On long, hot rides, my fluid intake is roughly 75% water 25% Gatorade. That's a rough estimate, and the percentages vary depending on conditions - and how I feel.

The big advantage of Gatorade is that it's so freely available.

But on several rides, club members have recommended other products as being superior for electrolyte replacement. So:
- Do you have any recommendations besides Gatorade?
- Where do you get it?
- What does it cost?
- Any particular reason you recommend it over Gatorade?


Thanks!

There is no electrolyte replacement drink that's leaps and bounds better than Gatorade or anything else. They all do the same thing.

Base your decision on cost and flavor.

do you mix 1 part gatorade into 3 part water?
and what are the other products they spoke of?

Cytomax (my favorite)
Accelerade Recovery (another favorite)
Hammer Heed
ClifShot Electrolyte
First Endurance EFS
GU Electrolyte Brew

Gatorade, Powerade, etc. all contain too much sugar and are just sports drinks sold as an alternative to soda. I never drink anything but water while on a ride though unless its over 100 miles. I fill a bottle with Cytomax or one of the others for the end of the ride and use them primarily for recovery. I prefer soft solid foods for an energy boost while on the ride.

All are available at your LBS in bulk or single serve packaging or by mail order through TriSports.com and many others.

I haven't used Gatorade in years (except maybe on the odd occasion on an organised event when it was the only thing offered).

In fact, I rarely use sports drinks at all.


For electrolytes, I use things like (but not limited to) ...

• Hammer's Electrolyte Pills
• Oriental noodles (soup)
• Salted almonds
• Potato chips
• Bananas
• Dried apricots

I get these things from my local grocery store (or other shops along the way). I can usually find at least one of those things, or something similar in a shop.

And prices vary, but bag of potato chips, for example, might be $1 ... or a little bit more, depending on size of package, location of the shop, etc.

Myself, I've gotten good results with Gatorade. My record for Gatorade consumption on one ride is 8 quarts (yeah, 16 pounds or 7kg) on a hot day when practicing for the Midnight Century. However, I'd count on this varying from person to person. Try some alternatives and see how it goes. Does it stave off the muscle cramps, does it empty from your stomach well, etc.

I have heard a few people I know that do MTB riding talk up that cytomax stuff. I haven't tried it but when I do longer rides (40-60 miles for me) I usually drink about 3 litters of water and maybe (rarely) drink a 16oz gatorade. That being said I do usually have gorp or some other snack with salt.

Cytomax is pretty good from what I recall. I haven't drank it warm though...

I used to drink Gatorade, but the syrup buildup no matter how diluted it was kept getting to me. I will drink a cold one after a ride though. Nuun and everything else just doesn't taste good.

My solution to electrolytes? A Payday bar. It's got a nice blend of everything. Salt, sugars, proteins, hard food. Usually $1-1.50 and in every gas station too. One + 2-3 gels are enough to get me through a 60-80 mile ride.

+1
Bonus points if the drink color matches your bike or kit.

I use HEED mainly, used cytomax for awhile but like the taste of HEED much better. Been thinking of diluting gatorade and water just cause i find gatorade too sweet if it isn't mixed. I believe they sell gatorade in powder form which might be cheaper in the long run.

Well, it was about the time I started riding my titanium regularly that I quit using sports drinks all together, and starting using plain water. I think titanium-coloured sports drink would look a little off-putting.

I can't stand sugar in my ride water. I find that these keep me from getting cramps during and after my ride. I also eat packets of gel after 1.5 hours and each hour after that for long rides. Chocolate Ensure (milk) after the ride (I don't eat meat or dairy).

anyone with a sensitive stomach may want to check the label on these products for artificial sweeteners... sugar alcohols are a natural GI irritant, and are tolerated by most people, but if you have a sensitive stomach (like i do) they can lead to bad abdominal pains. found that out the hard way, i was on a ride with friends and one of them gave me a Nuun to put in my water. i threw up a few minutes later and had horrible stomach cramps the rest of the ride, found out after we got home that it contained artificial sweeteners.

what i started doing is keeping small packets of salt in my jersey pockets, pop one every 30-45 minutes (depending on ride length, intensity, temperature, etc) and wash it down with water and have a gel of some sort to get the salty taste out of my mouth (and a few calories as well).

Main thing I don't like about Gatorade, powerade, etc is that they seem to make me produce too much phlegm, then I'm clearing my throat all the time and uncomfortable. I'm currently using Clif Shot drink and gels and Hammer Heed and Gels. I like that the Clif stuff is more natural and doesn't have weird chemicals and dyes.

If I don't want any flavoring...I go with Smart Water. Not much of a cost savings but is available in most grocery stores and convience stores.

The best tasting sports drink I have found is HEED Lemon Lime. It is very mild - ie. not very sugary like most of the other ones. I buy it in big packages online (Amazon, etc.). I get tired of Gatorade and most of the other ones pretty fast.

+1

There is also THIS

Basically a sugar/calorie flavoring for water, this is what I like besides my usual 50/50 mix of sports drinks & water:
(I doubt it has the electrolyte replenishing or added vitamin benefits of sports drinks, but it's very light & convenient)

https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/im...OXlEQgZb_MY5kC

https://www.bevnet.com/news/2011/kraf...gy-in-december

And Camelbak Elixir.

One part green tea (home brewed, not the bottled stuff), one part orange juice, two parts water, pinch of fine table salt, pinch of potassium chloride (sold as NoSalt and several other "salt" substitutes). While preventing electrolyte imbalance is important, the vast majority of what you hear about this drink, or gel, or what have you being superior is 99.99% marketing hype. A small amount of sodium chloride (table salt) and an equal amount of potassium chloride (NoSalt) in any drink is sufficient. I like the above mix because it has a small amount of sugar and just a bit of caffine.

If you do use Gatorade, Powerade or the majority of sports drinks, dilute them at least 50:50 with plain water and sip, don't every guzzle.

Sam's club sells a product called Zip-Fizz in orange and grape flavor. They taste pretty good and work quite well in our Florida summer heat. Since it's a powder, the containers are small enough that you can carry several in your jersey pocket and still have room for other things. I've tried the two and prefer the orange flavor more than the grape. I also have problems with increased phlegm production after drinking a Gatorade.

I like coconut water before or after a ride for the electrolytes, taste and lack of anything artificial but I still bring a bottle of GU Brew for longer or more intense rides.

This sounds pretty good, I might try it.

(I usually use a Gatorade/water mix because it's easy.)

I never use sport drinks. Try natures best-one bottle of OJ and one bottle of water.

I find that I don't need electrolytes unless it's hot and my ride is 4 hours or longer. Then I use Hammer's Endurolytes. If it's really hot and a very long day, I use a salt tablet or two.

Normally the small amount that is in HEED works fine, and I don't drink a lot of HEED, preferring to get most of my nutrition from food.