Need Advice for Sport Drinks

I am pretty new to this - all I have used before is water. Now I realize that it just doesn't cut it for long distance riding and intense training.

What do I need to be drinking while biking to maintain optimum energy and efficiency? What products can you recommend?

What about these drinks?
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/....cfm?SKU=14830
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/....cfm?SKU=18232

All I know about is gel, but I know gel alone can only do so much.
Thank you

I prefer Cytomax:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/....cfm?SKU=17867

Also, here's a fairly recent poll with some feedback:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t203330-.html

Accelerade works fine. I just bought some to try it out. Tastes OK. Only problem I've had is that it's a pain to clean the bottles after using it. I have to really scrub with a brush because it leaves nasty gunk behind. Others I've tried I can just rinse the bottle out and I'm good to go.

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I'm only truly happy when I'm anaerobic.

It gives me a tummy ache.....

My advice is whatevery you try, try it small doses first. It would suck to spend $20-$30 on something that doesn't agree with your stomach.

L

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Cheap, Strong and Light.
Pick any Two.

Sports drinks need to do a few different things including rehydrate you, feed you (carbohydrate) and replace salts. Some are a lot better than others. Many do not have enough carbohydrate in them to be of use for competitive cycling. In fact, you only need them at all if you are training seriously and racing. If you are only riding socially or to get fit you are better off with plain water, i.e. you don't need the extra calories.

Most of the pre-mixed ones are useless and there's not much point in asking what brand others like or what works for them. Consult the experts, read Edmund Burke's "Serious Cycling" or other reliable sources to find out what you need in terms of content and start reading labels.

Cheers Jay.

I haven't tried the drink, but the test I may try.

http://www.powerbar.com/NutritionRes...alculator.aspx

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A person without an opinion is fairly safe, but seldom heard

I used Powerbar and found for some reason it gets weak. the sun turns the color clear and seems to lose it's kick. i switched to Cliffshot sports drink works well. i also found that water and gels with electrolytes work good too.

I prefer Cytomax. I like that it has lower sodium than a lot of the others.

Im a Gatorade man. I've tried everything over the last 10 years and none of it worked any better than cheap old Gatorade and/or water.

But please go ahead and experiment. I used to use Cytomax all the time because it tasted good.

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John

1998 IF Crown Jewel

I've used several, and like cytomax and gatorade the best. The latter is available in almost any country/convience store.

But my advice is try several and go with one that taste good (even warm) and sits well on your stomach. Otherwise regardless of how good it is for you, you won't drink enough.