Coach Levi,

First off I love reading your site and feel that I am learning alot! I was wondering if you could possibly address a nutrition question I have as I am struggling in this area.

First a little about me, I am 22 year old male, 6’1″, 145lbs, and currently cycle 50 miles each weekday morning and 60-80 miles each weekend day. I also do some core work each night which consists of planks, jumping jack, and jump squats. I ride very early in the morning before work during the week and when ever I wake up on the weekend. I was hoping you could help me with some suggestions as to what I should be eating to maximize my performance.

Here is a sample of typical day as of now: Cereal with skim milk (approx 3 cups of cereal) before riding, 3 clif bloks during ride with water, 1.5 cups dry oats with a piece of fruit, nuts, and maple syrup or honey mixed in after ride, lunch – salad (approx. 3 cups spring mix, 1 cup mixed veggies), half whole wheat pita with canned sardines, snack – 2 pieces whole wheat bread with peanut butter and a banana, dinner – piece of fish (approx. 6 oz) with medium sweet potato and 3-4 cups mixed vegetables (with spices or sauce), snack – 1 Chobani 0% Greek Yogurt with 2 sliced strawberries and 1/4 cup fiber plus cereal.

Sorry for being so long winded and hopefully this gives you enough info to give me some basic guidance (I understand nutrition is highly individualized but I am hoping you can help with some general advice).

Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer!

Sincerely,
Max Emmeizing

Hi Max,

It’s good that you provided the details – it’s easier for me to break down a large amount of data than it is for me to make assumptions when I have to fill in the blanks! And I think this will be very helpful for all the others in your shoes.

Out of everyone asking for a diet analysis, yours is definitely one of the best. You consume a pretty good variety of foods, lots of carbs for energy, mostly natural foods, and lots of veggies. I think a lot of endurance athletes could improve their performance switching to your current diet, to be honest.

Your diet actually looks a lot like mine did when I was around your age and trained similarly. I was a few inches shorter and a few pounds heavier, and I’ll admit I may have averaged slightly fewer veggies per day, but in the same ballpark. So the same changes that helped me, could help you!

Reading my site, you’ve probably noticed I’m big on personal testing to see what works best for you. So, I can give you some suggestions and you can test them out, take notes, and compare.

So let’s get started…

0. Volume/Amount of Food Intake

This first one is more of a comment than a suggestion. From eyeballing your diet, I’d say the amount of food looks about right.

For the most part, food intake is simply a function of how you feel, and if you find your daily calorie levels allow you to train hard and maintain your normal weight, you should be on target. So if you feel good, that’s what matters.

It sounds like you’re a total ectomorph, and you can eat lots of refined carbohydrates without gaining fat. The body type works well for cyclists, for sure.

Now for the suggestions…

1. Skip Breakfast.

Try skipping breakfast before your rides, especially on the weekdays where you get up extra early. I forced myself to eat breakfast before my early rides and races for years, only to see my race performance improve when I got too lazy to do that anymore! These days, I usually don’t eat anything till I’m on my bike warming up.

Naturally you’ll have to eat more during and post-ride to make up for it, but for a lot of people, that tends to be easier on their body than eating a traditional breakfast.

2. Try Less-Sugary Pre-Ride Meals.

If you have digestion time before a ride, try a meal that’s higher in protein and/or composed of low GI carbohydrates. Cereal and skim milk is a major sugar rush, and 99% of the time, NOT something you want until your body is in the process of burning blood sugar (i.e. during a ride.)

Switching to oatmeal (especially when made with water or unsweetened almond milk) or eggs could improve your riding as well as your general well-being. I used to go through at least a box of cereal a day, and if I could go back and change one thing, it would be this!

3. Go Wheat-Free (or Gluten-Free.)

I don’t want to jump on the gluten-free bandwagon and preach its goodness, but after giving a wheat-free diet a shot, I’m having a hard time not talking about it! (I’ll be writing about this in more depth in future articles.)

Basically, cut out your cereals and breads, and replace them with more oats, rice, and quinoa. There’s no need to buy anything labeled “gluten-free” unless you have a serious health condition like Celiac disease, so just focus on removing the obvious wheat-based products from your diet.

Try this for at least a week, then go back to eating all the cereal and bread you want, and see how you feel.

4. Increase Protein.

Consider an increase in protein. A lot of athletes go overboard with protein, while endurance athletes tend to neglect protein.

I didn’t estimate the grams of protein in your diet, but since you’re young and putting your body through hell each day, you might need more to reach your maximum recovery potential. Your ideal protein intake could be anywhere from 70-130g per day.

The peanut butter, yogurt, sardines, and fish probably put you in that range, but I’d like you to try to hit the 130g mark and see if you notice any difference. You might need to add eggs, protein powder, red meat, tofu, garbanzo beans, etc.

5. Blood Work.

Finally, consider having basic blood work done. This will alert you to any possible nutrient deficiencies, too high blood sugar, etc.

At first you think, “I eat so many calories, how could I be deficient in anything?” But then you realize, you also burn a ton of calories and don’t treat your body like the average person does.

The price will vary, but if you’re serious about testing and tracking your diet for better performance, periodic bloodwork gives you some good data.

Hopefully these changes appeal to you and maybe one set off a light bulb in your head!

You can try these changes one at a time or all at once. One at a time, for 2-4 weeks, is best for testing, but not necessary. If your performance improves, great! If it deteriorates, you learned something to put on your list of “what not to do.”

Good luck!

Based on my good luck with Voler bib shorts (I loved the Voler Elite bibs,) I picked up a pair of the Voler Campione bib shorts. The Campione line had just launched (January 2009,) so VeloWear did a 30% off sale to support it!

