Drove to Brum and back on Sunday then went for a ride after. Thing is, I was knackered so drank a can of redbull before riding. I didnt have that panting like a dog thing on the first climb that I normally get. What gives? Does the redbull pick up your heart beat so avoiding the warming up period? Or was it just coincidence?

Wings?

Red bull is a stimulant – it activates your “fight or flight” reflex thus giving you a boost of energy# by releasing adrenaline

the increased heart rate is a side effect and will have no effect on your performance. It may even be detrimental

TJ, like a ‘comedown’ so to speak?

I can remember talking to one of the very attractive young ladies at one of the red bull stands half way round the Mountain Mayhem course (the last one at Sandwell) when it was boiling hot and everyone was stopping for drinks. Anyway, she was amazed that we were “drinking that muck”, apart from the caffeine rush “all it does is dehydrate you massively… it is the biggest con on earth that they have got sports people to use it”

It tastes like windscreen wash anyway…. yuk.

Aye- leave it empty in a warm car makes the car reek!

makes me wee loads – possibly because it is a diuretic (sp?), which in turn makes me get de-hydrated quicker than normal.

avoid.

it’s evil, disgusting stuff.

best drunk an hour or so before hand, it takes that long for the caffeen to reach its peak in your bloodstream.

Its proven to work in sprint sports like downhill, which fits in with red bulls sponsorship. But for longer endurance events its of no benifit as you just wind up in an oxygen debt if you try harder and run out of fuel anyway. Maybe on the last couple of laps of a 24 hour race, but certainly not any other time.

Apparantly flat coke is better ??

an espresso (or five)’s better!

Urr…

Useful though:
Maybe on the last couple of laps of a 24 hour race Yup! And it’s also good for having in the car on long car journeys when you might feel sleepy.

I try to drink it as quickly as possible, to avoid having to taste it any more than necessary, and I try and keep it away from my teeth!

Not even having vodka in it is enough to tempt me to drink it, I’m amazed they make so much money however they do put a hell of a lot of money into sport so I guess it’s no bad thing.

I quite like it personally 🙂

Although trying to drink a fizzy energy drink half way round a lap, just after the “kenda climb” does lead to fairly nasty after effects 😐

I don’t know any serious (XC/Enduro) riders that actually use Red Bull as an energy drink, it’s vile stuff.

Flat Coke is pretty popular though.

make sure if you use coke in your camelback that it is totally flat, unless you can’t be arsed to actually suck the tube then leave the fizz in, be warned though the propelled first face full is pretty funny! and sticky for the rest of your race lap!

Not sure it’s any worse than Cola is it? Just a hell of a lot of sugar and a load of caffiene? Caffeine is proven to aid endurance riding (last longer) so a can 40 mins before a longer race could help?

As an ‘energy drink’ to drink all through a race though, erm no!

Article about it in STW the other month in the ‘bonk’ issue wasn’t there

na – Careful. You’ll have someone sarcastically pointing out that you shouldn’t be racing with a camelbak anyway. Normal response on threads like this 🙂

The results of a study conducted in 2008 showed that the ingestion of one, 250mL can of sugar-free Red Bull, in a sample of 30 healthy young adults, had an immediate detrimental effect on both endothelial function, and normal blood coagulation. This temporarily raised the cardiovascular risk in these individuals to a level comparable to that of an individual with established coronary artery disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull

i would not us it for sports but… i have to say i LOVE the taste of the stuff.its actually good that its so bad for your teeth etc or id guzzle it more, especially when out on the piss.that and vodka. saved me from many a “puking lager in an alley way at midnight” night out.instead focused (ish) and plastered all night long!

Not sure it’s any worse than Cola is it?

Cola’s incredibly widely available, Red Bull’s not sold in a hell of a lot of countries!

