I am considering using gels instead of carb powder in my drink, because it can be consumed on demand independently of water, but they're so much more expensive. However I remember hearing you can makemyour own gel with maltodextrin and a bit of water, and leaving it to turn into gloop. I searched for reusable gel pouches and it came up with these which I realised are like the soft flasks I bought last year for running with. They are larger than a gel, but of course this isn't an issue, you can of course drink from the same one four times instead of taking four held.
I'm going to try it later, I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried and has any advice on flavorings or ratios?
I have done this as I don't like the waste of packaging. I use a load of maltodextrin water some squash (summer fruits)..a pinch of salt ses to make it less sweet, not as gloopy as a gel but I prefer to drink plain water then have carbs in the bottle...seems ok, not died yet!
That's exactly what I've just done. I took some with me but didn't eat it because I didn't feel the need, which was the point I guess 🙂
I've made a bottle of it and kept in the fridge so I can dispense when needed. Hopefully it won't ferment 🙂
I made isotonic drinks from diluted squash, 60g of brown sugar and a teaspoon of salt for each 800ml bottle. Tasted a lot better than expected. Supplemented with a banana, which seemed to work.
Not tried gels but watching with interest.
Too much sugar in a drink is very unpalatable, for me. That's why I use maltodextrin, it's not really sweet and doesn't particularly taste of anything.
Also - when you sweat, you lose more than just salt, so ideally you want an electrolyte mix which contains magnesium, potassium and calcium as well in the right proportions. They are very cheap if you buy from bulk.com - a bag of electrolyte powder lasts so long it costs virtually nothing per ride.
Hopefully it won’t ferment
If you accidentally create alcogels I’d buy a few 😀
I could create some on purpose? 🙂
There's a decent recipe in the GCN book, about 3 or 4 ingredients I think. Very effective on a long ride. Full strength is hard to drink from a bottle but a bit more dilute is ok.
I use my soft flasks with sugar and sometimes I soften the sweetness using squash and sometimes just drink it as is.
I literally fill a coffee mug with plain granulated sugar, just about cover it with water and then stir until it dissolves.
It will be pretty syrupy.
Then I just add a dollop of salt and sometimes, as I say. if there’s room, I top up with squash.
Just about to make a 500ml one up for Tour of Cambridgeshire 😃
It’s just like making yours own carb drinks but just more concentrate.
I did an ultra race in April and amongst other foody bits I took x2 500ml soft flasks with 375g of Maltodextrin / Fructose mix in each = 3,000 calories between them. Basically just two massive gels. I added some caffeine, a pinch of salt and concentrated lemon juice to them.
I took a 150ml soft flask with me on todays ride with 110g carb mix in it. I then dumped it all in my water bottle when I was refilling it.
I just tend to mix up some Maltodextrin / fructose to whatever concentration / amount that I think I’ll need. I tend to take two bottles, one with my carb mix and the other with just water.
One tip from me - it’s much easier to dissolve Maltodextrin in hot / warm water if your mix is highly concentrated. I use water straight from the kettle (and allow it to cool in the fridge before using it - obviously!)
I'm planning to try some organic maple syrup in a 150ml soft flask on my next long ride.
I also hate the waste that usually comes with gels and have been using this for awhile and it works well for me
https://activeroot.co.uk/collections/kickstart-2023/products/active-root-gel-mix-tub-refill
For those making a maltodextrin/fructose mix, what is the best ratio to aim for?
Technically, 5:4 malto to glucose, but this ends up being incredibly sweet.
Any reason not to use maltodextrin plus table sugar?
Maltodextrin is digested in a different pathway to fructose, so you use them both to maximise the amount of carbohydrate that can be transported into your blood. It seems to help slightly in races when you need as much as possible, but in normal riding it's not really worth it IMO.
Normal table sugar is sucrose which decomposes to glucose and fructose, but it can cause some stomach problems which is why people don't tend to just drink loads. If you want to try it, it's cheap online.
Not made my own gels, but have put many gels into a 150ml soft flask - decathlon do one with a locking valve, which you’ll want as leaky gel is messy.
