I finally went for it and did my first BRM200 yesterday. Definitely feels like more.

Anyone ridden/own and Orro Terra S? If so then how do you find them as a long distance steed?

Currently considering a gravel bike for general riding, commuting but mostly for added comfort on audax with wider tyres and GRx groupset. Too much choice if I’m honest. Argh!

Planning to save up for a titanium frame that can be custom built since i'm around the smallest end of the stock frame sizes. Any recos?

Will have two wheelsets to use the frame on (one for road - 700 and one for gravel fun - 650b)

Any feedback on ritte and seven? Or any other brand i should look into?

I've been navigating my last few brevets with my phone in a case attached to my bars, and it's not the most ideal thing.

My last brevet was a very twisty and turnt 200km, and It took me almost 13 hours (40kmh headwinds, wet muddy roads etc) and my phone died in the last 30 minutes. I am also worried about vibrations from the road damaging my phone.

I'm very overwhelmed with the options that are out there right now, and would love some input.

I have been tracking my brevets with my Garmin instinct 2 solar watch, so I get a good idea of stuff like pulse, effort etc, and the battery lasts a very very long time. I'm also already in the Garmin ecosystem, so that might tilt me into choosing another Garmin device

I would mainly use it for navigation, tracking climbs, having my speed (and speed averages), and being a backup recorder. I want to prioritize ease of putting my routes in, especially from ridewithgps.

Also visibility in bright or low-light conditions is important! Since I could be put for up to 20+ hours at a time, something with a decent battery would be nice (or that'll charge from a battery pack in my bar bag!)

Hello all,

I have recently set this goal for myself, I hope to achieve it either this or next year. I've done 180km in 8:15 a couple of years ago, but I dropped cycling and have focused on other sports (mainly climbing) .

I wanna pick up cycling again and this seems like a cool goal to work towards.

I just wonder what would be a good way to train for this, what should my longest day be before I commit to something like this? I feel like just doing long days (160k) once a week would get me to this goal realistically.

But I have 0 experience so any help/resources would be welcome.

I've done plenty of touring and long rides, my longest clocking in over 124 miles. At this point in my life I'm a bit out of shape. I'd like to get into good enough shape to (relatively comfortably) do a brevet. Aside from hours in the saddle, what do y'all do for training?

Edit: Thanks for the advice! To clarify, when I did my big rides I was never actually in good shape to do them, I was just in my 20s and could go out and murder my body and be fine. Now I'm creeping up on 40 and excited to actually get in shape for a long ride. I commute most days year round and do some recreational riding and light touring.

tl/dr: fancy crank failed twice, Rene Herse provided no meaningful product support

Full story:

Hi all, this post is both a request for others' feedback on the Rene Herse crank and the story of my own experience with both the crank itself and with Rene Herse warranty support.

I built up a new custom rando bike in 2021 using the RH crank. It worked great for about 10k miles when the left crank began creaking and no amount of greasing or tightening would make it stop. I may have undertightened it when swapping out the bottom bracket at 7k miles. So I bought a replacement left crank, installed on a brand new SKF bottom bracket according to RH's (vague) instructions and experienced creaking almost immediately that again no amount of greasing or tightening helped. 2k miles later and it creaks with every revolution when I'm out of the saddle. The right crank arm does not appear to have any issues.

I submitted a warranty claim and got an obvious copy/paste response claiming that crank issues are almost always due to undertightening, and provided instructions on how to re-form the crank tapers when this happens. Since it was a new unit, and I installed it really f'in tight (35-40nM on a beam-type torque wrench with repeated re-tightening), this should not be the case. 3 attempts to get another reply, and another warranty support request sent, with no followup from Rene Herse. It's been over two weeks since my initial claim.

Sad to say but I feel this crank is beautiful garbage. 25 years and many 10s of thousands of miles on all different types of cranks including square taper and I've never had a crank fail in this way (twice!). The nail in the coffin is the complete lack of meaningful support for a seriously expensive, niche product sold only to a small set of enthusiasts. I plan to switch to a Sugino sub-compact crank that uses a Hollowtech II interface, and then hang these nice shiny RH crank parts on my shop wall just for looking at.

I suspect Rene Herse know this part is fatally flawed and is ducking responsibility by pointing to incorrect installation, while also providing no clear benchmark for how tight is tight enough. Jan, if you're listening, prove me wrong!

A slight follow up canvassing of opinions from a post I made last week. I'm doing a 500km off road event I five weeks on an MTB. I'm doing a 200km audax this weekend for a bit of fun and to get some good base miles in too.

Wondering what people think re rising this on an MTB to get even more comfortable in that position, or stick to the road bike so those base miles are a bit easier?

Thanks.

Hello, I have many questions as I plan a tour from NJ to Tampa, Florida. I plan on biking 90-120 miles daily in early August. Total is about 1100, I aim to hit it in 12-13 days I am planning this tour more for myself, trying to feel accomplished and push myself physically and mentally.

Some background: I am 19 years old and have a rowing background. I now bike daily and have excellent fitness, and I have a training plan to attain this goal.

I know the best snacks and drinks to bring on the trip and will have a day off in the middle to recover and restock. I will also have a Garmin GPS to track my route.

I do most of my training with an indoor bike and a mountain bike. I am looking for a road bike to buy that I can also use for this tour and afterward. What are the recommendations? I have a budget for the bike around $500-$1500.

With my goals in mind, doing this tour with a focus on speed, what is the best way app/website to plan? My route will mostly give silent roads.

