Make SIS BETA fuel yourself just a few pence per bottle

I use Nuun tablets quite bit (and like most of the flavors), but haven’t done much with adding carbs to this in particular. Most of the time I do my own mix with carbs I also just use my own electrolyte mix along with the true lemon flavoring.
I do expect Nuun to offer enough flavor, at least for adding maltodextrin, as that isn’t sweet. If you also add fructose, that could end up just being super sweet without enough flavor. Let us know how you like it :slight_smile:

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Thanks! I’ll definitely report back. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and am really looking forward to mixing my own bottles, especially as I try to ramp up my carb intake during longer, harder rides. Right now my custom Infinit mix has 72g of carbs and I usually only take one serving for up to a two hour ride. Sometimes if I’m really suffering I’ll also have a Gu gel for another 22g of carbs.

I have two “base” recipes created with no electrolyte - one with 75g of carbs and another with 100g. I have some left over Precision Hydration variety sachets that I can add for electrolytes, and also ordered some Nuun tablets. The PH sachets add 17g of carbs plus 500, 1000, or 1500mg of sodium depending on the packet. Nuun adds 4g of carbs and 400mg sodium.

Even with the PH sachets or Nuun tablets, cost per bottle is a little more than $1 (USD), less than half of the Infinit mix.

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Try citric acid powder. It’s what gives lemon juice it’s flavor and a little goes a long way.

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I’ll keep that in mind. I just did a big order of the true lemon stuff, so I’m set for a while.

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Yep, well not Nuun (because I haven’t bought those tabs) but Gu, High5 etc. Sometimes I’ll chuck two tabs in, especially when it’s hot.

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Success! I did Augusta +1 this morning using my first homemade mix. Recipe and costs are below, with links.

malto
1/2 cup (60g) Maltodextrin
$24.50 for 57 servings

fruc90x90
2.5 tbps (30g) Fructose
$22 for 90 servings

nuun
1 Nuun tab
$24.50 for 40 servings

I also got a digital kitchen scale and confirmed that the volume measurements equate to the weights above (i.e. 1/2 cup malto is about 60g and 2.5 tbsp fructose is about 30g).

Total cost per bottle is $1.30, with the Nuun tab being almost half the cost. As others have mentioned above you can use sodium citrate for electrolyte and add flavor (lemon juice, TRUE Citrus, etc) to cut the cost down even more.

The Nuun provided all of the flavor. I mixed it in 24 oz (750ml) of water and it was similar in sweetness and intensity to SiS Beta Fuel mixed in the same amount of water. My custom mix from Infinit Nutrition has caffeine in it, so I’ll likely get some Nuun+Caffeine tabs for those early morning workouts where I’m struggling to wake up.

I have some left over Precision Hydration sachets that I’ll also try instead of Nuun. These have a much more subdued flavor and might be good for longer rides where pallet fatigue could be a concern. They also have 17g of carbs versus Nuun’s 4g (not accounted for above).

EDIT: For simplicity, 2.5 tbps is nearly 1/4 cup, which is what I use to measure the fructose. The mix ends up being a little sweeter but you also get a few more carbs.

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Today’s recipe was 1/2 cup maltodextrin, 2.5 tbps fructose, and 1 sachet Precision Hydration 500. It tasted a lot like an orange creamsicle with a slightly subtler intensity than with a Nuun tab. Worked perfectly!

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I use the exact same products as you did. I prefer the SIS tab flavors, but Nuun works just fine. When I’m really loading a bottle I go 1/2 cup malto + 1/4 cup fructose. It’s very sweet.

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Did my mix for the first time today on a 1.5 hour sweetspot ride (3x20), and wow - what a different it makes to your RPE. It’s crazy. @Pete and the gang nailed it when they described it as a cheat code.

My mix was:
40g Maltodextrin
20g Fructose (makes it a little too sweet for my taste)
1g Electrolytes

Thanks to all for the info and research!

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For flavor, try decaffeinated (or caffeinated if you want) tea. Inexpensive store brands come in many flavors. To me, the cost for the tea doesn’t add to the cost of the drinks because I would buy the tea anyway. The hot water makes dissolving the powders easier too. It does require mixing the drink in advance to give the whole mixture time to cool down.

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Great to know, thanks! I’ll definitely check out SiS after I go through my supply of Nuun and PH. The SiS tabs appear to be a little less expensive than Nuun ($0.55 vs $0.61 USD).

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Your body can handle 60g maltodextrin per hour, so if you’re only going to do 60g total, you can eliminate or reduce the fructose. It doesn’t taste sweet at all with just malto. The fructose is just to get you beyond the 60g (or to add sweet if you like it). Also, at least in the US, malto is a lot cheaper than fructose.

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Hey guys looking for some guidance on carb feeling during SS efforts and HV plan workouts.

I currently use SIS GO & Electrolyte carb drink which has about 46g of carbs in it.

I listen to the podcast and hear all this stuff about 2:1 ratios and maltodextrin and was wondering if anyone could explain/simplify it all for me.

I want to try and intake carbs as easily as possible to smash the workouts & feel strong on the bike. I was also wondering if anyone could recommend some good carbohydrate drinks or stuff of that nature for me.

Cheers guys :star_struck:

2:1 is glucose:fructose ratio to maximize the amount carbs that your body can absorb, which some on the podcast mix themselves.

Some people I know use UCAN Superstarch or Scratch’s Superfuel, but these can get expensive too.

Make sure to go into the training session fully loaded by eating well before hand.

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If you want to buy a pre-made mix then there are plenty on the market including Maurten, SiS, and Infinit Nutrition, to name a few. Most will cost $2.50 - $3.50 (USD) per bottle, though.

If you want to make your own, check out this thread. You can get the cost per bottle below $1 (USD) easily.

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Thanks :grin:

Thanks for the guidance man! appreciate it :muscle:

All you need to know is that the general consensus is:

Absorption of glucose tops out around 60g, but fructose is absorbed through different ‘channels’ and tops out at an additional 30g.

So if you combine the 2 sugars, you can potentially absorb up to 90g of carbs per hour. This ‘limit’ seems to be somewhat personal, and some people are dosing even larger amounts. Do the reading to understand it better, as there’s no need to take onboard the maximum for everything above Z2. Fructose is more expensive than glucose and seems to be worse for your health, so I avoid it if I don’t think I need it.

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As you’ll see in the link to the other thread, I just recently started making my own mix and love it. Not just because it is cheaper, but because I can control all aspects of it - amount of carbs, electrolytes, caffeine, flavor variety, etc. I really enjoy my custom Infinit Nutrition mix, but at 1-2 bottles per hard workout, up to four times per week, that gets expensive quickly.

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@mcneese.chad can we get this merged?

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