I'm tempted to have a go at some Audax events but I don't think I could stand to do such distances on my 1998 Giant TCR2 road bike from a comfort point of view. I'm wondering if a weight weenie 29er mountain bike with slicks on would do the job. Any thoughts? Cheers.

No problems whatsover. Why not stick bigger tyres on the road bike? What distances are you talking about?

Know a few folk that have done audax's on full mtb, no slicks.

Works fine, just more of a work out really

Gonna be my choice of weapon for sportive next year.

Best of both worlds – you get the speed from using some nice slicks (just found out my 29er wheels should take 24/25c tyres) and low gearing for those tricky hills where you can just pootle over them rather than being a 'man' on a road bike and either killing yourself trying/getting off and pushing.

Only real disadvantage I would suggest is probably less comfort up front – always nice on road bars with the different hand positions you can use, limited a little with flat/riser bars. Though I'm sure some bar ends would help.

No way would I be riding an mtb on an audax if I had a road bike in the garage.

comfort point of view

have you had it fitted? this made a huge difference to my road bike.

Cheers guys. I'm not likely to be doing the crazy distance routes, thinking more 100 – 200km. The road bike was originally fitted for me when I bought it 12 years ago, though I guess it might not have been accurate. It's possible I just need to get used to riding a road bike again, but I basically feel like I'm bent forward too much on it & my back would not survive a full day in the saddle. I've raised the bars up a bit, which has helped somewhat, though it looks a bit odd now! Knowing **** all about road stuff, is it likely I'd be able to get mudguards on this thing, as I understand that's a pre-req for a number of these event?

It's more or less the same as this one…

Not full length mudguards, those rubbish clip on ones maybe.

I have used an mtb with slicks for a couple of audaxes up to 200 but would recommend your road bike. A lot less effort and that Giant would be a nice one. Perhaps get a good local shop to look at it for you – unlikely to cost more than a stem or bars or something to sort out.

What's the difference between an audax and a sportive?

rather than being a 'man' on a road bike and either killing yourself trying/getting off and pushing

Or just be fit enough to ride up them using road gearing.

Anyway go with whatever you are comfortable on, road bike would probably be fater though and ability to alter your hand position will help a great deal on a long distance.

What's the difference between an audax and a sportive?

About £30 and you have to carry your own flapjack to eat halfway round on an Audax. Signposting is uncommon on Audax's, you follow a set of directions.

Audax's also tend to be longer (there are some silly ones, and multi day ones).

Think of sportives as non competative 1 day races.
Think of audax's as 1 day touring.

Quick note, don't get hung up on the "it's a racing bike I can't do sportives/audax on it", just look at the TDF, they're doing bigger distanced day after day for 3 weeks! Its marketing BS. The only things I wouldnt do on my road bike are;
a)tour, its got no pannier/low rider mounts
b)commute, its too shiny and would get nicked

Back in the day when things broke they were refered to as reliability trials, nowadays you're unlucky to get a puncture on a modern bike.

Audax a lot more self reliance is required. This is the extreme end of Audax but it can be very tough.

http://www.aukweb.net/mag/FmqEzdFC__SteveAbraham_Sat_Sep_13_13_37_07_2003.pdf

Think of audax's as 1 day touring.

haha – tell that to the folk i do em with 😉 300k and 5k meters climbing in 13hrs … we do 2 or 300k audaxes at 20mph plus average – carrying only what you can fit in your pockets !

Audax – 1 day touring. Funniest thing I've heard in years. Unless of course you mean doing a whole weeks tour in one day.

Think of them as more like getting your arse handed to you on a plate by old pros and some of the strongest riders in the country.

aye one guy riding with me exclaimed how he had ridden in an international stage race over the same roads 40 years previous with half the field walking ….. he rode a 600k audax to celebrate his 65th birthday

of course they were riding fixed wheels !

Don't forget the beards.

You can do them at your own pace can you not?

Or do you have to be a superhero? 🙄

more than 15kph …. not too dissimilar to a sportif

brooks saddles and carradice are without a doubt a necessity !

I've not an Audax for a few years, but a MTB with slicks would be fine.
Just make sure you fit some bars with multiple handholds.

tri bars are a godsend when riding in the wind on your own ….

use them ANYWHERE other than the front of a group when group riding and youll get told off the first time – do it again and youll wake up in a ditch !

So, a 29er mountainbike with really narrow slicks and multiple hand positions, just use the roadbike!

300k and 5k meters climbing in 13hrs … we do 2 or 300k audaxes at 20mph plus average

That looks more like 14.5mph average to me. Anyway, doesn't the 30km/h max speed cause you problems with your 20mph average?

i had it explained this way:

sportive; many folk riding and pretending it's a race.

audax; many folk riding, pretending that it isn't!

shhhhh, don't let the facts get in the way of a good willy wave!

did i say that particular one ? maybe ive done more than one ?

nope because the guys that run them are not as stuffy and old fashioned as folk make out.

dont let the real facts get in the way of a good blatently made up "fact" either though TINAS ….

sockpuppets got the idea

sockpuppet has it in one.

Thats what I was getting at with my earlier comment, sportives are pretendingto be a race thats not a race, audax is from the opposite end of the spectrum but ends up being the same/similar.

I wasn't implying it was for people riding at 10mph with 4 full panniers of spares and clothes.

I would say that the people at he front of audaxes would also be at the front of sportives, if not off the front and half way down the road.

i rode a 200km audax 2 yrs ago.
on a slicked up on one 29r with rigid carbon forks and mary bars and bb7 discs.
loads comfier than most modern road bikes………..and really who cares, as long as you enjoy it.
i did………… 8)

I used my Giant XTC3 twice on a London to Southend ride
organised by bike-events.com
Just stick some Specalized Arildilo tyres on
Had taken me 4 hrs riding 45 miles and tuns of hills to climb

London to Southend, with tuns of hills?

a 29er mountainbike with really narrow slicks and multiple hand positions,

thats a hybrid 'shudders'

Can't imagine why you'd want to do a 200km road ride on a mountain bike, even if it is a slicked-up 29er.
I did it once years ago (when I was about 17) and knackered my knee big time. Done that sort of distance loads of times since on my road bike (a proper "racing" setup, not "Sportive" geometry or compact gearing) and it's SO much easier and faster.

Those Giant road bikes were renowned as being some of the most adjustable around, I'd suggest taking it to a decent roadie shop and getting your position checked.

can some of the ney sayers explain the differance from a slicked up carbon forked steel 29r to a steel mudguarded and racked tourer??????