I’m doing my first race on Sunday and was wondering if any one had any items they would recommend taking along with me.

I know all about tubes/pump/multi tool etc

Is there anything you have found to be really useful? That you wouldn’t normally stick in your pack?

Go faster juice.

How long is the race?

Just leave it all in the car park

(I’m assuming its a DH race)

PMBA at Gisburn.

How longs the race (miles & time)? Is it a laps race or one whole route?
I find it very race specific as to what I take. On a short laps race I’ll leave food and mechanical bits at the start line, but on a longer route race I’ll try and strap it to the bike.

A few vials of “Lance Armstrong’s Patented Rocket Fuel” should see you fly up the leader board.

I’m pretty fit so no need for “power pop” just wanted to know of any item I might need that I would over look.

assuming its a bike race ….. a bike.

Shoes & helmet are quite easy to overlook when packing.

Some extra zip ties & something to cut the ends off are useful for number attachment.

Under 3 hrs – Bike, 1 tube, co2 inflator, levers, quicklink, emergency gel, 1 x bottle juice.

Longer – add food as required.

Good coffee in a flask
Race licence
Helmet and shoes (put them by the front door so you don’t forget them)
Something nice to eat beforehand
Something nice to eat afterwards
Whatever you might want to eat/drink during the race
Safety pins
Zip ties
Powerlink
Arm warmers, leg warmers, gloves (you might want all, some or none of these when you arrive)
Glasses if you wear them
Clothes for warming up in that you’re happy to leave lying in the dirt at the line
Something that tells you the time

An ‘i’

You can talk.

Licence?

energy gels
zip ties
power link
watch
bit of clean tissue to wipe your goggles b4 each stage

You don’t need a race licence for a PMBA race.

Just the topic I was thinking of starting to be honest, in your typical XC race (1hr 30mins duration) is it even worth taking tools?

The reason I ask is, if you get a mechanical, puncture or whatever the time you spend fixing it could well see you drop right down the ranks and possibly to last if you’re having a mare.

Obviously in longer XCM kinda things and lapped endurance events it is as the gaps can often been much bigger in places and on a 60km (for example) loop it’s a frikkin long walk with a snapped chain.

I’ve not done a PMBA Enduro yet but I do the same organiser’s Welsh Enduro Series and the loops are about 12 miles (practice morning, race afternoon). I know the very serious racers don’t take anything with them that isn’t attached to the bike but for me I carry a small Camelbak with 1 tube, water, mini tools, pump and gels. Like I would for trail rides really. Bike is tubeless and I top up sealant before race day.

I wear knee pads and thin arm pads just in case.
I use a Bell Super 2R helmet and leave the chin bar attached but that’s my personal preference as it’s not necessary but you never know… red mist and race day. Well… I know me and it’s necessary.

I do take two sets of clothes/kit with me. One set for practice and anything that gets really sweaty I change at lunch because I just get cold when not moving around. I have tended not to change shorts or shoes but if they got seriously wet / cold I would. I’ve also worn an extra layer and winter gloves for practices in the mornings then raced in more summer gear and less layers in the afternoon.

You can get cold in queues waiting to do a stage. Enduro is loads of fun though and racing really gets the blood flowing. Talk to anyone and everyone you can as you go round. They’ll usually be very friendly and you can have a good natter usually. Start with the guys parked next to you and you might find they’ll go round with you but you can get chatting to others on a climb too and follow them around practice.

Good luck. Have fun. Ride within your limits. Don’t go overboard but be confident and pedal pedal pedal!

I’m thinking I can pretty much take everything in pockets and a small fell running hip pack and tape the rest to my bike (tube/quick links). Good advise on a change of kit from practise to race.

and deffo PEDAL PEDAL PEDAL!!!

in your typical XC race (1hr 30mins duration) is it even worth taking tools?

Tbh, I take tools to maybe save me a long walk back if I have a bad mechanical. If you have a mechanical requiring a tool stop, your race is more or less over from a competitive point of view 🙂

Tubeless should take care of the punctures, so I stopped taking tubes/CO2/pump.

I also put a decent tool kit in the car, plus any spares I have knocking around, dont want to damage something in practise and not be able fix it know you’ve got exactly what ou need in the garage!

molgrips – Member

Tbh, I take tools to maybe save me a long walk back if I have a bad mechanical. If you have a mechanical requiring a tool stop, your race is more or less over from a competitive point of view

Tubeless should take care of the punctures, so I stopped taking tubes/CO2/pump.

This. plus if you have a mechanical in the first lap it would be a bit of an anti climax, I’d rather fix and finish than drive a couple of hours to bow out after 10 minutes for something that might take a few minutes to fix.

Fixing a puncture might drop you out of the rankings but does allow you to continue to ride at race pace, mixing it etc. If you’ve tapered for an event (Kryton!!) just walking back might leave you with a bit of a hole in your training.

I would take a tube if I weren’t on tubeless. Essential for XC racing imo.

Even in a relatively short XC race, the gaps between riders can be 30 s to a minute or more. Even if you spend a few minutes fixing something, you may not lose too many places. Plus you get an adrenaline burst when you start up again – enjoy it while it lasts.

I don’t think we’re talking XC racing for the OP’s question. I raced XC at the weekend and took absolutely nothing with me (left it all at the car). Still used an Enduro bike though. If you have a mechanical on a 5km XC loop just walk back as any result is shot anyway.

But for Enduro you can’t easily get back to your car and spares mid race so I take essentials because you still need to get back somehow and riding is better than walking plus you can salvage something from the event and it’s usually around £45 so you want to complete it if you can whereas XC is cheaper at around £15-20. You’re often also following a one way longer loop at Enduro so have to complete it unless you know the area very well.

Good tip to have spares in the car incase something brakes during practice. I take a box of tools / spares I wouldn’t carry on me and it has come in handy. A good track pump is essential too in the car. I’ll chuck in a spare tyre just in case as you’re shot if you rip one during practice but can easily fix it at lunch.

Spare chain in the car is another useful one. Just things that have a tendency to break easily. An inner cable for a mech. If you keep racing (I only started last year) you will develop a little shoebox of bits to take on a race day. Also useful for uplift days. Anything where there’s a high cost for the day really so you can keep going if possible.

When you forget spares box… things break. Have it with you… everything’s fine usually 🙂

Oh and depending on conditions a cleaning kit and portable pressure washer (hozelock 5 quid jobbie for me), want to start the race with a clean bike dont you! get rid of all mud to save weight especially around the tyres.

For the the pmba enduros I would just take what you normally do for a ride f that length / time unless you are a full bore enduro-ist who is aiming for a top 20% finish, then it seems essential to tape everything you need to your bike with electrical tape. I struggle to see how a light weight pack would actually impede the racing snakes though.

Oh, and blue or bright orange shorts. Apparently anything else makes you slow – I mistakenly wore grey shorts and struggled to get out of the bottom third.

If you want to make friends on the way round – big bag of jelly babies to offer round at the end of stages whilst recounting tales of your heroics and near misses

Most important thing to take is a positive mind set and don’t forget to enjoy it