Anyone use a maltodextrine that comes granulated instead of powdered?
I’ve been making “jet fuel” with malto and fructose but my malto powder is very fine, the consistency of powdered sugar. This becomes an issue with mixing. Even using a shaker bottle ball and doing a ton of shaking my bottle it still clumps and I find lots of solidified malto when cleaning. I found a few older Maurten packs and used them and was amazed that they had a granulated maltodextrine and the mixing was simple and fast, I want that back in my life.
I had the same issue when trying to mix in my water bottle. Instead, use hot water and a shaker bottle. I use 6oz hot water to 90g malto/fructose (60/30). Put the water in the shaker first, put the mix on top, shake vigorously and then let it cool to room temperature. Once it’s cool, there are no more clumps.
as noted warm water… well I use as hot as it comes out but basically not cold.
fill about half way put in all my fuel shake and then if riding right then top off with ice, if riding the next morning put in the fridge halfway and top off before I hop on the bike with ice or water or both.
This is the way.
I do it at gas station stops. Fill bottle 1/2 to 1/3 full, dump in malto/fructose mix, shake really well, add rest of water. The clumps should be minimal.
I fill 1/2 bottle with water, dump the powder in, add a bunch of ice cubes, add more water. Then shake the living snot out of the bottle. My mix is 17g Karbolyn and 15g Gatorade powder (~ 400 ml bottle) .
Anyone else just using plain sugar? Pretty close to 1/0.8 ratio. Simpler and more convenient for my 60-90min training rides. Any long rides in still doing the malto/fruc mix.
I use the Now brand malto too and I get clumping (although only small amounts), even with hot water, unless I let it sit and soak a bit while it cools. How much are you using? For me, it’s 40-60g plus an additional 20-30g fructose to 6oz water.
Yep - if I’m fuelling a ride I’ve just started using sugar. Even for an easy 2 hour Z2 ride, 2x 90g bottles of glucose/fructose at 2:1 doesn’t come close to KJ replenishment. Sugar is easy to find and very cheap to buy in bulk.
One tip I have for mixing on the go…
I’m the type that likes to bring a bag of my malto/fructose mix on long rides so I don’t need to carry 57 bottles and found it impossible to mix on the go. However, I found that many gas stations (in the US at least) have coffee machines with the pots for regular and decaf. Most of those machines will have a little red or black lever next to a small spout that puts out what is basically boiling water. Mix the powder with a bit of water, then add just enough of the super hot water to make a liquid and shake like you mean it. Then add cold water and ice to fill it up (in Summer at least) or fill with warm water for winter riding. That hot water will mix it guaranteed lol…just be careful when filling.
You might try adding a minimal amount of water to the maltodextrin and swishing that up first. Its a bit of a cooking trick to hydrate powders that are prone to this kind of clumping. I see this kind of thing all the time, eg hot chocolate powder or trying to hydrate powdered ranch mix with a bunch of milk. I do this with my md and it works quite well vs clumping madly when I just add all the water at once and shake the crap out of it. I bet a youtube video could be located with some science on this.
You all were right: Hot water is the trick. 1/2 bottle hot tap water with carb mix and it easily dissolves with no clumps. Top off with ice and it melts to a normal temp and I’m good to go.
@michelleihowe does too. But she prefers a kick-you-in-the-teeth flavor intensity so often opts for close to 50-50 Gatorade-sugar, even in ultra-concentrated bottles.
I have nothing but respect for both you and @Dr_Alex_Harrison, but that doesn’t mean one size fits all. My stomach can’t handle the just plain sugar, especially when it’s brutally hot. The malto:fructose 2:1 has been an absolute game changer for my training. It’s worth a shot trying the cheap sugar route, but that doesn’t mean people are “wrong” if they do it another way.
Just to be clear to all those interested readers out there: I don’t use table sugar to fuel during rides. I’m a plain dextrose guy. For ultra distance rides I’ll throw in the fructose. I don’t like table sugar because it leaves a bunch of phlegm in my throat & (believe it or not) I prefer the flavor of dextrose.
@freshturk asked if anybody just uses plain sugar and I knew that the good Doctor Alex Harrison had advocated that approach in the past. So I mentioned that. I concluded that post by asking ‘what does he know?’ and I just want to stress this was strictly a rhetorical question. Nobody wants Dr Alex to fill up the rest of this thread with everything he knows. That could go on forever.
I don’t have a problem with making enough for training at home, but I think I’m going to have to make up some packets of mix I can use for longer rides.
Could get some looks if I keep riding around with packets of white powder…
