General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Hydration During Bike? Rss Feed  
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2015-05-19 7:49 PM

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Subject: Hydration During Bike?
Newbie iron distance triathlete in training here, so please bear with me!

What would you recommend for hydration during the bike in an iron distance tri? I did a cross-country bike trip a few summers ago with 2 bottles of Gatorade on my bike and a 3L Camelbak with water which worked great, but even then, we had to refill several times, especially for our longer rides.

P.S. Sorry if this topic has been repeated, but I couldn't seem to find too much with the search function. If this has been discussed and you could direct me to another post, I would greatly appreciate it!

Edited by hanmeg03 2015-05-19 8:03 PM


2015-05-20 8:38 AM
in reply to: hanmeg03

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Master
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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?
It varies depending on your bike setup and the aid stations on the course. I've seen people use Camelback for HIM here in SE Asia, especially less competitive folks who don't obsess about it not being very aero, or people who want to be self-sufficient and not stop at aid stations. One former tri-buddy has an adventure race background and she always uses her Camelback and is a FOP biker. I would assume that most HIM are like the ones I've done--there are stations at least every 20-30 km where you can exchange an empty bottle for a full, or get a bottle of water to squeeze into your aero-bottle if you have one. In my case, here's the setup I used for a HIM in Vietnam with temperatures (on the bike leg) in the high 80's to mid 90's. I didn't stop to exchange and was self-sufficient. It seemed to be enough as I had to pee on the run....

Two bottles of electrolyte drink on a rear water bottle mount behind the seat (I think 1.2 liters total)
One bottle of electrolyte drink on the seat tube (750 ml)
One bottle of water on the aero-bars (about 600 ml)

So about 2.5 liters of water. My bike leg was just under 3 hours. I "think" it was enough due to having to pee during the run, but in reality not sure. I'd been ill for a few days before the race and maybe some of the meds I was taking dehydrated me anyway....really struggled on the run although not sure it was a hydration issue, more likely just fatigue due to illness and overheating (temps on the run may have hit triple digits.)

Some people would need more than this on the bike, but I'm pretty light weight (115 pounds) and really acclimatized to those conditions. If I found myself needing more, I would have stopped to switch out a bike bottle, or gotten a bottle of water and squeezed it into the aero-bottle. You could also wear a jersey on the bike leg and put a bottle in there, or maybe get in two bottles on the frame. (Owing to the size and geometry, it's not an option on my tri bike, only on my roadie.)
2015-05-20 10:08 AM
in reply to: hanmeg03

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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?

Most races have plenty of Aid stations where you can swap out your empties for fulls

I would not look at carrying enough for a whole race - Each litre is an extra kilo of weight you have to carry.

I normally go for 2 x 750 bottles (unless its V hot then I may go for 2 x 1L)

2015-05-20 5:36 PM
in reply to: WildWill

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Master
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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?
True--mainly doing that for safety reasons. Since there are almost no tris or bike races here, volunteers by definition have ZERO experience and I've seen lots of crashes at the bottle exchanges from unsafe moves by both riders and volunteers. Thus I try to be self-sufficient if possible. On training rides, I have to be self-sufficient as I don't pass anywhere to buy water and you can't drink tap water here.
2015-05-22 6:18 PM
in reply to: hanmeg03

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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?
So...do I need to bring my own water bottles filled with whatever I want to drink to pick up from the stations? Or do you just transfer the drink at the station to your own water bottles? Sorry, I'm just not exactly sure how this all works!
2015-05-22 7:47 PM
in reply to: hanmeg03

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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?
I just signed up for my first IM, but volunteered at IMTX May 16th. I was handing out hydration on the bike course and later in the afternoon on the run course. Some of the riders just grabbed Gatorade bottles and/or water and tossed there empty bottles. Others would grab Gatorade or water and refill their own bottles. I think it is a personal choice, what ever you practice at and feels good.


2015-05-22 8:22 PM
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Master
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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?
If it's a standard bike bottle, it's faster just to exchange an empty for a full at the aid station. (So don't bring your "special" souvenir bottles to races.) My aerobottle, however, can be filled without unscrewing the top--there's a kind of foam valve that keeps water from slopping out when riding, so to fill it, you just put the top of a bottle of water or electrolyte drink in and pour (or squeeze if filling from a regular bike bottle). I think that's fairly standard, as aero-bottles cost more than regular bottles and come with a special mount, so you wouldn't want to toss them in a race.

You don't get to leave your own bottles at aid stations to pick up. Maybe for pros (not sure), but not for us mere mortals. You just get whatever they happen to have. That's generally water and some kind of electrolyte drink. The volunteers are usually yelling, "Water" or "Electrolyte", depending on what they're holding. The only time I've been able to set up my own bottles at an aid station was in a few elite races (marathons in my younger days). But even in Olympic Trials, World University Games, and the like, your personal bottles with your magic elixir (in my case, water, diluted Coke, and lemon) had a tendency to disappear! It's fine to "live off the course" if you're not picky about what you drink. If you are (in my case, I am as can't stand drinks that are too sweet and SE Asia races have been known to offer stuff like Sting and Red Bull), best to be self-sufficient. That's particularly true if you're fairly BOP (stations can start running out) or it's the first time the race has been put on--they might not have their logistics up to snuff yet.

If it is full IM, then there may be a chance to pick up your own drink/nutrition or other items that you have set aside at a "Special Needs" stop on the bike and the run, but I haven't done full IM so I'll leave it to someone else to explain. This hasn't been offered at any HIM I've done or heard about, though.

Edited by Hot Runner 2015-05-22 8:23 PM
2015-05-25 5:30 AM
in reply to: #5116797


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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?
At IMTX I carried 3 disposable bottles of electrolyte to start the bike and had three more in my bike special needs bag. I dropped them at aid stations as they emptied and took on water as required to get to the special needs or end of race. Good point made about water weight. I saw a lot of riders with ultra light $5k bikes carrying 4 bottles, even late in the race. I drank down to about a bottle and a half and then picked up another at the aid station. Drank a little over 8 bottles overall and stayed hydrated, even though it was hot.
2015-05-29 11:18 PM
in reply to: #5117852

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Subject: RE: Hydration During Bike?
Check out what race drinks are available and test if they work for you. If so mix them in with about 3 to 4 times of clear water and depending on the heat electrolyte tablets. I have found that semi solids like honey zingers and water get me through as many hours as I need to go.
This is my formula and it is probably different for every racer, but there is always something we can share.
Good luck in your race pursuits.
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