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Which is the best cycling drink? Help decide the road.cc People's Choiceroadcc peoples choice

Which is the best cycling drink? Help decide the road.cc People's Choice

Tell us your favourite on-the-bike liquid refreshment or fuel
by John Stevenson
Tue, May 10, 2016 10:36
33

What do you drink on the road? Tell us in this week's People's Choice poll.

It's essential to drink while you're riding any significant distance, but what's your preferred tipple? Energy drinks? Plain water? Electrolyte replacements? Or do you just stop often at cafes and pubs to take on essential fluids?

Here's your chance to tell us exactly which drinks you prefer.

Cycling refreshments (CC BY 2.0 Sizbut|Flickr).jpg

A weekend's cycling drinks (CC BY 2.0 Sizbut|Flickr)

 

Here's how it works:

  • Post a comment to nominate a product. Check it hasn't already been nominated. Add a link to the product wherever you can.
  • Like a comment to vote for that product. 
  • One comment per product. Any multiple comments will be deleted and their likes will not count towards a product's score. The first nomination will be the one that is counted.
  • One product per comment. Otherwise the voting doesn't make any sense.
  • Maximum 30 nominations per award. Once we hit 30 nominations we will close the nomination process.
  • All votes will be counted up until the closing date. Votes after this may appear but will not be counted.
  • We reserve the right to remove any comment at our sole discretion.
  • Closing date is 10am, Tuesday, May 17.

Over to you!

people's choice
John Stevenson

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

Add new comment

33 comments

Avatar
stenmeister | 7 years ago
0 likes

Etixx Isotonic (orange)

https://etixxsports.com/en/products/isotonic

I've found it harder to get and more expensive than SIS but it's a very smooth, easy going drink and doesn't taint the bidon as much once it's finished and washed out.

Avatar
Blacktop | 7 years ago
0 likes

Pineapple 30%

coconut water 20%

water and a pinch of salt

 

or just water and lick the salt off your upper arms. 

Avatar
matthewn5 | 7 years ago
0 likes

Water! There's no need for additives. No medical evidence to support them.

Avatar
TheHungryGhost | 7 years ago
0 likes

Coffee, hot and sweet. I have a thermal travel mug that fits nicely into a cage

Avatar
vwrp | 7 years ago
0 likes

Water plus Maltodextrin(12), works best for me.

Avatar
bogbrush | 7 years ago
1 like

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Carton-Bicycle-Accessory-Carrier-Smoot...

 

Whole Milk or better still, cream. No excuse to back off the gains even if you're cycling 

Avatar
arfa | 7 years ago
0 likes

Carbo load with ale the night before, rise at dawn, water only on the ride, finish and carbon replenish with ale. Sorted.

Avatar
ianstevens | 7 years ago
5 likes

Beer. The larger bottles fit well in the bottle cage, and if you have no respect for dentistry they're easily opened on the fly. Shame they have to be downed though.

Avatar
bogbrush replied to ianstevens | 7 years ago
3 likes

ianstevens wrote:

Beer. The larger bottles fit well in the bottle cage, and if you have no respect for dentistry they're easily opened on the fly. Shame they have to be downed though.

 

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, Spanish beer on an American bike? Really? If you don't want to be openly laughed at you really need to at least attempt to match the beer to the bike. American brewing has improved enough for quality to no longer be an excuse

Avatar
ianstevens replied to bogbrush | 7 years ago
0 likes

bhv wrote:

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, Spanish beer on an American bike? Really? If you don't want to be openly laughed at you really need to at least attempt to match the beer to the bike. American brewing has improved enough for quality to no longer be an excuse

 

American beer remains generally disgusting though IMO, at least the kind you get in the supermarket anyway. More importantly, the bottles don't have enough girth to stay in the cages and tend to fall out over the bumps. 

 

If anything, I though I'd fet flayed for the bizzare upside down image (no idea why that's occured).

Avatar
bogbrush replied to ianstevens | 7 years ago
0 likes

ianstevens wrote:

bhv wrote:

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, Spanish beer on an American bike? Really? If you don't want to be openly laughed at you really need to at least attempt to match the beer to the bike. American brewing has improved enough for quality to no longer be an excuse

 

American beer remains generally disgusting though IMO, at least the kind you get in the supermarket anyway. More importantly, the bottles don't have enough girth to stay in the cages and tend to fall out over the bumps. 

