Apparently, per science, cramps are not usually caused by loss or lack of electrolytes.
Research has indicated that there are likely multiple different causes of cramps. An all are very hard to replicate in the lab. Sorry canât cite a reference, but did a bunch of reading about this a few months back.
Haha. Thatâs what I said. âWe donât know what caused your crampâ 
Yes. I was just trying elaborate a bit on your point.
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I cramp a lot! Iâm also a very salty sweater and there is research to suggest that increasing my sodium intake will mitigate my cramp issues - that does seem to help. But, as the others have mentioned, while the cause of cramping remains unresolved, and hydration/nutrition helps, cramping pretty much always happens when you push past your fitness limits. The solution is to ride at or beyond those limits on several occasions and you will find you cramp less or not at all. Add to that good hydration and nutrition and you should be able to manage it and do those gravel races cramp free!
When you race though you will have to discipline yourself not to go out so hard that you end up beyond your limits early in the race - paying close attention to your pacing so you are cramp free for the first 75% of the race is the key!
I donât think anyone can pinpoint cramping, some people cramp, others donât. Fitness doesnât seem to be a defining factor; back in the day, I used to tell people that itâs like proper hydration, canât do it in a day, and pay attention to ALL electrolytes and minerals. We tend to forget that everything in our body works as a team playerâŚsodium/potassium, etc.
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If you try to keep caloric intake/output on the level during a 3 hour SST ride, the problems youâll encounter will make you laugh that you ever thought cramping was an issue
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This 
cumulative effects of not properly hydrating as part of the daily routine. Most including many athletes are chronically dehydrated and many donât eat truly balanced diets.
If hydration and electrolytes are the problem, why do people often get a cramp in specific muscles and not all (or more) muscles? Why do different people get cramp in different muscles. Although, hamstrings and calves are the majority of cramping muscles?
I think âŚ
Bikefit not great, making certain muscles not able to switch off during part of the pedal stroke, making them constantly under tension. And fatigue. Move those cleats back, lower the saddle.
It is a mystery why âweâ (humanity in general) can solve some mysteries, but something like cramp is still an enigma.
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I donât understand what youâre saying. Thatâs exactly what I did and cramping was the only issue.
You canât keep your intake calories at an even level to your output caloriesâŚyou stomach canât process that much while exercising. It will shut down, which will lead to other problems vs. cramping that will make cramping seem pretty mild. Nausea, bowel issues, etc.
The best you can do is up your caloric intake as much as possible to minimize the caloric output, but youâll never match it, especially at higher intensities.
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SooâŚwhat turned out to be the issue? and got closer to the edge of whatâŚ?
Bowel/Colon Cancer. It had been blocking iron absorption which was causing the cramps. A simple blood test early doors would have shown up the iron deficiency (which was probably causing the cramps too) and it could have been scraped out with no need for surgery. It was the last thing I was expecting at that age being fit and slim and with then no history in the family (my 79 year old mother got it two year after my op). I stupidly put things off rather than seeing the doctor; who thankfully wasnât as dismissive as me. Iâve heard plenty of stories of folk equally dismissive as me, then going to a doc whoâs also dismissive and by the time they find it it has burst out of the colon and spread fatally. I canât say 100% but I must have been close to that edge of it breaking out. Fortunately I was still stage 1 (possibly 2) and they whipped it out and gave me chemo to make sure I wasnât stage 2.
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I think heâs saying that if you try to match your caloric intake to your caloric expenditure, youâll have bigger problems than cramping (severe stomach distress, bloating, soiling your chamois etc). We simply are not capable of processing that many calories per hour while under the stress of exertion.
127g an hour should be plenty, even for a bigger guy. You can try going higher, but I wholeheartedly agree with the others that the primary driver of the cramps in this case was the length and intensity of the effort. No matter your current fitness level, the first long & hard effort of the season is likely to instigate cramps.
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Iâve struggled with cramps since I started cycling in 2018, particularly on especially long rides. Iâve also noticed that I seem to sweat out more salt than the other guys I ride with (just a visual observation). Last year I started trying salt tabs and seemed to have good results with them. Generally iâll take 1 the night before a big ride to pre-load and 1 before riding and about 1 per hour during. This is in addition to a carbohydrate/electrolyte drink at about 80g carbs/hr Even when taking these salt tabs sometimes iâll feel like iâm close to a cramp coming on, but it wonât âgripâ like theyâve done in the past. This is just my n=1 (your results may vary) but iâm going to keep taking them even if itâs just the placebo effect.
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Yes thatâs what I was saying
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Thatâs a lot of carbs per hour (127). Most Tour Pros take that in on a Grand Tour stage.
Spoke to my coaches about some cramping that I had during a practise race that I did this spring.
Apparently its very common to get cramps when intensity of the ride is outside of what youâre used to. I ride and train a lot, but I rarely race. So the endless attacks, chasing as well as taking hard pulls at the front was a new type of fatigue for me, which can then cause you to get cramps.
So it might not necessarily be that something is wrong, just that your body is not used to that type of load.
And like others have said, you cannot match the expended calories with your intake. Aim for 80-100g carbs/hour and youâll be fine.
Insufficient base training.
Thatâs a lot. Iâm guessing it was also piled on top of some hard workouts earlier in the week.
This is why people do hours and hours of Z2, because you can hit it day after day without cramping.
Sure, but theyâre also riding Z2 in the pack, so despite their high FTPs, theyâre still burning the same KJs per hour.