Ultra Cyclists 10 Most Hated Things 

The wrappers thing really grinds my gears. On one of my rides, I was hanging behind a guy eating a bar when he suddenly just throws the wrapper away. On a beautiful spotlessly clean path along the water with nature all around. I confronted him about it but he couldn't care less. Any time I think about it my heart starts racing because it just made me so angry.

Shame to hear about the wrappers along the Badlands route, I hope Chris brought this up with the sponsor and his fellow riders. Seriously, F anyone that litters, anywhere.

Yes! SPD all the way for me! I also hate it when I see bar wrappers / empty gels along the road, absolutely no need for that!

I love that Chris is pointing out waste problems in this video. Like he has shown, there are often similar options that are less wasteful but just as practical. As a personal recommendation: there are actually reuseable foil blankets that have thicker material and are thus easier to refold and reuse. They are not much heavier or larger, just a little bit more expensive.

It should be a dq in a race if you are found to be littering tbh.

I love the calling out of single use products and wrappers! I’ve done gravel races and people act like throwing their trash on the gravel roads is fine because there is a clean up crew. Don’t throw it out and you won’t need them to pick it up. Route planning if rough sometimes. I am used to Iowa gravel and I picked a route in Texas outside of Austin this last year. It wasn’t the nice gravel roads we were used to at all!

Litterbugs can get in the feckin bin

Good to see Chris calling out waste and rubbish in this video, I do a lot of wildlife habitat creation and picking up other peoples rubbish is sadly a massive part of the job (which I don't get paid for!)

Jimmy's knowledge of our chocolate bar heritage is woeful. Snickers bars used to be called Marathon bars in the UK until they changed the name to align with the US/rest of the world. Much like starburst used to be called opal fruits.

Chris is spot on about the wrappers and the other environmental issues. Love his takes!

Love the episode, can you perhaps do one about entry-level clothing, what you feel would be best to buy for a person just starting out? Love your channel!

RE: the handlebar bag issue - I solved this one by making an easily removeable bag support with a small diameter brass rod, bent into shape, and covered with silicone tubing where it touches the bike. Doesn't mark up your headtube and the bag also moves around a lot less.

on pedals use what's convenient and is available for use... if in hurry , i will pick spd anytime - double sided pedals works for me.

I only use mtb pedals. I get to see the cool waterfall when my riding buddies have to stay on the road

IMO, the further you go, the more you need to be self-sufficient - and that applies for both further as in distance travelled over the trip's length, as well as further as in further the trip is from home. At home, I generally ride with minimal spares. 1 spare tube, 1 patch kit, 1 set of brake pads (Just because they're tiny for discs so might as well), a set of tyre levers and my frame pump. It's enough to get me out of even a fairly bad day on the bike for punctures. Anything I can't repair, I can fairly easily source a lift home and get down the bike shop at my convenience. When I'm bikepacking that list increases quite a lot. Add a multi-tool, allen keys, a spare gear cable, a chain breaker, spare chain links, a pair of mini pliers, another extra inner tube, a tyre patch kit, and a dozen or so assorted screws/bolts/other fasteners that are on my bike. That's because out bikepacking, I'm less likely to be close enough to home to get a lift, and more likely to need to ride for hours if not days more to get to the end of the ride (and presumably either home, or a train/flight/ferry/whatever home). If I was to ride an ultra, or be bike packing as far away as Malaysia (being from the UK myself) where there's potentially issues with sourcing spares and such too, then I'd bring even more extras. Things like a spare spoke or too, a spare tyre, spare cleats, etc. The really unlikely things to need, but you're absolutely knackered if you ever find yourself needing them!

Very well said! I love you guys! No fluff, just the essence of it!

Cracking vid. Please can you share a link to the hand pump that you referred to early on in the video? Cheers.

Rouge Panda makes a little sheild that wraps around the headtube to protect it from rubbing bags. It works great! It also provides a smoother surface for the bags to slide against, so the bike turns a bit better too.

I agree stop throwing trash everywhere especially in nature!

4:15 there are heart monitors that goes on hand - on a biceps or forearm. I use Polar one, and forget about it before I even start the ride.

Like the gripes. Gotta ask: where is that shirt from? Reminiscent of tiger-stripe camo

Number 1, white van drivers.

You could put the frame protection tape on the head tube.

You hit a nerve with the bar bag... Been using an Ortlieb ultimate 6 for almost 10 years for bikepacking/touring - no frame damage. It's pretty waterproof and has easy access for day to day light bits and bobs (wallet, keys, snacks, waterproofs, sunglasses etc.) Not the most "aero", but no worse than most roll bags - but a little more practical.

Like many of us, I started road cycling with SPD pedals and shoes and dumped them after just one season for the real thing ... in road context, it don't like them because I feel the shoe choice for 3-bolt is much better, and in the end we want our fancy shoes - but: coming back from my first gravel rides with SPD pedals (and reusing my 2010s Mavic MTB shoes for it), even after years of using road pedals, they are so much easier to get in - and it leaves the option for hybrid SPD/flat pedals if you want to build something like a week commuter/weekend gravel bike.

not taking a pump is probably someones strategy in these events. Oh darn, I dont have a pump, you there, 2 tenths of a second in front of me...can I use yours lol.

