Epic Mountain Bike Rides
Best sports/energy drink for mountain biking/cycling?
Hey. I’m a mid-level XC mountain biker (I ride my Specialized Epic on technical trails), and I’m thinking it’d be cool to drink something that will give me a bit of extra endurance and extend my limits, but also doesn’t taste gross like Accelerade.
Have you tried anything that works, minus the placebo effect?
Many thanks
Depending on your ride time, you may want to consider various products.
I am an adventure racer and have rides that range from 2 to 14 hours per race. For activity longer than 2 hours, you need protein to assist your muscles in recovery from the stress you are placing on them (technically, you are damaging the muscle fibers and need protein to rebuild them). With that said, I recommend Hammer Perpetuem mixed with Gatorade. The product comes with a mixing guide. I substitute my favorite gatorade flavor for water for more electrolytes and better taste. I’ve found it to be much better than Accelerade and more effective.
For 2-3 hours or less, there’s many products that serve as electrolyte replacement. Gatorade is a basic choice. I’ve had good results with Hammer HEED. The lemon lime flavor is probably best.
I know its hard to eat while you’re on technical trails, but I also really highly recommend GU gels. Good flavors, in my opinion, are tri berry, orange, and strawberry banana.
It’s hard to suggest stuff taste wise because most of this engineered nutrition tastes horrible. You just have to sample a small amount of stuff and then stock up on what you like.
Giro Epico-Cyclocross, Mountain Bike, Road- epic ride
