Nuun alternatives?
 

I like Nuun tablets for hydration, but I'm not crazy about the carbonation. Is there anything similarly carb-lite out there that isn't fizzy like Alka-Seltzer?

Skratch labs stuff is good, IMHO. What Nuun tabs are you using that are so fizzy? I realize they the tabs are effervescent, but it strikes me that after 30 minutes, the hydration mix is "still" again...though I leave the valves on my bottles popped open, so maybe the carbonation just escapes. Regardless, check out Skratch, I like it as much as the Nuun.

DripDrop ORS. Best I've tried. And I've tried many since the early 1970s when I was an amateur boxer, working out in midday summer heat as a teenager getting heat acclimated for the first autumn smokers, which were either outdoors in the heat or indoors non-air conditioned gyms.

DripDrop has just the right balance of electrolytes and sugar to aid rapid absorption of water, so you don't feel bloated. The flavor is very mild. No carbonation or fizzies. No bitter aftertaste. I usually get the lemon and watermelon flavors. The berry is okay, just kinda generic. The watermelon flavor amuses me. Neither the lemon or watermelon really taste juicy, not like Kool Aid, or even as strong as Gatorade or similar mixes. It's a very mild flavor, strictly utilitarian and inoffensive. It's designed as a rescue hydration aid, so they make it palatable for sick kids too.

And it works quickly. I rode four afternoons last week as the temperature was in the 90s, with heat index up to 111F. We don't usually get a gradual transition from cool to hot days, so June is always a challenge to heat adaptation. On Thursday afternoon's ride a buddy started out strong but suddenly faded and dropped hundreds of yards behind. We'd slow, he'd catch up, but we did the accordion thing several times. I stopped to check on him when we reached a spot where deep dried silt made the pavement hard to ride anyway. He was on the verge of heat exhaustion. He had plenty of water but no electrolytes. I mixed a packet of DripDrop in a bottle. He was better within 15 minutes and we finished the ride together.

It's had the same rejuvenating effect on me the past couple of Junes. That's usually my bonk month, when I'll have at least one heat related fade mid-ride, either abdominal cramps or suddenly worn out. I've used all kinds of electrolyte mixes and store-bought stuff, but nothing works better.

NUUN is good but gets sticky in humidity or a sweaty pocket. It's inconvenient to squeeze the whole tube into a small saddle bag. And it's inconvenient to split them up into one or two tablets in separate baggies.

DripDrop comes in single serving Mylar packets -- weatherproof, sweatproof, and they fit anywhere. Even when my small saddlebag seems full, I can still squeeze in a couple of small Mylar packets of DripDrop (or Propel, an adequate alternative but not as good).

It's pricey, at $10 for a box of 8 single serving packets to mix with 8 oz water (I usually mix it with up to 12-16 oz and it works fine). Every few weeks Walgreens discounts it to $8/box of 8, so I stock up. I mostly carry it for emergencies, not for pre-hydration. And it's come in handy several times, for myself and for friends.

For pre-mixes, I mostly use Propel in Mylar packets. It's pretty good for $3/box of 10 packets. But Propel lacks sugar, which is necessary for effective absorption of water, so I add a little sugar or add another drink mix that has sucrose, glucose, dextrose, etc. Propel has a slight bitter aftertaste, but I'm not too picky about that stuff.

Or you can premix your own from various individual components. But carrying it is the tricky bit. That's why single serving Mylar packets are ideal for emergencies and tucking into any available nook and cranny. I've even carried 'em in my socks when I didn't have a saddle bag on a particular bike. (That's also where I tuck my trash from gel packs and snacks -- into a sock or the waistband of my bibs or shorts.)

BTW, a tip I picked up from Dr. Isotope, another bike forums member: freeze the pre-mixed electrolytes. It'll stay chilled longer. On really hot days I'll half-fill my Polar insulated bottle with either DripDrop or Propel, freeze it, then top off with plain water. It'll stay chilled for a couple of hours unless the temp is over 100F.

And I carry a metal double insulated thermos that fits my water bottle cages perfectly. Again, half fill with electrolytes, freeze, and top off with plain water. That frozen electrolyte solution will stay icy for up to 12 hours, even in summer heat. I'll just keep topping up with plain water, which quickly chills.

