The Ontario Ride to Conquer Cancer

Specialized Roubaix with road tires. Did the job last year with no problems.

2010 Argon 18 carbon frame I purchased. Built with remainder of parts from a crashed 2010 trek madone 5.2 that had a cracked frame. bonterager wheels,stem,bars,saddle and full Ultegra 6700 components. All in built for under $1500. Couldn't be happier with it

 

 

Trek 2.3 with Easton EC90 bar, Ksyrium Equipe wheels and Michelin Pro Race 3 tires.

Cannondale Six 3 (for the second year)....I have super six envy!

Did the 2009 Quebec ride on a Nineteen Advantage rented from Endurosport

-- Edited by slalom_ on Friday 1st of April 2011 03:08:56 PM

I was gonna bump this up today! lol. I can't believe we have only seen 6 bikes!

Last year I did the 200M on a 2009 Specialized Roubaix.  Last fall I picked up a Felt AR4 frameset for a song.  It weighs in a 16.42 lbs, not bad for a 58cm frame.  The stock 54cm AR4 with Ultegra components and OEM wheels lists its weight at 16.97 lbs.  If you were at the celebration ride in October last year, you may have saw me.  I was the guy at the side of the road near the end of the route, on a Felt with the broken derailleur hanger, destroyed rear derailleur and snapped chain.  A few hundred dollars and she's all better now :)

I still have the 58cm roubaix if anyone is looking for a deal on a used carbon road bike.  It has approximately 3000km on it and I can build it up with a 105 groupset with a fsa gossamer compact crank and ultegra brakes or a full ultegra compact group.  You would need to get a wheelset and shimano 10 speed casset.

-- Edited by RSinfield on Saturday 9th of April 2011 09:04:08 PM

-- Edited by RSinfield on Saturday 9th of April 2011 09:04:26 PM

I have to ask, how did you manage to break two arms? On the 50k route a few people when down going over the train tracks.

A Specialized Tricross Comp with a road wheelset

HeeHee!  My bike's not a road bike anyways, it has bigger tires and all, but it's meant to sit me up straighter as I have a previous back injury (from a long time ago).  Almost fully recovered now, though!

Argon 18 Platinum all carbon with 105 group. Got it from Al at Pedal Performance in Vaughan, you might have met him if you were at the ride from the Zoo last year as he had the bike repair tent set up. Can't complain about my ride, but I sure hope spring gets here soon so that I can put some mileage on before the M200. Year 4 for me, probably not my last. Watch for my yellow flag!

Are you doing the 100km or 100mi?  Lots of people did the 100km on mountain bikes, but I would recommend replacing knobby tires with smother street tires.  It will make a world of difference.

Adding bar ends to handle bars is another worthwhile addition to a mountain or hybrid bike.  These give you other places to put your hands during the course of the day. Changing hand positions will alter your posture and can reduce soreness over a long ride.

I did the 200k distance on a mountain bike in my first year.  As you mentioned, I swapped out knobbies for slicks.  I also added some small bar ends which allowed me to adjust my hand position.

My best advice to you is to keep your cadence high and steady.  Keep your legs moving constantly and stay relaxed.  Don't take excessively long rest breaks at the stops, because if your legs cool down, you'll struggle to warm up again.  Finally, carry plenty of water.  You're going to need it.

Oh, one last thing: you may think a mountain bike is a disadvantage, but just wait until you start going up Hamilton mountain at the end of Day 1.  You'll be puttering along happily in granny gear while a bunch of exhausted road bike riders pant and puff their way up the hill.

Remember: high, steady cadence.  You'll do great!

Thanks for the encouraging comments re mountain bike! My partner is going to be riding a 40 year old Raleigh racing bike, had it tuned up, new tires, seems to work just fine. Faster than my bike that is for sure.

I'm switching to the M200 only to push myself harder in training. I've done century rides but never two days back to back. I can't wait to watch the miles tick past.

X2 on the pics. I love seeing other peoples rides

The advantage of having so few people spread out over such a long course is that I never had to wait in line at a stop for anything including a quick tune and lube on the very wet Sunday while I grabbed lunch. Also most, if not all of the riders know what they are doing are used to riding in group rides and form really good pace lines.

The downside is that there is not the same sence of community on the 100 mile course (which is arguably why we are doing the ride), it is mostly just a bunch of roadies hammering it. This is particularly true on the Sunday when the start times are spread out as well. It is a great group ride but I did not find it that emotional transformative experience that others on the 100 K course talk about.

You also don't get the same level of brand promotion of products on the 100 mile course because there are relatively few people. As I said last year, I wish the courses overlapped more, but unless things have changed they do not except for the first and last 10 k or so on Sat and the last 2 k on Sunday.

i'm riding a specialized roubaix elite, what an upgrade to my cannondale quick hybrid that i rode last year.... i loved riding the hybrid last year, but the roubaix or any road bike for that matter is night and day!

I bought a Kona Jake the Snake earlier this year and I love it! Still need to swap the tires before the ride though....

breezy rider wrote:

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niiiice bike!, i've got my wife interested in riding in 2012, but we're looking for a bike now, either higher end specialized dolce or the ruby... what kinda deal if any did you get? is it the 2011?

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If you mean me then thanks! it's the 2010 model so yeah I got a $300 discount as it's last years model.

I would say that's definately the way to go when buying a bike. Some of the bike shops still have 1 or 2 year old models on sale. You might have to ask or look on the web as they obviously mainly be displaying the new stuff.

If you fancy braving the crowds you could try shop at the Bike Show sale in the autumn, although I didn't find that the complete bikes were much cheaper than just a regular end of season sale in the shops.

My Specialized is the 2011 model - my local shop gave me a discount because I'm doing the ride.  I'm limited in my choices because I'm 5' tall and there are not many bikes available.

My trek is for sale - it's 43cm.  I purchased it 3 years ago to do the ride but enjoy biking so much that I decided to upgrade.

My Trek 1000 SL. Bought it new for the first ride (2008) and had a great time on the 200M last year.

I bought a 2010 Kona Jake the Snake about 3 months ago, all stock so far. I've decided I will do the majority of my training with the stock tires, and then closer to the ride I'll switch them to road tires. Sadly no pictures of my own, but despite that most riders probably know what it looks like, I'll post a stock photo anyway :)

Specialized Allez in silver - named it Shadowfax (my noble steed, only one can tame it!!).

On the right.

If you're doing the 200km route, you will not feel out of place - or out of pace. Many people will be riding hybrids and mountain bikes, as well as road bikes. The 200 mile route is much more dominated by road bikes.

The pace on the flats will vary greatly. Yes, there will be teams of roadies ripping along at 40+kmh- but they are the exception and will leave us in the dust quickly. There will be people riding at all sorts of paces, which helps to decrease the crowding on the road. 20kmh is not out of the ordinary by any means and 25kmh is likely better than average. Don't worry about keeping up with someone else, just go at a pace you are comfortable with and enjoy the day.