My lack of cycling experience on anything but mountain or BMX style bikes as a kid is really what led me to the purchase of my mountain bike as an adult. It was what I had put so many miles on as a kid, so it should be the bike of choice as an adult too, right? Wrong. Many people automatically gravitate towards mountain bikes for their do-it-all appearance. I suspect that many mountain bikes suffer the same fate as 4X4 trucks and SUVs. They were originally designed for off road use, but rarely see more than a mud puddle. Something with drop handlebars for more hand postions, a more comfortable geometry for longer distances, and no front suspension fork to absorb my efforts on a climb is what I needed.
I spent hours researching road bikes on the internet. I really didn’t know anything about them. Heck, I’d probably only ridden one once. This was all new to me. With a budget in mind, I went to several bike shops in the area and rode as many bikes as possible. After many test rides, hours spent on the internet, and a lot of conversation with the guys at a few local bike shops, I finally found a new bike. My first road bike was a Felt Z85, an aluminum frame with a carbon fiber fork and Shimano 105 components.
After riding a mountain bike, my new bike felt like a Porsche. I loved the speed and handling. The distances I could cover, at a reasonable speed, in comfort were amazing to me. I put many happy miles on that bike. I did my first Seattle to Portland (STP) ride on that bike. For what I wanted to do on my bike, I had had finally found the right tool for the job, for now.
Could I have completed the STP on my mountain bike? Sure. Would I want to? No. Having the right bike for your intended use makes the ride more comfortable, more convenient, faster, or sometimes even safer. Many bikes can span a range of uses though. While they may not be ideal for all situations, they perform well enough to meet the goal at the time, particularly if the departure from the intended design of the bike is short lived. Other times trying to use a bike that is not designed for a particular task or environment can prove difficult. I’ve used my cyclocross bike like a hard tail mountain bike on some off road, trail rides a few times. It isn’t ideal, but I’ve never encountered a situation where I simply could not ride where I wanted because my cyclocross bike wouldn’t work. I have also used that same bike to ride the 204 miles of the STP. Parts of those rides may have been better tackled with a bike designed for that purpose, but they were no less enjoyable on my cyclocross bike.
Even after my switch to road bikes, I still find myself searching for the next bike. Cyclists jokingly referred to this as N+1 (N+1 = Correct number of bikes; N represents the current number of bikes you own). While this is obviously a silly, tongue in cheek idea, I have had a few different bikes since I started riding. It seems there is always room for improvement. Always, some aspect of a bike I'd like to change. Some day I hope to find that perfect bike...
I had a revelation during the STP last year about bicycle comfort and practicality. It was my first year riding the STP in one day. I found myself 150 miles into the 204 mile ride thinking about how uncomfortable my once perfectly fitting, carbon fiber road bike really is. I’ll stop right here to say that I really do like this bike. I still have it and it will not be leaving my stable of bicycles any time soon. What I found were the limits of practicality or usefulness of this bike. After about 100 miles I want a more comfortable saddle, a little more upright riding position, a ride that doesn’t feel every single vibration caused by the road, and somewhere to stash some real food (gels, bars, blocks, and bananas get really old after a while). My carbon fiber road bike is fantastic and a blast to ride on a warm summer day for 50 miles. However, extend that ride to 100 miles, or add a little rain (no fenders….), maybe I want to haul an extra layer of clothing or a real lunch, and suddenly that amazing bike that I enjoy so much, isn’t so practical.
As I pedaled along on that hot summer day last year during the STP, I did a lot of thinking. I’d heard of these people that ride really long distances in one ride, like 200km, 300km, 600km and up to 1000km. I asked myself, what kind of bikes do they ride? I came up with some ideas on what a good long distance bike might be. In a 204 mile ride one has plenty of time to think of such things. What I came up with was a steel framed bike, with wide tires to help soak up the road bumps and vibrations, the ability to haul a bag that would contain more than just a spare tube and a multi tool, and a Brooks leather saddle. After that STP, I started researching long distance riding to see if my ideas were reasonable or if I had been simply suffering from some heat stroke induced hallucinations that day. I came across a sport within the cycling community known as Randonneuring. Randonneruring is basically long distance cycling. Well, it turns out I wasn’t too far off the mark with my mid ride mental bike build.
If you search the internet for randonneur bikes you’ll find that they match my thoughts on what would make a more comfortable, practical, long distance bike. I wish I could find where I read this, but I think the best description of a randonneuring bike that I’ve seen is a touring bike mixed with a race bike. Basically, take your average touring bike design and make it as fast and light as possible. I think this is a fantastic idea. Part of the beauty of these bikes is they can be used for so much more than just long rides. I can see using it as a “rain” bike, since many of them have plenty of room for fenders, a commuter, or a light weight camping/ light touring bike, provided loads are kept light.
So what is next in the search for bicycle nirvana? For me, it is a randonneuring bike. This design philosophy checks all the boxes for me when it comes to comfort, speed, and versatility. Hopefully one day soon I’ll be able to post a build and review of one. Until then, I’ll continue to ride what I have. I’ve yet to be on a ride and think to myself “this ride sucks, I can’t have fun on this bike”. The right tool for the job is great, but when it comes down to riding a bike that is not ideal for a situation or not riding at all, I’ll take the less than ideal bike and keep on pedaling. Finding the right bike may not happen right away. For me, it has been an evolutionary process. The more I ride, the more I learn about my likes and dislikes and I suspect that I’ll never be done. For me, this is part of the fun of cycling.
