Ed in GA

But, got no response.

Maybe someone here will comment.

I just wonder about drinking/using those "5 Hour energy drinks" before and during a ride?

Good Idea?

Bad idea?

Anybody tried this??

MNBikeguy

Definately Bad news.
Pure headrush glycemic carbs in a can. Don't believe "5 hours." There is no fiber to regulate the sugar into your system. They market this crap like some sort of "time release".
When your body is done processing the sugar rush (MUCH sooner than 5 hours) you will come down like my 401K. It ain't pretty.

10 Wheels

I tried NO5 and it works with no down side.

europa

I'm a real food man myself.

Richard

Ranger63

I needed to find something liquid as I have oxygen transfer problems and solids + long rides were tanking the oxygen levels.
I joined SCOR a cardiac Recovery Cycling group based out of SoCal.
Thru them I learned about a powed you mix with water and take in the water bottle.
Stuff is called SPIZ www.spiz.net
It worked for me thru last years cycling season and it worked well snowshoeing this winter as well.

Robert Foster

Here is a good site to review just what this question asks.

https://secure.frs.com/freetrial/sea...ookieSupport=1

Tom Bombadil

We've chatted about this before, in other threads.

The 5- and 6-hour energy drinks primary energy boost comes from caffeine. The B-vitamins are added largely as a ruse, unless you have a serious B-vitamin deficiency, they provide at best a small boost for you when taken this way. They also have some sugar, which contributes a bit to the energy boost that people get.

So whether they are safe for you really comes down to how much caffeine you can handle safely. The 5-Hour energy drink has about 100mg of caffeine, about as much as a cup of brewed coffee. Extreme Energy 6-Hour drink has 220mg, or 2+ cups of brewed coffee. Powershot has 100mg of caffeine. CHARGE! has 200mg. And so on and so forth.

There is a 5-Hour Decaf version, which contains only 6mg of caffeine. Not much caffeine and not much energy boost either, according to reviews of the product.

By comparison, a 12 oz can of Coke, Dr. Pepper, Diet Pepsi will have around 40-45mg.

So a 5-Hour Energy drink is approximately the same as drinking 2.5 cans of Coca-Cola.

You could take a caffeine pill, like a No-Doze (200mg in each pill), or even take 2 Excedrin for 130mg. This is a lot cheaper and has almost the exact same effect as the energy drinks (which are EXTREMELY profitable for the manufacturers).

Tom Bombadil

An 11 oz can of FRS contains 38mg to 48mg (conflicting info from sources) of caffeine. So about the same as a can of cola.

10 Wheels

16 OZ of NO5 has 260 mgs of caffine with 52 mgs of sugar

Tom Bombadil

That's a lot.

A Starbucks Grande brewed coffee, 16 oz, has 320 mg of caffeine.

A typical 1 oz shot of expresso has 75mg.

The Clif Double Expresso Gel Shot has 100mg.

Allegheny Jet

If you are looking for a food substitute to eat while riding Hammer's "Perpetuem" is a good choice. I use it for rides longer than two hours where I need to have more calories than Gatorade provides. I don't like to fish GU packets and other items out of my pockets and work to open them while riding. I even mix the drink double or triple strength and sip from the mixed bottle and take larger swigs of water from the other bottle. I'm able to refill the water bottle later, and when the mixed bottle is about 1/3 full, I'll fill it up with water and finish the long ride without spending much time stopped.

JanMM

Try it and report back to us..................altho I wouldn't recommend it...........

RDW3261

I had to work a midnight shift the other night. My first one in eight years. I took the 5 hour drink around 2 a.m. and it worked. However coffee might have given me the same results, I just didn't want to drink coffee all night. As far as biking, I have never needed to take an energy drink.

Terrierman

I like all the caffiene and sugar in Green Monster.

Timtruro

Goo seems to work just fine, along with an energy bar for the long rides. Plain old Gatorade for the electrolytes and on the road hydration.

stapfam

Any ride over 2 hours and I use a Carbo additive in my water bottle. It also has an isotonic element to it aswell so helps on rehydration. Still rely on Food for energy though but the gel's do give a handy boost if I have not eaten enough.

