What type of fluid would be best for me...?

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Hello cycling people

I haven't been on here for ages but I received loads of good help last year, when I started cycling for the first time since I was ten or something.

Am going out three times per week, between one hour and two and a half at present. Building up to some 30/40 milers in the next couple of months, then the Great North Bike Ride in August. Then continuing to do the Coast to Coast, possibly in Sept but if not definitely next year.

Now I'm passing the two hour ride again I'm thinking of fluid. I've only taken water so far but my cycling colleague (as amateur and new as I am) is drinking something called Gator Raid (?) and says it helped him massively last year on a 60 miler.

I got some tablets last year after doing the GNBR. I've tried them the last two times. They're called ZEROHIGH5 and go on about burning 41 % more fat. I'm more bothered about taking something that makes me go a bit further and I don't know if they do that.

Any idea on what would be helpful? I do like the idea of tablets as you can just pop them into water which is obviously much easier to get than owt else.

Any help greatly appreciate - Richard
 

pshore

Well-Known Member
There are a few variations of drink additives out there. Some have calories, most are about replacing salts, minerals and electrolytes. The burning fat tablets sounds like marketing guff to me.


Regarding salt and electrolytes - I cycle hard but I am also a cheapskate and sceptical. I have experimented with a home made drink, just salt and lo-salt (for potassium) in water. This is a rehydration fluid, albeit made in a much weaker form. I can tell you that it does make a difference.

With normal water I will drink loads and wee loads on a ride. With the rehydration version all the water seems to be absorbed by my body and not passed through. The effect is that I stay hydrated for longer and perform better on rides.

However, I have also noticed increased salt deposits on my skin after a ride. Obviously I am taking on more salt than normal but have not yet worked out what quantity is bad for health.

I think the rehydration drink above is the base for many branded drinks, except they add more electrolytes and flavour.

The flip side to this is what you are eating on a ride. It goes hand in hand and is the other source of energy and nutrients for a long/multi-day ride. Most important.
 

festival

Über Member
gatorade is basically a simple energy drink and a good one. High5s zero is a rehydration fluid which imo is excellent. but its a very individual thing.
Always test new products before a big event to ensure it works for you. eg taste, digestion, effect.
As a rough guide I would ride up to 2 hours on H5 zero with a couple of energy gels as back up over 2 hours. over 2 hours i need hydration with carbohydrate.
Just water can cause bloating which then suppresses thirst.

I am old enough to remember being told by top class riders and coaches years ago that, on a hot day, take only half a bottle for a ride up to 50 mile & only 1 full bottle for more than 50 mile because in a race you may not get a bottle when you need it and you have to train your body to suffer. Well, that theory was blown away a long time ago as sports science has made great advances.

Its so easy to get it wrong, and there are a lot of variables eg general diet, buld, etc. so what works for your mate may not work for you.
There is plenty of info out there, do your reseach but dont take too much notice of what people say on here.
 

DiddlyDodds

Random Resident
Location
Littleborough
I just love "High 5" Juicy Orange ,,,(the citrus flavour is the work of the devil) i could drink it all day (riding or not) as pshore says, it does go though you a bit so you will have to stop a cpl of times but really does helps me on long rides and up the hills.

4hrs ride
I have 2 bottles with either High 5 or just weak Robinsons Summer Fruit" , 4 energy bars (Oats , malt loaf , Mars bar)

Never used Gels , on a C2C we are doing next month will prob take a few as last resort things.
 

Tasker

New Member
Location
stoke on trent
I would ask that you post again stating whether your'e a road man or another kind of cyclist.

For example: I regularly cycle 30-50 miles on a single trip once a week (depends on the weather), otherwise it's just round and about, shopping and things like that.

That having been said, I find I can get on and go with nothing more than a bowl of Porrige(can't spell) to set off with and a cup of tea somewhere along the way.

Of course this wouldn't do for the road men amongst us, they're going flat out and so need the extra stuff simply because they're pushing themselves each time they go out, hence my question.
 
OP
OP
RichardWHardwick

RichardWHardwick

Senior Member
Thank you people, interesting replies
I have a hybrid commuting bike and will only be cycling on roads or easy cycle paths. I live by the coast so there aren't any real hills nearby.
The High5 stuff went down well. I liked the taste and it seemed to make a difference, though I wasn't sure if this was just psychological.

And so my next question is:

Do rehydration and energy drinks do the same thing?
Or will energy drinks give you more of a boost and then drop you down quickly unless you carry on taking them? Whereas hydration work slower?

