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Road Cycling Essentials

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[DOD]Asprilla;21012812 said:
Gels dont agree with me, I've got shed loads of them that I've picked up from various events but I only carry them as a last resort.

Instead I use SIS in my water and carry date and walnut mule bars.
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Fair enough. They aren't for everyone.

What is it about Mule bars you particularly like? I expect they must be quite expensive?
 
Saundie said:
Sorry, I've just realised that you weren't asking for suggestions. Don't you find that the bars take too long to kick in, so to speak?
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They aren't as instant as the gels, but if I've got SIS in my water on a long ride then I'm getting a constant and steady supply of sugar. Adding a gel on top of that is just going to lead to a sugar high / crash.

Bars take a little longer to kick in but they are easier on the stomach and the boom / bust of the sugar hit is absent.

For the commute I just need to remember to lay off the chocolate (I had a bounty and a double decker at about 4 and then a banana. Felt fine, but it was obviously just the sugar and that wore off before the end of the ride. Really I should have had my porridge with my banana and dumped the chocolate.

George Hincapie said:
Fair enough. They aren't for everyone.

What is it about Mule bars you particularly like? I expect they must be quite expensive?
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I just find them easier on the stomach and the lack of the sugar hit / crash.

I buy bars by the box and usually get them when Condor have a sale on (like they do at the moment with 50% off gels and bars).
 
[DOD]Asprilla;21013274 said:
They aren't as instant as the gels, but if I've got SIS in my water on a long ride then I'm getting a constant and steady supply of sugar. Adding a gel on top of that is just going to lead to a sugar high / crash.
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Not necessarily. The gels I linked to are a tri-carb blend, so don't give the same crash. I use them myself, they are fine.

I buy bars by the box and usually get them when Condor have a sale on (like they do at the moment with 50% off gels and bars).
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Planning ahead - nice :)
 
[DOD]Asprilla;21010140 said:
Note to self; pack an emergency mule bar even for the commute and stay away from chocolate bars in the last two hours of work.
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Mule bars are too damned expensive.

I've largely moved completey away from Gels and instant shot type things to avoid the crash after; I use electrolyte drink on longer rides/runs, Iskiate, pretzels, malt loaf, that kind of thing. Foodstuffs that the body is better at breaking down and using, rather then the OMGWEEEEEEEEEEWAHEYLOOKATMEGOomgwhathashappenedtomewhyaremylegsnotworking type experience I usually get with gels.
 
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I got a whole box of mule bars for the strathpuffer last weekend. It was too cold for them and they were very solid and too hard to eat.
I had a box of powerbars (the carb type, not the protien ones) as well and they were ok. (Also had a few packets of fig rolls and 5 big malt loaves, so i didnt go hungry :p)

Had similar problems with SIS bars in the past as well.

I'll take my mule bars with me to mallorca and hopefully they will be a little softer in the heat.
 
I used to do just bananas and Mars bars until I started getting cramp through lack of salts on the longer events. I now do bananas, Mars bars and Cornish pasties. Real food *** :D
 
Jonny69 said:
Cornish pasties. Real food *** :D
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Did the Brighton to Brighton at the end of last year and I was hitting the sausage rolls hard at the food stops.

I was riding that with a mate who doesn't cycle much so we stopped at each of the stations (apart form the last one which we couldn't find!) but normally I'd carry my food with me and eat on the bike.
 
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I severely neglected intake during the Exmoor Beast for some stupid reason. Raped the food stops but should have been carrying much more with me in the first place.

I don't like gels because they just make me feel sick. Bananas and malt loaf are good, plus coke. And I always have some kind of powder in my drink (currently Torq). Towards the end I just had two bags of jelly sweets in my bar bag that I literally just ate constantly for the last 10 miles :p.
 
Russinating said:
Towards the end I just had two bags of jelly sweets in my bar bag that I literally just ate constantly for the last 10 miles :p.
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Good shout. I usually take a block of raw jellly with me on longer rides just for emergencies :) They are just the right shape to stick in a saddlebag or pocket or something.
 
I guess it's legit.

Enough info that he cant have just read it all from stickers on the bike, but not enough detail for him to have copied the spec from the website.
Unless he's being smart....but his spelling/grammar suggests not.


Edit: maybe not as legit as i thought. It seems that aksiums were not standard on these bikes? You'd think that would be an upgrade worth pointing out.
 
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Just realized my cycling trouser leg is filthy with black muck on the right hand side and my trainer and a bit of my sock too. This must mean my foot is contacting the chain at some point surely?

Is this common? I've only noticed it since i begun using cleats so it must be down to the fact that my feet are being held closer to the frame? I've set the cleats to the angle where it feels most comfortable; with my heel angled inwards, and i'd rather not cause knee strain by forcing my leg into an uncomfortable position. I don't feel any contact which is puzzling to say the least.

Should i be worried about this or is it normal?
 
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