Bike conversion [back from Paris now]

Thanks for the well wishes guys will try to respond to all comments above:

The tyres areVittoria Randonneur from my daily commuter so should do the job.

I changed the chainset as my current one was mashed from using it as a 1x9 set-up and I needed a new big chainring anyway as that had been turned into a chainguide/bashguard. I am keeping the new one on after I convert it back to a MTB so no loss there

I will have a camelback on for hydration and we will have a support van so hoping to keep food/energy drinks in there.

I have bar ends, but unsure if I will need them as I am keeping the riser bar on.

The ride is 280miles over 3 days (so a relaxed pace thank god! ) and is essentially a relay, though we are all hoping to do most if not all of the distance.

A major factor in going rigid and putting the V-brake back on was to make the bike look less apealing to theives (Just being a Pinnacle may not be enough )

If anything here is a 'school-boy error' please let me know as apart from my short commute into work I don't do roads. :?

Cheers guys.

snig wrote:

I wouldnt becalling that easy but good you have a better frame of mind then me!

Positive mental attitude my friend!

I will look into the toe clips, not sure a long ride like this is the best time to go clipped in. Can see the confused french faces as a fat english man falls onto thier pavement with a bike rolling onto him

Oh and RealMan, the lock is there for my commute this week (can't ride the commuter without it's tyres) and me and my saddle have done some miles and are very comfortable with each other

Cheers for the ideas guys, keep 'em comming. reckon I have time to stick some bar ends on before bed.

Hey guys,

Anyone got any last minute advice before I go to the supermarket this evening? Will be heading down to london straight after work and then we start the cycling at 8am Saturday morning.

The nerves are setting in now! :shock:

Thanks guys.

Hey guys, back from Paris now, thanks for the wellwishes by the way

Well it was certainly a good experience, and for a good cause! I wasn't sure of my stamina as my only "training" for this was a day at Llandegla, so with it being a relay event I took it easy and only did 40miles of the first day (60miles total) and again 40miles the second day (85miles total) and the last day sat out the first 25-30 miles before deciding to ride the rest of the day, which was 55miles. My total was 135miles over three days and to be honest I feel good, in retrospect I would have liked to do the full miles yesterday.

I have learnt some odd/unexpected things in the process:

1. UK drivers are the most disrespectful c*nts towards cyclists! I am not keen on the french race, but they really know how to make a cyclist feel safe on the roads
2. 135miles over 3 days on the road is far less tiring than a single run at Llandegla (with all the black bits thrown in)
3. The Pinnacle with rigid forks and slicks is a mean road machine! It was more than capable at keeping up with road bikes on the descents (wore the brakes down a fair bit trying to stay wit my team) and was much more adept at tackling the more crazy french hills (gear ratio was awesome)
4. When deciding to ride through the french countryside; stop to think about how much you will be thinking 'my god I wish I was in that wood' before agreeing to it

Right, so I have been on the road for 11hours today and recovering from sunstroke/dehydration all day, so I am bound to have left some details out. In summary; good times, good company, good cause, should have tried harder