Century - Which bike?

Trying first century this year, should I ride the Fuji Touring or my
lighter steel framed bike?

Most comfortable. For me a recumbent.


"ydm9" wrote in message
m...
| Trying first century this year, should I ride the Fuji Touring or my
| lighter steel framed bike?

In article ,
says...
Trying first century this year, should I ride the Fuji Touring or my
lighter steel framed bike?

Which ever one is more comfortable for you on long rides. Owning a Fuji
Touring, I'm rather biased, but that would be my choice.


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ydm9 wrote:

Trying first century this year, should I ride the Fuji Touring or my
lighter steel framed bike?

Ride whichever one you're more comfortable on. If it's a wash, go
with the lighter one. But be sure to put some long miles on the bike
of your choice before the century. A century is no time to start
working out long distance fit/comfort problems.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

On 18 Mar 2004 07:03:27 -0800, (ydm9) wrote:

Trying first century this year, should I ride the Fuji Touring or my
lighter steel framed bike?

I prefer touring bikes for centuries, but all I'm trying to do is
finish in a reasonable time for me. If I had speed goals, I might
prefer a racing bike.

If this is your first century I'd go for comfort, which would seem to
imply your Fuji, although you don't tell us much about the other bike.
Just don't pack too much on it.

MP

"ydm9" wrote in message
m...
Trying first century this year, should I ride the Fuji Touring or my
lighter steel framed bike?

Are you intending to "race" the century or just finish comfortably? How
different is your steel bike from the Fuji in terms of geometry?

"El Paisano" wrote in message ...
"ydm9" wrote in message
m...
Trying first century this year, should I ride the Fuji Touring or my
lighter steel framed bike?

Are you intending to "race" the century or just finish comfortably? How
different is your steel bike from the Fuji in terms of geometry?


I just want to finish. I weigh in at 250, so to finish will be the
goal. The Fuji does seem to be a little more comfortable. The other
bike is a Specialized Allez Elite steel frame. It is a few pounds
lighter with not as relaxed a geometry and I don't have a rack on it
at the moment. With me being overweight, I didn't know how much of a
difference the 8 or 9 pounds would make in bike weight. I'm leaning
toward the Fuji for comfort.

In article ,
says...

....

Are you intending to "race" the century or just finish comfortably? How
different is your steel bike from the Fuji in terms of geometry?


I just want to finish. I weigh in at 250, so to finish will be the
goal. The Fuji does seem to be a little more comfortable. The other
bike is a Specialized Allez Elite steel frame. It is a few pounds
lighter with not as relaxed a geometry and I don't have a rack on it
at the moment. With me being overweight, I didn't know how much of a
difference the 8 or 9 pounds would make in bike weight. I'm leaning
toward the Fuji for comfort.

At that weight, you'll never notice the difference in the bike weights.
Hell, you might lose that much yourself during the ride if you don't
keep up on your fluids intake. But you will most certainly notice the
comfort difference after 6 or 7 (or 8 or 9, depending on how fast you
ride) hours on the bike.


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ydm9 wrote:


I just want to finish. I weigh in at 250, so to finish will be the
goal. The Fuji does seem to be a little more comfortable. The other
bike is a Specialized Allez Elite steel frame. It is a few pounds
lighter with not as relaxed a geometry and I don't have a rack on it
at the moment. With me being overweight, I didn't know how much of a
difference the 8 or 9 pounds would make in bike weight. I'm leaning
toward the Fuji for comfort.

Tough call. Eight or nine pounds difference in bike weight is nothing to
sneeze at. Unless it's a really flat route, the lighter bike will
definitely be an advantage. But then, if you're uncomfortable for the last
25-30 miles that's not good either.

Try a few 50-60 miles on each bike and see how much difference you notice
as far as comfort and effort required.

Art Harris

Harris wrote in message ...
ydm9 wrote:


I just want to finish. I weigh in at 250, so to finish will be the
goal. The Fuji does seem to be a little more comfortable. The other
bike is a Specialized Allez Elite steel frame. It is a few pounds
lighter with not as relaxed a geometry and I don't have a rack on it
at the moment. With me being overweight, I didn't know how much of a
difference the 8 or 9 pounds would make in bike weight. I'm leaning
toward the Fuji for comfort.

Tough call. Eight or nine pounds difference in bike weight is nothing to
sneeze at. Unless it's a really flat route, the lighter bike will
definitely be an advantage. But then, if you're uncomfortable for the last
25-30 miles that's not good either.

Try a few 50-60 miles on each bike and see how much difference you notice
as far as comfort and effort required.

Well lets keep the weight in perspective. Lets say the Fuji weighs
30lbs and Apecialized weighs 22lbs... that means the bike plus the
rider will be in the 272-280lb range... and of course add a couple
liters of water (roughly 2.3 lbs each (allowing for the weight of the
bottle)and say 5 lbs for misc equipment, snacks etc you are looking at
say 282-290 lbs. Eight pounds is nothing to sneeze at but it really
only amounts to less than 3% total weight. All things considered on a
long ride the lower gearing of the touring bike might be a bigger
asset in climbing hills than a light bike for a person in mediocre
shape (like myself ). And comfort is definitely the most important
factor. I did a century on a trike and while I wasn't fast I didn't
have anything hurting at the end except my legs.... but boy did they
hurt the next day (I was not really prepared for the century... my own
fault).

--
Bill