So I got a sweet pair of white bib shorts for $55.97! Normally I wouldn’t buy white shorts, but hey, the price was right!

Here are my thoughts on these bibs:

Price

Like I said, the price was right. $55 for nice bibs is a steal, even in the case of white bibs that I probably won’t wear very often.

Comfort

These shorts are certainly comfortable. They are nicer than the average Voler shorts, but quite a ways behind the Voler Elite DX bib level (only because the Voler Elite bibs were so good to me though.)

If you’re looking at comfort in relation to the price, comfort is excellent.

Looks and Style

One word: White! If you’re looking for white bibs, then I bet you’ll like the looks and style here.

White is flashy and attracts attention from everyone, in good and bad ways. If you have the right body and confidence to wear white, it could attract the ladies, and it could improve visibility in traffic. (Hopefully that means drivers won’t hit you.)

To be stylish with these white bibs, remember…

When Not To Wear White

Much like wearing white after Labor Day or wearing a white dress to a wedding, there is a similar limitation to wearing white bibs. And this has to do with current weather conditions.

The question is, how do they look when soaking wet from rain or saturated with sweat?

My answer is, I don’t know! That’s because I don’t wear these in inclement weather. Furthermore, I have no plans to wear these unless the weather is stunningly perfect.

White gets dirty easily, so one ride in the rain and you could lose that bright white shine. And the only thing worse than stained, off-white bibs is completely see-through bibs (think “wet t-shirt contest” and apply it to bib shorts.)

Durability

While I’ve had these bibs a couple years now, I’ve only worn them on special occasions (see “When Not to Wear White”.) So I can’t say how long they will last under heavy use. But if they are anything like the other Voler shorts I’ve worn, they’ll last plenty long for the price.

My final verdict is…

These are nice, comfy bibs, that are also stylish. Just remember – you’ll stand out if you wear them. So make sure you don’t wear them unless you have a nice tan and ripped muscles, as well as serious speed to back them up.

Official website: www.Voler.com

My mountain bike buddies and I did quite a few road races on our mountain bikes over the years, and I’d like to share some tips for anyone that plans to race their mountain bike on the road.

Mountain Biking on Pavement – General Theory

The main goal is to make your mountain bike as much like a road bike as possible. That means you want very little rolling resistance, lots of stiffness, and good aerodynamics.

But you have to do so without breaking the rules. Now, there are going to be very few rules on this. Generally the only requirement is that you run 1.5″ or wider tires.

But even if there are no specified rules, I like to keep things in the spirit of mountain biking. That means, you don’t need to run road wheels and 23mm Michelin Pro3Race tires on your 29″ mountain bike. That’s just lame. If you’re going to do something like that, enter the open category and compete against the road bikers.

So…

Mountain Biking on Pavement – The Tips

Here are five tips to make your mountain bike into a pavement machine.

1. Run Semi-slick Tires

If you’re an XC racer, you probably have a set of semi-slick tires that are under 2″ wide. Those will work, but if you’re willing to buy another set of tires (which can come in handy for any road riding, not just racing,) there is a decent selection of 1.5″ semi-slick tires that do a pretty good job on pavement.

What I would suggest is an ~1.75″ tire that has very little tread sticking up. In some cases, these tires have an “inverted” tread. (The Maxxis Hookworm is a good example of an inverted tread, but not really a good choice because they are super heavy.) Other times, the tire will feature many small, closely-spaced knobs, giving it a fairly smooth profile overall. This means a faster and smoother ride on pavement.

As a last resort, ask around – maybe a relative or neighbor has a hybrid with some smooth tires you can borrow for race day!

2. High Pressure

Another thing you want to do is run high pressure in your tires. Quite possibly the “max” pressure listed on the tire. You don’t need the tires to conform to rocks and roots on the course, so fill those tires up!

This will depend on the tire, but generally it could range from 40-85 psi. For any sort of riding/racing on pavement, I’d like at least 50-60 psi in my tires. Normal mountain biking pressures will feel squishy on solid pavement.

3. Go Rigid

You want your bike to be as stiff as possible. If you already ride a rigid bike (no suspension front or rear,) great. If you have a hardtail, hopefully you can lock out your fork.

If you don’t have a lockout feature on your fork, I feel your pain! My first real mountain bike with a suspension fork did not have a lockout, and I wasted a lot of energy with that thing bobbing up and down! My advice in this case is to stay seated as much as possible to keep your weight from compressing the fork.

4. Use Your Road Seat Height

Most mountain bikers don’t have their seat as high as a road racer would since you need a little extra maneuverability. But in a road race, you can set your seat height to the most efficient position.

Since you’re not dealing with obstacles, you can probably raise your seat 1/4″ or so. (Depending on race course terrain, my mountain bike seat height probably varies around 1″ up or down.)

If you’re not familiar with changing your position though, don’t do it. You might make it worse.

5. Know When to Draft

Racing tactics are important in any race, but even more so when your bike already puts you at a disadvantage.

Unless everyone else is significantly weaker than you, stay in the draft. There’s not much point in a solo attack on a mountain bike (unless you pull it off, in which case you really embarrassed the roadies!)

Anyway, the most important tactic will be knowing when to draft. For example, if you are in your big ring and the speed starts to pick up, that’s a good sign you need to get behind some people. Otherwise you simply won’t be able to propel yourself as fast as the road machines.

The downhills are another place to be careful. Whatever you do, don’t go first! Tuck in behind at least two other guys and stay in the draft as best you can. If you’re caught off the front, and the roadies start to pass you, you might not be able to catch onto their draft when they go by.

If you follow those tips every time you ride your mountain bike in a road race, you’ll stand a good chance of hanging with the road bikers and beating the other mountain bikers.

