XC racing - what gear?

[tomchaffey]

I'm pretty new to bike racing, xc in particular, so I'm wondering what others do for in-race gear. My current racing gear consists of hydration pack with about a litre or water, spare tube, levers and CO2 inflator. I'm thinking maybe dropping some of this, as it weighs a bit, and I've noticed alot of people don't even take a water bottle - they leave one at the transition area. Hydro pack is good, as it means I can always power through the transition, but it is also heavy the whole way round the course.

Also, in a B-grade race of about 28kms, are carbohydrates necessary? I was pretty hungry last time, but I didn't have the biggest breakfast

 

[ducan]

Drop the levers ( thumbs are where it is at with folding tires anyway), Drop the hydro pack for a 28 km race ! Just a spoon full of harden the .... up in a water bottle. Drink heaps before and after though. Get a ultra-lite tube as a spare, they way around 50 - 65 grams.

And big breakfasts suck before a race IMO. I have a big dinner and eat slowly through the day like fruit etc. Maybe not what is recommended you do but it doesn't make me sick or give me a lack of energy.

 

[Raw Toast Man]

Drop the pack mate. Have a bottle on your bike. Have one sitting at transition if you need it.
Days leading up to a race I try and drink alot of water and have pasta type meals the night before. For food during that race, try an energy gel or two.
Tape your tube to the seatpost with a lever or your C02 majigo. That way you just have to rip it off and not worry about unzipping the bag after getting it off your back...
Also, try Endura the night before to stop cramps during the race. Have some more before and after the race.

I think thats its. Hope it helped.

 

[mushroom]

Lose the hydro pack. Not even for the weight, the worst thing about them is the extra heat they make you generate. It'll vary depending on the size of your pack, but my full size backpack causes noticeably more sweat, particularly around the areas that it covers (back, sholders). This in turns means more dehydration. Try riding a lap without one on and feel the difference!

A decent option to cut down on tool weight but never leaving yourself without the basics is to get a set of bar end tool kits. I got some from www.velogear.com.au
If you use bar ends anyway they aren't too much heavier than regular ones, and you'll always have a chain breaker/allen keys/etc on hand (pun not intended).

How long are the laps? How competitive is your B-grade? If they are really short laps, or if a puncture would almost certainly ruin your race you could potentially ditch the tube and C02 as well- but they're really not much extra weight/hassle to carry.

As others have mentioned, try to have a big meal the night before the race. In the morning, stick to something small and simple (one piece of toast with peanut butter, maybe a museli bar). Energy gels are good during or immediately before the race if you can stomach them (test them first, some flavours are better than others- always take with water). After the ride, food like fruit cake as well as BBQ Shapes/Potato Chips can be useful for regaining some energy and replacing salts lost.

 

[workmx]

Another perspective.. from a old farker...

Being a grumpy old farker, who started racing back in 1991 under the old "no external assistance" rule, I hate the 2006 UCI rule change that allowed technical assistance in races.

I reckon racers should take a spoonful of harden the .... up and carry everything they need.

Afterall, there are no magical transition or assistance areas when you are out on a recreational or training ride.

But that is just my opinion, (*shrug*) and is of no help to the OP.

 

[rockydog]

I'm pretty new to bike racing, xc in particular, so I'm wondering what others do for in-race gear.

For me, usually granny gear.






haha

 

[Sweatman]

I quite like the hydration pack. I dont notice the weight (around 1kg max) on my back, nor do I notice extra sweating or heat build up on my back, I am too busy sweating almost everywhere else. What I do notice is that I can drink way more quickly/easily and more often.

I have tried water bottles only and found that I just couldnt find many good spots to drink as I was either needing air or too busy concentrating on riding. I am pretty new to XC racing so this could be an experience thing as plenty of good riders seem to go the bottles exclusively...

 

[FR Drew]

"Don't take any water/food/tools" is a great mantra until you dehydrate, bonk, cramp, have a flat or a minor breakdown that a multitool might have repaired at which point you suddenly lose all the time you've gained and then a good wad on top of that as well.

My advice is that you should carry:

500ml of water (I don't seem to need buckets of hydration, so I can suffice with that, YMMV...
one Gu or pack of sportz beans gaffer taped to your handlebars
a multi tool
a puncture kit
a spare tube
a set of tyre levers
a multi tool (which includes a chainbreaker, the crank bros ones are good)
some spare chain links
at least 2 SRAM powerlinks
either a CO2 inflator or a regular pump.

That'll get you out of most grief and seriously, it doesn't weight that much. You'd want to be up the very pointy end of the field to warrant dumping the safety net for the 10 seconds it'd save you in time.

But I'm old and slow and not there to win...

 

[axertes]

If you can change a tube in 10 seconds...

I dunno though, I've never raced.

I find that the tube can be fixed to your post with a cut cross-section of an old tube, to prevent wastage. As I said, I don't race, but I leave it and my pump on my bike as a minimum commuting repair kit (i.e. a tube that's been patched half a dozen times, so if some bastard wants to steal it they're welcome to it).

 

[Nub]

If you're only racing XC (like 1-2 hours) then why take so much?

I carry;
- 2 levers
- pump + co2
- Sometimes a GU
- Tube
- Num nums

Weighs shit all and does everything I need.

 

[axertes]

Well my tyres require no levers to remove. Is that worth the compromise? Again, I dunno, never raced. Just throwing ideas out there.

 

[spikenet]

Pretty unusual to need levers on fat-tyres... practice your "thumb" technique for breaking the bead and removing the tyre. full finger MX gloves are good for this Run sensible pressures also!

Like others have mentioned, and this is all a personal preference thing, I subscribe to the Lightweight race option. Its basically a waterbottle and thats it! If I get a flat or chain issues its unlikely I'm going to finish in the points higher then a DNF anyway. However, if your prone to punctures etc its wise to be prepared, I havnt had a flat for a long time so its not an issue for me. I run pretty substantial tubes however.

If you have money to burn then gels are ok but realistically no better then good pre-race prep! Remember where talking about races up to 1 1/2 hours here.

Just remember to have fun!

 

[Some Guy]

If I get a flat or chain issues its unlikely I'm going to finish in the points higher then a DNF anyway. However, if your prone to punctures etc its wise to be prepared, I havnt had a flat for a long time so its not an issue for me. I run pretty substantial tubes however.

On the other hand, having to walk out if you get a flat is no fun. For that reason alone I carry a tube. With practice you should be back on the bike within 5 minutes, that's only going to be a few positions in most races. Use Co2 and you can get that down to 2 minutes or less.

 

[tomchaffey]

Thanks for all this advice! I think I might try racing with no hydro pack, just a half-full water bottle, and see how that goes. I'll also see if I can still change a tube without levers.

 

[scalpel]

Minimise !

Tubeless wheelset, 1 x maxxis featherweight tube to cover your ass. No tyre levers sissy ! And 1x co2 inflator strapped to a down tube.
1 x 500 ml bottle with staminade or other electrolyte drink, and in your jersey pocket - (I take it you do wear the lycra !) JELLY BEANS or SNAKES - I keep the jelly beans in an old Berocca cylinder - Perfect !!

 

[workmx]

No Tyre levers...? depends on the tyre and rim...

tomchaffey -

If you have Mavic rims you should be fine without tyre levers.
However, some tyres (Ritchey and Bontrager, for example) can be hard to fit on some rims.
I would love to see anyone fit Ritchey WCS tyres on my Sun rims (esp. the rear wheel which is as tight as a Nun's ...) without a lever.

Do some testing with your wheel/trye set-up.

And do lots of tyre changing practice (the more you practice, the more likely that you will be able to change the tyre without much hassle or conscious thought when tired, pissed off, distracted, hurried or a bit flustered - all of those can easily happen when racing).

 

[hillrider]

For a 2 hour race

Tube + tyre levers (run tubeless, thumbs are no good with my wheel/tyre combo)
Bottle with water and gel added.
Sram powerlink
Co2 pump

Leave 2 bottles in the feed station but usually only grab the 1.

 

[casper99]

whats with people and not eating a real brekfast before a race? if you eat a big big meal about 3-4hrs before and then keep eating smaller amou ts untill your race you will have so much more energy. Also where some lycra and keep all your gear in your back pocket. it ussaly works well the only little problem i found was unless the shirt was tight enough some times when jumping logs stuff would bounce around.

 

[Trevor_S]

I would love to see anyone fit Ritchey WCS tyres on my Sun rims (esp. the rear wheel which is as tight as a Nun's ...) without a lever.

HA ! I thought it was just me, my SUN rims are hands down the worst for getting tyres off 'n on !

 

[workmx]

HA ! I thought it was just me, my SUN rims are hands down the worst for getting tyres off 'n on !

I never owned tyre levers until I owned SUN rims... I guess that says it all!!!