Im doing a century ride in Tucson...?

Question

What would be the best bike for this ride. Im checking on getting a new bike. I am currently in Germany so its alittle harder for me to find some.

Answer 1

I'm assuming you will be travelling on paved roads.  If so almost any road or touring bike  bike will do, but the following would be the basis for my choice.

You want a road bike with drop handlebars (maximizes hand position choices). Since century rides put a premium on comfort rather than responsiveness/performance you want something like a Specialized Roubaix rather than Trek Madone (to use specific examples).

There is no advantage to spending money on a top end component group (e.g. Shimano 105 (or even lower) will be fine rather than Ultegra or Dur-Ace) ... you would be better to put money into lighter wheels since unless the route is very hilly overall bike weight isn't a big concern, but low wheel weight is almost always highly desireable (The possible exception is where wheels need to be absolutely "bulletproof" ... e.g. loaded, unsupported touring).

So you want a road bike that has "relaxed geometry", is tuned for shock absoption (e.g. carbon fibre rather than aluminum), has a comfortable seat (if you have a favourite, put it on the new bike), has good high pressure tires with little or no tread (slicks). Use whatever shoe/pedal system you are comfortable with.

Final point, make sure the bike has at least two water bottle cages (a behind the seat or handlebar cage can add to that).

If I had to point to a specific brand/model ... Specialized Roubaix Elite (105 components).

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Hopefully you are fairly accquainted with cycling and riding in general, otherwise the type of bike you have won't matter all that much!

I would go for a road/ touring bike. That has a carbon fork, the material of the the rest of the frame depends on how much you want to spend and what else you want to do with it.