I will be moving onto thirty/forty/fifty milers in the next couple of months.
As for eating, porridge or ready brek to begin with, maybe a banana or two. And then powerbar performance bars (chocolate flavour yum yum) on the way, with perhaps some flapjack too...
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Less than 2 hours = Water and a banana.

More than 2 hours =

Water with orange squash and a pinch of salt.
Also Lucozade (or shop's own brand equivalent).
Add some food too - Banana, jaffa cakes & jelly sweets.

Eat and drink regularly, otherwise you'll 'bonk' that that's unpleasant.
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Thank you people, interesting replies
I have a hybrid commuting bike and will only be cycling on roads or easy cycle paths. I live by the coast so there aren't any real hills nearby.
The High5 stuff went down well. I liked the taste and it seemed to make a difference, though I wasn't sure if this was just psychological.

And so my next question is:

Do rehydration and energy drinks do the same thing?
Or will energy drinks give you more of a boost and then drop you down quickly unless you carry on taking them? Whereas hydration work slower?

I will be moving onto thirty/forty/fifty milers in the next couple of months.
As for eating, porridge or ready brek to begin with, maybe a banana or two. And then powerbar performance bars (chocolate flavour yum yum) on the way, with perhaps some flapjack too...


Do all of the above and do it as you're riding. Don't wait for the self-scheduled pit stop in 2 hours time.
 

Tasker

New Member
Location
stoke on trent
Good man! That you responded to the replies.

From what you've said just for goodness sake get on and do it.

Personally I'm just about getting fed up with this advertising hype of 'you can't even move without the latest crappo shite we happen to be peddling'.

My dear fellow cyclist. If you truly need inspiration and reassurance then do a bit of research on those 1930's people on their bikes who managed to somehow do just the same as you (we'd) love to do also but minus the hyped-up crap.

No more nail biting - that's for girls.

Just get peddling you: on whatever you've got and then come back here, red faced, out of breath, to tell us all about it and what you're going to do next.

Now. Just get on that bike please!
 
OP
OP
RichardWHardwick

RichardWHardwick

Senior Member
Good man! That you responded to the replies.

From what you've said just for goodness sake get on and do it.

Personally I'm just about getting fed up with this advertising hype of 'you can't even move without the latest crappo shite we happen to be peddling'.

My dear fellow cyclist. If you truly need inspiration and reassurance then do a bit of research on those 1930's people on their bikes who managed to somehow do just the same as you (we'd) love to do also but minus the hyped-up crap.

No more nail biting - that's for girls.

Just get peddling you: on whatever you've got and then come back here, red faced, out of breath, to tell us all about it and what you're going to do next.

Now. Just get on that bike please!

I am! I'm out three times per week! Which is a hell of a lot for someone with my circumstances. I'm loving my cycling. I just wanted to know what fluid would help me go a bit further....

As for advertising - of course most of it is bollocks. But then again I don't see any of it as I don't watch telly and I don't read magazines. I just got some tablets in my pack after finishing the GNBR and wondered if they were good or not.

Eeehh - I don't know. Have you got a penny farthing?
 

Wobblers

Euthermic
Location
Minkowski Space
It's just as important to replace the salts - potassium and sodium in particular - as it is the fluid that you lose. There are electrolyte tablets you can get that to dissolve in your water bottles which will supply the lost salts. I haven't tried them so I can't comment on their usefulness.

A banana is rich in potassium as well as carbs and makes a rather good cycling food. I usually just take water on a long ride but have tried filling a bottle with Aldi's fruit smoothie a couple of times with good results... at least it seemed to help...

The best suggestion I can give you is to try different things to see what works for you, and just as importantly, what agrees with you. And it's definitely a good idea to eat something on a long ride.
 

Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
I find that a water bottle 2/3rd's full of water, 1/3rd of Orange juice and a 1/4 teaspoon of salt does the trick for me. On a long ride, two bottles, some cereal bars and a couple of bananas does the trick.
 

pshore

Well-Known Member
Its so easy to get it wrong, and there are a lot of variables eg general diet, buld, etc. so what works for your mate may not work for you.
There is plenty of info out there, do your reseach but dont take too much notice of what people say on here.

Top advice. Listen to your body, it will tell you what you need, and that might be through cravings after a ride.

We can't tell you what you need because we know nothing about your normal diet, what you eat on a ride etc, how hard you push it, do you take breaks etc. All we can do is tell you what options there are out there.
 
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