# London 100 on SS. Any tips?



## Beebo (11 Jul 2016)

i am going to try the London 100 on my single speed Pearson.
Please give me some tips for such a long ride. I have never done 100 miles on a single speed bike.
Gearing is standard 48 - 18, so i expect to walk up some of the bigger hills, but i will have a sensible cruising speed on the flatter sections. A rolling average of 15mph seems doable.
My one concern is cramping up once fatigue kicks in, as i cant spin my legs in a low gear.


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## GGJ (11 Jul 2016)

I've not done 100 miles but have done 80-90+ miles numerous times on my S/S also on 48T-18 and never had to walk up any hills. Just don't go too hard at the start and eat and drink plenty on your way round

82.74 miles with 4651 feet of ascent






81.6 miles with 5341 feet of ascent





88.9 miles with 5141 feet of ascent





Plenty Cat3 and Cat4 climbing












All on my Genesis Skyline with 48T-18


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## goody (11 Jul 2016)

What sort of distance can you comfortably manage at the moment? If a 50 miler is easy for you then 100 won't be too much of a struggle. Not sure about the gearing for Newlands, Leith and Box hill. Eat and drink sensibly and you should be ok. You've got a bit of time to get some long rides in so get out there! 
Failing that save up and buy a proper bike.


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## Beebo (11 Jul 2016)

goody said:


> What sort of distance can you comfortably manage at the moment? If a 50 miler is easy for you then 100 won't be too much of a struggle. Not sure about the gearing for Newlands, Leith and Box hill. Eat and drink sensibly and you should be ok. You've got a bit of time to get some long rides in so get out there!
> Failing that save up and buy a proper bike.


I have a proper bike. In have done the London 100 ride before so I know i can manage the ride on a normal bike, i want to make it a bit more interesting by pushing myself for the challenge, so instead of trying to bomb round as quickly as possible this year I will take it slower and try it on a SS.

I have never done a ride of more than 50 miles on my ss, i just hope the closed roads and numerous drafting opportunities will pull me through the last 50!


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## Milkfloat (12 Jul 2016)

I have been contemplating the same as I have been given a late start time and don't want to bash through all the slower people in front of me on my geared bike. The one thing that is stopping me is that it sounds like the hills will be really congested which would stop me getting a run up and then grinding my way to the top. I have never actually done 100 on a fixed before so it would be an interesting challenge.


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## marcusjb (12 Jul 2016)

If I were riding the event on fixed, I would probably gear up considerably for it. The first section is so flat and fast, on a normal gear (for me 67") It would be a great shame to not be able to keep up with the very fast groups. 

I geared up to 71" for PBP, but I would probably go to 76" for Ride London on fixed. New lands and box hill are both super fixed friendly (box is made for fixed! You will romp up there leaving the geared riders for dust). Leith would be a grind and Wimbledon will hurt a lot, but by then, you're nearly home. 

If you've done 50 miles on the bike, 100 on closed roads, with lots of groups and people cheering you on will be straight forwards. 

Good luck!


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## dave r (12 Jul 2016)

Milkfloat said:


> I have been contemplating the same as I have been given a late start time and don't want to bash through all the slower people in front of me on my geared bike. The one thing that is stopping me is that it sounds like the hills will be really congested which would stop me getting a run up and then grinding my way to the top. I have never actually done 100 on a fixed before so it would be an interesting challenge.



I've done a 100 mile ride on fixed, a 108 mile Forum ride.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/100-mile-fixed-gear-ride-spring-2014.136598/page-16

I was already doing regular rides of 60 - 70 miles so for me it was just a step up in distance, the only things I can say are the usual stuff, make sure you keep yourself fed and watered, we had two cafe stops and I carried malt loaf with me when I did mine, and don't go off to fast, if other people go of fast at the start its easy to get sucked into starting fast and then you end up blowing up at the end of the ride.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (12 Jul 2016)

Beebo said:


> i am going to try the London 100 on my single speed Pearson.
> Please give me some tips for such a long ride. I have never done 100 miles on a single speed bike.
> Gearing is standard 48 - 18, so i expect to walk up some of the bigger hills, but i will have a sensible cruising speed on the flatter sections. A rolling average of 15mph seems doable.
> My one concern is cramping up once fatigue kicks in, as i cant spin my legs in a low gear.


It's no different to riding a geared bike tbh. Maybe flip flop a bigger gear if spinning is of concern, but I doubt it will.


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## Stinboy (12 Jul 2016)

This is a pure coincidence but I completed my first 100 today on the ss (or any bike for that matter). 

I'm not sure how it would compare to the London 100 - I covered 110 miles and 5900 ft of climbing and managed to average 16.7mph. My advice would be to keep well hydrated - I didn't (only had 1.5l with me) and suffered a bit in the last 20 miles.

Having said that, I still loved every minute and I'm chuffed to bits


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## adyc (13 Jul 2016)

I'm doing one in a few weeks. It's based in Norfolk with not too many climbs, I've done about 60 before, so this will push me a bit further.


