noglider 

You can define long at any distance you like. If you typically ride 5 miles a time (i.e. not much) and every so often will take a 20 mile ride, then that's long. For me, it's something longer than 30. I occasionally will take a 50 or 100 mile, but not all that often.

Which is your first choice bike for a long ride? Is its wheelbase long or short? About how much does it weigh? Does it have fat, cushy tires or narrow bone shattering tires?

I'm seeing an increasing number of people on fat-tired but light bikes, and maybe there's something to that. I'm curious to know how light you can get a randonneur or similar bike, with 700c or 650b tires. Maybe there really is something to this 650b crazy. I've been hesitant to try.

seedsbelize 

I have two favorites. My 84 Letour Luxe, with 35 mm tires, and my high ten 78 World Sports, with 27 x 1 1/4. The second one mentioned has fenders and hub dynamo lighting.

Edit: I still do 60-70 miles somewhat regularly, so a long ride, for me, would be between 70 and 100 miles.

OldsCOOL

I use my main ride, a Cannondale ***gasp*** Criterium Series with 23's. I dont expect to feel that good after a 70mi ride unless I have been going too slow.

gomango

I've had four bikes on super long distance rides the five years.

Multi-day rides that totaled in the 250 to 650 mile range.

All four of the bikes had at least 700x 28s up to 700x40s. So, fairly wide tires.

The bikes range in weight from around twenty up to 30 pounds or so.

FWIW My son uses the Della Santa with his rando group. The bike weighs in just under 20 pounds and runs 700x28 Compass tires.

It's a dream ride.

[IMG]IMG_2650 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]IMG_2268 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]John Hollands! by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]DSCN6668 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

mapeiboy

Mine main long distance bike is Colnago EP with 700x23 front and rear tire . They used it in the grand tours . What is good enough for the pros is good enough for me .

ijsbrand

This one, a 1988 Raleigh Triathlon. It has the long wheelbase, and the possibility to mount either 28 mm or even 32 mm tyres. Plus, its high frame gives me the perfect relaxed sit. Still need to change the dropbar to one with only a 12 cm drop though, the current one is just too tiring to use.

It weighs a bit over 10 kg, because of the Brooks saddle, and the tyres that were not really choosen on weight.

sloar 

My favorite any kind of riding.

79pmooney

In recent years I had two custom ti bikes made, one geared, one fixed. Both have done 130+ miles in a day and 450-500 in a week. Both excel on less than perfect road surfaces using 24-25c tires (the fixed) and 24-28c tires (the geared) and are quite rideable when the pavement runs out though I do not seek that with these bikes. Both are all day comfortable though the fix gear is a lot harder and the lower, more forward position does take its toll. (But is a real blessing if I have to spend the next two hours going upwind.) These bikes are good enough rides that i see little change over the next few years.

Ben

Johnny Mullet

My favorite bike for long rides (but not my favorite bike) is actually not a Huffy

I have a 1989 Reflex ALX Carbon MTB that I use for long distance rides. It's the only non-Huffy bike I own and I never got rid of it because of how awesome it is. Also since my Huffy bikes are road bikes, I like the idea of using a 26'er for long distance and blasting down gravel/dirt roads.............

Scooper

My Waterford RS-22, hands down. The 432mm chain stays, low BB (75mm drop), and 59mm trail make it great for week long 500 mile credit card touring.

AZORCH

Because I enjoy long hours in the saddle, most (but not all) of my bikes have been ridden decently long distances. I know you asked which one gets the nod for distance, and in my case that would be my kind-of-off-topic Boulder Brevet, which is pretty much designed for that specific task. I've got 700 x 32 Compass Stampede Pass tires which I like quite well. With bag and racks, the Boulder weighs in around 26-ish pounds (perhaps less - I haven't weighed it since building up a new wheel set this summer), and I can roll all day. I credit the tires and wheels, as well as the fact that the geometry and sizing were customized/optimized for me, and that makes a huge difference from - literally - any other bike I've ever ridden. Oh, I also have a Cambium C17 saddle and VO rando bars, 48/34 compact front with Shimano m324 pedals: the points of contact are important considerations too.