At first, I really wasn’t sure what to get. There are cool shoes out there, but I didn’t want to risk buying a new brand without trying them on first (without an actual local bike shop at the time, my chances of trying on shoes were slim to none.)

So, naturally, I decided to stick with Sidi, because I knew their size 46 road shoes fit me very well. Not to mention how comfortable and durable their road shoes are! So that eased my mind about picking up a pair of $295 shoes that would be submerged in mud and scraped against rocks the first day I used them!

The Break-In Period

As soon as I tried on the shoes in May 2009, I knew they were a perfect fit! The 46 was just right, like my Sidi Genius road shoes. A tad roomier, but I think that is because the material was still new and extra stiff.

The big difference is that the Dominators were nowhere near as soft and supple! This meant they didn’t conform to my foot like I was used to, so, I had to break them in…

After just a few rides and getting my cleat placement dialed in, the shoes were great. Not quite as comfortable as my Sidi Genius 3 road shoes, and not as familiar as my old Northwaves or Shimanos, but they held their own as far as comfort goes.

After 5-6 years I’m sure they’ll be broken in nicely!

Weight

Being mountain bike shoes, it was no surprise these were heavier than my Sidi road shoes.

The claimed weight was 720g. The actual weight was 829g though (weighed on my home scale.)

That’s a size 46 without cleats or toe spikes. Definitely not a lightweight, but typical for MTB shoes. (They must weigh their size 39 to give you the listed weight!)

On the brighter side, they “felt” light, which is always nice.

The Plastic Tread

The only complaint I’ve heard from friends with Sidi MTB shoes is that the plastic lugs on the sole provide little to no traction when walking on rocks and other slippery surfaces. But there was only one instance where I remember that slowing anyone down (it was stream crossing where you walked across large, wet rocks,) and that was not during a race, just a fun ride.

Considering these shoes are for XC racing, I wasn’t too concerned. After all, I don’t make it a habit to walk during races. And I don’t like to walk in any cycling shoes, so why miss out on good shoes over such a tiny concern?

In reality, the plastic tread on the sole doesn’t seem much different than other XC racing shoes. Some other shoes do have bits of softer rubber on the sole, aiding in grip on hard surfaces, but you can re-create that yourself if you want. All you have to do it put a few small beads of Shoe Goo in key locations (i.e. on the areas that touch the ground when walking.)

Compatibility with EggBeaters

The only problem with the Dominators was the hard time clipping into my Crank Bros Eggbeater pedals. But after some testing, I realized that was entirely due to the Crank Bros Shoe Shields.

See, I wanted to use the Shoe Shields to protect my brand new soles, but that turned out to be a waste of effort. After a few rides, I found plenty of scrapes and gouges all around the sole that are much worse than what the Eggbeaters would do over the course of a year or two!

Once I removed the shields, I found no compatibility issues between the Dominators and Eggbeaters.

Clipping In

However, clipping in did take some getting used to. Clipping in when using a shoe with a bunch of hard plastic bits for the tread is more difficult than when you have a more open, rubberized sole.

With a softer sole, you can stomp down on the pedal and finagle your cleats into place with a little pressure. With hard soles, you have to be a lot more precise. If you don’t get the cleats lined up perfectly, they’ll slip out of place, and you’ll have to try again.

I found it more intuitive to continue racing in my Northwave shoes, but eventually I did get used to the Sidi Dominators.

Durability

As mentioned, the sole is getting a little scratched up, but that’s normal. The shoe isn’t falling apart by any means.

I’ve only used these for two years though, so I can’t speak too much about durability yet.

My final verdict is…

The Sidi Dominator 5 is a pretty cool shoe. I’m not as happy with these as I am with my old Sidi Genius road shoes, but they’re still great shoes.

Hopefully in 5-10 years when I need to replace these, I can find something lighter and even more comfortable, but for now, these will do just fine!

Official website: www.SidiSport.com

Buy online: www.REI.com | www.PerformanceBike.com | www.Zappos.com

This is the old standby with a proven track record. People either don’t like it or, like me, they take it for granted. If I need an energy bar, I know that the Powerbar is going to do the job, and I know I can find it just about anywhere. (Remember the days when the Powerbar was the only bar on the shelves?)

Continue reading to find out just what it is that makes the PowerBar Performance Bar shine…

Health & Nutrition

Let’s start out by examining the ingredients and nutrition facts for one of the common flavors, Vanilla Crisp.

Ingredients:

C2 MAX CARBOHYDRATE BLEND (ORGANIC EVAPORATED CANE JUICE SYRUP, MALTODEXTRIN, FRUCTOSE, DEXTROSE), OAT BRAN, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, RICE CRISPS (MILLED RICE, RICE BRAN, ROSEMARY EXTRACT), BROWN RICE FLOUR, CANOLA OIL, 2% OR LESS OF NATURAL FLAVOR, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, ALMOND BUTTER, NONFAT MILK, PEANUT FLOUR. MINERALS: CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, FERROUS FUMARATE (IRON). VITAMINS: ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), VITAMIN B6 HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMINE MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1). CONTAINS ALMOND, MILK, PEANUT AND SOY INGREDIENTS. MADE ON EQUIPMENT THAT ALSO PROCESSES WHEAT.

What really stands out to me is the vast array of carbohydrate sources in this bar. There are simple and complex carbs, then different types of sugars. If you do any research into how the human body can absorb different types of sugar through different pathways, you see the importance of taking in more than one type of carbohydrate. I’m going to assume that the team at Powerbar has a good grasp on the research and is doing its best to provide endurance athletes with as many carbs as possible.