I plan to go to a motel along the way, which is better than tents and sleeping gear as I can carry less stuff, shower, and wash clothes. Are there any other options or anything easier?

If I get a road bike, what equipment and gear do I need to buy and carry with the bike? Assuming I buy a new bike. Should I worry about potential damage from wear and tear, other then still buying a spare tire or an inner tube?

I'm a noob going into this and am planning to solo this ride myself. Any tips or help I would appreciate. Thank you

I'm about six weeks out from a 500km off road event and I'm interested to hear opinions on what to focus on in the next six weeks in terms of training.

I've spent the last 5-6 months hitting mostly base miles, a sprinkling of intervals, and off bike strength work. Keep the engine ticking over or focus on higher intensity?

Thanks

The brevet season has started a few weeks ago with the 200s, and I've got a couple 300/400 coming up in the next few weeks. I've already successfully completed a 300 last year, so I'm not too worried about finishing. However, there's one little detail that worries me : bathroom breaks. The kind where a tree or bushes won't help.

In other words, how do you handle the few circumstances where you have to leave your bike unattended (which could also happen during "refueling" breaks at a store) ? Do you take a small bike lock such as a hiplock or a cable lock ? I'm a bit worried that in bigger towns that might not be enough.

Thanks in advance !

Did my 2nd 300 last weekend in the middle of Hessen, in the middle of Germany, pretty much in the middle of Europe.

The 2023 edition was wet almost all the way. This year was up to 24C and sunny. I got sunburn.

The route was the same. Approximately 3000m elevation over the 300km and though some wonderful nature and pretty towns.

At 11 hours 15, I finished 2 hrs earlier than last year and was home at a more reasonable time.

I recommend the area for Brevets if you are nearby or looking for a new challenge.

B

https://imgur.com/gallery/5zMs1EC

My seat post doesn’t extend high enough to fit a large bag like the Revelate Designs Terrapin 8L. I use the SILCA Mattone Grande for a seat post bag. Has anyone used the TailFin Areopack bag/frame? Or the Route Werks HB bag? Any thoughts about a lightweight camel pack?

I have a 400km coming up this evening, wondering if pasta is best option (I feel like it is)

Eating around 6pm, cycling at 9pm.

Any and all tips are welcome, thanks!

Do you trust your Garmin bike computer for multiday rides?

I have done a couple of 1000+ km rides with a wahoo roam. I stopped the ride every 200 km to prevent it from crashing. I never got more than 300 km with my wahoo before it crashed.

That said. Have you experience any issue like that with Garmin? I have a edge 1040. I want it to record for 2000 km. Should I split it up in like 400 km chunks?

Hi all, I have the opportunity to get a GREAT deal on a new 2024 diverge comp e5. I know it's a great bike (gorgeous in black and green) with an upright position and the future shock which I expect will be tremendous for wrist comfort. Anyone here riding one on brevets? It will be a huge upgrade from my modified 90s steel mtb but looking for build inspiration etc or general advice or caution against using it as a randonneuring rig. Thanks in advance! Pictures of anyone's build very welcome.

I've made my return to Audax after a couple of years away and I'm trying to get my setup back, perhaps its time to go to the drawing board and ask for advice.

My road fit is pretty much dialled in but I've always been a fan of TT bars for long rides - unfortunately I've never quite managed to get that setup feeling "just right". I'm using the same bike I used to, same bars, same saddle, set back up to photos of the bike from a few years ago.

It's easy to find advice for setting up for a TT, less so for a more relaxed fit.

How does your setup differ between using clip ons and the regular road fit?

Need advice: will be riding a 300km in a few weeks. Been training with power. Should i look into riding with heart rate instead? Idea just popped up a few days ago 🫤 been keeping power within endurance levels though. Was wondering if i wont be as flushed if i use heart rate instead. Any insights welcome!

Rando curious here, I’m interested if there are any notable events in the PA, WV, VA, MD area that I should put on my radar?

So I usually end up taking painkillers during brevets (Acetaminophen and/or Ibuprofen) on an "as needed" basis, I pack them along or if I forget I have bought some en-route. Yesterday I was riding a 200k and a fellow club member revealed it was their routine to take painkillers at a set distance, regardless of current need because "I'll be hurting eventually" and that was a mindset I hadn't encountered before. What are your thoughts around the usage of painkillers? I guess I've always thought that if I'm resorting to painkillers something has gone wrong and I'm curious how other randonneurs approach this.

Anyone with experience of randoneuring on 35 - 40mm tyres.

i’ve always used either 28or32mm before but just thinking of experimenting with some wider tyres. Naturally expecting them to be a tad slower and less efficient. But, over a long distance when comfort matters might just even itself out.

Anyone tried it? Any tyre recommendactions?

I recently purchased a modern gravel bike as a n=1 bike ideally for gravel, road and also randonneuring.

I've been trying to figure out a reliable way to mount my battery light and have not found a good solution...

The bike has aeroshape carbon bars with a very small round section, basically only wide enough for the stem clamp and basically ruling out the majority of mounting solutions...

I have the recommended by the manufacturer outfront GPS/gopro mount, but has a weight limit of 140g, my light is way above that limit ( Fenix BC30 V2.0 ).

I've seen gopro mounts by NiteRider (https://www.niterider.com/products/nr-go-actioncam-aero-mount) for aeroshaped handlebars but have not seen them available for purchase in Europe. I'm also unsure if it would be stable enough for heavier battery light.

Does anyone know of a similar mount available in the EU. Short of switching to standard round handlebars, any other solutions?

I have a flêche coming up and was hoping of riding this bike that allows for wider and plusher tires.