Manny66 

You and Me both.

wipekitty

I've done centuries four different bikes

1) 80s Nishiki, step-through frame with drop bars, 27x1 1/4 tires, single speed (fixed/free); I rode part in one gear option fixed, part in another gear option freewheel.

2) Cheap (BD "Motobecane") 2011 steel fixed gear single speed with drop bars; 44x16 gearing; 700x23 tires. (This ride had around 4000' climbing...downhills were a challenge.)

3) 2010 BH Cristal, my "princess" carbon fiber road bike, with 700x23 tires. I've done centuries on this both with the older 5600 10-speed setup (34-50, 11-28) and with the newer 5800 11-speed setup (34-50, 11-32 as well as 11-28).

4) Blue Prosecco gravel bike, AL frame with carbon fiber fork and 700x35 tires (Clement XPlor USH), running 46-36 and 11-32 gearing. My centuries on this have been part gravel.

The point? You can ride a century on pretty much any bike. The difference is speed, and in the case of non-derailleur bikes, whether you can make it up hills without stopping.

jp911

Road century: 2012 Trek Madone 5.2, Continental GP 4000S II, 700x25

Gravel century: 2016 Niner RLT 9 alloy, Maxxis Rambler, 700x40

StephenH

Worksman Cruiser with 26x2.125" tires
Raleigh Sojourn with 35mm, 32mm and 28mm tires
CoMotion Tandem with 32mm and 28 mm tires
Specialized Venge with 19mm tires
Lynskey GR 250 gravel bike with 28mm tires and with 42mm tubeless tires
Bike Friday Pocket Rocket with skinny 451 tires, 1-1/8", I think
Guess that's it. I've ridden a 100k on the Worksman front-loading tricycle, but not a century.
On all of the above, it's been a 200k, not just a century. On the Raleigh, CoMotion, and Lynskey, 300, 400, 600k rides as well.

BHOFM

92 Trek 720 Multitrack. June 2011, 63 out, 63 back, Bit over 11 hours.

$40 yard sale bike. New tires, tubes cables and brakes. Rode the bike
28,000 miles In six years. Lot of up grades over the years including a
set of hand built wheels. All the components went on a 83 310 road
bike which I ride regularly. Sold the frame and fork with brakes, bars
and shifters for $75.



Became this.



I have added a brooks saddle and cork bar wrap since this picture.

cyclist2000

Most of my centuries were ridden 30 years ago, I rode a Zullo campy equipped road bike and it has 700x23 tires on it.

5teve

Everything from an aluminum sport road bike on 700x23c to a steel all-road/"gravel" fixed-gear bike on 650bx42c. MOST centuries I've done have been on steel bikes with 700x27-34c tires. I haven't done a century in a lot of years, tho.

Rides4Beer

Haven't done one yet, but it's coming soon. Did my longest ride this past weekend, 78 miles in 4:05 on my Transonic with 23mm Continental GPK4s2s, could have easily done 100, but had to get back to the house.

bugs11

Rode two 100+ mile days during last years RAGBRAI. First was on Tuesday July 24, 2018. I went off route and rode over to Woodward, IA and took the High Trestle Trail to Slater. I calculated the extra miles would put me around 95 for the day, but due to stops at the three drinking establishments on the trail and slight miscalculation on my part (took a right instead of a left at Slater) I ended up almost riding all the way to Ankeny. I got to my camp site in Ames as the twilight was fading in the west. It was a glorious day of pure freedom on a bike, one that I will remember and cherish. I rode 123 miles that day.

The second was two days later on Thursday July 26, 2018 - the Karras Loop, I think the odometer said 108 or 112 for that day. A much more mundane and uneventful day through cornfields and wind turbines. I should mention that I had very little back side soreness, but my legs were a rather tired at the end of each day.

Edit: I should mention that I started riding a bicycle again last spring (2018) after a 30 year hiatus. I re-furbed my 1978 Motobecane and put over 1200 miles on it last year, 565 miles were put down on RAGBRAI.
Edit 2: Tires were 27" x 1 1/8"

CliffordK

I responded on Page 3.

https://www.bikeforums.net/20719076-post73.html

But, perhaps the question should be what one's favorite bike/tire size is for riding a Century ride.

I'd say that for my bicycles, the Colnago C-40 outclasses them all. 700x23 or 700x25 tires. I've done a couple of different tires, but I like the 700x25 Gator Hardshells. So far, the C-40 has probably done more trips to Portland than any other bike I've ridden.



Hmmm... that looks like a Gatorskin on the rear, and probably a Gator Hardshell on the front. But, I find the hardshells to be a durable long wearing tire (for the most part).

There was this Century ride. I usually don't have SAG wagons. 700x23 Gator Hardshell.



I did ride the 700x32 Michelin Protek Cross Max tires as an experiment. They make solid commuter tires, but probably no more centuries, unless perhaps there is an element of gravel.

Likewise, the 700x35 Clement X'Plor Ush. I'd probably choose them over the Michelins, but only for a ride that I expected significant gravel.

One issue with the X'Plor Ush is that they didn't feel real sure footed on loose gravel, and I hit one road with about 3" stones, and it was tough to get the perfect tire pressure.

Eventually I'll have a 29er capable bike which should be interesting for gravel.

bgraham111

1997 Specialized Hardrock Sport FS - steel Mountain bike - 26"x1.95" knobbies - 1 century
2013 Trek 8.4 DS - aluminum hybrid - 29" x 38cm knobbies - 1 century
2011 Fuji Newest 1.0 - aluminum road bike - 700c 25cm road tires - uh.... not sure... 10-20 centuries
2016 Waterford RS-22 - steel randounneuring bike - 650b 38cm smooth, soft, and plush tires - only a few "centuries" - I normally go way farther. (15-20 brevets of 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k)

Yes... all 4 bikes have different tire standards. (They all have different shifters as well - twist shift, trigger shift, brifters, bar end shifters)

tedder987

3 centuries (and one metric) in the last 2 years. All on a 2017 Specialized roubaix (future shock version)

#1 101 miles, 4400' vertical, 6h40 on 28mm schwalbe ones
#2 102.4 miles, 8000' vertical, 6h26 on 32mm Panaracer gravel king slicks
#3 105.1 miles, 4000' vertical, 7h30m on a 32mm gravel king slick front, and a 26mm spz turbo rear (got a piece of glass embedded in the GK and threw on an old almost worn out tire as a makeshift replacement)

The first 2 were group rides and on rough pavement, I was so much more comfortable that the guys around me on 23's and 25's. The third one was solo and unsupported and had a headwind for the first 52 miles and was way tougher than the group rides despite being flat. I much prefer the group centuries to soloing it.