Hello, I just heard on the most recent podcast taking caffeine in powder form is not recommended, not sure why. I wanted to try and taking on some caffeine, maybe 200mg on longer rides(following 2 cups of coffee for breakfast)? Do you spread out the caffeine over the duration of the ride or front load it all?
How is the best way to take this? If powder is not good are pills any better? I could look for gels that have it but I thought I would like to keep it separate and just have the gels be for carbs only?
Thanks for any suggestions out there.
Pure caffeine powder is POTENT! Too easy to mis-measure. Kids have died because they just whiley-niley measured it and OD’d.
Pills are already measured out. That is why powder is not recommended. Unless you have a microgram balance at home (which opens a whole other can of worms).
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Hahah
Gels with caffeine are a good way to go. I once added a Stok coffee shot to my bottle for a triathlon, and that worked alright, too.
Currently only consuming energy drinks for caffeine.
Drinking this atm: C4® Energy Carbonated | Energy Drink 12oz & 16oz (12-Pack) | Cellucor
Mainly because i like the added Citrulline Malate and Alanine which i would have to get elsewhere as they really work for me.
Many years ago I bought 2.2lbs of 100% caffeine powder. I still have about 2.1lbs bagged up in the freezer. It’s handy for mixing in drinks but for my money not as good as just regular old Walmart brand caffeine pills:
Last time I bought those I got carded! Ha! We’ve come a long way from being able to buy enough caffeine powder to kill an elephant to being carded for buying stay-awake pills. 
Anyhow, I just take one 200mg caffeine pill 30 minutes before the gun along with a gel. 4 hours later, I take another caffeine pill. 4 hours later, another caffeine pill.
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I’ve been using stok coffee shots for this. You can order them in boxes of 250 or so. Or in a pinch during a stage race buy half a dozen of them from a 7/11 for 10 cents each and confuse the cashier.
I’ve thought about using pills instead, too. Would probably need to get smaller pills though (the ones I had were 200 mg each, bit less of a dose than I wanted and 400 is way too much).
As far as during a race, roctane and (some) clif bloks have some caffeine in them. I wouldn’t use those before a workout though.
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Nutricost Caffeine Pills, 200mg Per Serving (250 Caps) Amazon.com
Do not open these capsules up and dump into your water thinking you’ll have caffeinated water. I tried that and it tasted bitter.
I like these before a ride or on long rides. They do what you expect.
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Mr. @Brennus has it pretty nailed here. IMO, the way to go is the super inexpensive drug store, 200mg, caffeine pill. If you find you’re sensitive to the pill, just take half at a time. For hard training, and pre-race, I do 200-300mg and repeat about every 3-4 hours on long rides along with gels and solid food.
Hahah…
True…I tried the same thing. I was trying to make a batch of home made gel I was making “caffeinated”, and it was in useable after that. Very bitter.
I use EndurElite perform elite preworkout. It’s specifically for endurance sports. Has fast acting, plus slow burning caffeine, beta alanine, and beet root powder. It’s a bit expensive though so I only use it for very hard workouts or races.
Your bi-annual reminder to buy tablets not powder:
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I open them up and mix caffeine pills, sodium citrate and maple syrup all the time. I think the syrups sweetness takes away the bitterness of the caffeine powder
I do the same. I empty a 200mg caffeine capsule and mix in a bottle with my home made glucose/fructose/salt mix and drink over the first hour of a MTB ride. I like this much more than a 200mg bolus of caffeine before a ride starts because the effect is spread out over time.
200mg pill into pill crusher. Crush. Into drink bottle with the carb mix.
I actually do exactly this in my “3 hour bottles”. Usually 2-3 caps opened and dumped in, but there’s also a lot of sugar and some kind of flavoring (Gatorade powder) in there too. I like the capsule form so I know exactly how much caffeine I am putting in without a scale. These caps are easy to open and dump. Been using them for a few years now in my home-brew.