I have the calorie bottle between my arms in zip tied cage. I also have water bottle on the down tube. I can stay in aero while drinking.

I zip tied a cage behind my seat for a storage pod.

thanks--was referring to the physical bottle on the frame creating an aero penalty rather than breaking the position to drink

Water in the BTA, mega mix behind the saddle... nothing on the frame.

I ride a Trek SC, so I have the draft box for my flat kit... if I didn't have an SC, I'd put my flat kit in a ziplock and put it under my saddle. Would probably be a PITA to get out in a race if you actually got a flat.

I've been using the stock formulas speed and jet fuel with 230 calories per serving.

I'm surprised to see someone with >300 cals per serving

jaretj

I'm currently putting the Infinit in an XLAB Aero TT bottle on the downtube (Trek SC), with water in the BTA bottle. I just don't want to fight with a BTS gorilla cage every 15 minutes of an IM or HIM.

I'm worried about this as well. I just upgraded to a Gorilla XT cage and it's insanely tight (insert joke here). But seriously, I feel like I'm going to crash trying to get a bottle out. We'll see though. I'm still doing most of my long rides on my road bike in the mountains. If I have problems with the BTS, I'm doing what you're doing with the Aero Bottle.

I have two bottles with First Endurance EFS on my bike for fluids. One behind the seat and one between the arms. When the one between the arms is empty I switch it for the one behind the seat...once those are empty I grab water from aid stations until I get to special needs where I pick up two more EFS bottles...On my downtube I have an aero bottle filled with 3 liquid shots and some water to top it off, Flat kit is attached behind my saddle.

This is a logical solution but someone else pointed out: doing it this way makes the osmolity (sp?) extremely high. For some of us, too high to handle.

I read Hanson's race report on IMTX, my stomach hurt just reading it. EFS on the bike just isn't a solution for certain people.

Also, Hanson bragged about EFS making that new drink (EFS Pro I believe) and making it with a low osmolity.. but then he doubled up the dosage. Which completely defeats the purpose of the product. Not that he shouldn't do what works for him but just made me laugh at the marketing.

Very good point. I need to read more about osmolity. Anyone have good material/links to read?

Search the ST homepage for "Osmo". They did a TON of work when this became a whole "thing".

I'm sure you can find info on what it is and then there's definitely an article on the "success" of using it properly.

I always doubt marketing but whatever mixture they put in EFS Pro it works a ton better in me than anything I have tried. And yes I have gone higher than the recommended concentration and it still seems to digest just fine. Infinit worked for me when I used it (did a few verps though), but EFS Pro flat out works better FOR ME. It does cost a bit more than Infinit though.

Another thing that works for me is the Osmo/Skratch plus solids/shot bloks but it can be a pain to carry all of this, especially short distance racing. Just fill up my water bottles with EFS Pro and I am done.

I would try EFS Pro but the money is INSANE! How would you compare EFS Pro to Skratch? Thicker? Heavier? Better (how)? Etc.

If I had my choice (which I kind of do obviously), I would use Skratch and solid foods on the bike. I just don't want to carry that much shit with me... even when you take into consideration the special needs and aid stations. You're looking at 5 bottles (maybe 6) for a 5.25 hour ride. That's either 3 on the bike at a time and getting 3 from special needs OR making a mega mix and refilling your BTA bottle (option B is out for me since I HATE drinking from a straw). AND THEN you still need to pack 5 Bonk Breakers somewhere to get 300 calories per hour!

Also, this might seem naive but, if my HR is for whatever reason higher than normal, I feel I can get away with my race pace watts with just liquid nutrition.

X2 on nixxing the protein. It made me really sick and is worse on hot days. I would also reduce the flavor. I also Freeze my bottles or half bottles on hot days and top off.

Just picked up a flask of EFS liquid shots. Will give it a try with my custom Infinit mix. Will there be a problem with mixing did deny types of carbs?

My last race I used Skratch with salt pills but that was a big mistake cause I lacked the calories. Hope this combo will keep me going.

I tested the liquid shot this weekend. Tastes alrite.. a little sweet but I'll be fine..

So for those putting the liquid shot in the water bottle, question... does the liquid shot have any issues passing through the water bottle? It's so thick I'm afraid it wont pass the water bottle mouth piece lol.

same problem with me during my first 70.3 earlier this year. Super concentrated Skratch plus solids and couldn't get enough calories. Going to grab some EFS I guess, two shots in a big bottle with water and see how I handle it. Bring a few solids. I race with a bta bottle of water (last race skratch + skratch in rear bottle - never again bc I bounced the water bottle I got in aid station, that sucked) and cals in the rear. Dual rear cages with pod in the other. I guess I can put a second water on board, down tube maybe, but likely not necessary if I get at least one station on the bike. Next race is Challenge AC 70.3.

