It may help to have a read through this thread: Bike Requirements for Audax
Thanks I did, I had a good look around too for general advice, I can't remember now but I did read a lot on the Audax uk site which was very helpful too
Thanks for all the quick replies, it seems comfort is the main thing which is unsurprising, what I should have said was my concern for the gearing, the old yellow bike being a 10 speed has no granny ring or a lovely 'mega 9 cog that's almost as big as the wheel' thing going on, so although I have good legs for climbing I'm thinking what will they be like at the end when I have to do Holly Hill
Reliability wise it's had a fair overhaul by me when I got it, new rear wheel, good drive train. Tyres are cheap 27 x 1.25 schwalbe with some puncture protection but as they are their cheap ones I don't know how good they will prove to be, talking of tyres I read a lot of ppl go for marathon or marathon plus here, any recommendations for tyres that fit a 27 inch rim? I guess not many people use them these days... [edit I just found I can get Marathons from SJS so that's a bonus]
Luggage wise I'll take the advice given and forget the rack/pannier then, and concentrate on a largish saddle bag.
Is it the right size? If it is, is the saddle at the right height? Are the 'bars at the right distance from the saddle? How high are they relative to the saddle?
Yes I believe it is, correct saddle height for good stroke, even found a comfy saddle (Charge Spoon work really well for me) but the narrow deep section rims are unforgiving as you'd expect on a racer, the reach is fine it's just fairly low, but you know how it is, it's an out and out racer, when I bought it I was thinking time trialling etc. and so went for this instead of a more sane bike which I'm regretting now.
I was wondering do many people use MTB's ? They are on the heavy side I know but I thought would roll quite well with the right tyres.
For that matter do many people use racers as I described with the aero rims and all?
Use whichever bike you think will make you enjoy the event the most. When I first started riding audaxes I didn't have a choice of bikes but I did used to flip the stem for audaxes to raise the bars slightly and give a more upright position. If you have chance before the event it might be worth trying that and seeing if it helps, assuming yours is currently in the 'down' position that is.
I hadn't thought / heard of doing that, we are talking about the short stem on a 'A head' type front fork, what a good idea I might have to give that a try!
Cheers,
Wayne.