You definitely shouldn’t be using a Camelbak for racing, that’s just wrong!

is that a fassion thing or do you have a justification for not carrying a camelbak?

asside from carrying an extra 2/3kgs of weight for the whole race when you could carry it 750grams at a time. Ever tried filling a camelback up mid race when you run out ? where as you just do a bottle swap.

Ever tried to drink from a bottle whilst whipping down singletrack or hammering up a climb? Camelbaks are easier and you don’t have to pit. And you don’t take 2kg of water for a 90 min race.

Anyway, re red bull – it’s not just caffeine, it contains no more caffeine than a can of coke (according to the red bull lass I talked to, 35mg caffeine apparently). It does contain taurine which is an amino acid, linked to tiredness.

From my own experience it is the only thing that really perks me up and makes me feel normal and not tired. Coffee just makes me feel tired and scrambled, then a bit sick (even though I love it) and gives me palpitations if I drink enough.

On the subject of drinking it before a ride – it probably brought your blood sugar levels up. You should be taking carbs throughout your ride if you want to have a decent one and not die.

“whipping down singletrack or hammering up a climb? “

if your hammering up a climb or riding a singletrack at a descent pace the last thing you want to do is drink …. camelback or bottle …

But hey you have your way ….the rest of the racers have their way….unless its an endurance event in which case i join you on the camelback front

i would not us it for sports but… i have to say i LOVE the taste of the stuff.its actually good that its so bad for your teeth etc or id guzzle it more, especially when out on the piss.that and vodka. saved me from many a “puking lager in an alley way at midnight” night out.instead focused (ish) and plastered all night long!

I remember downing a fair few Redbull/Voddies- next morning on the way home I could easily have punched someone for little provocation. 1 can, ok. 4/5 cans- ****. Turn even a pacifist into Michael Douglas’s Falling Down!

its a stimulant similar to nicotine and causes a bypass of common decency this enables immediate disposal of used product packaging in the “i’ve finished with this better drop it here motor control/don’t f’ing care mode”

– the bottom and tops of the local DH’s (Wharncliffe for me) are good places to observe this

blue monster is where its at! Red bull is so early 2000’s 🙄

Red Bull, pah!! Relentless is what you need!! Twice the volume, twice the hit and…
..twice the side effects 🙁

Need to be well hydrated before and after to make up for the peeing. Take 30 – 60 mins before the ride. Certainly gain a mental buzz from these drinks (or mucho coffees) and I bet that the increased mental drive will outweigh physical effects in most?
Paul

PS the increased cardiovascular risk has been known about for years as a caffeine side effect.

Anyway, re red bull – it’s not just caffeine, it contains no more caffeine than a can of coke (according to the red bull lass I talked to, 35mg caffeine apparently). It does contain taurine which is an amino acid, linked to tiredness.

32 mg of caffine per 100ml so 80 per can in red bull Depends on your coffee what the caffine content is variable but around the same in brewed coffee – espresso obviously more per ml but around the same or less per serving.

Drank a can of RockStar before going out on a ride once.
Nearly puked 15 mins into ride and had to bail out.
Twice as much caffeine as RedBull and a whole days sugar allowance in one can.
Never again.

&
+ no sleep for a fortnight at a nice line in tremour. But you will get up the climbs whilst gabbling utter shite the whole time

Imagine you took RedBull….and then made it MTFU – You’d have Rockstar.

Powerbar cola ride shots are a much nicer caffeinated alternative to redbull on a ride.

remind me what the zipfit gels said ..

2.5% times more caffienne than a red bull i think it was …..

None of them even perk me up. They just make me piss, feel sick and sometimes get a headache – oh and a furry mouth.

Bizarrely, I still occassionally drink the shite in the vain hope that it’s actually going do something.

As for pre-ride – good God, no!

I drank 4 cans of redbull on a journey from Aylesbury to Elgin. The next day I nearly went to see the quack because I thought I had NSU or a dose. My japseye was on fire every time I went for a pish. Luckily it had gone the next day and I figured out what had caused it. Just the ocassional one nowadays for me, vodka optional.