I am also using SPD for ultras, if you want a lighter option you caould also use Shimano PD-ES600. If you need the powermeter there are Favero Assioma Pro MX-2 pedals, way cheaper than garmin (and even more during black friday)

03:00 "wrappers" is a very friendly way of saying, it's not the wrappers, it is the people who do not respect nature that are the problem. Such a little thing to take the wrapper back home.

I know this may get overlooked, if you guys havent done a video on it but could yall make a video on what to do in emergency bike situations and what that might entail?

5:03: a possible solution: cleat covers. Not for walking around a lot in, and not on rough surfaces, but otherwise they work fine.

4:45 Because there is so much going on at the wrist the optical sensor you find on watches have a hard time measuring accurately.

Chris or Francis - what is the best presta compatible mini pump with a psi gauge that you would recommend?

I wore a heart rate monitor (paired with Explore GPS) and my Garmin watch and the heart rate average was virtually identical!

I read a thing about how saddle sores are formed, apparently the salt in your sweat crystallises in the chamois in the shorts and cause micro cuts in the bum area. I don't wear cycling shorts and never get a sore bum. Marino wool works wonders.

If you don't have access to compressed air those Co2 canisters are great for setting up tubeless tires.

Totally on board with everything you say. I use an aerobar bag instead of a handlebar bag. It's the same thing with two extra loops on the far side of the zipper and turned sideways so it hangs from your aerobars. Just as convenient, more aero, no paint damage. I do carry a CO2 cartridge. I've been carrying the same one for 5000 miles because I ride Schwalbe Marathons. All the convenience with almost none of the waste.

What have you bought from EXS? there's an EXS box on your shelf. ta

I think the air canisters are mainly useful for seating tubeless tyres after major punctures. Yes, waste is always bad, but at least those canisters are easily recyclable. If there are other (small enough to be carried on an ultra) methods for seating tyres, I would be happy to hear.

What are some alternatives to handlebar bags? and alternatives to the emergency blankets?

Love the top few! At the Dirty 200km next month for the first time and really hope people dont leave it a tip.

They're Snickers bars in the USA as well....

I think there are products to solve the issue on having handlebar bag, basically a product which added support on the bag to avoid top tube rub

If you lend someone a pump, you should be entitled to draft behind them for the rest of the ride.

Pretty sure Francis will agree with you on the temperature after his Malaysia bike packing trip

Loved this especially with Chris's concerns about the environment extra kudos there!

Love the Nigel Mansell moustache look.

Garmin optical heart rate monitors aren't very accurate, and therefore it isn't a valid reliable metric you can use. That is basically how data workers, worse at some point means not fit for purpose, and on an ultra race if you are actually measuring your performance/recovery by heart rate, this will significantly compromise that over a heart rate strap. This said newer Apple Watches and Huawei Watches have seen to have very comparible results to heart rate straps. What you have really said is you don't rely on Heart Rate data very much for your application, and that is fine.

Saddle sores - my gooch is my Achilles heel, but tea tree oil cream applied before and after eliminates this issue completely. It turns multi day rides into a pimple free dream

Big Love Chris, some great advise there, but as I'm sure Francis will attest after his Triban Malaysia adventure, use a cheaper bike, without internal cable routing, and that handlebar-bag thing goes out of the window... Welsh Dragon sticker on front of my Triban RC500, not a mark after a few trips with it, although I maybe disagree with Francis on sticking stuff in it that you want quickly on the road, but then, I don't also carry a mobile film studio with me when I've bike packed. But still, get cheaper bikes, have as much fun as Francis on them, your Welsh Dragon sticker will stay in tact ;-). Can we have more Chris content? or is he too expensive now?

Whats the pump he mentions at 2:45?

The only handlebar bag I would consider is from Route Werks. It attaches to the bars in such a way that the bag doesn’t dangle. It’s semi rigid and easily accessible and has mounts for a head unit and lights. It looks to be very well designed and way more useful than the bike purses that are on the market. Littering sucks and people who litter suck!

I think those foil blankets were aliens on Dr. Who

Fyi i just found out huawei band 678 and gt4 can broadcast hr data live to your bike computer, so no need for annoying hr strap.

Thumbs up to reducing waste. This point is always controversial…… but wear underpants to keep clean (thin fitted seemless short style for me), you can change them every day, don’t take much space to carry several and don’t cause chafing in my experience…… baby wipes are hideous single use plastic which we just don’t need :-). It is often said that wearing pants is a noobie mistake but we should always questions received wisdom because quite often it’s not correct :-)

I started this video thinking oh yeah, here we go again... but not this time I think it's all good advice, especially the emergency blanket (the noise doesn't bother me though). It's an emergency blanket, not a planned use blanket. I have a short fuse with people who don't bring tools, pumps , spare inner tubes / repair kits You are just waiting to get stranded.

