[herr_oberst]

Otto, one thing to think about is that bikes have gotten a lot better. Entry level stuff a year or two old is really good. (I'm talking about bike shop bikes, not department store bikes). The last ten years have seen unreal advancements in materials and engineering.

Pro racers have mostly abandoned sew up tires. There's still a few guys that like them, but tire technology has gone off the charts in terms of rolling resistance and comfort, not to mention ease of maintenance. We used to ride on 21 or 23's. Nowadays 25's are too skinny for a lot of riders.
11 speed freewheels are the norm. 12 speed is no longer exotic. Disc brakes work great wet or dry.

My first century was actually a double; (jyl was a huge motivator) I rode it on a high end steel bike from the '80's and even though it was fun, I would never do it again on that bike - as beautiful as it is to look at, it is just pretty much obsolete.. It would be like using a rotary phone after years of using push button phones. Not to mention, finding matching replacement parts is becoming problematic. (I broke a handlebar once - finding a decent replacement without getting reamed financially required a few weeks of searching)


Having said that, yes to the idea of finding an stem with an extra long quill. Get on your bike sooner rather than later. Start a routine, do some short rides Monday through Friday and then carve out some time for Long Slow Distance rides on Saturday or Sunday. There's a ton of good advice and schedule templates on the google for cyclists getting ready for their first century.