It works cos you can sip a small amount rather than take the whole gel (sometimes it’s not convenient) but on the other hand you can’t judge how many gels you’ve consumed I.e. over-dosing
when you sweat, you lose more than just salt, so ideally you want an electrolyte mix which contains magnesium, potassium and calcium as well in the right proportions.
However you can't replace them immediately by drinking them as you exercise the body just doesn't absorb them into the muscles and cells that quickly, you basically need to supplement daily to make sure you have the reserves available to cover the losses through exercise and sweat.
Any reason not to use maltodextrin plus table
Hasn't killed me yet.
Malto is glucose. So if you add it to fructose at 1-0.8 you’re just replicating table sugar 🤣🤣
So much of this is marketing hype when you look at who funds the studies.
The important thing is having it in a soluble form so you aren’t having to waste blood digesting it (Vrs bars or real food).
Malto is glucose. So if you add it to fructose at 1-0.8 you’re just replicating table sugar
Theoretically, but I'm not sure I could drink a 750ml bottle with 80g of sugar in it.
I mix Maltodextrin & Fructose anywhere between 2:1 and 1:0.8. Or sometimes just use Maltodextrin or Sucrose on their own. Depends how much I want in total and how sweet I’m prepared for it to be.
Whilst cramming 200g sugar into one bottle is far too sweet I would generally follow it up with a swig from another bottle of just water.
I find adding some citrus flavours really masks the sweetness a lot if needed.
Also as far as electrolytes go, you just need the replace salt whilst exercising. The rest can wait until afterwards.
Well it worked pretty well yesterday on the whole, with a few very minor caveats.
- I didn't properly weigh out how much carbs I had per volume so whilst I could measure out the volume in my soft flask via the gradations on it, I don't know how much carbs I had.
- It's not that easy to stuff a floppy soft flask in your back pocket
- It's also not that easy to regulate how much you slurp from it.
On the plus side
- It achieved the aim of being able to fuel as required independently of drinking, which is what I wanted.
- Far cheaper than bought gels
- No sticky back pocket and fingers
- No waste
- Tasted alright - not as good as some gels but far better than some others I've had
I've got a normal bottle of it in the fridge ready to dispense and go next time for quickness. When this is done, I'll measure it out by volume next time. Although, it's roughly the consistency of bought gel so I can assume that the carb density is about the same.
5:4 (1:0.9) ratio of glucose to fructose. And some fruit flavour, bit of salt and gelatine to make your very own SIS beta fuel chews.
Right this is effectively an advert but in terms of delivery, it's exactly what you'd need to use for these.
My wife's products - NomNomKids - Reusable Pouch 250ml
I would say this, but they're great. They're very much not sport specific but they fill from the side so they're easy to fill and clean, are flat, robust and don't leak (so long as you do them up right)
Please delete if not allowed but they're almost certainly better than the the things linked to above.
G
I found it a problem to get hold of fruit flavouring that wasn't already sweetened. The sweeteners in squash on top of the fructose made it intolerable - at least in drink form. Might be able to get a gel's worth down though.
they’re almost certainly better than the the things linked to above
I don't wish to denigrate your wife's business but that's a fairly bold claim that requires some justification!
We've tried the silicone type pouches as part of market research and they're almost universally awful. I'm happy to send you a sample (of ours) if you want to try for yourself.
Here's a relevant review from Amazon (2nd review down on the listing)
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
For Cycling Food
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 12 May 2023
I saw on insta someone use these for Huel during a long run, stole that idea for cycling and it’s amazing.
They are very robust (kept in my pocket for multiple hours with no leak) and easy to clean.
Size wise a normal shake would fill 2 pouches.
Would defo recommend
What's awful about silicone pouches?
Anyway I own two 'soft flasks' so I'll be keeping those as I am happy with them - particularly the bite valve. Not worried about cleaning since the only thing that's going in them will be completely water soluble, plus I also happen to own a bottle brush that's the same size.
NP - we're all about saving waste so if you've got a solution that works for you then that's cool. Good luck with the gels.