Other than that, this is a pretty normal energy bar. Lots of carbs, a little protein and fat, and some added vitamins and minerals (i.e. electrolytes.) It won’t be winning any “healthiest food in the world” awards, but it is right for the task at hand.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories 240
Fat 3.5g
Sodium 200mg
Potassium 105mg
Total Carbs 45g
Fiber 1g
Sugars 25g
Protein 8g

Now this is what I call an energy bar! No matter how many people come out and talk about the Paleo diet being good and carbs being bad, carbs are still going to be the #1 source of energy for endurance athletes around the globe. And this Powerbar packs 45g of carbs into a 240 calorie package.

Just as important is how they keep the fat, protein, and fiber in check. Protein won’t energize you as fast as carbs will, and fat and fiber slow your digestion and can cause some stomach distress during hard racing.

As far as I’m concerned, the Powerbar Performance Bar does the best job at maximizing what you want and minimizing what you don’t. It’s not as extravagant as some of the newer bars, but when I’m in the middle of a race, I don’t care about extravagance! I just want something that works.

PowerBar Taste Test

Here are my thoughts on the flavors…

Peanut Butter – I really like this one. It is really sweet, but still has a nice peanut butter flavor. It reminds me of the peanut butter Rice Krispy squares my Grandma made me when I was a kid.

It won’t taste like natural or homemade peanut butter, but I like bars and stuff that taste like the sweetened peanut butter.

Chocolate Peanut Butter – I didn’t like this one at all. It tastes artificial and just plain crappy. While I love Reeses cups, other companies doing chocolate peanut butter flavors just don’t compare. Just skip this one.

Chocolate – N/A

Milk Chocolate Brownie – N/A

Cookies N Cream – N/A

Vanilla Crisp – This is a pretty good flavor that’s really sweet. You can taste some vanilla, though, which is nice.

Oatmeal Raisin – This is my overall favorite. I love oatmeal cookies and this bar gives me a similar taste that doesn’t get old.

Apple Cinnamon – This is a tasty bar that I like to have on occasion. It has a pleasant apple cinnamon flavor that isn’t overpowering.

Banana – N/A

Wild Berry – N/A

Honey Roasted Nut – N/A

Caramel Cookie – N/A

(If you want some more flavors with a twist, check out the Powerbar Energize Fruit Smoothie Bar.)

To finish up, I’ll mention the texture. The bar is so processed that there is really only one texture, so every bite is the same. It’s plain and it’s chewy. Imagine all the ingredients ground up and mixed into a paste, them formed into a bar.

Sure, it doesn’t sound appetizing, but like I mentioned before, it works.

The PowerBar, In Use

Now this is where the Powerbar really shines! It’s not perfect, but I still rate it an A+. Here’s why:

An energy bar needs to be easy to eat. The Powerbar must be the easiest bar to eat. It is soft, chewy, and easy to bite into. The size is just right, the wrapper peel back easily, and the bar isn’t going to crumble or break into pieces (which could end up on the trail, rather than in your mouth.)

An energy bar should not be messy. Some bars have a chocolate coating, or they have some icing on top. Both of those are terrible ideas, because that coating melts while you are racing, leaving a sticky mess all over your face, hands, and jersey pockets.

An energy bar should give you an energy boost. The Powerbar does this for me. Thanks to the nice mix of carbs, I notice a quick ‘pick me up’ followed by a good energy supply (~240 calories worth) with no crash.

So, knowing all that, why isn’t the Powerbar perfect?

Unfortunately, the Powerbar does not do well in extreme weather conditions. In normal racing temperatures, perhaps 50-90 degrees F, there’s no problem.

But if it’s 100+ degrees, these get soft and sticky, so they are a bit harder to separate from their wrapper. When it’s close to 30 degrees or lower, the bar is going to freeze solid. If you try to eat a Powerbar in the cold, you could literally break your teeth!

So what do you do? Simply switch to energy gels, energy gel blocks, and/or low-density bars (like those based on rice crisps and oats) in the winter months. Powerbars in the summer, Powerbar Gel Blasts in the winter. Simple.

My final verdict is…

Powerbar Performance Bars are cheap, easy to carry, easy to eat, easy to digest, full of carbs, not messy, and fairly good tasting. You can’t beat it.

It is still my #1 go-to bar for racing and hard training. If you’re looking for an energy bar, this is a great one to start with in almost every situation.

Official website: www.PowerBar.com

But since it is so important to get it right (your comfort and safety depend on it,) I’m going to give you some tips to point you in the right direction. So let’s get started right now!

Mountain Bike vs Road Bike Sizing

(Feel free to skip this section if you have no interest in road bikes.)

In case you are used to sizing road bikes, I must warn you – sizing a mountain bike is different.

With road bikes, you get technical and take very precise measurements to dial in the correct frame size and riding position. With mountain bikes, the process is a lot more laid back. That’s because of the nature of mountain biking – you encounter so many different scenarios and move around on the bike so much, it would actually be counterproductive to have such a precisely fitted bike!

Here, it’s not about the perfect fit. It’s about a good fit and accommodating the special needs of mountain biking that you don’t have to deal with on the road.

The point is, don’t fret if a bike shop employee takes a laid back approach to sizing your mountain bike.

How Mountain Bikes are Sized

When looking at mountain bike sizes, you will first be presented with the frame sizes. The frame size is so important that bikes are labeled just by this size.

Frame size is based on the frame’s seat tube length. It is generally measured from the center of the bottom bracket shell to the center of the top tube, where the top tube bisects the seat tube. The measurement is stated in inches, so you’ll find frames sized 15″, 17″, 18″, 19″, etc.

There are two ways companies state bike sizes, though. The first is in inches, as mentioned above, but what is becoming quite common today is labeling bikes Small, Medium, and Large, etc.

