LapDog

I'm going to start making my own "gel" for rides. Have used some Twinlab Ultra Fuel, which is easy to mix, but it's too sweet......

lillypad

Maltodextrin is a polysacharide that is abosorbed into the bloodstream nearly as fast as glucose. It is derived from corn starch. There is a line of prepared maltodextrin products out there made by Maltrin that have little or no sweetness and are designed to be used specifically as food additives. They have a toll free number where they can be reached: 800-448-4472. I would like to see your recipe for "gel". Let me know how it comes out. Post your results on this thread and I'll catch up to it.

-Lillypad

doctorSpoc

I put about 30 grams of Carbo Gain in a large water bottle... pure maltodextrin and really cheap. $20 for a huge 7lb tub. I hate the sweet stuff too.

$12.99 for 7lbs here


Now Sports Carbo Gain

Machka 

Go to your local wine making establishment ... a place that sells the kits, and ask them for some. Up here they sell it in little baggies containing exactly 1 cup ... which works very well for my special sports drink recipe.


You might also check out this company, if you have not done so already:

https://www.e-caps.com/

I use Hammergel very regularly and prefer it over the other gels. I have also tried some of their other products too. In addition to products they have quite an extensive knowledge base about nutrition which you may like to browse through.

LapDog

Thanks. I'm familiar with GPC, and have ordered a sample of the QD500 since it's an agglomerated powder. The stuff from the wine shops clump up and are hard to mix in high concentrations.

I'll post my "trial & error" results as I go...

ggusta

We got ours at nutritiongeeks.com.

Mixed with a tiny bit of water, some powdered gatorade (orange) and a dash of pure vanilla. Tastes like creamsicle. Experiment with powdered drink mixes (nutritional and otherwise). Unless you live on the stuff, you'll never go through it all. Get the little refillable tubes they sell at camping/backpacking outlets, you'll be set for life.

I also like to have a teaspoon or so of No_salt before a ride, sold at grocery stores for people on no sodium diets as a salt replacement. It's potassium chloride. I sweat a ton, and will cramp sometimes. Potassium helps. Mix it with syrup or honey or corn syrup, it's nasty.

juan4d

If you call me I have some Maltrin QD500 and could share some, otherwise you have to buy 50#. 763-566-0908

Carbonfiberboy 

Most homebrew supplies stores will have it or can get it for you in 50# bags. No freight. Very cheap. Not everyone's stomach tolerates it perfectly, so best to start with the 1# bags. I mix mine 7 parts maltodextrin to 1 of soy protein by weight and mix one pint of the resulting powder with water in a 24 oz. water bottle. Lasts exactly 3 hours.

Glycemic index is 130 according to most sources, so it's even quicker than sugar.

If you figure out how to make something like Hammer Gel out of it, you post it here, OK?

SSP

The Maltrin QD M500 is the best - it mixes easier than most maltodextrins you can get from weightlifting or brewing shops.

Arnie Baker has a good slide show about this on his website:
https://www.arniebakercycling.com/sli...todextrins.htm

gypz

+1 on the carbo gain, here is a recipe i use;

One idea: Energy gels are very convenient and great for a nice, measured amount of fuel while riding. There is one problem with their usage, however. They are expensive! I cannot find them for less than $1 per packet. If I use three of these at $1 during one ride and do that three times a week every week for the six months of great riding weather, I'll spend $216! (I could buy a lot for that kind of money...) Hoping to avoid that fate but still gain the benefits of the gels, I did a little investigating. Eventually, I found a solution online: buy the ingredients and make them myself. Without further preamble (and ramble)...


My energy gel recipe:

Ingredients:


1 cup water

1 cup maltodextrin (ordered a 12lb bag from local health food store for $30)

3 tbsp fructose (from local Winco bulk section - also available at health food stores)

1/2 tsp sea salt (for some electrolytes)

Boil water in small pot. Add ingredients in small batches to ensure dissolving without clumping (this is a problem with large amounts of maltodextrin). Add desired flavoring (I've made coffee and kiwi watermelon ). Continue boiling to thicken to desired consistency (I usually stop as soon as solids are dissolved - this makes a thick syrup consistency). Strain if necessary (about half the time - malto doesn't dissolve well every time). Fill gel flasks while still warm and refrigerate. This recipe should make enough to fill two gel flasks. I'd guess the gels will last, conservatively, at least a month with refrigeration.

SSP

If you're using straight maltodextrin, it's easier to just mix it to the desired strength in a water bottle, rather than trying to make a gel.

As Arnie Baker points out, you can mix maltodextrin as strong as 1000 calories per 24 oz water bottle. With other sugars, that strength would be intolerable due to taste and stomach upset.

For most rides and races, 300 calories per bottle works pretty well.

kuan

Nod. Get it from www.ethorn.com you are out West. If you are in the Midwest or Eastern US get it from www.jmswank.com.