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Bad idea to ride a racing built road bike at this distance?

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Bad idea to ride a racing built road bike at this distance?

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Old 08-10-09, 08:47 AM
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crispswish
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Bad idea to ride a racing built road bike at this distance?

Do you think it would be a bad idea riding a racing built road bike for a total distance about 60 to 100 miles instead of using endurance road bike "more upright road bikes"?

The reason I'm asking this is because it seems like I have narrowed down to buy racing bikes only. None of the endurance bike have the parts I wanted. I'm not really plan to race but I do plan to do some great distance at a pretty good speed.

Please give me all your inputs. You will help me greatly. Thank you very much!
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Old 08-10-09, 08:49 AM
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No
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Old 08-10-09, 08:51 AM
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Depends on how flexible, and how much rattle you can tolerate. Personally I take my racing bike on those distance because it's just lighter faster and more fun.
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Old 08-10-09, 08:51 AM
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you do realize a lot of road races are in the range you just described.
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Old 08-10-09, 08:53 AM
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Do you plan to do some great distance, or 60-100 miles? Those two statements are contradictory. What type of bike you need depends on the type of riding you are actually doing.
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Old 08-10-09, 08:55 AM
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I ride my racing bike 100 miles all the time.
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Old 08-10-09, 08:56 AM
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Originally Posted by enjoi
you do realize a lot of road races are in the range you just described.
Sorry I'm really new to road biking
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Old 08-10-09, 08:57 AM
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Originally Posted by TOLOCOMan
Do you plan to do some great distance, or 60-100 miles? Those two statements are contradictory. What type of bike you need depends on the type of riding you are actually doing.
I guess to me 60-100 miles is a great distance. Sorry I'm still a noob at road biking.
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Old 08-10-09, 09:00 AM
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Originally Posted by urbanknight
I ride my racing bike 100 miles all the time.
Cool story, brah.
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Old 08-10-09, 09:00 AM
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If the racing bike fits you properly and you are comfortable on it, then there's no reason to use anything else. If you decide to go touring (tent, sleeping bag, food, clothes) then you might want a different bike that you can easily attach panniers to.
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Old 08-10-09, 09:03 AM
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CAAD9 here, with very stiff ROL Race SL wheels...done everything up to 110 miles. Comfort is more about proper fit than "position". If you're fit is good an aggressive position (i.e. "race bike") can be every bit as comfortable as a more upright position. Of course, your fitness weighs into that too.
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Old 08-10-09, 09:06 AM
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OP, once you're used to riding, no, there's no problem riding a race-oriented bike that distance. Lance, Alberto, and friends did it back-to-back-to-back for about 3 weeks. That said, if you're new to the sport, you want to work up to that distance, especially on a bike with more aggressive geometry. If your first ride is 75 miles, I have a feeling your back, arms, and butt will regret it the next few days. Good luck to you. Out of curiosity, what bike(s) are you looking at buying?
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Old 08-10-09, 09:07 AM
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Originally Posted by crispswish
The reason I'm asking this is because it seems like I have narrowed down to buy racing bikes only. None of the endurance bike have the parts I wanted. I'm not really plan to race but I do plan to do some great distance at a pretty good speed.

Please give me all your inputs. You will help me greatly. Thank you very much!
You want to do long distances but do not want bicycle parts designed for long distance riding? A racing bike is fine for the distances you mention, but your thought process is a bit strange.
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Old 08-10-09, 09:11 AM
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Originally Posted by urbanknight
I ride my racing bike 100 miles all the time.
Cool story, brah.
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Old 08-10-09, 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by jburks725
OP, once you're used to riding, no, there's no problem riding a race-oriented bike that distance. Lance, Alberto, and friends did it back-to-back-to-back for about 3 weeks. That said, if you're new to the sport, you want to work up to that distance, especially on a bike with more aggressive geometry. If your first ride is 75 miles, I have a feeling your back, arms, and butt will regret it the next few days. Good luck to you. Out of curiosity, what bike(s) are you looking at buying?
What he said.

If long distance riding is your primary use for the bike, you might consider a sport road bike with geometry that is more stable and has the ability to fit 700 X 25 tires.

This is an example: https://www.salsacycles.com/pistolaComp09.html
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Old 08-10-09, 09:17 AM
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Originally Posted by JonRidesBikes
Cool story, brah.
Boy have I got the book for you.

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Old 08-10-09, 09:18 AM
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Originally Posted by jburks725
OP, once you're used to riding, no, there's no problem riding a race-oriented bike that distance. Lance, Alberto, and friends did it back-to-back-to-back for about 3 weeks. That said, if you're new to the sport, you want to work up to that distance, especially on a bike with more aggressive geometry. If your first ride is 75 miles, I have a feeling your back, arms, and butt will regret it the next few days. Good luck to you. Out of curiosity, what bike(s) are you looking at buying?
Jburks, I'm currently looking at these three:

1. Scattante R-660 Racing Road Bike
https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...00_20000_48501

2. 2009 Fuji Roubaix Pro Road Bike
https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...00_20000_45501

3. Fuji Roubaix RC Road Bike
https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...00_20000_45501

What do you think?
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Old 08-10-09, 09:51 AM
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I've been doing long distance stuff almost exclusively this year on my race bike. A proper fit is key, I have problems doing 150 miles with 3.5 inches of saddle to handlebar drop. The only thing you might want to look for is one that is a smooth riding bike. Some bikes can be a bit harsh while others dampen the road feel a bit more.
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Old 08-10-09, 10:36 AM
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You'll be fine.

I did 240 miles on the Ciocc a week ago - just had to throw on the Brooks B17 saddle but besides that it was the same setup, including PT. Not a ton of drop on my bike but it is my race bike.
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Old 08-12-09, 05:03 PM
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I'm do you mean by "None of the endurance bike have the parts I wanted"?? I...don't know of any parts that really come on road race bikes that don't also come on road endurance bikes?
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Old 08-12-09, 05:08 PM
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I gues you are dead set on buying at a performance. at least go to a bike shop and compare.
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Old 08-12-09, 05:53 PM
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Not all road racing bikes are for crit racing. Last year I did a 2 day ride that was 135 miles the first day and 180 the second. I did it on a Litespeed Tuscany with no special modifications. It is just my everyday bike. As someone else said, at those distances fit is VERY important. What seems like a minor ache or pain at 70 miles may be really uncomfortable at 140.
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Old 08-12-09, 05:53 PM
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Originally Posted by PaulRivers
I'm do you mean by "None of the endurance bike have the parts I wanted"?? I...don't know of any parts that really come on road race bikes that don't also come on road endurance bikes?
I was shooting for at least shimano 105 and up, thats what i meant. All the endurance bike with Double cassette I saw in Performance have at least a Sora part.
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Old 08-12-09, 06:20 PM
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Shops commonly call lower end bikes "endurance bikes" because they often have higher handlebars and encourage a more upright seating position. That position is more comfortable for people with less flexibility, which is most common on people with less riding experience. If you want to make a 105 or better equipped "racing bike" ride like an "endurance bike" just keep the stem flipped up (or use a steeper rise stem to get the bars even higher) and move the saddle a little further back (with a setback seatpost if needed). Voila.
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Old 08-12-09, 06:26 PM
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Remember that you're suppose to be comfortable on the drops and riding on the levers is 'cruising mode'. Don't get all crazy about having really low bars.
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