cc_rider

I do Metric centuries on my hybrid regularly. It's one of my favorite distances.
Haven't done a full century yet, but plan to some day. Gone up to about 85 miles, and will probably do nearly that in New York in a couple of weeks.

Luddite

Cc, it's a flat bar "regular" hybrid?

qmsdc15

cc rider probably put more miles on his hybrid than any of us. DC in the house, yo! Check out his blog.

Not sure about the Crocs. It sounds deceptively simple and so comfy. I will wear my Crocs on he hybrid next time I ride it. Great idea. I wear spd sandals or running shoes when I ride. For a long ride, I'd want to be clipped in, but I don't think it's necessary. Toe clips hurt, flat pedals are better than toe clips.

cc_rider

Yep, but with bar-end extenders (just out of the picture). Three comfortable hand positions and a couple of marginal ones.

qmsdc15

CC, what kind of pedals/shoes?

Luddite

Crocs are ugly as hell but I love 'em. I did actually ride 47 km wearing crocs but it's possible I'm insane.

cc: Now I'm excited about the prospect of having bar ends. I'm trying to envision how they will look on my bike.

WCoastPeddler

The shoes could be a big part of the back pain problems because they offer no support whatsoever. I thought your seat was about an inch low -- that could contribute to the back problems too. It's good that you've raised your seat -- it'll probably feel a little "funny" at first, but after a short while, you'll be used to it.

Luddite

Yeah it was too low and I knew it. I had some psychological thing going on where I was afraid of wiping out cause I couldn't touch the ground. Gotta it up where it belongs today and got my brake pads changed, had no rear brakes happening lol.

cc_rider

Toe clips, but I have them set a bit loose. Can get in and out easy, and with the right position I and get good pedaling efficiency out of it (pulling up as well as pushing).
I mostly ride with my Reebok cross-training shoes. Used to use Forte mtb shoes on longer rides, but I've gotten out of the habit and they are a little tight for my liking.

chephy

You bet! And with a full touring load, too.

Plenty comfortable. Maybe not as fast as it would've been on a road or touring bike, but comfort was not an issue.

Fenders and rack. Edit: oh yeah, and loose toeclips, but that's a standard feature on all my clipless-less bikes.

Go for it. A century on a hybrid is not a much bigger deal than a century on any other kind of bike. It's all about the rider.

Oo-v-oO

Metric century = ~62 miles?

I did 63 on my Trek 7100 Multitrack this May on the first day of the Seacoast Bike Tour, then another 35 miles on Sunday.

Felt great, but I'm going to upgrade to a road bike before next year's event. Not for comfort, but for speed. I'd like to be able to ride longer distances but that means rideing faster to stay within the time limit for the event.

FrenchFit 

Lots of centuries on a MTB with 26 x 2.4 Holy Rollers on the front. Assuming the bike rolls well, and you have your fit & seat figured out, makes little difference unless you're doing lots of hills or worried about elasped time. Since it will take longer, food and hydration, i.e. the rider's condition, are the real issues.

Luddite

I'm not as concerned about speed as I am about completing the 100 km perhaps without stopping etc.

I have gotten my bike to 32km/h on a flat road with mad pedalling though, and nearly 50 km/h downhill so far, she's no slug, really.

Terrierman

Yes, most organized centuries have pre-planned rest stops with snacks and water/sports drinks available for you to drink there and also refill your bottles. A lot of them have a specific lunch stop too. Eating and drinking (a lot of drinking) is essential - absolutely essential as in you can't get by without it - for a 100 mile bike ride. If you don't have to stop to urinate several times during the ride, you're not taking in enough liquids. Same way if you feel thirsty, you need to drink more, enough to avoid feeling thirsty. As for the eating, definitely do a good breakfast that will stay with you, like a PBJ sandwich on whole wheat and a banana or a bowl of oatmeal and a banana to start out. During the ride, fruit and easy to digest carbs are the ticket (oatmeal cookies or plain boiled potatoes fill that bill for me), protein the day before but eating meat on a hard ride is a recipe for an upset stomach. Salty foods such as a dill pickle also taste amazingly good during a hard ride. No dairy and total low fat for me to be comfortable.

Juha

The other summer, I ended up riding about 310 km in three days, due to a small error in calculating how many days I had available for the trip. I carried full self supported touring gear and had a 5,5m long sea kayak on tow. I was going for a combined bike/kayak tour in the Finnish Lake District.

I stopped a lot. Zero problems with the hybrid bike, trailer and the kayak, they all could have easily done more. Me - not so much. I was very happy to finally reach the lakeshore and start paddling. I agree it's all about the motor, but clipless pedals, bar ends and a comfortable riding position help a lot.

--J