i normally use Science "Science In Sport PSP22 Energy Sports Fuel Tub" has anyone any other good recommendations for a change?

nuun tablets are good, they stop cramp aswell 🙂 just dont try one without putting it in water first.

I prefer Torq to SIS – doesn't have that cloying sugary-ness. Preferably the Natural one as it has absolutely no taste. Leave it like this or add your own cordial or squash if you prefer.

Nuun isn't really an energy product – it's an aid to hydration.

they are hydration and not carb drinks tho

High 5
Works really well for me

muc off

seen a box of glucose powder that can be used to add to squash to make energy drink has anybody tried this?? only £1.35ish a box??

valleydaddy – if making up your own you need to be careful about concentraitions to get the best benefit. Glucose is very short acting as well

Is the SIS not just maltodetrin?

Powerade..

You know- that blue stuff that looks like anti-freeze.

Or WKD.. 😳

Valleydaddy – Glucose powder is great for short rides (1-1/2 hours) but it does deliver an almost instant hit that ends just as quickly. Much like munching through a packet of sweets. For longer rides you need to take fuelling more seriously, e.g. add chips, pasties, bananas etc.

RELENTLESS

TandemJeremy

ta for the advice, I'm sure it would taste rank as well.

have been using lucozade sport powder in tubs seems to make a big difference over plain water, during ride and post IMHO.

Is there any good deals out there on bulk buy stuff?

SIS GO>>>> electrolyte is 93% maltodextrin and 2% electrolytes.
Got to be careful with the % mix as it made me thirsty at Bonty 24!

Last 2:30 ride I tried High5 Energy source+
This contains some caffine
Again Maltodextrin.
Seemed good.

Adding Elete of late as I suffer from cramps.

I've use the Torq powder too as I think all their products are natrual and have no artificial sweeteners (?).

All these powder do make a difference IMO.

One you like the taste of.

Important factor that a lot of people forget about and just look at the contents. It can be the best drink ever, but its no use sat in your bag because you can't stand the taste.

And for that reason, and for ease of buying, I stick with Lucozade Sport.

Isn't Lucozade mostly sugar and water?

If it is, then it's going give you a "hit", giving you a bust of energy (a 1/2 decent pick-me-up) but sugar a simple and not a complex carb' so will leave you in the same position, possibly worse off in fairly short order.

You're better of (on a long ride over) with those drinks that contain a maltodextrin as it's a polysaccharide, meaning it will provide a slower-burn source of energy.

I use apple juice / water 1/3 – 2/3 with a big pinch of salt, ( sometimes some extra sugar) roughly isotonic erring on hypotonic, nice balance of electrolytes and sugars short and medium acting – and palatable and cheap and natural.

Its at as good as any bought in stuff

Edit – at the weekend warrier level doing a couple of hours ride what you drink really make little difference

I use both the SiS and High5 drinks, alternating to avoid boredom. High5 have offers on their website every now and then but need to allow for postage costs. High5 gels are more pallatable than SiS IMO.

Wiggle for free postage is useful…

TandemJeremy – Member

Edit – at the weekend warrier level doing a couple of hours ride what you drink really make little difference

I disagree.

Allsport International do a good one

use high 5 xtreme for pre ride, then drink high 5 4:1 energy during my ride, mixed with mixed fruit concentrate juice. Seems to work well for me. Finish off with a Frijj chocolate brownie milkshake after my ride

getting technical now are we greig ?

i use fruit juice and what ever i got for training – currently working my way through a bunch of lucozade stuff i got FOC for doing some PHD students questionaire

For racing i use ZIPVIt extreme in warm weather or torq natural and fruit juice for normal

Remembering that fruit juice is a fructose.
This is a simple sugar, also you'll find some people can't digest juices so easily, plus fructose must be metabolised in the liver.
It will also give you that "hit" just as a sugar drink will.

getting technical now are we greig ?

