Having done 4 IMs, and still learning, I've dumped stuff to get more streamlined.

1 tubular tied to seat

2 Co2 cartridges with nozzle attached to frame via a small plastic mount (unk brand)

2 large bottle with my drink, approx 800 calories each

1 aero bottle to be filled with H2O via aid stations

1 packet of salt (about 6 tabs) in back pocket

2-3 Powerbars in back pocket (may take only 1 next time since I never finish all my bars at IM)

Special needs bag will have 2 more large bottles of my race drink and a peanut butter/honey sandwich



No tools. Hope this helps. Good luck in your race. BTW, how do you like the Neverreach? Been thinking about that system.

Aloha

Thanks Navi, I appreciate your thoughts.

So far I like the NeverReach, but I have to admit I just installed it last weekend and only have one long ride with it. Here's my review so far:

Pros:
-Very easy to drink
-seems quite aero
-Well made, solid mount, easy to set-up
-holds a lot of fluid >60oz
-Can refill on the fly (haven't tried yet, will take some practice)

Cons:
-I'm not used to having the water behind me and it sloshes around quite a bit(probably more noticable on my Softride)
-It takes up all your behind the seat space and makes it harder to strap tires, etc. back there (again probably worse because I have a beam bike).

I did a mini review of the Never Reach system down below that you could find with a search. I have used it more since then and I have a few more comments.

Don't trust the compression nut that holds the water container to the brackets. It rattled off on a recent ride. Fortunately the unit didn't fall off thanks to the bracket, but it got my attention.

You have to suck too hard to get water to use this when you are really cranking. It didn't work well for me in a sprint race. I am going to give it another shot in an Olympic distance race next weekend. I think it will be OK there.

The unit is really heavy. It weighs over a pound. I wouldn't use it at IM Lake Placid, but less vertically challenged athletes might not mind.

The straw really sticks up. It flops around a bit and doubtless catches a lot of air. Hopefully this is compensated by the aero design of the resevoir.

Hi Barry, you ask a great question. A few years back I wrote an article for x-tri.com on Ironman bike prep. In it I observed a woman at bike check who had a nice, 16.5 pound (my guess) bike with a minimum of 5 pounds of extra gear on it. when you look at the pros bikes you may be struck by how little equipment is on them. You don't see two bottle cages on the frame, two behind the seat, a jetstream, two tubular tires, a mini repair kit, ten Powerbars on the top tube and a bunch of gels in a Bento-Box. They figure out how to go light through good preparation and planning. I am doing an article on Ironman bike set-up in the near future (updated from the old one) so keep an eye on my website for it at www.bikesportmichigan.com In the mean time think about not how much you can bring, but how little you can get away with. Use meticulous mechanical preparation and preventive maintenance to lighten your load of spare tires and equipment. The best place to carry new tires is on your rims. Of all the bikes I see come in here for Ironman NONE are adequately prepared for the race. They all need tires, cables, etc. Also, make good, creative use of your special needs bag. Personally I do the race with two bottles, a spare tubular, a CO2, one plastic tire lever and make extensive use of the aid stations for gels, drinks, etc. I might carry Muscle Nitro or some other jazz pills but that's about it.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I have profile behind the seat bottle holder.

Start with 2 gatorades and one water on down tube.

2 CO2, 2 Tubes and 3 levers with water bottles behind seat.

8-10 Gels on TT and Aero Bars, not in arm or hands way.

3 Cliff bars back pocket.

Next time would lose the bottle on the down tube and start with 2 Gatorades, switch one for water at 1st aid station and then rotate as needed.

Does anyone use a camelback?

I have found the most convenient place to put the spare tubular on the Softride Rocket TT is inside the beam. That way it is secure and out of the wind. The tubular does not quite fit all of the way so I just fold the excess toward the beam and tape it.

