Some of everything from mountain bikes to road bikes and everything in between can be found on the CNC ride. I would say that there are more road bikes on this ride than anything else, but tour bike are next in line. I have done it on road and tour bikes in past years. With 450 miles in 7 days I look to comfort as the deciding factor and that is why this year I will ride a recumbent with road tires.
I ride a T-700 Cannondale Touring Bike and have done just fine for the last 5 years. I am by no means the fastest guy, but with my bike's wide range of gears (21) I have yet to walk up any of the mountains or steep hills that we have incounter on the CNC rides. Besides this is a vacation not a race why should I be in a hurry?
road bikes are the best for this ride.....light weight and climb up the hills pretty easy.......with a road bike you can use a triple up front and a 12-27 on the rear and you have a wide range of gears.......all you need............