Only tried a caffeine goo once and I didn't like the taste so never used one again. But I cannot believe that any food or drink will give you sufficient energy for exercise for anything like 5 hours. Even if you continually drink them.

Tom Bombadil

You don't have to drink coffee all night. Just one cup will have the same effect as the 5-hour drink. Or take two Excedrin. Same thing. Except that the two Excedrin will cost you about 20 cents instead of $3.

Got to hand it to the marketers for these 5- and 6-hour drinks. They sell 2 oz of liquid for $3. That's $192 per gallon. Truck stops along the Interstates sell crates of the stuff every day.

I've seen 300 count bottles of Excedrin for $14. That's the equivalent of 150 bottles of 5-Hour Energy Drink. I've seen those for sale as low as $18 for 12 bottles. So that's $14 of Excedrin vs $225 of energy drink. Or cheaper yet, I've seen generic caffeine pills for as low as $6 for 200 of them.

There are other fitness drinks that do different things for you. But the energy drinks are largely just a way of ingesting caffeine.

Bud Bent

It's amazing what people will buy. Next thing you know, they'll be selling bottles of plain water.

europa

Mate, there's a picture on the internet somewhere showing a display of bottles called 'Diet Water'.

Stick a label on it, enough idiots will buy it ...

... which is a general comment, not a comment on this particular product which I know nothing about.

Richard

CB HI

Caffeine does nothing for me.

What does work as an energy drink for me is Sobe, No Fear (the red can).

https://energy.nofear.com/

I only take 1/3 can and mix it with at least a large bottle of water.

It also significantly reduces muscle ache during weight lifting for me.

"Plain old Gatorade for the electrolytes and on the road hydration." is also what I use when I am not looking for the energy boost, and hydration is a key factor.

Cone Wrench

Water
Trail mix
Banana

For longer ride add a sandwich for lunch.

Gels for emergency bonks - used one last year.

I can't choke down the energy and sports drinks. Gag.

Rick@OCRR

I tried the 5-Hour drink in the little red bottles and it seemed to be promoting Niacin, as I recall. Anyway, I tried several of them and didn't notice any effects, good or bad, so I don't buy them any longer.

GU and Hammer Gel both work well as quick carb supplies (for me), as does Gatorade (plus, it has electrolites!), Clif bars and Blox work great in that regard too.

For "complete meal" types I can work with either Sustained Energy (Hammer Products) or SPIZ Chocolate. Both work well for me! Perpetuem is like Sustained Energy, except that it's flavored and Heed adds electrolites. I usually use Hammer Gel to flavor the Sustained Energy, though (unlike most, it seems) I can drink it straight.

Caffeine in any form works well for me, and I usually put a can of Red Bull or Monster or some high-caffeine soft drink in my "light bag" for about mile 160 - 170 on a double century. Really picks me up at that point, esp. if I'm starting to drag a bit. Caffeine seems to dull the pain in my legs, plus gives me the boost for which it is correctly famous.

Rick / OCRR

BlazingPedals

Five-Hour Energy advertises no Calories and zero net sugar. So where does the energy come from? There ain't no free lunch; you're depleting your blood sugar, but you don't notice it because of the stimulants. If you want REAL energy, you've got to feed your body. I can only conclude that it's not really meant for athletic endeavors, it's made to keep a student awake in class.

I've found the high-cal energy drinks like Red Bull last for about 30 miles. After that: crash! You need to have another source of energy working by then or you'll be left for roadkill by your buddies.

Tom Bombadil

Interesting, as that particular drink isn't much different than many other energy drinks. A 16 oz can of it contains 174 mg of caffeine and 66 g of sugar, along with B-vitamins & 2000mg of taurine - both of which are questionable as to whether they do much of anything for short term energy boosts.

66 g of sugar means it has approximately 15 teaspoons of sugar per can.

BlazingPedals

Interesting, 15 teaspoons of sugar would be about 240 Calories, at 16 Calories per. That means I should be eating no later than the time the boost starts happening, otherwise I'll still suffer a slump. I can easily burn through 800-900 Calories in an hour, and more if there's lots of hills. Um, maybe "easily" isnt the right adjective -- it's hard work, but it is pretty common for me to do it.