On the C&V side, I've a 1971 Raleigh International reimagined as a three-speed road bike. It's often been shown on these forums, and weighs in around 24 pounds (not including racks). Vintage and well loved Brooks Pro saddle that fits as only a saddle can that one has been sweating on for a couple decades. I can easily do 50 and 60 mile rides on this bike, with the occasional foray into longer distances. Racks and saddle bag and lighting make this a practical choice. Excellent fit and ride quality round things out nicely. I've got 700 x 28 Gatorskins on this bike - pretty much bulletproof, hard as nails, and surprisingly comfy relative to my other experiences with Contis.

For a little more spirited ride over distance, my 1989 Paramount is a good choice. A few pounds lighter, mostly because no fenders, bags, or racks. I run Serfas SECA tires in 700 x 25, with Campy triple and a Cambium C17 saddle. Easy bike to ride a century over rolling hills, and it handles sidewinds quite nicely. As with the other two aforementioned bikes, the frame size is a good match for me and I've optimized reach to my riding style so that things are comfortable over the long haul. Haven't weighed it in a while, but call it 21 pounds I'm guessing.

Mid-80's Katakura Silk has been on several long rides, including an east-to-west journey across Nebraska last summer. Until recently I never had tires on it that really made me feel like I wanted to spend a day riding. The Vittoria Rando tires I'd been running were quite hard and telegraphed the road into my hands, and at 700 x a very narrow 25 I just wasn't finding them encouraging (although they look great! ) Anyhow, I recently turned this bike into a 650b and it's miles and miles more comfortable. This being my second 650b, I've found that once I've gotten over the initial "drinking of the Kool-Aid," the jury is still out for me on the size. Magic carpet ride? You betcha. Plush? You know it. But I always feel the "spirited" part of the ride is missing. This is one heck of a bike for around town riding, picnic riding, shorter carry-stuff-with-you rides of ten or twenty miles. I'll select another bike for the long road, though. I need to weigh the 650b conversion, but my scientific wild a$$ guess is right around 26 pounds.

Hope this is helpful information.

Dave Cutter

My statically typical ride is just over 20 miles. Most of my rides are ether 20 or 25 miles. In cold, extra hot, rainy weather, or when I have other things to take up my time.... my rides get shorter. My daily rider is my go-to bike for any normal or longer rides. When going for shorter, or "special trip" rides I'll often take one of my other bikes.

My current daily rider is a 2014 trek 1.1, I bought last year. The relaxed geometry of the entry level bike is great for my old body on long rides. What I like most about this bike is the fit.



The bike weights 23 pounds. I run 25c tires.

bikemig 

Let's hear it for @Johnny Mullet who actually owns a non-Huffy, non-steel bike. This is news on Bike Forums. You realize that you will never live this one down, now that your secret is out.



Good looking bike. I have a 26 inch wheel bike I like for long distance riding as well (plush tires) but it has drops.

Roger M

each of these has a handful of 100 mile rides in them.



My longest ride was last years ramrod, 168 miles And 10,000 feet of uphill. I rode this bike without any problems

ScottRyder 

I'm a picnic rider .. ride ten miles, have a picnic in a field, ride home. If I do more miles, 30-40, it's would be my '66 Paramount (which also serves as the picnic bike when it has the rack) The Brooks saddle is well broken in and the Dugast tubulars are very elegant ride.





Scott

Johnny Mullet

I went through a slew of "Better bikes" when I first got into cycling and everyone was telling me I needed a "better bike" and my Huffy was junk. This was the only "better bike" that never broke down on me or gave me fit issues. That is why I kept it. All the other "better bikes" had bottom brackets, crank arms, shifting components, and other parts go bad on me, but the Reflex with the Deore XT components has held up well. It's the lightest bike I own.

I almost sold it a couple times, but I decided to keep it as my touring bike.

Johnny Mullet

Oh yeah! The thread on the Reflex when I first got it..........
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...lx-carbon.html

If you read the first post on that thread I was supposed to "Replace my Huffy" with it. Hahaha! That never happened because my green Huffy ended up getting a 700c and drop bar conversion and became my commuter.

