the rear than my Scott CR1 Pro and I put a few thousand miles on that without issues.

If I can adjust the rear dropouts to move the axle back and still have good RD shifting I'll gain some there....

Right now I think it's a nice balance of comfort and sportiness.

I've got a Peugeot U08 i'm finishing up for when I want really plush, LOL!

dim

my best 2 bikes for long distance:

my fast one:



my slower one: (but I could ride this one for 10-12hrs a day):

GOv

Some great bikes in here and did i choose the wrong bike lol

Just squeezed my first century on the 20th Aug (163.8Km) after doing several metrics and looking to do my next one before end of Sept. Bike of choice is my trusty old 2000 Hardrock so comfortable, rolls quite nice and great to hit those hidden trails you come across (even when i fall off haha).

Think i will be swapping out the chainrings though as took a whopping 9hrs 5min (snail pace compared to most i see on here) on bike and legs spun out on the 44/11 a few times but i did it and want more now

Great inspiration this forum guys & dolls

Fred42

Foamy, do you by any chance remember/know what kind of brake pads the blue Trek 920 uses?

pinholecam

I've done two 200km brevets (which ends up being about 235km with the commute) and a self ride 260km with my Tyrell IVE so far.

Hopefully, I will find the courage to do a 300km and 400km next year.

Bike has been changed to a 1x10 (55T; 11-36T) running Shimano Saint Shifter and Zee RD, which works rather well for the rides here.

The bike is intended for travel, hence the choice of a foldable.


A more recent photo of the bike

20160827-IMGP3795-1 by jenkwang, on Flickr

bikemig 

This is my 2007 (maybe it's a 2006?) Salsa Casseroll. The build is pretty basic. The wheels are 36 hole shimano 105 hubs laced to velocity A23 rims. The rear cassette is 12-26 9 speed and tires are continental gatorskin 700 x 28c tires. I'm currently running a FSA energy compact crank (50/34) but plan to replace it with a shimano 105 triple, 50/39/28. The rear derailleur is a shimano 105, the front an ultregra tri-color and the shifters are ultregra 9 speed bar ends. The saddle is a san marco rolls. The bars are ITM super italia pro 260s. The stem is some cheap Nashbar stem; it works and doesn't look too ugly. The seatpost and headset are some nondescript stuff branded by Ritchey. The pedals are TIME ATACs. The brakes are tektro long reach and the calipers are some old shimano brake levers.

I use a Jandd mountain wedge III in the rear and when I need more capacity, I add a Jandd mtn handle pack IV which has a map case. That gives me 13 liters of carrying capacity; the weight for the 2 bags is 1100 grams.

Not the lightest bike and not the lightest bags but they work for me. I bought the frame because I liked the color and because I really liked the flexibility of vertical drop outs, long reach brakes, front and rear eyelets, rack braze ons, etc. This is, I think, a well thought out bike for long distance riding and centuries.

Jdludlow

Mango with 44/17 fixed. Kent mudguards and tail box.

I commute 16miles a day, and have done 83miles geared this summer, but never done a century before, fixed or geared, so thought with yesterday's Great British weather, it would be a fun idea.

A loop from Heathrow to Gravesend, back through Centre of London, fuelled solely with mixed dried fruit, salted peanuts and tap water. 106miles solo.

I feel good today, just a bit tired.

TomM

Nice, I experienced the British weather last weekend. Hoping to come back for LEL in the summer.

DrIsotope

Not unique to centuries-- I only did 2 double-metrics and 3 imperial centuries in 2016 (all solo)-- but my go everywhere, do everything N=1 bike. I don't consider it a road bike, nor do I identify as a "roadie." KHS CX100 frame and fork, the rest is cobbled together out of what gets the job done-- MTB wheels, MTB pedals, fenders, big 'ol fat tires. And yes, that saddle is at exactly the angle it needs to be.

Snuts

I only started cycling this past spring.
These all have done Imperial Centuries this year. More than once each. Maybe that explains where that 50lbs went, hmm.


-Snuts-
(edit)
I see this is under a competitive thread, oops.
Well then it was in my training for my trek this past summer.
I'm hooked on cycling now.

Rowan

I had to look up "Fredwagen" to try to make sure it wasn't a commercial brand, but neat name to give a bike that does everything!

Has me thinking that I might steal that for my new long/cargo bike when I repaint it.