What are we forgetting? Top tube length!

Equally as important to the seat tube length is the top tube length. This will vary based on the seat tube length, manufacturer, and style of bike.

Generally, the XC race-oriented bikes have longer top tubes than recreational or all-mountain bikes, but all brands of bikes will vary in this regard. You might try a size medium Giant and a medium Specialized, and guess what? Their positions will feel different!

Does any of that matter? Not really!

Seriously, don’t get bogged down with any specific numbers. I’m not going to give you any sort of chart that plots your correct bike size based on your height or inseam because they just don’t work. (I already went on a rant about choosing a frame size, so I don’t need to do it again.)

There’s not a lot you can do here except test ride the bike and see how it works!

Then test ride another one and see if it is better or worse!

Do Your Height and Inseam Length Matter?

There’s a lot of garbage information online about bike sizing, and that leads people to believe they can purchase a bicycle based on their height and/or inseam length.

Sorry, it’s not that simple!

You have to take into account your height, inseam, arm length, torso length, flexibility, riding style, and a myriad of other factors when choosing a mountain bike. So if I told you that you need size X bike since you are Y height, I would be doing you a grave disservice!

So yeah, your height and inseam do play a role, but you have to take your individual body into account. Everyone has different proportions (short but with a long inseam, for example,) and this means everyone will have slightly different requirements for sizing.

I’ll say it again – you need to fit the bike in real life to be sure it fits. Don’t just rely on a chart. And – test ride before purchase!

Sizing The Bike for You

I don’t want you to blindly go bike shopping, since some shops aren’t the smartest at proper sizing, so I’ll give you some tips to make sure a bike is the correct size for you.

This is still generalized advice for when you sit on a bike, though, so take it with a grain of salt.

Standover clearance

When standing over the bike, straddling the top tube, you’ll want at least 3-4″ of clearance at your groin. This should be self explanatory for any guys!

Seat height

To get a quick, rough estimate of your proper seat height, sit on the bike and place your heel on the pedal (with the pedal at the 6 o’clock position.) Raise the seat to where your leg is straight in this position.

This should put you in a position where your knee is slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke (assuming proper foot placement) and your hips don’t rock side to side when you pedal.

Keep in mind, you also want the saddle low enough you can get your butt way back behind the seat for steep downhills. So this isn’t a conclusive test for your exact seat height. It’s just to see if the bike is potentially going to fit you.

Reach

If the bike passes the standover and seat height tests, now it’s time to make sure you have a comfortable reach to the handlebar.

For this, just sit on the bike and hold the handlebars, and see if you’re comfortable. The bike shop employees will see if you’re too crunched up or too stretched out.

Toe overlap

Common on some road and cyclocross racing bikes, toe overlap is something you do not want on a mountain bike! So just do a quick check where you twist the handlebar side to side and make sure the front wheel does not hit your front toe when you’re in the riding position.

In Between Sizes?

What if you’re in between sizes? Or maybe two different size bikes can be made to fit you?

This happens all the time with mountain bikes. Especially with the variety of seatpost and stem lengths. The general school of thought is that you should get the smallest frame that still allows a proper fit.

The smaller frame means three things:

1. The frame is lighter (so a lighter bike overall.)
2. The frame is stiffer for better performance.
3. More standover clearance for safety of the family jewels.

Assuming the smaller bike fits you just fine, and feels just as comfortable and responsive as the larger bike, go for it.

Choosing a Wheel Size

Choosing a wheel size used to be a no-brainer – almost exclusively (some kids bikes came with 24″ wheels,) you’d get 26″ wheels on a mountain bike.

Nowadays, there’s a legitimate case for 26″ or 29″ wheels, or even 650b (which is right in between the other two sizes at 27.5″.) There are even “69er” style bikes with a 29″ wheel up front and a 26″ in the rear!

Why go bigger than 26?

The bigger the wheel, the easier it rolls over obstacles. This makes 29ers very fast on rough terrain and gives them a bit of a full-suspension feel, without needing rear suspension.

However, the bigger wheels can take longer to accelerate and be harder to maneuver, so they aren’t well-suited to tight, twisty courses with lots of speed changes. So for this sizing question, you are mainly considering the type of riding you plan to do.

[Usually, 29ers start in a Medium frame size, so if you're on the shorter side, you might not be a candidate for 29" wheels anyway.]

Miscellaneous

Sizing your bike is what matters, but there are a few parts sizing guidelines I want to mention in this little miscellaneous section.

Crank arm length

The standard crank arm length for mountain biking is 175mm.

170mm cranks are common on road bikes, but when mountain biking, riders usually prefer the extra leverage gained from a slightly longer crank arm.

Stem length

Stem lengths typically range from 90-120mm, with shorter stems like 90-100mm being the most common.

Changing the stem on a stock bike setup is common and very helpful, since it’s a quick way to change the “reach” to the handlebar.

Handlebar width

Handlebar width typically matches shoulder width, although it is personal preference more than anything.

Keep in mind a wider handlebar can offer better control, but is harder to squeeze between trees on tight singletrack.

Custom Built Frames

This is not common, but if you are NBA player tall, or your body has some very odd proportions, it can be hard to set up a normal bike to fit you well.

If this is the case, you might need to order a custom built frame from a small builder or a company such as IF.

If you go this route, you’ll fill out some forms with all your body measurements and be interviewed about your riding style and goals. It will take quite a bit of effort, and it won’t be cheap, but there is always a way to get the right size of bike!

Mountain Bike Sizing Summary

Getting the correct size bike is very important. The frame is the most expensive and hardest to replace part of your bicycle. so get the sizing right the first time!