 

If anything, I though I'd fet flayed for the bizzare upside down image (no idea why that's occured).

 

I thought that was weird, but it shows up the correct way up if you open the image in a new tab so I assumed it was website gremlins, not you

Avatar
stealfwayne | 7 years ago
0 likes

OTE Orange or Blackcurrent energy powders in plain water for any ride of 90mins or more and OTE Choco (Soy) milk for when i get home . I have tried others but these are the only ones that do not cause me any stomach issues. (thanks Guys).   I also appreciate the little card thanking me for the purchase.. feels like some honest gratitude for my custom.

 

http://www.otesports.co.uk/product/orange-energy-drink-bulk-pack/

 

 

Avatar
cdamian | 7 years ago
0 likes

High5 Energy Source Mojito Flavour (wiggle exclusive)

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/high5-energy-source-22kg-wiggle-exclusive/

Comes in a big tub, last for a while, great flavour for the Summer.

They also do an energy gel with the same flavour.

Just water for shorter rides.

Avatar
Chris James | 7 years ago
2 likes

Tea at the caff

Avatar
Dr Livingstone | 7 years ago
0 likes

Hig 5 Zero extreme.  great for hydration ith caffeine for performance

Avatar
medic_ollie | 7 years ago
0 likes

Robinson's Summer Fruits Squash 

Avatar
seven | 7 years ago
1 like

Ugh. Water and lemon/lime.

Food for energy/electrolytes.

Some of these "refreshment" suggestions are making me choke and I'm not even on the bike, much less at the top of a two hour climb.

Avatar
Sub5orange | 7 years ago
0 likes

www.precisionhydration.com 

different strength of sodium choice and they taste  better than other tablets i tried, seem to cramp less when i use them 

Avatar
Butty | 7 years ago
0 likes

2/3rds orange juice, 1/3 rd flat cola AKA sludge

Avatar
Edgeley | 7 years ago
7 likes

Water.  Till the pub stop.  Then beer.

 

Obviously if it is a cold day, straight onto the gin.

Avatar
Broady. | 7 years ago
1 like

Nuun.

Avatar
chrisl | 7 years ago
2 likes

Water, obvs.

 

But for when I use a hydration drink definitely Skratch Labs - sooo tasty and no artificial rubbish (sucralose gives me headaches and is in almost every hydration-only drink).

Avatar
ragtag | 7 years ago
1 like

If you have ridden in Asia you will have seen Pocari Sweat - tastes a lot better than it sounds. Superb stuff, especially when the temp goes over 30c

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocari_Sweat

Avatar
F41TH | 7 years ago
0 likes

Jimmy's Iced Coffee - Mocha

After riding 16k to the meet point for a club ride, this is my personal cheeky coffee break

Open the wings of the pack so it sits flatter in a jersey pocket and completely flat when empty until you find a bin

http://jimmysicedcoffee.com/meet-the-family-new-packs/index.html

Avatar
80sMatchbox | 7 years ago
2 likes

For very long rides, I use Torq Energy drinks. A couple of scoops in a couple of of bottles, job done. Not too sweet, and just a hint of flavour.

Avatar
Jem PT replied to 80sMatchbox | 7 years ago
0 likes

80sMatchbox wrote:

For very long rides, I use Torq Energy drinks.

Agree. I like the pink grapefruit flavour. My son prefers the vanilla flavour (does that count as 2 votes??).

Avatar
Rapha Nadal | 7 years ago
1 like

Kasteel Barista Quad.

Avatar
nniff | 7 years ago
0 likes

Vimto in the winter http://www.vimto.co.uk/squash.aspx#vimtoOriginal

Hot, in a thermos if it's really baltic

SIS blackberry electrolyte in the summer  http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/science-in-sport-go-electrolyte-sport...

Avatar
ragtag | 7 years ago
2 likes

Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration mix 

https://www.skratchlabs.com/products/exercise-hydration-mix

Avatar
iUpham | 7 years ago
15 likes

Tap water.

I may some times take an extra electrolyte drink for really long rides, but I always have a bottle of water as a minimum.

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