I total up my target calories for an IM ride - I like to aim for 2000, but that is just me. My most legendary athletic feat was eating two chili dogs during a trail marathon - a feat my buddies still view with awe and respect 10 years later - so I'm not usually worried about processing, just consuming :-). I don't take in may calories on the run so i try to be well fueled when I get off the bike.

I put 500 calories of Infinit in each of two bottles, picking up one at the midway mark. I keep sip that double strength mix and try to remember to chase it with a nice swallow of water every time so it is probably close to normal strength. I put another couple hundred calories of chews in a pocket and plan to round it out with a banana or two, maybe some gatorade if it looks good.

Water is BTA, Infint on the downtube. I rode with a behind the seat bottle (and my still put it back there for race day) but I drink more if it is more convenient on the down tube.

My flat kit is rolled up in a bag in my pocket, close at hand if needed.
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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

Hey all. Haven't been on ST in a while. I am happy to answer any questions. 90% of the time, protein is the culprit. We use it so you don't have to eat anything for IM. Lowering the amounts normally solves any issues.

As to the OP, I would recommend that anyone that has any issue with a formula to just schedule a nutrition consultation. It's a free service we provide. My people are really good at adjusting things up. Most of the time we get it right the very first time. But, that's not always the case.

We have a full guarantee on anything we do. If you aren't happy, we are more than happy to re-make.

Hope everybody's having a great summer!

Michael

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infinIT Nutrition
Custom Blended Nutrition Solutions
http://www.infinITNutrition.com

I use ONLY fluid nutrition on the bike as well, and switched from Infinit custom blend last year to using EFS - Pro this year. Infinit sponsored the team that I was on last year, and I liked their products just fine. However, I'm very happy with my switch to First Endurance this year. Yes, they do sponsor me. However, I serve on their research board as well and did some of the leg work on a few aspects of what went into EFS Pro and also served as a guinea pig for some of the initial testing of the product. Here are a few thoughts on some of the points that have come up on this tread so far.
- Skratch tastes great, but it is very light on calories, plus it contains vitamin C. While this probably isn't a big deal in racing, I wouldn't use it WHILE working out during training (See why I feel this way HERE). Again, I'm not trying to badmouth Skratch in any way, I like their stuff and drink it from time to time in the evenings, but I personally won't use it in training. And if you can't train with it....
- EFS Pro is very different than EFS for a number of reasons. One is the multiple sources of carbohydrate which has numerous benefits. The main carb source is amylopectin dextrin which has many advantages as well. The electrolyte blend is also very heavily researched (this is where I did some of the l work with them).
- A few have discussed osmolity. Yes, this is certainly important. A few things to keep in mind. The serving size of EFS Pro is 12 ounces. So the calorie/osmolity chart is based on 12 ounce servings. So, if you have a 24 ounce bottle you can put six scoops (240 calories) per bottle and still have what most consider to be an optimal osmolity level. Personally, I mix it thicker than that in all but the first bottle that I take in for 140.6, then fill that slot on my bike with a water bottle from bottle exchange. Osmolity in the bottle doesn't matter, osmolity in the stomach does. So if you drink water and a thicker blend of EFS Pro, it can bring the osmolity to the optimal level in the stomach. I averaged well north of 420 calories per hour at IMTX on the bike. All EFS Pro and zero issues.
- First Endurance developed this product for high intensity racing. Most companies will avoid putting many of the components that First Endurance put in EFS Pro because it may cause an issue for some people who are working out at low intensities. Here is a direct quote from a new nutrition company who asked me to tell them what I thought about their products -- "We can’t be to heavy on one specific sport. We focus on potassium and sodium because they are the core electrolytes. As you know, the others are important but if you get to much it can cause GI distress. For the masses, that could cause a problem."--First Endurance has clearly identified the athletes they are trying to most benefit. They are not marketing their products to EVERYONE like many (most?) companies do.

Most of this is just opinion, but I feel it is fairly well informed. Obviously, being sponsored by them has helped form this opinion, but the reason I pursued them was due to their commitment to research in each of their products. It has been a lot of fun for me to work on product development with them. There are some good nutrition products/companies out there, and some that I would consider not so good. Many put a huge chunk of their budget into marketing and a very small portion into research and their product development. Hope this helps in your decision.

Took me a few orders to get right. But since then I've been using it since 2008 with ZERO problems. In fact, I just ordered 2 more batches today.

x42 on getting rid of the protein. Plus get rid of the Amino Acids. I was having some bad stomach problems (and explosive something else) and as soon as I made my formula as simple as possible, all problems went away.

schedule a consult, heck its free.

For me 4% protein keeps the hunger away on longer races and run on 2 bottles concentrated, then I eliminate the protein for the last hour by using a napalm gel shot (1oz) every 15 min. Run is all napalm also, and maybe supplement on course if necessary.

Last 2 races have been perfect after 2 that were GI issue infested.