Cyclists Are Wasting Money on Sports Nutrition

Comments · 59

• SE

  @semiprocycling · 2 months ago · pinned

  References:<br><br>Plews DJ, Booth PD, Krieger T, Maunder E. &quot;Fuelled or Fooled? Examining the Evidence and Mechanisms Behind Ultra-High Carbohydrate Intake in Endurance Athletes.&quot; Sports Medicine, 2026.<br><br>Norte BR, Slinn MM, Johnson KO, Mahon E, Shepherd SO, Strauss JA, Louis JB. &quot;Graded Carbohydrate Ingestion up to 120 g/h Attenuates the Reduction in Critical Power Following 3 h of Moderate-Intensity Exercise in a Dose-Dependent Manner.&quot; Scandinavian Journal of Medicine &amp; Science in Sports, 2026.

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• JO

  @johns3106 · 1 month ago

  Eat something. &nbsp;Drink something. &nbsp; Unless you are an elite pro, it just isn’t that complicated.

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• BR

  @Brunnen_Gee · 2 months ago

  Marketing 101 right there. Figure out how to sell something they don&apos;t need to buy and convince them they need it.

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• MA

  @markvincentmadeo · 2 months ago

  Thanks for this, it confirms what I&apos;ve been trying for the last year. Personally, I&apos;m doing 140 grams sugar to 1/2 teaspoon of salt for the 3+ hour hard rides as a fueling bottle. I&apos;m no longer craving huge, sugary meals post ride, and my recovery is much better. Plus I&apos;m creating less garbage and saving some cash.

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• CH

  @christoph1556 · 1 month ago

  You forgot to post the link to the calculator. It is not in the description of the video and in any of the comments. It is also not available on your website.

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• CH

  @christinepeters3855 · 2 months ago

  Walked through feed zone at 1992 Montreal UCI World Cup road race. Each pro team had a table with a jug of water and a large box of sugar packets.

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• AN

  @andrewc662 · 2 months ago (edited)

  890g white sugar + 110g maltodextrin + 20g salt + 375g water = cheapskate 0.8:1 gel. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly then add water in a pot and heat just until it starts to boil. Pour into glass bottle when cool. Easy to dose as 1ml = 1g of carb. I prefer gel/syrup as you can swallow it before it gets into your teeth and then wash it down with water. But you can use the dry mix for a drink.

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• VL

  @vlacroiix · 2 months ago

  SEmipro tips : Sodium Citrate isn&apos;t too expensive and will help if you don&apos;t want your drink to taste salty

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• LA

  @larryt.atcycleitalia5786 · 2 months ago

  &quot;Cyclists Are Wasting Money on Sports Nutrition&quot; and have been doing so since 1986 when the Powerbar was introduced. Before those it was a banana or package of Lil&apos; Debbie Cakes or Fig Newtons. No bike shops sold those but they jumped on the Powerbar bandwagon when they saw the healthy profit margins on something their customers would buy again and again and again. It&apos;s amazing to think how much $ this &quot;industry&quot; pulls in every year, especially when it&apos;s all more-or-less the same stuff..the variations are the claims made as to what they do.<br>I ride on water, making cleaning my bottles easy. Post-ride I&apos;ll drink a 1/2 liter of half-strength isotonic drink mix, just for the heck of it. I buy whatever mix is on sale when I need some. What the boyz do in the TdF is meaningless to me.

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• PR

  @pragmatica1032 · 2 months ago

  Being from Quebec, I use maple syrup with a pinch of salt diluted in one of my bottles. I typically start my rides fasted and stay in Zone 2 for the first part. Once I’ve completed my first Z3 interval, I start sipping the bottle. About 40 g of carbs is plenty for my needs on a 2-hour ride. Maple syrup is mostly sucrose, which is broken down into roughly a 50/50 mix of glucose and fructose during digestion

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• PA

  @paulkossa172 · 2 months ago

  I just use sugar and salt. &nbsp;(Used to use maltodextrin, but I&apos;ve heard that it eats away at your stomach lining, especially if you&apos;re over 50.)

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• TO

  @tombeynon8845 · 1 month ago

  Switched to Nduranz about a year ago - not as cheap as sugar but about the best value brand out there.

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