The bike is a tad stiff for my liking, but it's a great bike.

bikemig 

I ended up using my 1993 Bridgestone XO-2 on my long distance rides this year. I'd been using the bike as my crummy weather bike for a while but this was the first time I took it on a few trips to some long distance and/or hilly rides.

The bike rides great. It has road bike geometry built around 26 inch wheels. The bar, stem, and headset are original; I've switched everything else out. I picked up a claris group from a fellow BF member; I'm impressed with the brifters and derailleurs. I'm running a mtb crank (44-32-22) with an 11-28 on the rear which gives me a low of around 20 inches and usable high of 100 inches. I like the combo a lot but it was not something I really planned out; I just used stuff I picked up cheap.

The wheels and tires are what make this bike work well for long distance rides. The mavic xc 717 rims weigh 420 grams; the pasela tg 26 x 1.5 folding tires weigh 400 grams. 820 grams isn't bad for what is basically a really fat road tire mounted on a xc rim. I run them at right around 65 psi.

This bike handles superbly and is really comfy on long distance rides:

non-fixie 

The only bike that ever seduced me into making an extra detour when I neared home after a long ride was this Austro-Daimler Inter 10. I really need to take this bike on a long vacation.

Wildwood 

Interesting choice given your bike experience.
I really love the ride of my Olympian. It's my only bike ridden by others and described as "dialed-in".
But actually all 5 of my roadies would be good for rides of 100km, really more of a tire and saddle choice for distances beyond metric century (which is about my upper limit).


edit = RD has been changed since pic was taken + brake cables shortened.
reedit = I choose the bike based more on terrain than distance, the old double vs triple debate.

nlerner

Since spring, I've done five century rides, two of which were a bit more than 150 miles. I was on the following bikes:

1. 1976 Wes Mason w/ 6-speed friction drivetrain and 32mm Grand Bois tires (102 miles)
2. 1994 Bridgestone RB-T w/ 7-speed indexed drivetrain and 32mm Grand Bois tires (150 miles)
3. 1997 Lemond Buenos Aires 650B conversion w/ 8-speed Shimergo drivetrain, Stronglight compact double, and 38mm Compass tires (106 miles)
4. ibid (150 miles)
5. ibid (105 miles)

Clearly, the Lemond has been the long-distance bike of choice for me this year as combo of the Reynolds 853 frame and wide tires makes for a fast and comfortable ride. I was on it yesterday for a quick 35-miler:

wahoonc

My "long" rides would be anything much over 40 miles range. My favorite bike for rambling is my Raleigh Superbe or Raleigh Twenty. Both have carried me over 40 miles in a single day. I do have a couple of drop bar bikes, but they see very few miles.

Aaron

eschlwc

my regular bikes are 56-58cm. i like the biggest frame for really long rides (my davidson).

i used to have a grand jubilé with vitus 172 and a long wheelbase that was pretty comfy.

non-fixie 

Maybe, maybe not. I bought a Puch Mistral SLE some years ago, which made me read up on the brand and come across the A-D bikes, that were apparently designed and made for the US market. I'd never heard of them or seen one here. I did know the A-D brand, however. I'd seen some of the very sexy cars they'd made during the interbellum. What I noticed was that the A-D bikes got very good reviews.

So when I had the opportunity to buy an imported Inter 10 in my size I took it, expecting something nice. I rebuilt it and rode it for a couple of months and I wasn't disappointed. It feels light and nimble yet very comfortable.

I'm currently in the process of getting it to the desired specifications for a longer trip abroad. It took me quite a while to find a good wheel set with 27" hooked rims, so I could mount the folding Paselas I'd bought for it, and I also want to change the gearing into something I can actually ride uphill. I'm really looking forward to taking it on a trip to the Ardennes or someplace like that next year.

devinfan

You only need two things for a long ride (thinking century here). Your most comfortable saddle:



...and Benotto tape for inspiration at the 60km mark before your second wind kicks in:



Doesn't hurt if it's light, either: