sportive etc. on a classic ...

[malverncyclist]

Hi everyone
I am one of those people who have more than one bike - a folder (done London to Paris and the C2C on it and will do the first leg of LE2JG later this year on it), a touring/trekking bike mostly for commuting to work and a 1973 TI Raleigh road bike with twelve gears.

Somehow I'd been thinking about doing a longer ride and with that comes the idea of a sportive. My question is whether anyone out there does these rides on something as antiquated as a 12 geared bike. It's fairly lightweight and the cassette has been swapped to make the Malvern Hills etc. easier but ...

Any thoughts (and yes, a sportive on any bike requires training ...)

thanks

Martin

[meic]

We could try and put a figure on it.

I dont know the bike or its gears but I will risk that they are a little too spaced out.
I dont know the terrain but you may find the downtube changers hold you back a bit.

I will give them 1% each.

Possibly your tyres, wheels and rims will be a bit heavy.

I will give 1% if they are aluminium and 3% if they are old steel.

I reckon that you will be on a 2-5% disadvantage from the bike.

When I considered doing a Sportive I didnt even consider the disadvantages of using a 30 year old Holdsworth with downtube levers.
Just as I dont think that a modern Carbon Fibre bike will transform me into a much faster rider.

As a non-racer who would find it hard to finish a sportive in time but would like to have a go one day anyway. I will say it is ONLY a Sportive.

[cycleruk]

If you can handle the hills around Malvern then a sportive shouldn't be a problem.
It would be the distance that you need to consider depending on your stamina.

[ANTONISH]

There are audax riders (not me) who are able to ride a 600k audax over hilly terrain on a single gear. If you are used to the bike a change to something lighter probably won't make a lot of difference to your performance.
As long as you are enjoying yourself what matter a few minutes?

[NUKe]

If your moderately fit and the bike is in half decent condtion you won't have a problem. Most sportive riders are on bikes way above what they need. Sportives tend to have quite a large percentage of 40 plus returning to cycling riders, who aren't that fit. Its not CAT1 racing. A 70's bike in good condition is perfectly adequate. OK the first few are racing the majority are pushing themselves to get round and the achievement is finshing and having a good time with their
friends.

[ChrisButch]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. All the sportives I've been on include riders with a very wide range of abilities - but what distinguishes them from audaxes is the preponderance of riders new to cycling who have all the 'right' gear but not a great deal of experience or ability - so that, despite some really fast times by the leaders, the average speed in most sportives is no faster than in audaxes. So that, on your existing bike, you'll probably find yourself comfortably in the middle of the field anyway, and certainly not embarrassingly exposed at the rear.

[enigmatic]

Sounds as if you've already done a fair bit of longer distance cycling so you'll know it's not about the bike, it's about fitness and attitude. I've used a steel framed bike with 12 gears to lug panniers over many miles. I've also used same with 18 gears/no panniers to do UK Audax and mountainous continental rides against the clock and I know many others who've done the same. You won't go as fast as the carbon brigade - but do you want to? You might finish less tired on a lighter bike, but you won't enjoy it any (or not much!) more. Just get the gearing right and do the training, then achieve FWIW I reckon my lightest bike is worth about 2-3mph over my old steel one, but that's not including cafe stops!

[Tonyf33]

Go for it, the buzz of completing it on an old bike that might not be as efficient as most (if not all) others on the line will put a smile on your face & show you don't need the latest CF/£3k superbike to do it on!

I've got a 12 geared audax bike built in the mid 80's and I blinkin' well love it, 11kg including mudguards so not overly heavy, comfy as anything and hoping to do an audax this March plus a century on it in later in the spring. It's fitted with downtube friction shifters that I still feel comfortable with even though sti's are a godsend. I like the fact I can fit a wide range of rings on the chainset(SR Super Custom) anything from a 53/42 to a 46/28 if so wished. Means I can run a 13-26 so not such a wide spread & still have a low enough gear to get up some decent slopes.

Luck & a fair wind