im interested to hear what people use for fuel and what sort of glucose/fructose ratios you use. What have you learned/changed about your fueling strategies?
In the past i used baby food pouches. specifically carrot, apple and banana. although i dont know for sure, i assume they were high fructose. id always feel quite uncomfortable for the rest of the day after riding while my stomach dealt with the excess fructose fermentation. about 2 months ago i switched to a table sugar/maltodextrin combo liquid fuel only. Currently, for Z2 i use 70g/hr at a 1/2 fructose/glucose ratio and everything else i use 100g/hr 0.8/1 ratio. its been much kinder to my gut. I also dissolve salt into the solution. i made an excel calculator to calculate the amounts of table sugar to maltodextrin i need to reach the target ratios for the specific ride duration.
i added a mid intensity option at 85g/hr but ive yet to use that.
I have 1 or 2 bottles of sugar solution depending on ride length and other bottle of water to chase/rinse my mouth.
Overall im happy with the simplicity and efficacy of the table sugar/maltodextrin combination. I plan on increasing High intensity carb consumption to 120g/hr over the coming weeks. Im 87kg and i think i can handle the extra.
For me, gels are unaffordable and impractical for the volume of riding i do. Baby food was an adequate substitution at $1cad per pouch but now i spend even less and feel much better.
I am the furthest thing from a math guy, but I think that ratio of 1/.8 is off, unless I am missing something. I do 100 g of the same sugar/malto ratio per hour and it’s roughly 56 g sugar 44 g malto.
I do agree though. Gels can get pricy, and diy drink mix is the way to go, but I do like to carry carbs fuel and some solid food to mix it up a bit. I can get tired of the sugary drink mix after a while.
I just use straight caster sugar in my bottles. I aim for ~100g/hour for high intensity but also long z2 rides. Those can still burn quite a lot of calories and it stops you ending the ride feeling ravenous. I can quite easily burn 700+ calories an hour even at z2. I might mix in some sour patch kids on my long rides.
If its going to be a really long day I will make some salted boiled potatoes. They are a welcome change to all the sugar.
For a race it would be purely sugar for convenience.
For training, I’ve bought a bag of each dextrose and fructose for beer manufacturing purposes. I use around 60g/700ml with number and volume of bottles varying depending on the workout. I usually eyeball it and only make a conscious effort of measuring and gradually increasing doses in specialty phase.
Dextrose/Fructose ratio is a bit in favour of the dextrose once it starts getting too sweet. I also add some 5 ml of iso drink concentrate, to introduce taste. Any flavoured electrolyte powder works, too.
Sometimes I mix it up with some coke or even eating honey out of a jar during recovery intervals.
Outdoors, I take 2 bottles of the above and as much Haribo Goldbärchen (actually forest fruit flavour or something other that’s softer and easier to chew than the original bears) as I can. Cut the top 2 cm of the packages with scissors for easier pocket access, lest they start folding in and closing. Race day rocket fuel: maple syrup in a plastic jar with a lid that can spray into your mouth when you squeeze it
Bottles with Fructose/Maltodextrin/Gatorlyte Electrolytes and Maple Syrup flasks. Dates and sweetened dried Mango before heading out the door on longer rides also. I do bring Clif Bloks on longer rides where I just want something to chew on sometimes.
For hard, indoor rides, I swear by gummy peach candies. They are delicious, cheap, and a good blend of sugars.
ETA that this approach has also taught me how to endure a tough interval despite having aspirated a little candy. And, over time, I have also learned how to chew and swallow without aspirating candy in the midst of hard intervals!
There was a section on the last Nero Show (last week) about table sugar vs Beta Gel (or any of the like). Unlike the TR podcast they don’t get into actual studies (at least named) but their position was table sugar which is 50/50 glucose and fructose is as good as any other option and obviously way cheaper.
I personally do 1/0.8 of fructose and melodextrin (I have to look up which is the 1 and which is .8 each time) because I don’t find it too sweet.
Powdered Gatorade up to 90 grams of carb per bottle. Also if you are the states, the Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers (both regular and sour) are great. 5-6 are about 30 grams of carbs. I can go over 100 grams an hour with no gut issues mixing these two together.
Boil ~600 ml of water in electric kettle. In a heatproof bowl or pot, thoroughly mix dry ingredients. Add 200ml boiling water to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Continue adding water and whisking until you’ve achieved your desired thickness, and all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Yields ~800-1000g of gel depending on thickness. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
I’ve bought pure glucose and pure fructose on amazon and mixed 1:1. 90-120g in a bottle and then add 1 scoop of ReLyte for electrolytes and flavor. This is a winning combo!
1:1 mixture of pure maple syrup and honey in a reusable flask. This takes a few rides to get used to, but is very palatable at this point.
These 2 have been my go to for inexpensive fueling. I keep it simple and it works.
56g sugar and 44g maltodextrin would be 72g glucose and 28g fructose which is a 1-0.39 ratio i think. Table sugar is a 50/50 mix of glucose and fructose
I use similar ingredients, somewhat different approach.
I make larger batches: 2500g sugar + 300g maltodextrine + 20g salt + 40g sodium citrate (I know this is very little but not much is needed for short workouts) + 70g citric acid (for flavor). Mix and store in an old protein container. For 1 hour workouts I do 1 scoop (about 30g) per 650-700mL bottle. 2-3hr workouts two scoops per bottle. Longer rides 140g per bottle then chase with water with 1/4 tsp of 1:2 salt and sodium citrate from a backback (for hot days 1/3 will be ice with the salts, same ratio). I drink 1/2-1 bottle per hour. I try not to worry too much about how much I drink, just make sure I drink every 20 min. With this set up I drink 750-1200mL per hour and 70-140g of carbs per hour. When a race gets closer I make sure I drink at least 100g of carbs but don’t push much more than that.
A serving is 3/4 a scoop… so two full scoops is just shy of 70g carbs. If its going to be a bigger ride and I know I want more nutrition, i’ll throw an extra scoop in the bottle and add some sodium citrate just to cut the sweetness a bit. Never gives me GI issues and tastes fine. Cant beat the price.
I do 1:0.8 of malto and fructose from BulkSupplements, along with .25-.5tsp of sodium citrate. Fueling rates are really based on vibes, ranging from 50-80g/hr for bike stuff. I’ve also been playing around with flavorings including lemon/lime juice, matcha, and ginger to keep from getting bored.
@Jonathan did this video Fueling drink mix years ago which is like 80g of carbs per bottle. I use a his and throw in a SIS electrolyte tablet for flavor.
Beyond that i use maple syrup.
I’ll buy carbs fuel gels on sale and use for longer races.
For primary fuel, I use straight maple syrup in flask
For hydration and secondary fuel - DIY drink mix. To make one gallon - 1/2 cup table sugar, 1/2 cup dextrose, 9G sodium citrate, teaspoon of true lime, teaspoon of true lemon. In the off season/winter, I’ll often cut it with more water when I’m not training hard. In the summer, I might up the sodium citrate a bit.
