On Bike Nutrition in Bottles and DIY Solutions

Two questions for this one. I usually do Gu gels and chews as on bike fuel and have found a sweet spot of roughly 1 serving every 40 minutes for the type of riding I do. I have been interested recently in moving from gels/chews to nutrition in my bottles. I am already doing an electrolyte drink but would like to add some carbs to the mix. Is there any reason I shouldn’t take in nutrition via bottle (meaning it’s part of my hydration)?

My second question is does anyone have suggestions for mixing up a DIY nutrition/electrolyte bottle mix?

Any suggestions?

I mix my calories in a bottle. This is my primary calorie intake during long rides but I’ll also bring along some stinger waffles & SIS isotonic gels.

The DIY mix I use if 1 cup of glucose, 1/2 cup of fructose, 1/8 tsp sea salt, 1/32 tsp of NoSalt. That’s a little over 1000 kcals plus some electrolytes. Mix that in a 24oz water bottle. It’s thick but it will mix. You might have to warm up the water to get a full mix. Of course, consume with a couple gulps of straight H2O!

Sometimes I’ll throw in a smidge of magnesium. Like less than 1/32 tsp.

Sometimes I’ll use Calci-K instead of salt/nosalt. One of the First Endurance dudes told me they also use Calci-k in their Liquid Shot product. Calci-K is a pretty good product made by Albion but I think you have to buy it in bulk so it might be better just to stick with basic ingredients.

No Salt is the brand name of an NaCl substitute. It’s basically potassium. You could probably do without potassium entirely.

@Brennus That’s awesome info, thanks!

Where are you getting glucose and fructose powders from? Any brand preferences? (at least I assume it’s powdered.)

I’ve been meaning to try this recipe:

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I had a lot of cramping happening during the summer so I did some ‘research’ about post ride and on ride nutrition to determine what I could do to help. I have low sodium in my blood (confirmed via testing) and a high metabolism so carbs and salts and minerals is key for me. I don’t like eating on rides under 1.5 hours anymore, so now I have this drink in a bottle and I’m trying to eat Cliff Blocks over 1 hour on the bike. (I mostly mtb).

This is my third variation of proportions. Overall a fairly thick, not too sweet, high carb drink, with no chemical taste. (All natural!). Shop areound for juice on sale. Order Trace Mineral Drops online. Use high quality fine Baileen Sea Salt or similar.

I drink 500ml (pint glass) after every training session or ride. I’ve had no cramps since I started making this.

Mike

Ride Ottawa Recovery Drink

2 cups coconut water
1 cup pineapple juicer
1 cup orange juice
4 cups water
4 teaspoons high quality sea salt
1/4 coconut sugar
1/4 maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Trace Mineral drops

  • mix together, shake well
  • Drink 500ml per 1 hour workout
  • Drink immediately after workout

Glucose: Now Sports 10lb dextrose powder
Fructose: Now Foods 3lb fructose crystals (it’s clumpy but I can deal with it)

I guess I’m using Glucose/Dextrose interchangeably. Thalidomide probably should have taught us all not to treat isomers the same that but I hope you’ll humor me in just this one case.

There’s some great suggestions here. I think what I’ll do is do some experimenting and see what works best. I know that I have had really good luck with Gu products but things like Untapped dont do it for me at all. I just seemed to fade despite having a similar calorie/carb intake with the Untapped.

I’ll report back to this thread with some notes on what worked and what didn’t. Maybe it’ll help out some other folks