Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Which is better for drinking during a short, but intense cycling session, water or energy drink?

Better for what?... I only shower in water .

if your talking about energy drinks as in mother red bull and the likes, i wouldnt advise drinking them at all to aid in any fitness activity.

Water.

ozstriker wrote:if your talking about energy drinks as in mother red bull and the likes, i wouldnt advise drinking them at all to aid in any fitness activity.

i mean like, gatorade and stuff

Under an hour, water. Over an hour, High 5 or Endura. NEVER Gatorade. It's lolly water rubbish.

Once you start doing high intensity training rides 2 hours and over using Endura, High 5, Hammer, etc and using them properly, you will never go back to Gatorade.

trailgumby wrote:Under an hour, water. Over an hour, High 5 or Endura. NEVER Gatorade. It's lolly water rubbish.

Once you start doing high intensity training rides 2 hours and over using Endura, High 5, Hammer, etc and using them properly, you will never go back to Gatorade.

does endura still have the problem of giving people the trots.

I totally recommend this stuff if your doing intense training

Dunno. Only use it for races as I like the light levels of caffeination (8mg per gel) and the magnesium for keeping away the cramping. I use High 5 for training as it's half the price but their caffeinated gels are too strong (30mg).

I get the runs sometimes if I go all-out and "leave it all on the track" (ie finish with nothing left) anyway, so it's hard to tell if it's the product or naturally occurring.

trailgumby wrote:Dunno. Only use it for races as I like the light levels of caffeination (8mg per gel) and the magnesium for keeping away the cramping. I use High 5 for training as it's half the price but their caffeinated gels are too strong (30mg).

I get the runs sometimes if I go all-out and "leave it all on the track" (ie finish with nothing left) anyway, so it's hard to tell if it's the product or naturally occurring.

I guess water is the way to go, i'm just 13 and i fear too much caffeine will affect me :/

+1 for water, especially if its 'only' a short, sharp session...

I only ever use 'sports drinks' on long, 2+ hour rides. And even then, only if its particularly hot and I'm gonna be sweating much more than usual. My plan is generally use water for fluid replacement, and everything else (ie. 'salts', energy, etc) comes from food (whether that be gels, muesli bars, banana, whatever)...

Cheers,
Abby

Thanks guys!

The Endura Rehydration is caffeine free, it's only the gels that are caffeinated. Most companies that produce gels offer caffeine free versions.

For longer rides, bananas are good, as are the Cadel's/Winners energy bars, fruitcake slices, sections of apple, and white bread jam sandwiches. Whether I can go up to two hours without taking on carbs depends on how long it was since the last meal, but either way I definitely start to fade at about the 50 minute mark without having taken on something earlier during the ride, and always have, even when I was a teenager.

It seems some people naturaly store carbs better than others, and I'm one of the "others".

Providing you're moderate with your intake you should be fine with using the proper rehydration mix (not gatorade). However, at 13, training efforts much over 80 minutes is getting into an area I would not be comfortable expecting of someone your age. You still have a lot of growing to do - especially over the next 2-3 years! Your body is undergoing major changes.

Good luck with it, it's great that you've come here to ask questions

Try infinit nutrition custom made formula. They will make it suited for your type of riding, your body type and loaded with the correct amount of cards, protein, sodium, potassium, etc .... Or whatever ingredient your formula will require.
Have been using it now for almost a year and have no need for gels, bars or snacks even if going for a 200km ride as it has everything needed in it, no cramps, no bonking, a clean energy from start to finish..... But for a short ride water is sufficient

For those guys that use endura is there anything you do to improve the flavour.

I got lemon lime and it tastes pretty rough.

Pick another flavour I quite like their coffee flavouted gels.

The High5 citrus is quite palatable, as is their orange. Their banana gels are yum.

The good thing about these maltodextrin based carbs is they aren't too sweet. Gatorade and the like gets to the point after awhile where the thought of taking another sickly sweet swig is off-putting ... so the uptake slows down and you start to suffer a bit...

at 50 bucks a pop, it adds up when you try all the flavours

Yeah, true. Some brands have sampler packs they market as "triathlon packs" where they give you a cross section of their range to get you through an event. Might be a cheap way to try a few different flavours?

Water.

Your sweat has much lower salt concentrations than your blood plasma and extracellular fluid. So when you sweat, you make your blood and ECF _more_ salty, not less. Water is the correct fluid for restoring both volume and tonicity. The absolute loss of total body sodium during a ride, unless you're doing something particularly grueling on a hot day with lots of climbing, is effectively negligible from a pathophysiologic point of view.

For long rides, or in between shorter excursions, simply eating food is a good idea. It provides you with energy, as well as electrolytes and a huge number of other nutrients. Note: Food = something your great-great grandmother would have recognised as such. Processed high-tech goo has a role in acting as a stop-gap measure in high performance racing situations (in cycling, cross-country skiing, running, etc.) but for the purposes of training, and general recreational riding sessions, should probably be avoided, as the nutritional value is exceptionally low.

I think water is best then energy drink because water is natural and it is important for us. It also provides energy to our body. I don't like energy drink. I like only water because it is best to quench thirst.

Revend wrote:I think water is best then energy drink because water is natural and it is important for us. It also provides energy to our body. I don't like energy drink. I like only water because it is best to quench thirst.

Umm, water contains 0 calories and provides no "energy". However it is essential as our bodies are mostly water and even small levels of dehydration can affect performance (as can over hydration).

i have found a long as you are sweating then any powder drink that has electrolytes in it does the job. We dont just weat water and replacing these minrals that we lose will help.

i little off the subject... does anyone still eat bananas on a longer ride? i purchases a gel and took it on a 80k ride last Saturday that had two major climbs, had it halfway through the ride and felt good aftr it but that night woke up and had to run to the dunny.. eye of a needle! coincidence about the gel i dont know but havn't had a gel since.

I am trying to increase my riding around warm and flat Townsville and take 2 bananas and some dried fruit leathers.

I also use Shotz gels and electrolyte from time to time when aiming for 100km rides, as they are convenient (not bulky) and they taste ok.

I have found, that I need to eat more as I try to expand my distances. It helps me ride longer and I feel better the next day.

I am also following the CSIRO diet book as my primary goal in cycling is to lose a few Kilos. So i have been finding it difficult to find the balance of eating more, to enhance my cycling and staying within my daily allowance. This is where I find Bananas perfect, to meet my needs.

New article on this toipic: "Do sports drinks and hydration theory hold any water?"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... eory-water

Prefer straight water or occasionally a weak cordial with a small pinch of salt on really hot days.

Bananas make good fuel IME, help with cramping too.

Water. Product not required...