Cycling on the Cheap - Alternatives

[fanievb]

27 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Nice and easy.

A bit low on the carb count though, so what else would you use on a long ride above 3 hours?

I use cadence carbofuel (and the excess body fat I have in abundance)

[TNT1]

48 minutes ago, Frosty said:

else would you use on a long ride above 3 hours?

All I would use is half a bottle of water. And a mini Zang caffeine chocoloate.

[porqui]

I am ordering some pure/plain Maltodextrin powder for myself which I use as is so no additives.

It is the main ingredient for most energy powders.

The minimum I can get is 25kg which lasts me a looooong time.

So if you are interested in getting smaller quantities from me contact me.

I am thinking of about R170 for 5kg and R85 for 2kg.

Edited July 22, 2021 by porqui

[Adr!@n]

On 7/14/2021 at 9:15 AM, Karakoram said:

 

• Flat Pedal Shoes, consider something like the K-Way Edge 2 going for R1,300. Grip not as good as pucker FiveTens, but keep your feet snug in wet winter conditions and also great for touring because the same shoe can be worn for a walk-about at your destination.

 

 

I guess to each his own, but at 1300 bucks for hiking shoes, I’d rather stretch and see try get a pair of Leatts. Extra 300 bucks gets you a purpose built shoe: https://www.pinned.co.za/leatt-shoe-dbx-2.0-flat.html

[Hairy]

9 hours ago, TNT1 said:

All I would use is half a bottle of water. And a mini Zang caffeine chocoloate.

Damned right .... no need even for a bike with two water bottles then

[Sid the Sloth]

2 hours ago, porqui said:

I am ordering some pure/plain Maltodextrin powder for myself which I use as is so no additives.

It is the main ingredient for most energy powders.

The minimum I can get is 25kg which lasts me a looooong time.

So if you are interested in getting smaller quantities from me contact me.

I am thinking of about R170 for 5kg and R85 for 2kg.

Yes please! 

[Mountain Bru]

2 hours ago, porqui said:

I am ordering some pure/plain Maltodextrin powder for myself which I use as is so no additives.

It is the main ingredient for most energy powders.

The minimum I can get is 25kg which lasts me a looooong time.

So if you are interested in getting smaller quantities from me contact me.

I am thinking of about R170 for 5kg and R85 for 2kg.

Is that WADA approved? 

What does that taste like? Do you just mix it with water? Or do you add other stuff to the mix too?

Edited July 22, 2021 by Mountain Bru

[Mountain Bru]

2 hours ago, Hairy on a Davidson said:

Damned right .... no need even for a bike with two water bottles then

Saving moola on that extra cage (and the spez stickers). Noice! 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Mountain Bru

[Mountain Bru]

.

Edited July 22, 2021 by Mountain Bru

[porqui]

1 hour ago, Mountain Bru said:

Is that WADA approved? 

What does that taste like? Do you just mix it with water? Or do you add other stuff to the mix too?

WADA you mean - cleared !!  It has no taste at all maybe a bit sweetish. Just mix with water sometimes I add a bit of flavour.

 

[Kingg]

On 7/14/2021 at 3:31 PM, Frosty said:

Make rice cakes - cheaper than the cr-@-p that comes in wrappers and has as much energy as .

• Boil rice like normal;
• Warm up coconut oil, peanut butter and a filling of your choice (pie apples, raisins, etc.) in another pan (peanut butter and coconut oil should be liquid);
• Mix in with rice and place in pan (I use a bread pan);
• Add blended nuts and syrup/honey if you prefer a sweeter taste;
• Chill in fridge overnight.
• Add electrolytes to your bottle and eat whole foods instead of the sugary cr-@-p.

A tub of "energy" powder costs R350 - R400, for 18-20 servings; R20/bottle per ride (44g/portion), so R40 per ride.
Rice: R20/Kg, 70g carbs per 100g (my portion size). without filling it's the equivalent to R2/bottle, or R4/ride.
Yum-Yum Peanut butter: 2 tsp, ignore the nutrition as it's negligible, R75/Kg (2x tsp is <10g), so R75/200/2=R0.35/serving
Raisins: R25/250g: 25g per batch, R1.56 per batch

I can go on, but the rice cakes cost is minimal compared to gels and bottle mix. Plus you get to control the taste.

this really works, tried the GCN recipe and it's been my go to solution, it did crumble up at first but some oil and bit of syrup did keep it together????

[Kingg]

I think this is one of the threads/topics I needed most!!!

[Ozzie NL]

On 7/21/2021 at 8:38 PM, FirstV8 said:

Im old school when it comes eating on the ride . I buy long (200mm lengths ) of nougat and cut them up into 20mm blocks and freeze them . I use dates and big raisins combined with the nougat while riding if its longer than a 2 hour ride . In my small Tupperware container i also have a peanut butter sachet . I dont use supplement drinks only water and in all my years on a bike i have never had a cramp , hunger or a complete energy failure . Cost wise its not more than R5.00 per ride . 

Sjoe, you're a better planner than me cause I've done all 3 ... multiple times.

What's the furthest (distance) / longest (time) you've gone on 2 wheels?

[TNT1]

12 hours ago, Hairy on a Davidson said:

Damned right .... no need even for a bike with two water bottles then

Exactly, two bottle cages, one has tool bottle wif spare tjoob, the other has standard 500ml bottle...

[FirstV8]

On 7/23/2021 at 6:51 AM, Ossie NL said:

Sjoe, you're a better planner than me cause I've done all 3 ... multiple times.

What's the furthest (distance) / longest (time) you've gone on 2 wheels?

Im a die hard and just love ridding a bike . The longest single stage races we had back in the 80/90s where 160 to 180 km . I only used my own raisins/dates /nougat and water .   

[DonatelloOnPinarello]

I must be doing something wrong. I saw this thread pop up on the sidebar and was expecting to see loads of suggestions to save money on parts or servicing and so on, instead it’s a pager on even weirder alternatives to all the shop bought super fuels and energy bars. Surprised there’s no comments on alternatives to the normal recovery shakes as well. 
 

I do a lot of back to back 3 to 5 hour days, both locally and in the alps, and have never had the need for anything more than whatever is available from the local cafe or convenience store. Riding is my number one excuse as to I don’t need to count calories. So in Europe, the phenomenal breads and pastries hit the spot just fine, washed down by some coffee. On the bike, water seems to be enough. Whatever isotonic is readily available on really hot days just to help that extra bit. Nothing on earth beats slightly diluted coke though. 
 

Locally, there is usually no shortage of semi decent coffee either, but the bread and pastry just isn’t worth the heartburn. So I stick to simba peanut and raisin mix, and the fattiest “geelvet” biltong I can get my hands on. Some crushed cashews also work a treat. But in general I’m not a fan of eating while I ride. I prefer riding between spots, fuelling up and then riding some more. 
 

for long days in the back country, when one needs to be self sufficient, I do camelback with 2 to 3 litres water if it’s a dry place, otherwise just fill up from mountain streams. And one bottle with good old game (strictly naartjie flavour). Peanuts and raisins from simba, a banana and a few of my grannies recipe date balls. A few years back when I was trying Banting, I used to make my own protein balls from rendered beef or lamb fat, rolled into balls with crushed cashews. Freeze them the night before and eat them before they thaw out completely. Still do that from time to time just because it’s really tasty.