I have tried one bag of Flow Formula Lemon Line with caffeine, I am not that picky when it comes to flavors but it does not taste good at all. Any other flavors that are better?
Yeah, taste is subjective as I actually like that flavor. 
I would suggest trying the Unflavored option and see how that works. Pretty neutral…just tastes sweet.
I also use table sugar most of the time, with sodium citrate and some flavour - normally lemon squash.
For ultra distances when I’m topping up my bottles several times, I premix this powder with some instant lemon tea powder for flavour, and mix in some maltodextrin to get closer to the ideal ratio.
I agree strongly that all of these carb mixes are overpriced snake oil and offer nothing over straight sugar, especially for training rides of a few hours where any digestive difference wont’ be relevant. I carry a couple of gels for emergencies (mainly to give to other people) but my net spend per week is pennies.
I agree, although I’d alter the statement in two ways: table sugar (sucrose) is a PITA to dissolve and you fix the glucose-to-fructose ratio to 1-to-1.
I have been buying maltodextrin and fructose in bulk and have been preparing my own drink me. I basically premix a bit more than a kilo of maltodextrin and fructose (1:0.8). The idea to use lemon tea flavoring is great, I’ll try that. I have been using lemon juice, lime juice and ginger-lemon/lime juice to cut down on the sweetness and giving it some flavor. I’m also adding sodium citrate.
I’m using sugar for most rides and if it’s intense and long I use bulk maltodextrin with fructose… For long days out I basically cook a gel out if the maltodextrin/ fructose mix with added lemon juice. I fill those into running flasks from decathlon. Can fuel a 8h ride with 80-90g of carbs that way…
Sometimes I buy some gels for convenience but for a lot of easy rides nowadays I just take some haribos with me
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Can you share your recipe?
I need to check, moved and had written it down on a paper that is still on a box somewhere.
But it was basically Malto/fructo 1:0.8 or 1:1. And then the same amount of water do 1:1 water or a bit more water and cooking down to what I want. Added lemon juice to taste. Basically tried to make it as thick as feasible to get as much carbs as possible into the flasks to be able to carry enough for loong days.
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So I gave this a go yesterday…seemed to work reasonably well. Neutral flavor that was just “sweet”, arguably too sweet.
Which made me wonder why @Jonathan only used 500ml in the bottle. If you fill it up all the way, the number of carbs remains the same, you get a bit more hydration out of it and the sweetness is cut down as well.
Yeah glucose + fructose is going to be very sweet. It’s one reason I much prefer using maltodextrine. It’s still just long chains of glucose but it has a much more mild flavor.
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Unfortunately, I cannot consume large enough quantities of table sugar during a race or hard training session in the 60-90 g of carbs per bottle without my gut rotting out. I’ve found the Skratch high carb endurance mix to be pretty decent and most all of my riding/ racing buds use it as well. Also, the Infinite Nutrition Endurance Go Far mix works well with out the gut rot. Both are primarily dextrose.
Thanks for all of the incredible insight and feedback. I work long hours as a psychotherapist. My margins are tight and I need to keep my pre-ride/pre-race prep efficient. The ready made mixes, even though more expensive, are a better option for me when it comes to long adventure rides and race day nutrition. I can’t imagine having the time to mix up/cook up my own elixir. Again, great feedback. Thanks to all!
Just fyi - you mix it once a month, tops. After that, it’s no different. You either scoop it out of your mix container or you tear the top off the packet and put it in water.
Due to a lack of glucose powder, I could only do ~60g of carbs from Jonathan’s recipe in my bottle this AM…was much more tolerable and nowhere near as sweet as the 80g / 500ml recipe.
and 60g in a small bottle is roughly where I like to be, with a gel / maple syrup every hour to get me right to ~90-100g / hour.
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Also, I’m not certain Jonathan’s math is correct…at least not on the prices I can find.
His numbers are:
- Glucose: 52g / $.54 (basically a penny / gram)
- Fructose: 26g / $.22 (also roughly $.01 / g)
The same packages from Amazon are:
- Glucose: 1kg for $20 ($.02 / g)
- Fructose: $11.38 / 250g (~$.04 / g)
So for a 90g bottle, that comes out to $2.40
- 60g Glucose: $1.20
- 30g Fructose: $1.20
Now, that is still roughly half what it would cost for Flow Formulas, which would be $4.50 / 90g
- 1 scoop of Flow = 30g
- 30 scoops / bag at $45 = $1.50 / scoop
- 3 scoops = 90g = $4.50
ETA - comparison vs. Infinit
- 1 scoop of Infinit = 28.5g (round up to 30g for easy comparison)
- 44 scoops / bag at $50 = $1.13 / scoop
- 3 scoops = ~90g = $3.40 / bottle
Is it worth the hassle of making your own? Dunno, but I’m gonna continue to experiment a bit and see.
The fructose I use from Amazon is currently $27 for 2,700g or 1 penny per gram.
The maltodextrin is $34 for 3,600g, so even less.
If I’m doing the math right, mixing those 60/30 (malto/fruc) then comes to ~90 cents per bottle.
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Yeah I’m spending ~$50 for 5.44kg of Malto: Amazon.com
And ~$16 for 1.361kg (3lb) for fructose: Amazon.com
Not sure those are the absolute cheapest but both at 1cent/g +/- 10% comes to like $1/100g.
If I’m riding 5days a week (not including recovery days or anything) and have say 7 100g bottles (1 on each weekday ride and 2 on each long weekend ride) then that’s $7/wk (vs ~$20 for most premixed brands). So the year comes out to like $350 for homemade and $1000 for premade. So seems mostly worth it to me. I do use premixed stuff when I travel or some other times so the gap is a bit closer when averaged over a year but it mostly seems worth it to me.
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What are thoughts about Maurten’s lower sodium content in their 160 or 320 drink mixes? They claim that too much sodium interferes with uptake of their formulation and that evidence suggests that sodium isn’t required in higher doses. They advise against taking/adding sodium with these mixes.
I suppose it depends on external conditions and individual sweat rate variation, as well as event lengths. But, this lower sodium thing seems contrary to what most other endurance mix products are doing.
Yeah, I was just comparing to the recipe Jonathan posted…I haven’t dipped my toe into the malto pond yet. 
Link, please!!
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Same brand as @mwglow15 mentioned above, just the two-pack: Amazon.com : Now Foods, Fructose Fruit Sugar 3 LB (Pack of 2) : Grocery & Gourmet Food
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Mucho thanks…that changes the calculations a bit!
So I am now at:
- Glucose: 2.7kg for $27 ($.01 / g)
- Fructose: $11.38 / 250g (~$.04 / g)
So for a 90g bottle, that comes out to $1.80
- 60g Glucose: $.60
- 30g Fructose: $1.20
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