Take your time and do it right. That means talking to shop employees for advice, asking “why” they recommend something, and above all, test riding multiple bikes before making a final decision.

Good luck!

For something as simple and basic as a water bottle, we sure have had a lot of innovation the past few years! We had the BPA fiasco and all the new BPA-free bottles, bottles with new types of insulation, and bottles with new bite valves on the lids.

Well, now we have bottles that don’t need washed! OK, so that’s not exactly true, but these FLEXR Sports Water Bottles I’m testing out have some very new and interesting features.

Most obvious is how, rather than pour your drink directly into the bottle, you actually put a special liner in the bottle first. It’s a lot like putting a trash bag in a trash can… except more sanitary!

What’s the purpose for a bottle liner? Oh, only to prevent your bottle from becoming a foul-smelling, mold-infested, awful-tasting bacteria breeding ground!

The thing with us mountain bike racers is that we often spend the weekends at races, living out of our car and/or a tent. We don’t exactly have the greatest facilities to keep our water bottles clean and fresh for each race. Heck, we don’t have time to do such things – we’re too focused on racing.

Then when it’s all over, we’re too worn out to clean up our mess, so we toss our water bottles aside for later. It’s not uncommon for my bottles to spend a few days in the trunk of my car still partially full of some sugary, protein-enriched sports drink.

This means the bottle probably has some nasty bacteria growing in it, and even after cleaning, it could retain a hint of the flavor from said drink.

Sometimes, this means water bottles get thrown out, even though they’re still perfectly functional. With the Flexr system, you just toss the liner, and you’re left with a clean bottle.

How-To Video

This one minute video shows you how to use the liners in your bottle:

Sounds great, but does it work as advertised?

My Experience With the Flexr Bottles

I love innovative new products, but man, I had a hard time with these Flexr bottles!

To start with, I couldn’t even drink out of them the first week I had them. For whatever reason, the smell of their plastic was awful. It was so overpowering that putting the bottle near my nose literally made me feel sick. (The liner had no smell, but the plastic bottle and cap sure did.)

I spent close to five days washing the bottles, soaking them in Dawn dish soap, soaking them in bleach, washing again, soaking in baking soda + vinegar, and washing again. Finally the smell diminished to a tolerable level.

As if I wasn’t annoyed enough at that point, when I pulled the liner out of the 16oz bottle prior to washing, I found two dead spiders beneath it! Apparently they crawled in the vent hole on the bottle and got stuck in there!

Hold on – let’s talk about this vent hole…

Do NOT fill up a Flexr bottle without a liner in it! I probably wouldn’t have thought about this if I hadn’t gotten a 16oz Flexr run bottle, but each bottle has a hole in it! (On the 21oz bottle, the air escape hole is hidden behind the neoprene sleeve, so you don’t notice it.)

This means you can’t use these bottles without using the liners. Which does make sense if you think about it. If you put a liner in the bottle, the bottle is filled with air and the liner. When you fill the liner with liquid, the air between the liner and bottle needs a way to escape without blowing the liner off the top of the bottle! Hence the vent hole in the bottle.

Anyway, none of that would be a big deal if the bottles worked as promised. Just look at some of these purported benefits:

• You don’t have to tilt the bottle or your head to drink from it.
• The liners contract as you drink, preventing the liquid from sloshing up and down. (Very, very annoying when running!)
• Flexible bottle is easy to squeeze.
• Sleep well at night since the bottle is eco-friendly.

Unfortunately, I have no proof that any of those benefits exist. I’m extremely disappointed, because I would have loved the bottle if it did all that!!

Let’s talk about drinking out of the bottle.

The bottle is easy to squeeze, yes. But squeezing the bottle isn’t as simple as it sounds. For one thing, you have to put your finger over the vent hole whenever you drink, or else you’re just squeezing air out the side rather than water out of the top. Even then, it’s like clamping down on a puppy’s squishy chew toy.

To actually get water out, I ended up using both hands at once, squeezing the bottle like an old tube of toothpaste! And I most certainly had to tilt the bottle upside down as well!

And seriously, I have to put my finger over the vent hole when I drink?! If I’m racing, there’s no way I’m going to take the time to feel around the bottle for the vent hole. That’s just plain ridiculous, not to mention inefficient and dangerous.

Did I mention the cap is hard plastic, i.e. not comfortable whatsoever if it touches your lips?

What about those liners?

There’s nothing magical about these liners. They are one size the whole time – there is no expanding when filled up and contracting as the bottle empties out.

This means, you guessed it, that the water still sloshes around just like any other bottle!

I’m not really sold on the “eco-friendly” claims either. I must be in the minority, but even if my bottles get nasty inside, a good scrubbing with Dawn dish soap and a bottle brush does the trick 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time, a follow-up soak with baking soda and white vinegar is all that’s needed to remove any scent or taste.

These people throwing away perfectly good bottles all the time must never have learned to do the dishes!

So, I don’t go through bottles very often. For me, these bottle liners would be excess trash piling up beside my energy bar and gel wrappers. Even if they do biodegrade quickly in landfills, consider that the liners must be produced in a factory and once used, will require some sort of garbage truck to transport them to the landfill.

OK, I’ve made my point – I don’t like the bottles. But if you race time trials or triathlons, keep reading!

Flexr for Time Trials and Triathlons

For you time trialists and triathletes out there, Flexr makes a 28oz aerodynamic bottle that looks perfect for you. You can even turn it into a full-on aero hydration system with one of their kits (pictured.)

It’s almost funny, because this type of setup would negate most of my complaints!

• The bottle isn’t near your face, so you don’t smell it.
• You don’t have to squeeze it, keep your finger on the vent hole, or any of that nonsense.
• You have a soft bite valve, rather than a hard cap spout.
• If the water sloshes on your bike, you’ll hardly notice.

