General Cycling Discussion - Gatorade or Powerade?

So if you had to choose between the two, which one would you prefer?

I have had Gatorade and thought it was okay. I prefer Cytomax. However, on a recent ride, the organisers stocked the filling stations with Powerade and that stuff was nasty. It was the first time I tried Powerade and will be the last time for me.

Actually I use diluted OJ.

If I had to choose between the two, I would have to go for Gatorade. Powerade is just too...syrupy (sp? - I think I just killed that word).

-Moab

Whichever one is on sale when I stop in to get a few bottles. I have no preference. Powerade usually is cheaper, or on sale. Powerad is more syrupy. Syrupy, surupy, sirupy, sirupee, that is how to kill a word. :)

I use gatorade and water on rides under 90 minutes - above that I move to cytomax and water.

Water.

I've been using Cytomax.

I don't think there is much difference between Gatorade
and Powerade other than who distributes them.

Marty

It goes down so fast that I barely taste it so I wouldn't know the difference. but I prefer the Gatorade bottle with the simple screwing cap. Less fidling to open. When I buy a "Ade", it's because I need liquid FAST!

BTW, what's the"Ade" about? GatorAde, PowerAde, TigerAde...

The last time i bought powerade it was out of a vending machine, it had alot of mold in it. Never Never Never again.

Originally posted by khuon
I have had Gatorade and thought it was okay. I prefer Cytomax. However, on a recent ride, the organisers stocked the filling stations with Powerade and that stuff was nasty. It was the first time I tried Powerade and will be the last time for me.

Yep - Powerade is pretty nasty alright. I like Gatorade much better but usually always drink it diluted. Tastes better and is much cheaper. They have a great sale on Gatorade at the local grocery store right now so I have been stocking up on the 1.9 liter size. My fridge is full but it's great stuff before, during and after a ride in various degrees of dilution. I also carry a plain water bottle on my rides too.

Justen

Originally posted by Justen
Yep - Powerade is pretty nasty alright. I like Gatorade much better but usually always drink it diluted. Tastes better and is much cheaper. They have a great sale on Gatorade at the local grocery store right now so I have been stocking up on the 1.9 liter size. My fridge is full but it's great stuff before, during and after a ride in various degrees of dilution. I also carry a plain water bottle on my rides too.

You may want to consider buying it in powdered form. This way you can carry more of the stuff and you only need to find water to mix and refill your bottles. Also it'll be easier to get the right dilution and you can mix in extra salt if needed (someone recommended a little bit of sea salt with the orange).

I can't tell the difference between the two of them. I'm normally a mineral water man myself.

I've been using Cytomax this summer and I like it better than Gatorade or Powerade. I ran out of Cytomax on a recent ride and stopped at a quick shop and bought 2 quarts of Powerade to fill my Camelbak. It was much sweeter than Cytomax, and seemed heavy in the gut.

Both are crap- expensive, acidic sugar water that will rot your teeth and make you diabetic. I drink V8 juice instead.

Originally posted by Justen
Yep - Powerade is pretty nasty alright. I like Gatorade much better but usually always drink it diluted. Tastes better and is much cheaper. They have a great sale on Gatorade at the local grocery store right now so I have been stocking up on the 1.9 liter size. My fridge is full but it's great stuff before, during and after a ride in various degrees of dilution. I also carry a plain water bottle on my rides too.

Justen

Pepsi or Coke distributes Powerade and it is nasty.
I just picked up over 6 gallons of Gatorade on sale for $3.75/Gallon at the local grocery and it's in the pantry, should get me through the summer.
The only flavor I will drink though is the Lemon-Lime also in various degrees of dilution.
All the others, especially the blue colored ones like Glacier Freeze have some form of partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils and that stuff is poison for your body.
On a recent hike down into the Grand Canyon I was turned onto a powder drink mix called Gookenaide. I used it for the entire trip.

Originally posted by cycletourist
Both are crap- expensive, acidic sugar water that will rot your teeth and make you diabetic. I drink V8 juice instead.

Not true. Gatorade is good for replacing electrolytes although I never drink it undiluted.

Originally posted by Trouble
Pepsi or Coke distributes Powerade and it is nasty.
I just picked up over 6 gallons of Gatorade on sale for $3.75/Gallon at the local grocery and it's in the pantry, should get me through the summer.
The only flavor I will drink though is the Lemon-Lime also in various degrees of dilution.


Yeah, I like the Lemon-Lime one the best too. That's the flavour I stocked up on but I did pick up a bottle of the Fruit Punch one just for a change in flavour once in a while. The blue one looks pretty nasty. I never had any compulsion to try that flavour at all !

