This works really well when you have one bottle of plain water to chase. 720 gms of malto/fructose will work in a single bottle pretty easily.
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Maltodextrin isn’t sweet at all, a drink mix with just malto tastes of basically nothing. That’s a big part of the point of it vs. glucose or plain sugar.
Fructose is really sweet.
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Yes, most winter I’ve been mainly just using Malto (not trying to get optimal/ mixed with whole foods). Did a long one on Saturday, and did a mid ride fill of just malto - I was very surprised how tasteless it was minus the slug of squash/ cordial.
I’ve been making my own BF for the past few years using the “old” ratio of 1-.5 (malto-fructose) and making 90g of carbs for a 24oz (709ml) bottle. I just got some new supplies (the malto comes in a 2 gallon bucket now - twice as big as before!) and want to make my new recipe conform to the “new” ratio of 1-.8. I also want to see if I can squeeze some more carbs into that bottle. So I’m thinking:
60g malto
48g fructose
1 tsp sodium citrate
Juice of two meyer lemons
I have two questions: does that sound like the correct recipe, and is that an appropriate amount of mix for that size of bottle?
For a 90g serving of 1:0.8, I would have thought it was 50g Malto and 40g fructose.
Sodium is what you can tolerate/most effective. i have tested a spectrum of mini noun and maximum ranges with no effect to tummy issues. I do 1600mg per 700ml bottle. Also use Potassium at 150mg.
The new recipe is intended to give me 108g per 24 oz bottle.
Actually ran out of time, and brought my own mix with me, labelled “carbs” in my bike box (already mixed in my portion containers). No issues at all. I actually had protein in my carry on - both in a pack and in a container on the bottom of a mixer bottle - not an eyebrow raised!
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Is there a big difference between fructose and dextrose? I currently use high5 energy drink powder which is 2:1 maltodextrin to fructose. I find this works really well for me although I haven’t been taking as much as I should, so iv started upping my dosage. However this thread has got me thinking of making my own mix. It just seems a lot cheaper easier for me to pick up dextrose over fructose. Is this recommended or should I stick with the malto/fructose mix
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Very important question! And the answer is yes, definitely.
Here are the basics you need to know.
Dextrose and maltodextrin are interchangeable in the quest for optimizing the glucose:fructose ratio to your desired value. They both provide just glucose. Fructose is the other side of the ratio.
For more info on the glucose, fructose, and other sugar, and how they all relate to getting your fueling right, this monosaccharides deeper dive is helpful.
The easiest path to optimizing your ratio may be just using sucrose, or sucrose plus dextrose.
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Another question does anyone add bcaa’s to their mix as I thought these good to help endurance and support muscle growth/retention
No, the body likes protein throughout the day. It’s not needed during workouts.
I’ve never heard a scientist recommend BCAAs or EAAs during exercise, only influencers and bros.
EAAs are otherwise great, though.
@Dr_Alex_Harrison, at the risk of going off topic, what are your thoughts on creatine for endurance athletes?
PS I love your app and have even subscribed to it.
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I would actually advice against protein during exercise, too much stress on the gut. Unless your doing ultra-endurance.
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Agreed, I meant EAAs are otherwise great outside of exercise. If you can afford them.
Yeah, like you say, anything you can do to keep it simple for the gut, especially if you’re training every day or with intensity.
Anyone mess around with DIY pre-hydration mixes with various electrolytes? I was thinking about trying something to down the day/night before a big ride or event, similar to the Skratch high-sodium mix and other products.
Good question. I usually just use a hydration tab, but to be honest never really looked at what is there.
| per 100g | per tablet 4,3 gram | RDI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium | 930 mg | 40 mg | 5% |
| Magnesium | 233 mg | 10 mg | 3% |
| Potassium | 1395 mg | 60 mg | 3% |
| Chloride | 4651 mg | 200 mg | 25% |
| Sodium | 5814 mg | 250 mg | |
| Zout / Salt (NaCI) | 5,6 gram | 0,24 gram | |
| Zout / Salt (1169/2011/EC) | 14,7 gram | 0,63 gram |
For a really big event (Marmotte f.i.) I might just combine this with a carb-loader…?
This needs some more thoughts.
Super short answer: If repeat sprint performance is of interest to you, or long-duration sprint performance is desired, and you’re not racing stages with 100ft/mile, then creatine is an easy “yes.” Beyond that, it’s a little more complicated.
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Just started down this road recently and mixed my first sample today:
- 24g sucrose
- 12g maltodextrin
- 2g sodium citrate (475mg Na) [target, accidentally did the equivalent of 700mg Na per bottle in my sample)
- 2 True Lemon lemon crystal packets
- 19oz water
Osmolality should be something like 200.
Only drank it at rest, not on the bike, but felt like it wrenched my stomach pretty hard. Is it possible that my stomach doesn’t like maltodextrin? Is that a thing? Taste was good and otherwise seemed reasonable. I usually drink normal Gatorade mix (which I believe uses cane sugar and dextrin) and don’t have any GI issues on the trainer.
Maybe try a bottle with only the maltodextrine (same amount as last time), and if that bothers you with just malto & water, you have the beginnings of an answer.
This spring, I’ve been doing 60 mg maltodextrine, 3/4 tsp sodium citrate, about 1/8th tsp NoSalt, in a 20 oz bottle and a couple small squirts of Mio or sugar free Koolaid for some flavor. That’s working, so I guess I’ll start experimenting with bumping up the malto and/or adding some sugar (edited to add: I have also been eating 1 or 2 gels per hour when my rides have more intensity in them).
I now realize that I had waaay under-dosed sodium for years now. I’m drinking less, having to pee, and feel so much better after 2-3 hour outdoor rides. I’ll need to increase the water and sodium as the temp continues to rise in Florida, but so far so good.
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Argh, maybe someone can help me quickly? I’m trying out a super no-frills drink mix tomorrow, for a bikepacking race in the summer (basically only with ingredients that I can get in supermarkets). So I’m going for 75g sugar, 1/4 tsp citric acid for the taste, but I don’t know how much salt I should add? Is a pinch enough for 900 ml?