I’m looking to get my carbs via drink mix. I’ve used Flow Formula 60/90 for a few years but wondering if there are any new brands with better bang for the buck. Suggestions?
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Gatorade mix - much cheaper. I have been buying it on Amazon for $13ish and it lasts me quote a while.
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I’ve used Flow for the last 2 years as well…kinda hard to beat.
That said, I did try the Carbs Fuel mix this weekend (and one of their gels) and was very happy with it. No real flavor to either (just kinda sweet) and went down easily.
That said, it lacks a few carbs vs. Flow (75g vs. 90g)…but their gels are 50g (double what most gels are).
I’ve been using this during races and key workouts, I like it.
It’s a little spendy, so I use a custom formula from them for just regular riding. Also Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers are clutch.
Lately I have been using Carbs Fuel mix and with some Skratch Hydration to add flavor and increase electrolytes slightly. Depending on the ride I typically will do 1-2 scoops Carbs Fuel plus one scoop Skratch for 45-70 carbs. If harder rides I might do 3 scoops CF / 1 scoop Skratch for 95 carbs per bottle. Been very happy with that mix.
I am also a fan of the Carbs Fuel gels which I will use to supplement.
Gatorade mix or making your own is definitely the cheapest if cost is the biggest concern.
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It also comes in an organic mango flavor without any dye.
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I’ve been doing the Coach Jonathan DIY drink mix of meltodextrin / fructose. I throw in some kool-aid type powder in to help with flavor.
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This has been my little “secret” for the last couple years… They briefly discontinued it, and I hoarded over 30 pounds of it… It retails for ~$30USD for 10lbs(3pack of 51oz). I mix it with bulk non-gmo Maltodextrin. If you’re not too needy with your glucose/fructose ratio, which I am not, I mix about equal parts… That equals about 100 bottles with 90g of carbs, at a cost of about 70 cents each…
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A bag of sugar. It’s very cheap and 1:1 ratio which is close enough to the 1:0.8 ratio touted as the optimal. I chuck in an electrolyte tablet for flavour and some salt. Job done. If you find it a bit sweet then a home made meltodextrin / fructose mixture as mentioned above.
I feel like the cycling industry has tricked us into spending upwards of £30 a KG for what is essentially just sugar.
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Yeah, I got sick of basically making a car payment every month for my hydration and fueling.
Switched to flasks of straight maple syrup to replace gels and went with sugar/dextrose/sodium citrate and lemon/lime flavoring to replace my Skratch. The maple is still kind of pricey (but a small fraction of the cost of gels), but the drink mix is dirt cheap.
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I’ve only ever really used tailwind and it’s been good to me, so haven’t had a strong desire to try something else.
Agree with others that it does get spendy, so usually only use it on rides over 2 hours, and even then, I supplement it with some whole food to mix it up.
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Great points and insight. Where can I find Coach Jonathan’s mix recipe? I’ve heard him mention it numerous times.
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I just got a bag of Fluid and i like it alot. Mild taste and it mixes super easy (unlike flow). I even mix it way higher than the recommended amount to get higher carbs and it still mixes easy and tastes great. Im sold.
I’ve been mixing apple juice (11g per 100ml), table sugar, lemon juice and water lately. Tastes good and you can easily adjust the carbohydrate content to your liking.
Glacier Cherry is also dye free.
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Good to know. Real cherry stains my bottles. Makes it hard to see scum on the insides. Heed Cherry Bomb is die free but expensive.
I do something similar to Jonathan and for a 100g of carb in a 1L bottle it looks something like:
- 45g fructose
- 55g Maltodextrin
- ~1 tsp Sodium Citrate (I think this is 1400mg of sodium. I’ll adjust depending on heat)
- ~1/2 tsp of Citric Acid (adjust based on bottle size and amount of carbs)
If I was smart I would premix the Malto and Fructose but it’s not too bad to just put the bottle on a kitchen scale and measure them out each time.
Some people have said they found the Malto hard to dissolve but I’ve found the key is to put all the dry stuff in the bottle first, then fill with water, and shake immediately. If you put the Malto into water first and let it sit before shaking it will create a sort of gel that’s hard to break apart.
I’ve started to put the malto in a protein shaker bottle first, it seems to break it up a bit and then doesn’t clump as much when I put it in a bidon and add water.
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Yup, I do the same but here’s my recipe - assuming 90 gram per hour for two hour hard ride.
Two cycling bottles of water into pot
90 grams organic Cane sugar
1/4 cup Organic lemon juice - not from concentrate
2 gram salt
Two Lipton tea bags
Heat and stir until
- Sugar and salt grains are gone
- Tea is infused nicely making liquid brown
Let cool before adding to the bottles.
I make it night before a ride and put the two bottles into refrigerator.
You will have left over liquid and I add this to a third smaller bottle and add water to be drank right before ride begins.
You may want to start with 60-70grams an hour to train your gut. And DONT make the mistake of drinking a bottle unless than 30min … it’ll be a race you won’t like to be in 
I’ve done 180 grams in one 24oz bottle, same mixture and prep. So I could have 1 water bottle. I measured the sips out pretty well and didn’t have problems. But it was after I was very accustomed to measuring out 1 bottle for an hour. So … just pay attention and you should be fine.