I go through ALOT of Gatorade in a day..even though it is diluted. I also drink about 3-4 liters of water each day but Gatorade is way better tasting than Powerade.

Usually just take water for the rides, but they're seldom more than two hours.

Lemonade (another -ADE!) has been good for me when baling hay. Just a little diluted so the flavor doesn't knock you out. I also substitute half the sugar for a little bit of salt. Takes the sour out while giving you electrolytes.

Lance's trainer (Carmichael) says that a sports drink is an important part of any hard riding. It replaces carbs that you burn. It can also stop you feeling so sleepy a couple of hours after a good ride - so in recovery.

The best drink is the one that you can stomach the easiest so that you drink enough of it to perform your best.

Originally posted by bfb2003
It can also stop you feeling so sleepy a couple of hours after a good ride - so in recovery.

Oh surely that's just a myth. I've been riding without a sports drink and I feel absolut........ zzz zzz zzz zzz.:sleep: :sleep:

Powerade IS nasty.I use the powered GA and mix it less sweet then the bottled,cheaper to.

Does anyone else get cramps from drinking sports drinks? I tried both of them and both of them give me terrible cramps. Could this be because I'm not diluting them? I've also concoted my own sports drinks which do the same. Should I try diluting them?

I drink V8 juice instead.

Well, that might not make you diabetic, but 8 ounces of V8 provide 620 mg of sodium, 26% of the recommended daily allowance. That's a lot of salt. No wonder it's so tasty! I think I'll just stick with water.:)

Originally posted by dumpstervegan
Does anyone else get cramps from drinking sports drinks? I tried both of them and both of them give me terrible cramps. Could this be because I'm not diluting them? I've also concoted my own sports drinks which do the same. Should I try diluting them?

Hi,
You don't have to dilute them. I just prefer to do. I am not sure that it would be the Gatorade itself that is giving you cramps but I guess it is possible. Try different variances for diluting.
i.e. 50 % gatorade, 50 % water. If that causes you no trouble - you may want to go up to a 60/40 split. For long rides, I will normally do a 60% (Gatorade)/40 % water ratio. Afterwards it varies depending on how I am feeling.

Give it a try and see how it goes.

Justen

I can't believe this is a discussion. The light blue colored Powerade is the best. Gatorade (invented by the Florida Gators) sucks big green eggs!

Use both, depending. Always 500ml in a 750ml bottle, topped off with water as I, too, find them a bit too sweet. Gatorade has less calories so I tend to use it for shorter rides (2-4h). Powerade seems to have a little less sodium (haven't checked the label recently) - sometimes GA can taste a little salty.

For recovery I use Aquarius, also by Coca Cola, it's less sweet with a more neutral flavour and a lot less colour. Haven't seen this outside mainland Europe, however.

In UK I use Lucozade Sport, diluted as above - very similar to Gatorade. this was the stuff that first got me into using sports drinks: seemed to be like rocket fuel when I was out hillwalking.

Originally posted by cycletourist
Both are crap- expensive, acidic sugar water that will rot your teeth and make you diabetic. I drink V8 juice instead.
Drinking/eating sugary stuff doesn't make you a diabetic...

I use the Gatorade Ice flavors (the clear ones). I turned to these because on days I had hockey or lacrosse games in high school I always would drink a ton of sports drinks, my Junior year the school put in a new rule about only having water in the classroom, so I put the clear Gatorade in a Desani (sp?) bottle. I drink powerade when I'm not doing anything athletic, but if I have the choice it's Gatorade for me.

-Middi-zon

Originally posted by H. Star
I can't believe this is a discussion. The light blue colored Powerade is the best. Gatorade (invented by the Florida Gators) sucks big green eggs!

It's all a matter of personal opinion. Obviously there are alot of people here with different taste preferences. If you like the blue Powerade, drink it. If you don't like Gatorade, don't drink it.
Simple, right ?!

Originally posted by Justen
It's all a matter of personal opinion. Obviously there are alot of people here with different taste preferences. If you like the blue Powerade, drink it. If you don't like Gatorade, don't drink it.
Simple, right ?!

No you don't get it. The green crap comes from the FL Gators so I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole.

Originally posted by H. Star
No you don't get it. The green crap comes from the FL Gators so I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole.

So are you saying you're adverse to drinking Gatorade purely on the grounds of school loyalty or animosity? :confused:

Originally posted by H. Star
No you don't get it. The green crap comes from the FL Gators so I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole.

Duh ! Yeah..I got it now. I guess that'll teach me not to answer my e-mail at 2 in the morning, eh ?

Justen