$450 Blender...
 

My wife just picked up what has to be the most expensive blender of all time at Costco, but I must admit it is unbeatable for making drinks. I've made a Muscle Milk (powdered) post-ride drink with ice and bananas and I thought I'd see if anyone else is using one of these machines (Vitamix) for pre or post-ride nutrition - and if so, what's your favorite drink to make? A friend made one with peanut butter, protein powder, ice and chocolate that was awesome, but probably too high in calories.

You bought a Blendtec Blender?

sounds like they got a vitamix. both seem to make good products but the blentec seem to be a better value for the money. (and you can spend way more than $450 on a blender)

i actually just picked up a kitchen aid blender today. it is not on the same level as a vitamix or blendtec but it is very well rated for a $100 machine.

I want one of these so bad...

my blender is vintage

From what I can tell the Blendtec and Vitamix are about the same - but the new Vitamix comes with a bigger pitcher (or whatever it is called) while the Blendtec requires that you buy a bigger one for another $100. I think the Vitamix has more horsepower. As stupid as this all may sound, the machine is amazing - it's like having a personal Jamba Juice in your house. I can't wait to go for a ride tomorrow so I can make a post-ride drink. ha ha

Blendtecs and Vitamix blenders are not the same. I own both (one foor the office and one at home) and will have to admit that I prefer the Vitamix. The Vitamix has 4 blades instead of the 2 in the Blendtec and the variable speed on the Vitamix is a great feature. The Blendtec is also more geared towards pre-programmed cycles. Sometimes I have to run 2-3 cycles to get the consistency I want in a smoothy. The Vitamix is more turn on & walk away until it's done, which is usually 25-40 seconds. If I had to do it again, I would own two Vitamixes and not one of each.

I love love my Vitamix, amortizing the per use cost it's pretty low after 5 years of use.

Love my vitamix. Now you have to make some green smoothies :)

Does it clean itself?
Because only then is it worth it : D

Not only does it not clean itself, but apparently my wife doesn't clean it either... But, man does it make a good smoothie!

It pretty much does clean itself. I just put fill it with water put one drop of dish soap rinse and done.

I LOVE my vitamix. It is the one of the best investments I have ever made.
My husband thought I was crazy for buying it.

I am new to cycling but have been a gym rat all my life. I use my vitamix to make my own "after workout" protein drink.

No matter the type of machine, I find that some things don't mix as easily. Even some powders don't seem to dissolve when mixed. Perpetuem by Hammer is a good example. I have to use warmer water and mix those separately in a pyrex container. At Costco I buy Medjool dates when in season. Those too don't seem to mix well unless I start out with that in the blender with warmer water. Then I add the rest of the ingredients later.

Are you saying the top end mixer/blenders can do all this?

I havent tried putting dates in yet - but I haven't had any issues with Muscle milk powder or Hammer products (although perpetuem is probably the hardest one to get to mix in).

I have no problem blending up most anything with my $10 Goodwill blender. Frozen fresh fruit is great with some whey powder or whatever. I buy it fresh, cut it up, put into Ziplocs, and freeze it. To mix powders easily in a water bottle, put a couple inches of water in the bottom first. Then add powder while shaking gently. Fill. Shake hard for a couple minutes.

Its the residue of HEED Hammer that I see at the end of pouring it out of a Pyrex container. Most of it dissolves with warmer water but there is still some residue. I think heat applied is a faster way to dissolve these various powder additives. Getting a high powered mixer/blender might just get the powder embedded into the fruit particles.

The Perpetuem on the other hand must contain the protein powder which will just not dissolve well. High heat (hot water) might cook the proteins and possibly destroy some of the benefits of the protein. I don't know. If you speak to any of these powder additive reps, they will all admit that it doesn't mix well and they let it go at that. This might be an area where better technology will solve the problem, if you consider this a problem.

Anyways, I see these high end mixer/blenders as a way to blend for the hydration and nutrition for long rides. And in part, for the simple enjoyment of a good smoothie drink that will beat out any commercial brand.

I have a Blendtec, it's worth every penny. I keep big bags of frozen fruit to mix with Whey Isolate, that makes a quick meal substitute. I use 2 kale leaves in most drinks, so they don't taste to good. I do all green drinks too. It's not expensive when you think about how much each drink would cost over a year. And most important, I buy the best vegetables and the most expensive whey. I don't think stores would spend the extra cash on ingredients.

I have a Vitamix 5200 and I love it. I almost bought a new one from a big box store but decided to save $100 and buy one refurbished directly from Vitamix. It came with a new pitcher, blades, lid and tamper plus the DVD and recipe book, same as the new ones. I'd have to tell someone it wasn't brand new for them to know the difference. Usually when you buy refurbished you're buying someone else's problems, that's not the case with Vitamix. It's backed by the same 7 year warranty the new blenders come with.

If one or two people are using it --> it's hard to believe it's MORE THAN 18 times better or will last 18 times LONGER than this $25 blender: Osterizer 14-Speed Blender.

Oster Beehive has enough power to do anything I want to do.

600 watts, only bad thing is that it's really loud. But it's 60 bucks, which means you can leave 400 in your pocket.

http://www.amazon.com/Oster-4093-Cla...7089514&sr=8-1

The same could be said about just about anything. Bikes, cars whatever.