Plus, this is cheaper than most similar hydration set ups! If I was in charge of Flexr, I’d make this my flagship product!

I can’t give you a review on this bottle setup, but let me say this: Despite my disgust with the regular Flexr bottles, I’d still be willing to spend $50 on this remote hydration setup!

For what it’s worth, this bottle holder that Velcros to my hand in pretty nifty!

My final verdict is…

Flexr has an interesting idea, but by solving one small problem, they brought on many new problems. Since I’ve never had a serious problem with cleaning bottles, I’ll be sticking with my Specialized Big Mouth bottles and CamelBak Podium bottles.

However, the Flexr system looks awesome for a TT or triathlon remote hydration setup. If that’s what you’re looking for, I definitely suggest considering the Flexr products.

Official website: www.FlexrSports.com

It’s no secret I eat oatmeal. I have already written why oatmeal is the perfect breakfast for a long day, and in my opinion, it’s the #1 high-energy food for endurance athletes. But what I never had was oatmeal made from freshly milled, hand-blended oats.

That changed when I tried Sammz Oats, a product from a very small company out in Morro Bay, California.

“SammzOats is a one-of-a-kind specialty blend of organic, freshly-milled gourmet oatmeal, like no other oatmeal you’ve tried.”

Looking at them, they’re neither quick oats, rolled oats, steel cut oats, nor Irish oats. I can see at least three different shapes of flakes and chunks in the mix! These can only be classified as “Sammz Oats.”

And the paper bag they come in is pretty nice; it gives you that small town farm market feel.

Sammz Oats Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

The ingredients list:

Ingredients: 100% organic oat textures, including extra organic bran.

I notice two things here because of this sparse ingredients list:

• Sammz Oats contain only the good stuff.
• Sammz Oats aren’t full of junk like added salt and sugar.

OK, so that’s just the same thing put in different words, but I wanted to get the point across! These are probably the most natural, unprocessed oats you can get (if you don’t have your own farm.)

Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1/3 cup
Calories 120
Total Fat 2.5g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 0mg
Potassium 160mg
Total Carbs 23g
  Dietary Fiber 6g
    Soluble fiber 3g
    Insoluble fiber 3g
  Sugars 0g
Protein 8g

That’s 50% more fiber and 60% more protein than in a serving of Arrowhead Mills organic steel cut oats!!

Remember in my article where I compared rolled oats to steel cut oats and said they technically have the same nutritional value? Well right here is the case to best illustrate that!

At first glance, these Sammz Oats appear to be as processed as instant oats, but they are fresh and hand-processed, not sent through a factory. They aren’t steamed and rolled and left to sit and go stale like most rolled oats in the store. This means they retain their nutritional value, not to mention the true oat flavor most people have never tasted.

Sammz Oats Taste Test

Finally, time to cook this up and enjoy it!

What’s really awesome is that this cooks in 2-4 minutes. It still takes 5 minutes to get the water boiling beforehand, but overall, these are a lot easier to prepare than steel cut oats.

All I did to cook these was get 3 cups of liquid boiling (1 1/2 cups almond milk, 1 1/2 cups water) and added in 4 servings (1 1/3 cups) of oats. And sprinkled some cinnamon in, of course. Then I cooked the oats for 4 minutes. After that I removed them from the heat and added some raisins (the oats were still hot enough to “cook” the raisins.)

The oats were perfect fresh off the stove as well as reheated in the microwave the next morning. On my second batch I added a little Nature’s Way coconut oil for an ever more delicious taste!

Specifically about the oats, they have a very hearty taste and texture you wouldn’t expect. They taste fresh and real. They don’t taste exactly like steel cut oats, but I find they remind me more of steel cut than rolled oats.

They do soak up water and expand almost as much as the steel cut, yet they cook much faster!

Sammz Oatmeal Granola Supreme

Shifting gears now, I also got a bag of granola to try, so I’m going to talk about that for a moment!

Ingredients: Sammz organic oats, organic oat bran, organic honey, brown sugar, raw coconut chips, almonds, pecans, raw sunflower seeds, craisins, dried blueberries, spices, citrus.

Wow, dried blueberries!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever met a granola I didn’t like, but still, this bag from Sammz is superb. It blows me away that there are dried blueberries in it!

I like the ingredients overall. I wouldn’t call this a healthy meal, but it’s a good high-carb energy food that’s not full of too much extra sugar.

The first half of the bag, I just dug in and ate it with a spoon. The second half I mixed with plain yogurt.

This granola is very, very good for mixing with yogurt! Some granolas are too hard and need to sit in the yogurt for an hour to soften up, but the Sammz granola was a perfect complement to the yogurt right away.

This stuff is so good! Don’t tell any of my friends or family I had this fancy granola, because I ate it all myself and didn’t offer to share!

My final verdict is…

I give Sammz Oats an A+ on taste, texture, and nutritional value. I may even prefer them to steel cut oats! (I certainly like how fast they cook!)

The only problem is, being priced at about $5-9 per pound, coupled with the way I go through bags of oats, I’d go broke if I ate these everyday!

Official website: SammzOats.com

I’m focusing on their whey protein concentrate because that is probably the most popular protein supplement available. It’s also the most economical – around $6-7 per pound.

So let’s see what TrueProtein.com is all about…

First, you can get the protein in bulk in food grade bags:

You can get the protein in actual containers, but if you are ordering in bulk and really want to save money, the bags are the way to go.

Each bag is labeled:

I suggest transferring the powder into food containers as soon as you get it. The bags are held shut by cable ties, so they aren’t air tight. Plus, if you leave the bags sitting around, the bag openings can fill with dust and dead bugs that might later fall into your protein powder when you cut the cable tie off!

