r/ultracycling

Hi all, wanted to reach out and share for a race I am working on. It is a unsupported ultracycling event in March 2027 through the Aseer Mountains, Saudi Arabia.

It is the first of its kind in the Middle East - https://www.arabiadivide.cc/.

Before you ask... yes there are proper mountains in Saudi!! (Check out the photos on the webpage) And the mountain's temperature is prodimently cooler than the rest of the country, so March is the perfect time to race at around 20-24 degrees during the day. Winter would actually be much too cold.

Feel free to message me if any questions.

Currently running 1x 11 GrX with a 40t front and 11-46 cassette on a Tripster AT that was initially built up as a gravel rig.

I'm finding that with 60mm carbon rim brakes on the aero bike I'm using it more often for winter roads and long distance audaxes with an aim to try ultras. This means the range isn't really enough to spin up hills and also spins out on long downhills.

There are 3 or 4 upgrade paths each with pros/cons so opening it up to discussion with people doing what I want to build up to.

* 12 speed mechanical GRX

* 12 speed di2 (xt or grx) but two di2 shifters for all the buttons

* 12 speed mechanical GRX with Ratio/Madrone mech

* 12 speed axs - would keep GRX cranks

* Push the GRX 11 speed mech to it's max with an 11-50 cassette and a bigger front ring

GRX shifters means I keep brakes, SRAM means new brakes but I get blips for aero bars, Ratio is bombproof mechanical quality, and 11 speed mega cassette is cheapest but well out of spec so shifting isn't as good.

Yay another one of these! I’ve been racing road for a couple of years and recently did a six hour event, which I enjoyed quite a lot. Im burned out on road racing and would like to pursue ultras and gravel (‘regular’ distance and ultra) as they’re more adventurous. While adventure is the goal, I want to be at the pointy end so performance considerations are key. My mid to long term goals are a few 12, 24 hour road events, RAAM qual, and racing Unbound XL.

I’m currently riding a 2023 Madone (which is great) and have a self imposed two bike maximum. So I’m essentially looking for a jack of all trades road rig and jack of all trades off road, so I can race a broad variety.

For road, im considering a Canyon Aeroad w/ a bunch of aero upgrades or a PSeries Cervelo. P is likely the outright faster option while aeroad is likely more comfortable and better on a long, open course.

Gravel side. Crux 5 or Lauf Seigla with suspension. I’m in Florida. Crux is obvious choice for our kind of gravel, but I’d love to hear experience from folks that have done Unbound, traka, and other larger gravel races.

Thanks!🙏

https://preview.redd.it/3gzgi0u67fjh1.png?width=2000&format=png&auto=webp&s=277f8139737ad9e067c087d5e9f876785da4ab9a

The main challenge is probably the budget of approximatly as little as possible. While browsing the Decathlon website I noticed a lot of identical looking pants with nonsensical descriptions, wich ultimatly led me to posting this here:

Since the tour will be 24h we will ride through the night, therefore I suppose that I need some form of long clothing like long bip shorts (?). The most appealing option to me seems to be some form of leg warmers.

I have the VR Raincoat EDR and a long sleeve sport shirt. Im assuming that would do if I were to change just before the night but I am concerned about my legs.

Also, maybe someone who already did something like this could share some of the details, especially regarding fueling, storage and must have gear. How could I carry a lot of water as best as possible? Might a drinking system be of value?

I'd love to recieve some advice, thanks :)

I'm doing my first ultra in 2 weeks. I'm debating whether to bring rain pants + leg warmers or just leg warmers.

I saw a video of Robin Gemperle from the TCR. He didn't bring rain pants, just leg warmers.

The thing is, I would need to buy some rain pants because the ones I have for hiking are really heavy and take up almost my whole frame bag. Do I really need them, or are leg warmers good enough? If im just going to sweat under the rainpants it's useless anyways. The race is 2–3 days long.

I registered for a long-distance cycling event that will be during this Saturday, 15.08.2026. The distance is 250km with total climbs of 2.5km.

Sunday, two days ago, I did the first 200km of the route and it contained roughly 2km of climbs. The temperature was around 35 degress Celsius and it was really tough. I could not have finished the full 250 km. During parts of the route it had some clouds that helped.

Now I am really unsure if I should attend the event on Saturday. I trained for 16 weeks and the ticket of the event was not cheap. However, I have doubts regarding the weather. The weather forcasts shows 35 degress Celsius again and I fear, that there will be no clouds.

During Sunday I had problems with my fueling, i.e. I felt sick after roughly 140km and could only drink sips of water after that. I think it might be possible, that I hit the wall because of it. If I would attend the event on Saturday I would make sure to have three kinds of nutrition with me (gels, bars and isotonic drinks) instead of only one kind.

All this text is to ask for your opinion or insights on what to consider .. I have asked friends and family and had mixed feedback ranging from "this is life-threatening DO NOT DO IT" to "if you were able to do the 200, you can do the 250".

What do you think?

Hej guys, I am going for a 250km / 9'200m bike one day bike race in a bit. I am wondering about nutricion a lot. Currently I am looking for a good mix of the above mentioned. Any thought or advice about it?

I would like to step up my comfort on the bike in order to go further and spend more time on the saddle. Right now I can do 10h with some stopping and quite some pain in the last 2h. Friends are recommending I try 3D printed saddles. Is that the way to go?

Until now I used some old shoecovers. I need something new and thought about getting some thin waterproof socks from Sealskinz for rainy days.

What do you use in a race and why? Covers or socks? Any recommendations?

Has anyone tried using tri shorts on ultras? I'm thinking they're faster drying, easier for bathroom breaks, and could feasibly have a few clean pairs to rotate through. Typically I use bibs but was wondering whether a slightly squishier seat combined with thinner shorts could be more comfy. I'm a super sweater and prone to saddle sores and it seems like getting sores is an inevitable part of racing for me regardless of what Chamois cream I use and how dialed in my fit is. Even if I have a spare clean bib and alternate daily, practice good hygiene etc my ass is always a war zone from day 3 onwards

I'm currently spamming posts because I guess I'm a bit nervous. I'm racing Race Across Austria in less than three weeks, and it'll be my first ultra.

I think I've got everything I need. My fueling strategy is mostly a 2:1 maltodextrin-to-fructose mix at around 90 g/hour, with some snacks here and there. After about 24 hours, I'll probably just eat whatever I feel like. There will be three base camps, so I won't have to carry all of my carb mix from the start.

Now to my question: We all know the usual sweet snacks like gummy bears, Snickers, etc., but I can't imagine eating sweet food for 2–3 days straight. What are your go-to salty snacks that are easy to digest during long races?

First of all great job by Bea and Luca !

However I really felt disturbed by the news when it came public, and also by the investigation movie itself.
I’ve always thought, trust in ultra races provide such a strong foundation, that nothing like this might happen. But as we can see shit happens.
I don’t think it’s tragedy, but more so as a red flag that as much popularity this sport gains there shall be measures made.

It’s a really valuable lesson and a disgrace to the rider involved.