jjhabbs 

Hey guys,
We're doing RAGBRAI. Me and another member here. Anyone else plan on going? Do you plan on bringing a vintage bike? Curious.

We're trying to figure out what bike to take this year. I have either a vintage touring bike or my Moots titanium.

rccardr 

RAGBRAI is on my bucket list, and def would do it on some sort of vintage bike.
But in 2021...hmmmm mm...we shall see.

beech333

I would like to go again, but this is not the year for it. Maybe next year.

I went a couple years ago and loved it. I recommend not bothering to keep up with your friends, as it is hard when in the mix of it, and instead hang out with new people every day. We just got tired of calling at stops and trying to connect in a town that none of us could identify landmarks. It was fun packing into restaurants every night and eating with strangers.

If/when I do it again, I will pay the extra to have my tent/bags packed and set up for me every day. The luggage truck destroyed my bag the last time and made that part kind of a headache, trying to keep my stuff together.

I took a touring bike the last time, but would likely do a lighter road bike this time...likely my Litespeed Natchez.

steelbikeguy

I like to be comfortable on the bike in the worst conditions, which for RAGBRAI means spending all day in the rain and riding on stretches of gravel road.... when it is about 50 degrees out. Anyone else remember Soggy Monday? ugh. it even rained all night too.
As such, I like having fenders and a bag that can carry rain gear and such.

Steve in Peoria (not planning on RAGBRAI this year, and probably not even TOMRV)

nlerner

Unless they’re going to be distributing the vaccine on site, I can’t imagine doing such large organized rides until 2022.

SpeedofLite 

I'll be there for the first time.
Likely riding a 90s Slingshot or Litespeed.

Vefer

I've ridden it 5 times, Every time on vintage. You'll see every type of bike ever made. High wheelers to the newest carbon. Bring something comfortable. Gears! Iowa is not flat! I've been on 16% grades, miles long! 42-45 MPH on the downhills without pedaling.
I'm going to take this year off due to Covid. RAGBRAI has BIG crowds in small towns. No way for social distancing. I'll wait for 2022.
It's one big rolling party!

steelbikeguy

it's true... I've seen high wheelers, quad tandems, unicycles (all the way across the state), etc.
The other fun aspect is who you might see. I recall running across the Secretary of the Air Force (with an entourage). Sometimes you even see the Founding Fathers!

this was from 1991:


this is John Karras, one of the founders of RAGBRAI.

Steve in Peoria

jjhabbs 

It's an awesome ride. This will be my 10th Ragbrai. I went in 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 05, 11 ,17 and 2018,

Ive done the last two times on my Specialized Roubaix. I sold that. Now probably going to use the moots. One reason I think Vintage will be a challenge is actually the cockpit. Not having modern hoods would be uncomfortable. That's the biggest reason Id go with my modern bike.

drpaddle

I last rode it in 2012 on a 1970 P-15 Paramount. I've ridden several others on vintage bikes, only they weren't so vintage then. First was 1978. In addition to using the Register's truck for gear, I've done it with teams from bike shops who were my customers, I've done it fully self-contained and, in 1981 I think, I did the whole thing on a Ritchey MountainBike with fat knobbies. Must say that RAGBRAI was a lot more fun when I -- and just about everyone else -- was young and single.

mstateglfr 

I plan to ride this year. I help run a local youth mentorship program that is active from March thru July where we meet a few times a week for training rides and a few weekend campout rides, with completing RAGBRAI as the end goal. The kids all have over 1000mi before RAGBRAI and some end up close to 2000mi at the end of RAGBRAI.

Ive ridden with a '90 touring frame and modern 3x9 gearing, an '87 road frame with modern 2x9 gearing, and a modern steel road bike with 2x11 gearing. While all sorts of bikes are on RAGBRAI, I dont know why anyone would bring a bike for show instead of use, meaning it needs to be comfortable for me- both the contact points and gearing.
This year itll be either the modern steel road bike or a frame from the 80s with...modern gearing and shifting. I am nothing if not predictable when it comes to bike setup and I dont have the luxury of chancing it with older equipment since I have a few teens with me each day.

As for the ride this year- definitely mixed feelings. 2 towns pulled out and I could easily see some other towns, either pass thru or overnight, pulling out in the coming months due to concerns. Since our team is half minors, we basically experience RAGBRAI in our own little bubble for the most part. We arent going to the concerts, we eat in camp as a group, we section off from the general public at overnight towns, etc. There is still the concern of pass thru towns and the shower trucks, even thought we are otherwise quite insulated relatively speaking.
Even if this RAGBRAI is half as big as normal, thats still 5000 on the quiet days(rural rides) and 10000 on the popular days(near large metros)- I just dont know how that can be effectively managed by the small towns.
We plan based around everything working out as hoped, and will form a backup plan in case everything turns sideways again.

bikingshearer 

What he said. Only mine would be a vintage frame with a Campy 10sp triple drivetrain and good dual pivot brakes.

bikemig 

Yeah, I'm a little skeptical of doing Ragbrai in '21 as well. That said, if you're game to do it, this could be a good year because it likely won't be as crowded as other years. I live in central IA so I really need to do it one of these days. I do a lot of riding in MN and WI though. It's cooler there in the summer. And I'd bring a vintage bike for sure on this ride. In fact, I built up my 1979 Trek 510 with an eye to doing a multi day tour like this.

Steve Whitlatch 

I am going this year. There are no guarantees that the government will allow you to have fun in 2022 or 2023 anyway. Why wait? Living in fear may become the new normal?

HTupolev

Not in Iowa you haven't.

That way of using of "miles long" implies at least two miles. A 16% average gradient over a 2-mile stretch implies an elevation gain of 1,690 feet. The highest point in Iowa is 1,670 feet above sea level. So in order for a 2-mile stretch of road in Iowa to average 16%, you'd need to start twenty feet below sea level. Which you certainly can't do in Iowa without digging an extraordinarily deep hole: the lowest point in the state is 480 feet above sea level, and it's not like it's geographically right next to the highest point.

mstateglfr 

I took the 'miles long' claim as poetic license. 16% hills for sure, but all the hills that steep which i have ridden or driven are under .25mi long.
Potter Hill outside Dubuque, a commonly referenced infamous hill that is used on RAGBRAI at time and on TOMRAV, is 13.8% for part and is averages about 7% for just over 1 mile. There cant be many paved climbs that are longer/steeper than that in Iowa.

Steve Whitlatch 

I have to decide between my Super Six Evo 34 - 32 or my 81 Super Sport with a 36- 28? There is a 10 lbs difference between the two. lol

HTupolev

Maybe.
But it's not rare for people to just plain overestimate the lengths and gradients of climbs, even by a factor of two or more.
And "16% grades, miles long" is awkward to use as poetic license in this context: it's a low enough claim to be plausible in many hilly geographies, so it's not necessarily obvious to the reader that it isn't literal.

But what really bothers me is that it's a practical issue. Gradient is a quantifiable thing that has important effects on cycling and calculable effects on the requirements of a bike setup. Using wishy-washy numbers when trying to make drivetrain recommendations is misleading in a manner that's consequential.