Just a word of warning there!

Health and Nutrition

Well, there’s not much to say about this. It is whey protein concentrate sold in bulk. Nothing more.

The protein is completely natural until they add flavors and sweeteners at your request. I think the Premium flavors are sweetened with sucralose, and the Natural Premium flavors are sweetened with stevia. But you don’t have to add flavors or sweeteners if you don’t want to.

So health-wise, this stuff should be on par with Optimum Nutrition 100% Natural Whey Gold powder. But you can customize this stuff to make it into whatever kind of supplement you want. (To learn more about that, see my TrueProtein.com review.)

True Protein Taste Test

There are so many flavors available I don’t know if I’ll ever get to try them all! Here are my thoughts on the flavors I tried…

Natural Premium Bananas ‘n Cream – Delicious! This one has a good banana and cream flavor, so it tastes like a dessert – think banana cream pie.

I’ve had banana flavored whey protein before, and I can’t remember the brand, but it definitely wasn’t this good.

Premium Coconut Cream Pie – A pretty good coconut flavor. Not very strong, but noticeable.

It’s more like a creamy vanilla flavor, and if you’re lucky, you’ll taste a hint of coconut at the end of each sip. But then sometimes I did notice a really strong coconut cream pie flavor, which was awesome!

Premium Dutch Chocolate Fudge – This one tastes like plain old chocolate. It also has a hint of artificial flavor which I didn’t care for. It really wasn’t as good as I had hoped, especially because this flavor is rumored to be the best.

Premium Java Mocha – This one smells good and tastes great! It’s a perfect mix of coffee and chocolate flavors. Tastes kind of like the bottles of Starbucks frappacino. I’m really liking this one!!

Natural Premium Strawberries n Cream – This one is bright pink! It looks, smells, and tastes just like the strawberry Nesquik powder I had when I was a kid. So it’s pretty good, but not the most “natural” flavor.

This one is great if you like typical strawberry milk, but if not, I’d stick with the other flavors.

Natural Premium Orange Cream – Well to start with, it has the scent of an orange creamsicle. So that’s awesome!

That’s what it tastes like, too! It’s like a dessert. That’s just plain awesome. No need to go into greater detail. If you like orange creamsicles, you have to try this flavor.

Premium Citrus Limeade – A fancy way of saying “lemon lime.” This has to be the weirdest protein flavor ever! Think of eating a lemon lime milkshake and that’s kind of what this is. Really, it’s a creamy drink with a lemon lime flavor.

The flavor is alright; nothing special, not too terrible. But it’s just so weird!! Taste-wise, I think it’s better than lemon lime Accelerade. And actually, the second week of taking it, I found it oddly refreshing! I guess the taste grows on you.

It got old really fast though! Right after I got used to it, I didn’t feel like drinking it anymore! And I realized the only reason I bought it was because I was thinking I was buying a “cherry limeade” flavor.

I’d avoid this one unless you really like weird flavors.

Your Own Flavor Combinations?

TrueProtein offers quite a few flavors. For example, I think they have coconut, chocolate, and chocolate coconut. Similarly, you could get chocolate, strawberry, and chocolate-covered strawberry.

I chose to buy plain flavors so I could mix and match my own. Like so:

Orange Banana: 1/2 scoop orange, 1/2 scoop banana

Chocolate Covered Strawberries: 2/3 scoop strawberry, 1/3 scoop chocolate

Banana Split: 1 scoop banana, 1/2 scoop chocolate, 1/2 scoop strawberry

This way you aren’t committed to any flavor combos that might not taste as good as they sound.

My final verdict is…

Most of the flavors I tried tasted awesome, and I love how you get to pick the sweeteners and flavorings that are added. True Protein is going to be my #1 source of protein powder from now on.

If you take your protein powder seriously, I highly recommend ordering custom protein powder in bulk from True Protein.

Official website: www.TrueNutrition.com

(Use discount code LEO100 to get 5-10% off your order.)

Winter training is generally going to be tough. You’re either going to be riding inside and bored, or you’ll be outside in the cold, harsh conditions. If you will be outside in the cold, along with your warm clothing, you’ll need a beater bike.

A winter “beater” bike is generally heavier, slower, cheaper, and tougher than your road racing bike. That’s good. Here’s why:

1. Slower speeds are safer.

You don’t want to hit a patch of ice at high speeds and go flying.

2. Slower speeds are warmer.

As if the cold air and wind chill aren’t bad enough, you create your own windchill when you ride. But the slower you go, the less windchill you generate.

3. You won’t overshoot your headlight.

With such short days, you’ll be riding in the dark before and after work, so you’ll probably be using a headlight. A headlight will only reach so far, so you want to be riding slow enough that you still have a good stopping distance just in case a road hazard appears out of nowhere.

4. You don’t have to worry about weather damage.

If I was riding my race bike in sloppy conditions, I’d be paranoid about all the salt and gravel getting thrown at it. Then I’d spend hours cleaning it after each ride. With a cheap beater bike, you can put your mind at ease knowing your race bike is tucked in safely at home!

5. Meatier tires for fewer flats.

A mountain bike or at least a cyclocross bike is nice for winter weather. These bikes have wider, tougher tires, so you should experience fewer flats. And changing flats really, really sucks in the winter!

6. You still accomplish a tough workout.

On a heavier bike, you can still put out the same number of watts (power) as your workout calls for, but you’ll go much slower thanks to the extra weight and rolling resistance. And as I mentioned, slower speeds are warmer and safer! It’s a win-win.

Do you have a beater bike for your winter rides? Let me know in the comments!

Photo: tandemracer