Trying to, if only i didn't eat a pound of choclate a day i'd have a superb diet. Just trying different drinks to see if they help out with training. Power, speed, endurance and recovery all seem to be no problem for me, but you know yourself, if you can find something that your body clicks with and gives you an added oomph, then all the better

TI29r – but the maltodextrin you recommend is an industrial byproduct and contains a mix of saccarides – so you never actually know how much long and short acting sugars you are getting. So people consider it short acting some long acting.

thanks for replies,might give the apple juice / water 1/3 – 2/3 with a big pinch of salt a try at the weekend.

half flat coke half fresh orange tastes great looks like bum water . But seems to work 🙂

I'm not recommending anything per se.
I'm pointing out some considerations to the OP (who was looking for other possible options for energy drinks), so that they're aware of the (likely) limitations of sucrose & fructose since they're simple and not complex carbs.

I use bitter lemon juice with a large measure of gin, never feel the falls or sore legs 😆

Not one to be baffled by any science I'm not familiar with, I turned to Matt at Torq.

This is an interesting debate. There are actually lots of different Maltodextrins out there, but the one that is chosen by any sports nutritional company worth their salt is Maltodextrin DE 20. This means that the particular Maltodextrin has a dextrose equivalence of 20 (20 glucose molecules joined in a chain). The secret to Maltodextrin's success is in it's osmolality in the gut, because one molecule of DE 20 empties into the small intestine for absorption at the same rate as 1 molecule of glucose, but there's 20 times more glucose in it. It's also not sweet, so is pretty invisible to the pallet and can be used in quite high concentrations easily.

Your friend using apple juice is getting Fructose as a carbohydrate source, which has an extremely low Glycaemic Index. This means that it's very slow to get into the blood in a useable form and actually has to be processed by the liver before it can be metabolised.

The latest research has however shown that 2:1 Maltodextrin:Fructose works even better than Maltodextrin on its own (and infinitely better than fructose on its own), so perhaps you're both right! The research basically found that whilst maltodextrin competes with Glucose and Sucrose for absorption, Fructose has its own independent carrier, so doesn't interfere with the Maltodextrin uptake, so you're effectively getting a doubled effect – it works out to be about a 40% higher delivery of carbohydrate than Maltodextrin alone.

I hope this helps. Please see attached Performance Resource, you should find this an interesting read.

This is in a pdf format, so those who might like to know more, please email me and I'll pop it over on email.

Further to this, I've put in some more research and the High5 4:1 Energy Source powder sachets 47g – uses fructose as the other ingredient alongside the maltodextrin.

I have not yet investigated the Torq powder yet, but assume they have something similar.

Though I've not seen that stuff from Matt @Torq before, the mix I make is exactly as he describes:

2:1 Maltodextrine : Fructose. Up to about 80g total for a 800ml bottle. On hot days, a Nuun tab goes in as well.

I buy in bulk from myprotein.co.uk. Which reminds me, I must get some more whey protein powder and I'll see if they have any DE20 maltodextrine….

Torq stuff is great – nice and natural tasting.

SIS stuff feels like it's taking my stomach lining off and contains artificial sweeteners.

I used to use the SIS stuff and it is so sweet that I had to use a ridiculously low concetration to be able to drink it.
It also left my mouth with that sticky, sugary, gummed up feeling and was particularly unpleasant in hot weather.

I now use Torq stuff & find it loads better. It's just like drinking squash in terms of flavour & doesn't feel really sticky.
I've only tried the Pink Grapefruit & Lemon/Lime and they are both nice.

aha! Good call on the myprotein website – i've just had some whey off them… hadn't realised they did carbs too – way cheaper than pre-mixed powders!

Good call on the myprotein website – way cheaper than pre-mixed powders!

Yep, helps when you're using the stuff several times a week….

Glad to be of service…

Torq with a splash of salt.

torq

all the others I've tried give me terrible wind
and sis makes me vomit

SIS is revolting, I can't understand why it's so popular!

High 5 is much more palatable IMO, nowhere near as sweet. I find the flavoured Torq drinks a bit too sharp personally.

Water for any rides less than 2hrs off road.
SIS Go ~ half strength in camelback (but full of sweeteners so will switch when its run out)
High five 4:1 with protein for long road rides (too bitty for the camelback).

I second the "whichever you like the taste of". SIS watermelon tastes like kids sweets – but not in a good way.