Frequently asked questions & use cases

RATIO keeps two figures apart. The first is what you should take per hour, and it comes mainly from duration, following the UCI position statement: under 75 min, none needed (rinsing your mouth is optional); 75 min to 2.5 h, 30⁠–⁠60 g/h; over 2.5 h, 60⁠–⁠90 g/h of glucose and fructose. Your intensity, measured as NP/FTP, places the target inside the range, and your carb ceiling limits it; above 90 g/h is treated as experimental. The second figure is the estimated burn, what your body oxidises, worked out stretch by stretch from power; it is shown with its range and feeds the deficit and recovery, not the target. The detail is in Scientific foundation.

Because the body's glycogen stores are limited and a long ride runs them down. Consensus guidelines set the amount mainly by duration: on a short ride you barely need to eat, and from about two and a half hours the recommendation rises to 60⁠–⁠90 g/h. So a 3 h 30 endurance ride has a target of about 65 g/h, and a 1 h 30 ride at the same intensity, about 35 g/h. Even so, your body burns more than it can absorb: RATIO shows that burn separately and uses it for recovery.

Because losing a little fluid doesn't hurt performance: the UCI position statement suggests keeping losses under 2% of your body mass. RATIO gives you a range: the minimum is just enough to stay under that 2%, and the maximum is what you sweat, capped at 1,000 ml/h, what the stomach can empty. Drinking well above what you sweat adds nothing and, on long rides with little sodium, raises the risk of hyponatraemia. Whatever is missing is replaced afterwards: if you went past 2% of body mass, 125⁠–⁠150% of the deficit over 4⁠–⁠6 hours; otherwise with meals and to thirst.

In Pantry › My mixes, tap “New mix” and enter the batch ingredients in grams (maltodextrin, fructose, salt or products from your Pantry) and how much goes into each bottle. RATIO works out what each bottle carries: carbs, sodium and concentration. In step 04 of the planner, pick it under “Product” for each bottle and add its sachets under “Refills at the stops”. RATIO tells you whether that reaches your target and flags concentration or sodium, but it never changes your mix.

It is a ride you mark with the planner's “Key ride” switch (in both modes, Standard and Advanced): a race or sportive you want to perform in. It changes three things: if it lasts more than 2 h 30, the carb target rises to 90 g/h (never above your ceiling); the pre-ride meal adds 1 g/kg; and, again if it lasts more than 2 h 30, carb loading of 10⁠–⁠12 g/kg a day for 1⁠–⁠2 days before is recommended. No loading is recommended for training rides.

Power measures the work you do objectively, without being swayed by fatigue, heat or caffeine the way heart rate or perceived effort are. With it RATIO estimates how much energy and carbs you use in each stretch of the ride. It is still an estimate (it depends on your efficiency, which varies between people), so the burn is shown with a range. Without a power meter, RATIO uses your heart rate, an estimate from speed and climbing, or what you tell it.

After calculating your fueling plan, RATIO lets you take your route, with its intakes (where to take each gel, bottle, or solid), to your bike computer. 1) For Garmin Edge: download the FIT file, which carries the sport and the intakes as route points, and import it into Garmin Connect (Training & Planning > Courses) or sync it with your app; the GPX is for other apps (if you import it into Garmin, it asks you to pick the sport). 2) For Wahoo ELEMNT: send the route to your Wahoo account from the plan (it shows in the Wahoo app and on your ELEMNT once it syncs) or download the FIT file. The route arrives with its elevation profile and the intakes included as points; whether they show depends on the ELEMNT model (on the BOLT 2, for example, they don't).