Riding a Century on a 3-speed

[blackhawknj]

Has anybody else ridden one ? I have ridden only one informal century-over 20 years ago ! Furthest I have ridden on a 3-speed is 47.7 miles, did not find the wide saddle-Brooks B66 on my 1969 Dunelt-uncomfortable nor the lack of variety in handlebar positions. Recall an article in the LAW Bulletin back in 1980 or so, one man and his wife rode a Veterans Century-over 50s, he ordered a new frame in the UK, described putting his tried and true components on it in their hotel room-he was surprised to see riders with vintage 3-speeds handed down as family heirlooms, recall seeing a Raleigh DL-1.

 

[ccdc.1]

Depends on 'where' for most...here in the South Carolina Lowcountry, as 10' is considered a hill, and 200' is a climb. The last century I did in April was all in one gear. That said, I have seen several people doing L'Eroica in Italy with a fixed gear (with 20% grades in places)....nobody looks askance when one decides the hill ahead is more walkable than rideable.

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

depends on the route. Centuries are pretty tough around here.

 

[Schwinny]

A gaggle of us old people just did 80 two weeks ago. All bikes were 3 speeds.
Proper gearing and an hour or so in the saddle getting rythm and timing right and it wasn't bad at all.
Of course it was 40 miles per day with several stops, but the first 40 was all rolling hills.
Primarily it's the motor, not the machine.

 

[Jesper]

I have done a fast 25 miles on a 1970 Raleigh Sports with stock 3 speed IGH. I had LOOK pedals on it because I was racing, other than that it was essentially OE (removed the rear rack, swapped saddles). The Brooks "Flyer" saddle was not comfortable fit wise; it could have been my riding position and/or the fact that the saddle was not broken in yet; but the original B.72 was too flexible for my purpose so the hard "Flyer" was used. Normally, I just use it as a "pub run" bike (5 miles out and 5 back); but I do ride it up around 15mph or faster on a regular basis and also use it as my off-road gravel bike. I would like to try a century using the Campy "cambio corsa" shifting system (still a 3 speed). So far my riding on those 1940s bikes has been limited to under 40 miles and no major hills (could stay in one gear) to ascend.

 

[blackhawknj]

Years of commuting and living at the top of a fairly good grade have made me a hill climber, all my 3-speeds are geared for hills.
Probably do a loop here in Central NJ, south of where I live reasonably flat, gently rolling at best.

 

[MEW1359]

I was riding TOSRV - a famous century ride done yearly from Columbus to Portsmouth and back - 200 miles in 2 days. We saw an old guy - 60's or 70's riding a single speed wood frame vintage bike. Talked with some officials and they said he does the whole thing, and takes about 12-13 hours each day. Now thats a man who has bigger kahoonies then I got!

 

[blackhawknj]

The first centuries were ridden in 1888, high wheelers and safety bikes-all single speeds. And on those rough roads.

 

[1817cent]

I have ridden STP (Seattle to Portland) a few times, years ago on a 1949 Schwinn Hornet (single speed). Its a double century and only has a couple of major hills. We left at 5:00 AM and arrived in Portland at 8:30 PM. Couldn't sit down the next day though..