I always add one electrolyte tablet (Dextro Energy) to my bottle. This adds the flavor.
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Occasionally lemon concentrate, but usually just sugar + salt.
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I’ll add a squirt of lemon juice if I’m wanting some other flavor, but typically just sugar, salt and water!
I’m happy to see so many others on the sugar water kick - soo much cheaper and just as beneficial. I don’t mess with the maltodextrin as the table sugar handles the 1:1 ratio perfectly.
As far a mixing - I put anywhere from 75g-120g in a bottle, then add 6oz of hot water from my Keurig, give it a good swishing then fill the bottle with ice and top off with cold water. Works great to dissolve the sugar and the ice brings it all back cold again.
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I use Nuun tablets most of the time. Nice way to cycle through several different flavors. Another good option for me is powdered green tea with a bit of lemon juice. The tea is a bit bitter so it cuts the sweet.
May have more flavor but for many, sodium chloride (sea salt) doesn’t digest as well. I tried sodium chloride once and had an experience so bad I’ll never make that mistake again. May be worthy of the embarrassing cycling confessions thread.
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the lemon or lime juice concentrate that comes in the small plastic lemon/lime shaped bottles… been around for decades… are available at pretty much any super market…dirt cheap ($1) and mix up lots (dozens) of bottles. can’t beat them for the $. In fact at discount grocery stores I frequently find them 3 for $1.
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Can confirm. This will make you feel awful. If you’re using anywhere close to a gram or more in a bottle
This plus sodium citrate really knocks the sweet down.
I use «saft», which is berries or fruit boiled to concentrate/syrup that is mixed with sugar and is to be diluted 1:5. Which is the cheapest mix of carbs and taste one can get around here (Norway).
This usually contains 30-50 gram carbs for a liter bottle. Depending on how much taste you want.
I switch between raspberry, blueberry and orange taste.
Then i add the amount of sugar needed for my workout, from nothing to 250gram per liter bottle.
If it’s hot outside i’ll add fine table salt in the bottle as well.
Never had a problem with the sugar not dissolving, i mix my bottles probably 5 minutes prior.
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I find it fascinating all the people saying they just mix table sugar with water and it mixes up no problem. I’ve known this to be an issue since I was a small child and people tried to add sugar to iced tea only to see all the sugar float to the bottom of the glass no matter how much they spun the spoon. I have the same issue if I try adding table sugar to a bottle of cold water for cycling. A good 10% or more of the sugar just ends up on the bottom of the bottle, even if I use a shaker bottle. I have to heat the water to mix the sugar and then add ice if I don’t want pure sugar on the bottom, even at very low concentrations.
I wonder if we have different “table sugar” in different regions?
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add some finely chopped mint leafs and some lime juice
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In the uk the cheapest form of sugar is granulated sugar, it dissolved more easily than caster(baking) sugar which dissolves faster than icing(powdered) sugar. Counterintuitively large/aglomerated grains dissolve faster as there is more space for water to get between the grains when it’s sitting in a layer at the bottom of the bottle. Sugar is incredibly soluble in water, 2g/ml yes 2kg per litre! at room temperature, dropping to a still impressive 1.5g/ml at freezing point. Agitation is important. I always add sugar first to a dry bottle, half fill with cold water straight from the tap, put the lid on and shake hard, top up with more water or ice. If theres a couple of spoons left that hasn’t dissolved it will be after a short distance of riding due to vibration.
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Not really plain sugar but I was at Costco (USA) the other day and saw a 5 lb can of powdered Lipton Lemon Iced Tea for $9 so got it. Ingredients are cane sugar, citric acid, instant tea powder, carrot juice, and natural lemon flavor. I tried 50gm (200cal) in my 24oz bottle with 1/4 tsp table salt and it was OK, a nice change from citrus flavored drinks.
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I’ve been wondering the same, especially with how Johnathon keeps going on about issues with sugar dissolving. I have waaaay bigger issue with Malto dissolving than sugar, and was wondering if there’s something different about table sugar in different areas.
If I mix it with cold-ish water, it will mostly dissolve quickly, and the rest will dissolve with some time in the bottle. But I’ll usually just put a bit of hot tap water in first, shake it, then add ice cubes and water right after, and rarely have any dissolvability issues.
But even with Malto, though it tends to chunk up and be more of an issue to mix in, will still dissolve with some time. But not using sugar due to dissolving issues seems so bizarre to me.
For flavours I use lemon and lime juice, and also use regular sweetened ice tea mix instead of sugar. I’m going to try buying some tart cherry juice and give that a shot as well.
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I shake the sh_t out of my bottles for 30-60 seconds and again before I put them on my bike. Rarely I’ll have undissolved sugar at the bottom.
My normal mix is 6tbsp granulated sugar and 1 scoop of Skratch per 24oz bottle.
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FWIW: One thing I do is rather than put dry power in a dry bottle, I put much of the liquid in it first then the dry powder. I find this helps prevent it from caking up in the bottom of the bottle.
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Fill bottle 3/4 with warm tap water. Add granulated sugar (Domino pure cane sold in 5 lb bags), salt and flavoring. Shake vigorously for 30-60 seconds. Fill remaining with cold water and store in refrigerator overnight (plan ahead and solves the problem of warm drink or adding ice cubes day of).
I’ve done so for years with up to 600g of mix in a 1 liter bottle. NEVER had an issue with it not dissolving. I flavor with 1 scoop of powdered “healthy” Gatorade that doesn’t include dyes.
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I add Malto to my sugar water. The trick to minimizing the malto clumping is to mix it dry with the sugar BEFORE adding the water. The sugar keeps it separated while dissolving. It still clumps a little but will dissolve quickly with some vigorous shaking
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Never had a problem mixing sugar. On long 3-4 hr rides I’ll mix a full cup of sugar, 3/4 cup malto and any of the mentioned flavorings suggested. Dissolves fine in a bottle. I avoid the electrolytes in this bottle as this is strictly my fuel bottle and need to regulate my carb Intake. My other bottle is for hydration/electrolytes and gets refilled as needed. This way on hot days I’m not chugging my sugar water because I’m thirsty.
For my flavor of choice, I like using a packet of True Lemon Strawberry Lemonade.
I split a packet between two bottles and get good flavor beyond the naked sugar. Some say that the stevia in this can cause minor GI distress, but I have not had that issue, even after 4 packets (8 bottle mixes) on long days.
Bringing multiple mix bags with me using 3" x 5" resealable plastic bags works really well. These will let me make doses from 40g of sugar up to 90g, and makes things really portable.