I once done a route and ended up on a narrow wooded route on a road bike before getting back on the road.. 🙄

Q:What is the favourite shoes of kidnappers? A:White vans...

How does he manage tire pressure out on the road. Once you had a flat or lost some air it is crucial to get to the right tire pressure since having it too high or too low is way worse than having a less aero bike.

Is there an alternative to the shiny emergency blanket?

whats the handpump with psi meter that he is talking about? I must know! Been looking for one for ages

A good guy love the way he thinks about the nature of

Titanium is the answer to the handlebar bag HT rubbing issue, buff it away or just leave it to show off that your bike actually gets used 😆

I’m a simple man, I see Chris, I like video

Agree with everything, except pedals unless it's an off road event. I'm really comfy with my spd system and after all when racing ultras the idea is to spend as little time as possible off the bike

Could you please add chapter makers? I know it is more clickbaity not to have, but do you prefer the long term or short-term success of your channel?

That Styrkathon wrapper looks like it would be for a white chocolate Snickers if they existed in the USA.

How do people even get past the mandatory gear check without a minipump?

I was totally a pump and anti-c02 person till I tried to use my pump for real and now I carry c02's and a cell phone =P

I don't entirely understand the purpose of pre-moistened wipes for cycling when we bring bottles full of moistness everywhere we go. Like sure if you're the type to empty a CO2 canister every time you need to top up your tires then I get the convenience factor but how often are you really in such a rush to wipe your ass that the paper needs to be wrapped in plastic and pre-moistened out of the box?

Agree on all of this!

As much as plastic wrappers and other waste related products are present, baby-wipes/wet-wipes are plastic and synthetic-based too. Chammy cream is the best option here.

I like this guy

Smart guys!

I agree with almost everyone of these apart from using a watch instead of a HR strap, I've used a watch once on an MTB ride, and I'll never do it again as it rattles about and causes friction. Fine on a road ride, but off road very annoying, and it was a Garmin watch like Chris had on.

2:33 CO2 is the only way to go. Getting a road tire back up to ridable pressure with a mini-pump is a 20-minute ordeal.

Goes on about foil blankets, co2 and wrappers and then recommends baby wipes.😂😂😂😂

SPD pedals? Yes, for everything bar racing. Everyone on a club ride using SPD-R needs their head examining.

I take at least one bar with tin foil wrap. In case my tire get sliced I could lay the tin foil between tube and tire and prevent the tube from popping out of the cut. So I won’t be stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Number 10 should come with a disclaimer, That it is exclusive in races.

One that gets me is people not understand the tyre system they are running and how to repair it on the road. This is the most basic and minimum knowledge you need to ride a bike for any distance. Had this recently on a winter ride stopped to help and the guy was ridding tubs with not idea what they were or how he could repair them. Basic stuff.

Wash your mouth out!!! In the UK it was a marathon.... but was changed to snickers... it was a terrible day...

For you youngsters. Snickers were called marathons in Britain until the 1980s...they were rebranded to match the rest of the world. Hence the saying...it's a marathon not a snickers

And you buy the imported guava from South America and you fly around the world to do your races. I don't get that logic.

fyi on street view in Germany, there not many street view photos of Germany due to privacy laws, so Chris rules would not apply here.

Ummmm. Baby wipes just as bad for the environment as your bar package just don't use them

The problem is not just wrappers. They are a problem. But it’s people. Anyone throwing a wrapper should be disqualified from any event they participate in. And then they should have their names publicised. And any product using a non-recyclable wrapper should be banned. It’s not cool.

Rear racks and panniers then call it bikepacking lol

Mini pumps are terrible- just get a good frame fit pump- far easier to use for not much extra weight.

Nice…a bit contradictory- mentioning waste; Co2 canisters then he recommends wet wipes… 😂🤷🏻‍♂️

Bro literally told us he likes to boof, wtf

2:20 Guess what, if you don't have fully integrated cables, you can attach the back of the handlebar bag to the cables and not have that problem at all. Another L for fUlL aErO routing.

Uh, for handlebar bags, why not just wrap your head tube with protective vinyl?... Zero rub wear on my frame, thousands of miles of road and gravel.

he is so right. handlebarbags are the single most stupid trend... nah not at all, but still very stupid.

Drafting when it’s not allowed

I always have a good laugh at the wannabe pterodactyls with their flagpole sized handlebars. Especially when they're trying to filter through traffic.

Proper 'tache. 10/10

Try sleeping with one of those foil blankets in the outdoors, totally useless.

8:20 another lie promulgated by Big Chammy Cream

#11. Mustaches

Wait so, they put a palm leaf wrapper on something, inside of a plastic wrapper? Isn't that just a waste of a palm leaf? I have never used this phrase, but isn't that a form of virtue signalling?