General Cape Epic 2016 Group

[varkie2]

Hi Epic members.

 

I am sorting my bike out to carry all the spares and drink that i can, just a question. Will 2 bottles on the bike between wpoints be enough or must i add a 3rd behind the seatpost? Dont want to carry unnecessary weight though, but ya also dont want to go dry.

 

Thanx

[Dominik]

Hi Epic members.

 

I am sorting my bike out to carry all the spares and drink that i can, just a question. Will 2 bottles on the bike between wpoints be enough or must i add a 3rd behind the seatpost? Dont want to carry unnecessary weight though, but ya also dont want to go dry.

 

Thanx

Hey bud,

 

I was asking myself the same question, as I saw quite a few guys cycling with camelbak's, but also most with only 2 bottles.  Waterpoints from what I could see is about every 25-30km's.  I will be going with just the 2 bottles (4 bottles in total between us 2 team mates)

[varkie2]

Hey bud,

 

I was asking myself the same question, as I saw quite a few guys cycling with camelbak's, but also most with only 2 bottles.  Waterpoints from what I could see is about every 25-30km's.  I will be going with just the 2 bottles (4 bottles in total between us 2 team mates)

Thanx Dominik.

 

I might put the cage on the post anyway and ride a empty bottle and if i see on day one i am pulling amps i will fill the 3rd up somewhere on route.

[V12man]

Thanx Dominik.

 

I might put the cage on the post anyway and ride a empty bottle and if i see on day one i am pulling amps i will fill the 3rd up somewhere on route.

You might need more than 2 on a  VERY hot day - BUT the organisers are pretty good about putting in emergency water points in those conditions, although there are no guarantees.

 

2 bottles and a camel back is the most you will need - camelback does make drinking easy on some of the tech sections where you don't want to take a hand off the bars to drink for more than a second or two.

[Gnarly]

I just used two bottles last year, and yes that emergency water point saved my arse. In saying that I'll be using just two again this year. I don't like riding with a camelbak.

[Donovan Le Cok]

Could someone please help me out PLEASE?

 

I require a .gpx file for the 2015 Prologue.

 

Thanks v much.

 

PM me your email address.

[nonky]

PM me your email address.

 

Thanks very much!

[Carmichael]

Sometimes 30km can take 3 hours.

[Acerunner]

Sometimes 30km can take 3 hours.

Thats the thing!! epic 3hours + hot day, your 2 waterbottles will be empty sub 2 hours

[varkie2]

You might need more than 2 on a  VERY hot day - BUT the organisers are pretty good about putting in emergency water points in those conditions, although there are no guarantees.

 

2 bottles and a camel back is the most you will need - camelback does make drinking easy on some of the tech sections where you don't want to take a hand off the bars to drink for more than a second or two.

I also dont like riding with a camelback, ill pop a 3rd cage on for incase.

[janbiker]

I also dont like riding with a camelback, ill pop a 3rd cage on for incase.

I rode the 2014 with a camelback and one bottle, and will not be carrying the camelback this year. It's just too much weight on my back, the camelback(pack) tends to fill itself with all kind of unnecessary and weighty stuff and it was a hassle to refill at the waterpoints: not easy to do and not always clear how much water I did put in. I always ended up at the finish with way too much water in the camelback. Just stupid extra weight. And it takes a lot of cleaning each evening, especially after a hot day.

 

Most teams we rode with (midpack) did not carry a camelback. We had a waterpoint at least within each two hours of riding and the waterpoints were spread pretty evenly over the stage(s). Even on our longest ride (over 7 hrs) there were 3 waterpoints, so you can do the math. Two big bottles (one on full sus frame, one on seatpost) will do for us. But if I would ride closer to the cut off times, I would probably go for a camelback.

 

Or another way of looking at it: how did you handle the drinking on your longest training rides? How many times did you stop for a refill? How many bottles did you carry? The answers will probably provide you the solution for your drinking during the Epic.

 

And yes, it is easier to drink from a camelback on more technical parts, but most of the times I would drink from the camelback I could also drink from a bottle. On the real technical stuff I needed both hands and all my concentration to stay on the course and on the bike. 

[janbiker]

Or another way of looking at it: how did you handle the drinking on your longest training rides? How many times did you stop for a refill? How many bottles did you carry? The answers will probably provide you the solution for your drinking during the Epic.

I'd like to add this: if you have not used a camelback during your training so far and are not used to ride with one, you should definitely use it during your last long sessions these last 3 weeks. It is important that you get used to riding with that thing on your back for a long time and that you get the straps right. Don't try it for the first time on stage one of the Epic, you will not like it.

[jecg97]

Hello, does anyone know if the Prologue Course will be open for practice and which days?...We plan on arriving to Cape Town on 9 March. Thanks

[SimpleDom]

I was thinking of going with 2 bottles only, but Grant Usher convinced me to go back to the camelback. He's a pretty seasoned racer. I really don't think end position comes into it at all.

[SlowManiac]

I use the Camelbak Hydrobak - it's 1.5 litres and it can't fit anything but water - so it can't get loaded with other junk.

 

Personally I think it's way easier than bottles.

[Carmichael]

Prev epics I used and empty camelback and filled it with a little bit of water at waterpoint 2 depends on the day maybe at wpoint 1.