# First Audax on Saturday - which bike should I use?



## frank9755 (7 May 2010)

I'm doing the North Hampshire Audax this Saturday. I've never done one before. I think this one will be moderately hilly with some shortish climbs of which a couple could be steep. 

So - rapier or broadsword - what would be the best bike to use? 

I'm trying to decide between using my racing bike or firing up the Super Galaxy

Racer is reasonably comfortable and I have lowered the gearing (has a 34T compact up front and a mountain bike 34T on the back), but I've never ridden it more than 45 miles on an outing and it has 23mm tyres, so some puncture risk

Galaxy gives an armchair ride in comparison but is noticeably slower on the climbs.

It's not a race, but on the other hand it would be fun to go round a bit faster!


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## ACS (7 May 2010)

frank9755 said:


> I'm doing the North Hampshire Audax this Saturday. I've never done one before. I think this one will be moderately hilly with some shortish climbs of which a couple could be steep.
> 
> So - rapier or broadsword - what would be the best bike to use?
> 
> ...



What distance?


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## frank9755 (7 May 2010)

satans budgie said:


> What distance?



Not finally decided but am leaning towards the 100km option


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## Soltydog (7 May 2010)

Dont think the weather is going to be too good, maybe wet, so guards may be good


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## ACS (7 May 2010)

I would always go for comfort. Even a Galaxy can be moved at a fair old rate if the engine is willing.


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## RedBike (7 May 2010)

If your roadbike isn't comfortable over 45/60 miles then somethings wrong. Theres also no reason for 23mm tyres to be any more punture prone than the wider tyres on the Galaxy.


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## Broadside (7 May 2010)

+1

100km is definitely fast road bike territory, I wouldn't think you would need to wheel out the Galaxy unless you planned going past 150km.


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## frank9755 (7 May 2010)

Thanks for the comments which were helpful.

I've decided to take the Galaxy, just to make it easier as it is my first one. It is tried and tested as I've ridden it thousands of miles already. It has fittings for a bar bag so I can put my map and route sheet in that. It has mudguards, whereas I've just taken them off the other bike, and so on. 

Also, I have a 25 mile TT on Sunday, so don't want to go absolutely flat out.

Frank


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## frank9755 (7 May 2010)

RedBike said:


> Theres also no reason for 23mm tyres to be any more punture prone than the wider tyres on the Galaxy.



Is that right? I had thought that narrower tyres seemed to get more punctures, but certainly hadn't tested it properly. Interesting!


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## RedBike (7 May 2010)

Theres no reason for a narrow tyre to be any more punture prone but obviously there is a big difference between different models of tyre.

As any punture protection systems add both weight and rolling resistance narrow tyres often sacrifice punture protection to gain performance. But there are loads of highly punture resistant narrow tyres available.


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## GrumpyGregry (8 May 2010)

23mm tyres have to be pumped up to high pressure to avoid pinch flats. this can make for an uncomfortable ride and oft times seems to get neglected judging by the number of pinch flats I see on group/club rides. 

Fatter tyres run at lower pressures still avoid pinch flats so generally will be more comfortable.


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## Banjo (8 May 2010)

How did it go Frank?


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## frank9755 (10 May 2010)

Very well, thanks!

Was a chilly day, started in drizzle but it soon stopped and held off apart from a few spots. A very pleasant run out, over Watership Down and along the valley of the Test. Nice cup of tea and a cake at the mid-point. Then I turned round. 

The route back was net uphill, with more climbs, and more exposure to the North wind, in my face much of the way. Made one wrong turning which added on a few miles. As a result the return took far longer than the journey out (just under 2 hours out and a bit over 3 coming back).

The Galaxy was fine, but the other bike would have been ok too, if I'd put the mudguards back on it. I think people split about 60:40 in favour of racing bikes vs tourers. Next one I do, I'll use my racing bike if it's a nice day and tourer if it is wet.


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## jimboalee (10 May 2010)

Banjo said:


> How did it go Frank?



More to the point, how was the 25 TT?


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## frank9755 (10 May 2010)

That was ok too - legs were a bit stiff riding up to the start, but I soon forgot about that once I'd started!

I did a reasonable time, a bit slower than over the same course two weeks previously, but the wind was different so everyone was slower and my drop was less than most others in my club. As always with 25 mile TTs (this was only my fourth one), I didn't enjoy the first five or six miles but was loving it by the end. 

After doing 70 miles at Audax pace on the Galaxy the day before, doing a TT on the racing bike felt very fast!


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## Greenbank (11 May 2010)

I took the Aravis Audax for Saturday (I did the 200km Taste of the Test Audax) but with the PowerTap rear wheel with a 23mm tyre on it pumped up to 100psi.

It reminded me why I usually use 25mm tyres for Audaxing.

It was a little too damp for me to use the Wilier. Mudguards made it much more pleasant.


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## ricadus (13 May 2010)

An intriguing audax bike at 1:00 minute into this video... 


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aom0CkOPskY


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