'Best' type of bicycle for randonneuring?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on November 3, 2010 at 10:39am

The answer is "No". You can ride about any kind of bike on a brevet.
When people answer "Yes" that is when the religious wars start.
You want to be on a bike that is comfortable to ride for the distance and expected conditions.
The bike should use be reliable, and be able to safely carry whatever gear you need or want to take along.
The amount of money you want to spend is also a factor, as is whether you want to try and keep up with the lead group, or just finish within the time limits.
You should just start doing some rides and see what calls to you.

Eric Peterson

Permalink Reply by Waymond Smith on November 3, 2010 at 3:08pm

Are 'most' brevets done on various types of roads (dirt, gravel, asphalt)? Or are they ridden on roads and various types of terrain? Is there somewhere that I can get more information on brevets?
Thank you
Waymond Smith

Eric Peterson said:

The answer is "No". You can ride about any kind of bike on a brevet.
When people answer "Yes" that is when the religious wars start.
You want to be on a bike that is comfortable to ride for the distance and expected conditions.
The bike should use be reliable, and be able to safely carry whatever gear you need or want to take along.
The amount of money you want to spend is also a factor, as is whether you want to try and keep up with the lead group, or just finish within the time limits.
You should just start doing some rides and see what calls to you.

Eric Peterson

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 3, 2010 at 3:31pm

To my knowledge, Brevets are always ridden on roads and though the condition and coarseness may vary, it's always paved. Terrain varies from moderately hilly to very hilly and can be very steep or more gradual for longer stretches. I did two years of 200, 300, 400 and 600K brevets laid out by Lon Haldeman back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I did a 200 and a 300K laid out by Jim Kreps this year.

I have ridden them on an aluminum frame with racing geometry and on a lugged steel touring frame. As Eric suggested, the most important things are that your position is comfortable, and the bike is reliable.


Waymond Smith said:

Are 'most' brevets done on various types of roads (dirt, gravel, asphalt)? Or are they ridden on roads and various types of terrain? Is there somewhere that I can get more information on brevets?
Thank you
Waymond Smith

Eric Peterson said:

The answer is "No". You can ride about any kind of bike on a brevet.
When people answer "Yes" that is when the religious wars start.
You want to be on a bike that is comfortable to ride for the distance and expected conditions.
The bike should use be reliable, and be able to safely carry whatever gear you need or want to take along.
The amount of money you want to spend is also a factor, as is whether you want to try and keep up with the lead group, or just finish within the time limits.
You should just start doing some rides and see what calls to you.

Eric Peterson

Permalink Reply by Nick Cowan on November 4, 2010 at 9:15am

Having joined this group all of half an hour ago, i still don't know what a brevet is, but i've done quite of a bit of cycle touring in the last decade, ranging from overnighters to month+slogs across continents. Here's my opinion, if you're into that kind of cycling:

Steel (or cromoly, i guess) is nice and durable for a frame. I've flown dozens of times with my bike and almost never box it, but the worst that's ever happened to it is a broken spoke. Dropped handlebars offer lots of positions to avoid getting stiff on long rides. Triathlon lean bars also help. I jacked mine up so that i'm not too hunched over.

The saddle is sort of a personal issue. I use a seat with a valley down the middle to reduce numbness, and tilt the seat way forward: impossible to ride hand-free, but less pressure on the crotch (more on the hand, though!).

Lots of gears, if you value your knees. Steer clear of fancy integrated shifter/brakes, unless you know how to fix them and carry the right tools with you. (I don't, and found myself cycling the Oregon coast with one gear... stinker!)

A good kickstand is critical for happy touring with a heavy load. I think this is actually the only component where i exhibit brand loyalty: the Greenfield Stabilizer. My buddy broke his crummy kickstand on the first day of a month-long tour in Patagonia... that sucked for him because there are long stretches down there without trees to lean your bike on, so he had to lie his bike on its side, which isn't good for panniers.

Apart from the frame, handlebars and kickstand, everything on my bike has been replaced multiple times over the past 10 years, so i try to not get attached to any one component!

That's enough for now!
-nick

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 5, 2010 at 4:35pm

From the Randonneurs USA website:
brevet (bruh vay) - Literally, the word means "certificate", "patent", or "diploma" in French. In "randonneuring", it means two things: certification of having successfully done a randonné, --indicated by a small numbered sticker placed on a completed brevet card --, as well as, by extension the long-distance event itself (at least 200 kilometers in length). Completing a successful brevet means one's ride has been certified and registered in France, and the rider's name is added to the roll of honor, going all the way back to 1921. These challenging rides can also entitle the rider to enter longer events such as Paris-Brest-Paris or Boston-Montréal-Boston. As used in the "randonneuring" world, the terms brevet and randonnée are often interchangeable, but in common cycling usage, a randonnée might be considered to be less structured or formal than a brevet.


