I sweat a fair bit whilst riding. also get a bit of leg cramp after.
many moons ago I used isostar isotonic drink whilst riding. think I am going to start using something like it again.

what is a good brand to use?

Milk, before and after.

The protein slows things down meaning more fluid is retained by your body.

what about some zero tabs or similar.

nuun tablets seem to work for me re cramps

Ive used High 5 Zero and Nuun, both seem to work well. Tend to buy High 5 as usually on offer somewhere.

Plain coconut water mixed with Rose’s Lime cordial.

Edit: I used to favour Isostar but price became silly.

Isostar used to have loads of caffeine in it. Gave me massive headaches, might have been one of the other chemicals though.

I use Hi5 / Nuun tablets for ‘electrolytes only’ & ‘making water taste better out of an unpleasant bottle’.

Torq if I want energy as well.

Squash for most of my riding now though.

I too am very sweaty. It has been commented on.

High 5 Zero tabs for me – can usually be found for <£4 per tube of 20, so not expensive.

I also sweat a lot, and the High 5 tabs do help avoid cramp.

Nuun tablets for me. or SIS go electrolyte when I want some energy as well. I tend to avoid the caffeinated ones as it usually pushes my caffeine levels over the edge.

SIS tablets for me as I sweat like some sort of crazy loon even in the winter, the other guys stop for a pee, I have a head piss ie squeeze helmet pads against my head to wring them out a bit! 😆

Interesting explanation of the science

[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JprjM12-Egs[/video]

And why it’s all just fancy marketing for salt and sugar

Nuun for me as all the other brands I’ve tried are a bit too heavy on the sweeteners for my taste.

Nuun, High5 Zero or SiS Go, all do the same, make sure you’re hydrated before you go out too, necking a pint of water before you set off can help. The cramping thing is debatable though, the only way I got rid of it was to get fitter, not a quick solution but one that worked.

Cut’n’paste from the thread last week

I like the high5 tablets. I find that if I fill my camelback with water I drink the whole lot far too quickly and end up pissing like a racehorse. With the electrolytes I drink much much less (almost halved). So I think there’s something in it with regards to keeping you hydrated, guess it stops you running low on electrolytes which would cause you to piss more, which would cause you to drink more which would flush more electrolytes out, etc.

OK it’s not a double blind study on a large group. But it is a camelback so I’ve no idea how much I’m drinking as I ride, I just used about 1.5-2.0l consistently with electrolytes and 3.0l+ (i.e. emptied it before getting home) with just water in it.

I’m only using 1 tablet per 1.0l to 1.5l, the recommended dose is 1 or 2 per 750ml, so I think some is better than none, but lots probably aren’t necessary.