Sports gels are probably better than sports drinks - reason being that with gels you can regulate your intake of carbs (sugars) and electolytes separately from your hydration. That said, I use drinks because I believe in making my own "potions" and drinks are easier to make up than gels.
As supcom mentions, you shouldn't need a sports drink unless you are going out for more than an hour or even two unless you are riding extremely hard in very hot conditions.
I have a bad heart and high blood pressure and have to watch my salt intake, which is one of the reasons I make my own bars and drinks. The other primary reason is that I'm a cheap sort who isn't about to pay two or three bucks for a 64oz bottle of sugar water and a buck-thirty for a power bar! A drink that works very well for me, does a good job of replacing electrolytes without too much salt, and is dirt cheap, is to mix:
1) a pack of unsweatened Kool Aid(tm) of your favorite flavor
2) two or three tablespoons of honey (depending on how much is needed to take the bitter edge off the Kool Aid flavor you've chosen). Note, the drink should remain tart - sweet drinks won't quench your thirst and you'll be getting a lot more sugars than you need. You don't want to use the drink as a primary source of carbs - use your power bars for that. Use just enough sweetness to make the drink palatable.
3) 1/4 teaspoon of Morton salt substitute (for the potassium)
4) one B6 or B complex vitamin (if you can find it, get the water-based gel cap type, poke a hole in the cap, and squirt the contents into the mix).
5) two quarts of water
The "stats" for an 8 oz serving are:
Sodium - 8 to 16mg (depending on Kool Aid flavor)
Potassium - 76mg
Carbs/Sugars - 4g (for 2Tbsp honey, 6g for 3Tbsp honey)
Total cost is about 50 cents for 2 quarts.
If you check the labels on popular commercial drinks you'll find them similar, though some are higher in sugars and most are a little higher in sodium. Most also don't have the B vitamins.
The B vitamin aids the body in making efficient use of the other ingredients and the sugars from honey are better for ya than refined sugar. Potassium is an electrolyte and is much better for your body than high levels of sodium, especially for those with heart and/or blood pressure problems.
Even with my homemade brew, which suits me very well, I usually carry one or two bottles of sports drink and one bottle of plain ole' H2O. On a long ride (4 or 5 hours) it's easy to reach the point where your body is overdosing on the electrolytes and sugars, but you still need hydration. Therefore, on long rides I alternate between sports drink and water.
John