Thank you!
I actually think this one is unique and interesting. All other nutrition threads, which I frequent, have been “targeted.” As in, they’re asking “how do I do it?” or “what amounts are correct?” or “how to make a certain mix composition?”
This one is great because it’s a more open-ended “what do you do?”
Certainly all of it has been discussed at length in other threads, except for the general open survey trait of this thread.
If anything, this thread should frequently link out to all others, where pertinent, but shouldn’t be merged with any one of them. My 2 cents!
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Started mixing my own this week:
- 60g maltodextrin (about 1/2 cup)
- 30g fructose (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon citric acid for flavor
- 1/4 teaspoon sodium citrate
- 28 ounce / 795ml Bontrager water bottle
I pull out my digital coffee scale, put 1 cup measure on it, tare it to zero, and then add 60g and 30g. Funnel to add to half-full water bottle. Shake vigorously, add other half of water, and ready to roll. This weekend I’ll mix up a bunch and put into ziplock bags for the upcoming week.
About 33% the cost of Gu Roctane energy mix.
Similar sweetness, similar flavor vs Gu Roctane grape. Happy to get 3x the mix.
No GI issues but I eat anything and everything.
I only notice performance differences if under fueling long 3-12 hour efforts. Only did 90g/hour on a 1-2 hour efforts this week.
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I like this thread. Some great suggestions and funny to see how the mixes are converging towards a very similar blend.
Would be great if everybody would also report on their experiences on taste (personal but easy), GI comfort and performance (difficult).
Been using Roctane Grape for a few years so please report back on your experience. I’ve been very happy with it so I’m concerned about changing. However, going through 2+ tubs a month is getting expensive.
Looking to change things up for the winter and mixing my own would save me a bunch.
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Is the citric acid giving it the grape flavor?
Not sure it’s right to call it grape flavor, the 60g/30g malto/fructose is similar sweetness to 3 scoops of Roctane:
I’ve got the first 3 ingredients but not the 4th - natural flavors - however we do have juice extracts for our Soda Streams.
It’s just a pile of carbs. I did a 2.75 hour endurance ride yesterday and burned 1600kJ. Two bananas before getting on bike, one 28oz/795ml bottle with 90g, one water bottle, and 250 calories from a blueberry Cliff bar. About 800 calories in, about 1600 calories out.
Felt the same as when I use Roctane 
I’m curious about it being a lot stronger than 5% solution, I’ll post something in another thread.
The malic acid probably contributes to the grape flavor.
I live in the middle of one of the largest grape growing regions in the world, and Roctane grape tastes sweet and nothing like the grapes I eat. We eat a LOT of fresh fruit.
My mix tastes sweet too, like Roctane, and sweeter than anything we eat except perhaps the Costa Rican pineapples we’ve been getting at Costco.
20-30g Malto, 20-30g Fructose, 1g sea salt flakes.
I tried adding a little flavour here and there but I actually quite like the sweet/salty plain flavour. It tastes like a workout 
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@MI-XC I’ll send you a baggie if you tell me what ratio carbs, PM me your address.
From the label I posted above, it appears Gu Roctane Grape is 45g malto and 15g fructose. Assuming the 15g added sugars are all fructose. So that’s a 3:1 ratio. And I’d add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. Or a 2:1 ratio of 60g/30g. Let me know and I’ll send it, because clearly my taste buds have been impacted from eating so much fresh fruit and I can only tell you my mix tastes sweet like Roctane.
So instead of dropping 40 plus bucks on Skratch, I got 5 lbs of lemon lime Gatorade powder off of Amazon, some pure sodium citrate, and a scale. Essentially, the same thing and works just as well IMO.
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Mysterious bags of white powder showing up at my doorstep 
. Lol, thanks, that’s not necessary. I’m just curious over the next months if you find it as good/better than Roctane.
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I’ve tried several commercial energy mixes and they were all the same to me. Except for Hammer Perpetuem, that was fine for performance but gave me gas and a rumbling stomach.
Yesterday for my 2 hour workout I mixed up two bottles of 45g maltodextrin and 15g fructose, my guess of the Roctane grape mix. Finished, cleaned the bottles, and pre-mixed two bottles with the last of my Roctane grape.
The powders (my mix vs Roctane) smell slightly different but more similar than different. The taste is really similar. I could add BCAAs to my mix but I already consume a lot from milk, eggs, meat, etc.
How can we add caffeine to our mixes? I’m hopelessly adducted and know I perform better with it.
Amazon (and others) sell bulk caffeine. Be very careful about dosage.
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“Be careful” is an understatement.
You could die from an overdose.
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I use the now foods malto and it doesn’t taste like anything. If you put a bunch in plain water then it kinda starts to get a thickening/chalky texture but I don’t notice it with fructose and other flavors.
That’s quite the Google search misstep there.
It should read, you could die from 80-100mg caffeine per liter, blood concentration, not just “80-100mg/L” which implies that if you drink a Monster energy drink or even a cup of coffee that you’re putting yourself at serious risk of death.
Even 80-100mg/L blood concentration still seems a bit “off” to me, though I’m not absolutely certain on blood concentrations of caffeine considered likely to be lethal.
What I am certain of is:
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I’m not an MD. Chat with your physician before changing your caffeine dosage. (yes, I’d like to avoid liability plz & thx)
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My wife weighs 138-140-ish and has consumed 1600-2000mg in a 24 hr period during a 25-hr bike ride.
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I have done more. But I also weigh >200 pounds.
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I was concerned about the risk of heart attack or death from it… and turns out that risk of death doesn’t increase until taking at least closer to 30-50mg per kilogram! A single dose! (not over 24 hrs).
That’s like 1250-2500mg in a single dose for a very small person. Or more like 2000-5000mg in a single dose for most folks. ie… it’s not dangerous as long as you don’t have hypertension and aren’t taking utterly absurd single doses. Heads up: you don’t need to!
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All the sport science research uses 3-9mg/kg… or roughly 200-600mg in a single dose for most people, and there are zero health tradeoffs there (other than lost sleep, anxiety especially when paired with hypoglycemia, etc). And in most cases, the lower end works very well.
More info here: How much caffeine to use for performance
That said,
is wise advice because I believe 1 tsp of the stuff is ~3200mg of caffeine.
I purchased an 1/8th tsp and store the spoon in the bag. Half of my little 1/8th tsp = 200mg in my bottle.
I think that most sellers of caffeine are FDA regulated such that caffeine concentration cannot be that high, when selling to consumers. Purebulk.com (no affiliation) will only sell to credible businesses and scientists, and they report that they are following FDA guidelines. So who knows what you’re getting on amazon. Here is an email from purebulk this morning.
PS. one thing I did before purchasing from purebulk because they deemed me “credible” (dubious at the time of application >5 yrs ago) was purchase Caffeine from Bulk Supps on Amazon (also no affiliation) and then take scissors and cut the capsule open, and empty it into my bottle.
Felt a bit like being a drug dealer, but got the job done.
Don’t quote me on exactness here. I’ve been staring at numbers since 2:30am. Probably not a good time to be sharing info about a potentially lethal substance, but thought I’d chime in to help. 
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