John Thomason

Great Idea John, I never would have thought of that.

thanks

I usually have a spare tubular and CO2 taped together and stuck behind my seat and strapped to the top of my rear bottle holder. I only put one small bottle in the rear carrier and use it as a backup if I drop a bottle at an aid station. I tape 4 or 5 gels to the top tube and carry a couple of power bars in my jersey pockets and use a Profile drink bottle up front that I refill at each aid station. I think one of the reasons that pros can get away with carrying less is that they will get priority if they have a mechanical problem with respect to assistance from the crew on the course. They also don't have as much traffic around them so it is easier for them to get bars, gels, fluids, etc. at aid stations. I never use the special needs bag since I don;t want to rely on something that someone else might screw up and not have ready for me when I need it. 4 or 5 bars and 4 or 5 gels are easy to carry if your jersey has pockets and don't add too much extra weight.

1 aero bottle up front, refilled at aid stations

2 Water bottles in the rear; One with Special drink mix, One filled with Hammer gel

1 Seat bag under the rear water bottle cage holder,with 2 tubes, 2 co2, #4, #5 allens

1st half of the Bike 2 power bars in Jersey pocket

@ Special needs, 2 more power bars, 1 special drink bottle, 1 Hammer gel bottle

This is a really stupid question, but where do you keep your special needs bag? T1? T2?

Your special needs bags are given to the race officials and there is a pick up point on the bike and the run, usually around the halfway point.

Great question.

It's true that you do need to take along a few extra thngs with you on the ride at an Ironman, but you need not go overboard - and many do! I often find it amusing standing at the bike exit from T1 at an Ironman and watching these ultra lightweight super-aero bikes laden down with pounds and pounds of extra gear and really not that aero any more. Why did these people pay all that money for the fancy bike? Strange. Another amusing site frequently seen at Ironman Canada - cyclists carrying pounds and pounds of water/sports drink up the two major climbs on the course on the Richter Pass and Yellow Lake, when there are aid stations at the top of each of these climbs! Why make life harder? - dump the extra bottles and weight at the foot of the climb. Ever see lance Armstrong going up Alp D'uez with 4 full H2O bottles hanging off his bike?

Here's what you need to take and where you need to store it to maximize efficiency

- One spare tubular taped/tied under your saddle.

- One Co2 cartirdge duct taped out of the way somewhere on your bike

- Two water bottle cages. They say behind-the-seat are best, but there is some debate about the aero effciency of this. Some say frame mount is better! Althuogh with a Softride Behind-the-seat may be your only option.

- Carry any food in the back pocket of a tight fitting top - aero out of the wind and easily accessable

- For extraordinary needs make us of the special needs bag. Typically available at the 1/2 way point of the bike leg.

Some things to remember and know. There is an aid station every 5 miles on the bike in almost all Ironman races. That's pretty frequent. You will pass through an aid station once every 20 - 30 minutes, at least. Therefore there is no need to carry around gallons and gallons of water on the bike, or sports drink or bananas or gels or energy bars . . whatever. You may not need to take that many energy bars or gels if the brand being handed out are the ones you use. IM aid stations are notorious for having everything but the kitchen sink on the food front. Also as noted above, know where the aid stations are and lighten your load accordingly along the route.

The cycling portion of most Ironman races is the best supported "century" ride that you will ever go on. Yet most load dowm there bikes like they are going out for a solo century in the Sahara desert with absolutley no support!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I take a very spartan approach, personally. I use:

X-Lab flatwing on the back with:

• X-Nut holding 2 CO2 carts
• Tire levers and spare tubes strapped to it
• 2 cages with Gatorade

On the frame

• One bottle of Gatorade (downtube)
• One gel flask on top tube (one or two more in pocket)

And that's all. I skip the minitool (if your maintenance is up to snuff you should never need this), I skip special needs, I skip the aero bottle (personal choice - but I think it screws up the handling of the front end) and I skip the 80 gels or Powerbars glued to the frame. I mix my salt stuff (Endurloytes) in with my drink or gel depending on the concentration. Nice and easy, nice and compact. Toward the end, anything that is jettisonable, is. Gel flasks, water bottles - I ditch it all at aid stations. When I finish the only thing left (besides tubes/levers) is a single water bottle usually.

Hope that helps.

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"To give less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Pre

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