What To Drink ?

02walkerj

What thinks are good for drinking when out on a long bike ride?
Are sugar filled drinks, like Red Bull any good?

Thanks for any help.

baccaman21

Red bull makes you wee... plus it contains taurine which is a banned substance in certain countries.

It's ok I guess for an instant hit but I'd be inclined to steer away from it and choose something a little more in tune with your metabolism.

There's a massive range of 'energy'/sports drinks... they all pretty much do the same thing - i.e. rehydrate and replace lost salts and sugars to your system.

Some sugar is better than others but at the end of the day sugar is sugar and too much of it isn't a good idea... not least it rots your teeth - but too much will just convert to stored energy in the form of fat - unless you work out enought to burn the sugar off, of course.

There's an open debate about what to drink on long rides... some say just water, some say energy/sports drinks... There's science behind it all... I think ultimately it comes down to personal choice and experience.

If I'm doing a really hard ride I'll dose up with energy/sports powders in the old camelbak... if it's an easy ride, I'll stick to water and the odd snack...

endurojcb

Home made energy drinks:

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/forums/vie ... t=12554273

z000m

redbull gives me indigestion

jmeadows

water is a must, but yeh those home made energy drinks are great, a must also on long rides

ride_whenever

red bull is rubbish because it doesn't really have enough sugar to replace what you burn when the caffine/taurine kicks in. Not to mention being fizzy.

I rate the lucozade sport drinks. Really good with a nice balance of sugar and electrolytes.

Cheshley

I wouldn't touch Red Bull for any purpose.

I've not come across the home made drinks mentioned above (though I'll give them a try), I have just switched to HighFive's 4:1 drinks. I find the mix of Carbs give a good energy boost when you're flagging but the protein also helps in recovery. I sometimes take a bottle with a nuun electrolyte tablet in it too because I used to get cramps in my calves but since using these tablet based drinks I don't any more.

HighFive will send you about £10 quid of samples if you complete the form on their website :arrow: http://www.highfive.co.uk/free%20sample/freesample.html

and also the new For Goodness Shakes carb and protein dring is offering a free sample from their website :arrow: http://www.forgoodnessshakes.com/sample.aspx