28’s ride a little nicer. You won’t notice a difference in weight as long as you get kevlars (folding bead). Get in your miles and test everything before you get to Ragbrai. The start in Lemars is not the time to be breaking in something new.

[quote quote=1315151]Thanks everyone. Lots of great tips…keeping me busy in my research:) Has anyone heard of the Tomasso line of bikes? Also, I used to ride on 25c tires. Is there much of a difference to go to 28C? More comfortable ride? Effect your pace much?[/quote]

A 28c will cushion you alittle more although 25s are fine also. Tomassos I have not seen around since the 80s. So either some company bought the name, a company started importing them again or it is so old you should pass on it. Parts would be hard to come by for an 80s bike should you need them.

Gravel bikes: An option but you’d likely want a set of road tires for pavement so you don’t waste energy with rolling resistance higher than it needs to be.

You should get what you want to ride the rest of the year, because you can ride any bike on RAGBRAI if it is comfortable and you are familiar with it. People ride every kind of bike there is. I wouldn’t buy a bike specifically for the one week of RAGBRAI.

Lots of good used deals on Facebook Marketplace and other sites, but if your old bike is comfortable and in working order, ride it. It is only a 7 day event. Besides there will be many bikes older than your 20 year old bike.

Good advice. My “new” bike turns 30 this year, and my RAGBRAI bike is 47.

I think any bike that is serviceable and in good repair would suffice. I rode a fat-tire bike last year and worried not about the rolling resistance. :) And no I’m not a 20 something burly guy; I’m a late 40 something with too high waist circumference.
Having said that Rodney at Rider Bike Sales (a true mom and pop bike store in Washington, Iowa) sold me a Raleigh for well under 1k that I rode my first two Rabgrais and I was very pleased with this set up.

I have ridden a Surly Cross Check across Iowa twice and many more non-RAGBRAI miles. Not one problem yet and MSRP $950-$1150

I rode my thirty year old hybrid and had a great time!

I’ve decided to ride my current bike. Took it to the bike shop and he said he hadn’t seen a bike that had both the Diamondback and Centurion logo on it. He thought it was the first year Diamondback bought them. He loved it and said it rode great and I should have no worries with it. I guess since I rode it cross country 20 years ago I should of figured. Thanks everyone for the feedback. Time to start training…

Lately, I’ve been riding my steel-framed 1986 Schwinn Passage. It presently has 700-32 tires on it. The bike is not a weight weenies dream, but it rolls and rides very smoothly. Yes, the bike was used on aa couple of RAGBRAIs back in the 80’s, with 27 x 1″s on it. It handles good on the rail trail, if you stay out of the deep stuff. So, I may use it on my cross-state ride on the KATY. We’ll see.