Nick Cowan said:

Having joined this group all of half an hour ago, i still don't know what a brevet is, but i've done quite of a bit of cycle touring in the last decade, ranging from overnighters to month+slogs across continents. Here's my opinion, if you're into that kind of cycling:


-nick

Permalink Reply by Nick Cowan on November 5, 2010 at 9:38pm

Thanks for the summary, Kevin. My mother tongue is French but it wasn't obvious exactly what the terms meant in this context. So are brevets or randonnées always overnighters, or are some of them long day-trips? And are the overnight trips supported or unsupported?

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on November 6, 2010 at 9:36am

Brevets and randonnées are always self-supported, and are always time delimited. Riders receive stamps at checkpoints to verify their time and presence along the way. Checkpoints open and close on a staggered basis to ensure that riders' average speed is above a minimum and below a maximum (range of about 11-21 mph). There are overall time limits based on the length of the event; i.e. 200K is 13:30, 300K is 20:00; 400K is 27:00 and 600K is 40:00. So depending on your pace and the distance being ridden, you can expect some of these rides to require night riding.


Nick Cowan said:

Thanks for the summary, Kevin. My mother tongue is French but it wasn't obvious exactly what the terms meant in this context. So are brevets or randonnées always overnighters, or are some of them long day-trips? And are the overnight trips supported or unsupported?

Permalink Reply by Waymond Smith on November 6, 2010 at 2:02pm

I've done 3 centuries this past summer, all self supported; is doing a brevet similar to this type of riding? If not, how does it differ?
These centuries were done an 'old school' Panasonic 10 speed and on a Diamondback 21 speed, both chromoly frames.

waymond

Kevin Conway said:

Brevets and randonnées are always self-supported, and are always time delimited. Riders receive stamps at checkpoints to verify their time and presence along the way. Checkpoints open and close on a staggered basis to ensure that riders' average speed is above a minimum and below a maximum (range of about 11-21 mph). There are overall time limits based on the length of the event; i.e. 200K is 13:30, 300K is 20:00; 400K is 27:00 and 600K is 40:00. So depending on your pace and the distance being ridden, you can expect some of these rides to require night riding.


Nick Cowan said:

Thanks for the summary, Kevin. My mother tongue is French but it wasn't obvious exactly what the terms meant in this context. So are brevets or randonnées always overnighters, or are some of them long day-trips? And are the overnight trips supported or unsupported?

Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on November 6, 2010 at 8:11pm

Brevets are longer rides. A typical series is 200K, 300K, 400K, 600K. There are also 1200K rides. So riding a brevet is like combining riding a century with the distance of touring, except that you don't make overnight stops, at least not very long ones.
Brevet routes are designed to be challenging, the typical amount of climbing per 200K is 5,000 feet.
Brevets take place regardless of the weather. Due to the longer and more challenging rides, riders must be prepared to deal with weather changes as well as any mechanical problems on the ride, as well as be prepared for riding at night - meaning good lights and reflective gear. Riders must be self-supported on the ride, except at controls.
Due to the time limits, riders must be conditioned to be riding their bicycle for a much longer time duration than on a century. Breaks are optional and at the discretion of the rider, but you must keep a fast enough pace to bank sufficient time to meet the time limits. Sometimes this means riding through the night.
Those are some of my thoughts.
Why don't you google brevet or randonneuring and see what others have to say?

Eric


Waymond Smith said:

I've done 3 centuries this past summer, all self supported; is doing a brevet similar to this type of riding? If not, how does it differ?
These centuries were done an 'old school' Panasonic 10 speed and on a Diamondback 21 speed, both chromoly frames.

waymond

Permalink Reply by Joe on February 27, 2011 at 8:43am

Last year I rode this

http://salsacycles.com/bikes/archived_casseroll/

this year I think I'll be riding this

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/pacer_complete/

but sometimes people run something like this

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/triathlon/#speed_concept_7

and a few guys have done 200 and maybe the 300 on one speed bikes

heck there was even a gal who rode this

http://www.lightningbikes.com/p38.htm

and turned the screws tight at the end of the 200 last year

so as long as it's comfy.....you are in business :)

Permalink Reply by Brian Bird on March 6, 2011 at 7:49pm

 

The ideal bicycle is that which you are comfortable riding on for 200, 300, or however many kilometers you decide to travel.  How you arrive at deciding what bicycle is appropriate is your decision. 

Permalink Reply by ambimb on March 27, 2011 at 9:46am

If anyone sees or knows of a good touring/cyclocross bike for sale in about 52cm size (I'm 5'7" with a 30-inch inseam) in the $500 ballpark, I'm definitely looking. If I had $1100 I'd probably get a Bianchi Volpe. Short of that, looking looking looking...

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