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## JimboJames1972 (26 Jul 2016)

I've done a handful of 100+ mile rides on my Genesis Flyer Singer Speed, most recent was the Suffolk Sunrise (104 miles, 3.000ft climb).
My gearing is the same as yours (48:18) and I find that just about right for me - I am most comfortable at about 85-90 cadence on the flats and can cope with the short, sharp hills of up to 12% that we get around here if I take a run at them and stand and grind up them.
The only thing that really beats me is a headwind. Hills will eventually end, but a wind is constant and I find that it really tires me out. On my geared bike I can just drop it down one and grit my teeth, but there is no escape from the wind on SS. It can get to my knees if I am not careful, too much straining on a gear that is too high does mine no good at all!
Aside from that, some general long distance advice:
1. Wear suncream
2. Refuel regularly (one bar/gel/fruit + 1L drink per hour). I cut the top of the wrappers off my bars before the ride for easy access. I also graze - 1/3 of a bar every 20 mins or so and a mouthful of drink every mile to keep my tummy from cramping if I binge. I also find that too much sweet stuff gets to me after a while and I crave savoury food from the feed stations after 50-60 miles. Eat whatever your body tells you to, but don't stop too long and get cold.
3. Pace yourself. Set a realistic average time, taking into account the hills in each section of the ride. Aim to do the first third about 1mph slower than average, the second third at average and then push on (if you can) for the final third.
4. Know the hills, weather forecast and general route. Dress appropriately and gear your bike appropriately too.
5. Cycle with friends (or make some new ones on the ride) and take turns leading/resting.
6. Make use of rest stops for "calls of nature" - no fun cycling and needing a pee!
7. Have enough spares. I carry 2 tubes, half dozen patches, pump, levers, bike multitool, small penknife multitool, duct tape and cable ties, lighter, USB battery pack and cable for phone/Garmin and small first aid kit
8. Enjoy it. Take plenty of pictures, admire the scenery and be happy in the company of others :-)

J


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## Stinboy (29 Jul 2016)

[QUOTE="JimboJames1972, post: 4384982, member: 43888" *I cut the top of the wrappers off my bars before the ride for easy access.*/QUOTE]

That is a top tip right there


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## JimboJames1972 (29 Jul 2016)

Thanks. Just don't try the same with your gels :-)

J


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## JimboJames1972 (31 Jul 2016)

So, Beebo, how did you get on?

A few cycle buddies from my local club were lucky enough to get in and all seemed to enjoy the experience (although none were on SS!). Let us know your news,

J


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## Milkfloat (31 Jul 2016)

If I do it again next year then I am going to try fixed. I did not realise how flat the whole course is apart from Leith, which may require a bit of a walk. I was talking to a guy on fixed who was turning a pretty big gear, he said he made it up Leith, but I think that would be beyond me, especially with all the traffic.


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## Beebo (1 Aug 2016)

Yep i did it on my Single Speed. I didnt see anyone else on SS, although i am sure there must have been. I saw a couple of bromptons and a boris bike, which looked tough.
My pace was good and my legs are clearly much stronger now.
I got up newlands corner without any trouble, box hill was so busy that i couldn't go at my own pace, which was quicker than the mases, so i had to grind it out.
Due to the massive delays i had to miss leith hill, but having seen everyone up box hill there is no way i could have made it up leith hill without stopping, as the roads were too full.
All in all this is the perfect 100 mile ride for SS, the first 40 is fast and flat, the next 30 is hilly and the final 30 is quick back into London.


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## JimboJames1972 (1 Aug 2016)

Glad it went well for you!
What gearing did you go for in the end? I'm planning a London - Paris ride later in the year where we will go from Newhaven to Diep, I think a fair amount of this route will be what you rode yesterday.
J


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## Beebo (1 Aug 2016)

JimboJames1972 said:


> Glad it went well for you!
> What gearing did you go for in the end? I'm planning a London - Paris ride later in the year where we will go from Newhaven to Diep, I think a fair amount of this route will be what you rode yesterday.
> J


48-18 with a freewheel.


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## JimboJames1972 (1 Aug 2016)

Exactly what I have at the moment! Happy Days :-)
J


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## rb58 (1 Aug 2016)

Fixed next year then @Beebo ? I think I might try for that too. I've done a few centuries on fixed, but the last one was over a year ago. Twelve months to prepare though.


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## Beebo (1 Aug 2016)

rb58 said:


> Fixed next year then @Beebo ? I think I might try for that too. I've done a few centuries on fixed, but the last one was over a year ago. Twelve months to prepare though.


I think you started an hour and a half before me so probably didn't experience the volume of crowds that I was riding with.
I don't think I would have felt very safe on fixed in those crowds, and the descents would be hairy.
Newlands Corner was OK, I don't recall many people overtaking me, I have to admit to being one of the right hand lane shouters, as I wanted to keep my momentum up.
Up Box Hill it was manic, people were tired by then and going to slow for me, I would have like to keep a good rhythm but couldn't. I was having to push the pedal a quarter turn and then back pedal, just to keep my speed down to the pace of the other riders.


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## Stinboy (1 Aug 2016)

I know that this has been discussed at some length over in general, but that really doesn't sound like much fun to me :-(


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