This post talks a bit about my endurance bike setup. This is what I’d take on rides that are above 100 miles in length without any support.
The Bike
I ride a Giant Defy 1. It’s an aluminium framed road bike with Shimano 105. I chose an aluminium frame overa carbon frame to ensure it’s durability. This is a bike that has bags strapped to it, is put in cars, is ridden all year, and ridden an a lot on the trainer, so I thought that an aluuminium frame would be far more robust than a carbon one. I opted for the Defy as it’s geometry is really suited to endurance riding, with a relaxed riding position and absolutley amazing comfort – I can ride over terrible rides and feel completely comfortable on this bike.
Despite this, it has some cons. First and foremost, it’s not the stiffest frame, although, between my pathetic sprint and low weight, I rarely notice this. It’s also not the lightest at 8.5kg with a couple of upgrades, which isn’t terrible, but it’s not quite on par with some more expensive endurance road bikes.
One of the wonderful things about endurance cycling is the bike will rarely hold you back. Provided it’s comfortable for you, very little else matters. In my experience, the best way to go faster is to ride more and stop less. It’s all very well being on a stiff aero bike, but if you’re in pain after 8 hours, all of the efficency gains will soon be lost as you will need to stop to rest far more. Don’t let your bike stop you from riding your bike far!
Nutriton
Nutrition is paramount on very long rides. Food, after all, is fuel. On my rides, I try to eat something every hour, be it a bar or a gel. I find this manages to keep the dreaded bonk at bay for long enough.
My favourite on the bike foods are flapjacks. They’re simple, tasty and, most importantly, have lots of calories. I also reinforce this with gels when I feel a bonk is approaching, but I try to avoid these as they don’t sit so well in the stomach on very long rides.
One bit of advice I would give is to avoid any new items of food on the day of your big ride. I made the mistake of switching to a different brand of gel on the day of a very long ride and was really uncomfortable after about 8 hours on the bike.
I bring 2x750ml bottles with water in them. I’ve tried with a few energy supplements and I haven’t found one that suits me yet. I find this gives me enough water for just under 100km, which is enough for most rides where it’s easy to refill, but it has caused me issues before. This year, I’ll try to add a third bottlecage behind the seat to enable me to do longer stints between shop stops.
Bags
I use a few different bags on my bike on any ride logner than 100 miles. My favourite bag is an Alpkit top-tube bag. It’s simple, big, and allows me to store food and essentials close to hand on the ride. Additionally, it holds a powerbank really nicely so I can charge my GPS if I need to.
I also use a small seatpack which holds all of my tools and spares alongside a few emergency gels just in case I bonk really badly. This almost always stays on the bike.
Oscar Outdoors 