And for really long, hard rural rides I'll add a Mylar pouch that holds about 12 oz. Again, fill with electrolyte mix, freeze the entire thing, and tuck it into my middle jersey pocket. By the time it thaws enough to drink, I've gone through my Polar bottle. Keeps my back cool too, and weighs practically nothing when empty. Those three containers will usually get me 2/3 of the way through a 50 mile workout route, by which time I've reached civilization again and a convenience store for refills.

BTW, Google around for recipes for homebrewed Haymaker's Punch, posca and other traditional thirst quenchers. They're pretty good too. Same basic concept: salt, a little sugar or honey, often some yeast or fermentation to add B vitamins, etc. Nice change of pace if you're tired of the artificial flavored stuff. I like a fermented tea with a bit of yeast, sodium and potassium from Morton's Lite Salt, honey and sugar, lemon or cider vinegar, etc. Yerba Mate iced tea is good too -- it has a little more caffeine than regular tea, not quite as much as coffee, and tastes a bit like chamomile.

First two bottles on a century are water. Crazy, I know.

Then, 50/50 water/Gatorade dilution.

I like Skratch Labs too, although I run a bit lighter dosage that the recipe. On long rides, I sometimes carry a few Nuun tablets given their convenience.

With my Nuun tablets, I rotate between two 59oz "Simply Lemonade" fruit juice bottles that I keep in the door of my fridge. When I empty one bottle, I add water and two tablets, then move it into the second slot in the rotation for about a week while I finish off the other bottle. By the time I finish that bottle, the one I refilled a week ago is "flat" and not fizzy. When I refill a bottle, I keep the bottle cap on loose to let the fizz escape. What I like about this two-bottle system is that I always have a full bottle available and don't have to deal with waiting for the tables to dissolve just before a ride.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...737d0ec0c6.jpg

I have 6 bottles in rotation. 3 frozen solid + 3 half filled(and frozen).

I top-off the half filled bottle when I head out, and have cold liquid to drink for 3 hour rides in 100+ degree heat.

I keep several bottles in rotation too.

I am a nuun user as well. I do the same thing, mix and put in the fridge. After about 48 hours the "fizz" is gone. I reached out to nuun to see if the drink values diminish over time like the fizz. they said if you drink a mixed solution within a week you will still get the benefits. they said the flavor will reduce also but I don't notice that but the fizz is usually gone by the time I drink it.

I don't notice any fizz when drinking, but I mix the tabs with a small amount of boiling water, and then add ice/water(and grapefruit juice) to dilute to desired strength. Freezing the mix probably helps too.

On the bike I do one bottle Nuun, one bottle water. Nuun on the down tube, be so I know which is which.

Off/after the bike, I use a few vacuum insulated water bottles. I put ice and Nuun in, add cold water. Don't keep them in the fridge and the insulation works too well for that, so I have a pitcher of cold water in the fridge to make Brawndo with.

It seems like after 10 or 20 minutes, the fizz is gone. I've come to like some of the flavors. I got some cheap electrolyte powder that was on sale at the grocery store, it was awful.

Brawndo's got electrolytes. It's what plants crave.

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I think I might have to try the rotation system with the Nuun tablets if it really works to let the fizz flatten down.

I use Nuun tablets with room temp. water and don't drink any until about 45 minutes into the ride. I start with a 12oz. glass of water before I leave for my ride. I am a caffeine junkie so I get the kind with caffeine and I don't notice any fizz at all. I do notice that the fatigue level is much better with Nuun as opposed to just plain water . I only ride about 35-40 miles a week so not too hard core . Sometimes I ride a bit more , but usually just keep it as a light ride . I do ride hills a lot so that gets me thirsty and I always finish the bottle of water/Nuun mix. Joe

I just call them Brawndo in everyday life, and expect my friends to know what I'm talking about. Every now and then somebody brings a friend and they think it's hilarious.

I could really go for a Starbucks right now.

I started using Hammer's endurolytes. They make it in powder, capsules or tablets. Only the tablets are carbonated.

But Bwando has what plants need.

Whoa buddy this isn't that kind of website!

Saw this comparison chart, NOT ENDORSING ANY ONE ITEM IN PARTICULAR, just thought it is informative.

https://www.cranksports.com/efuel/comparisons/

If you're interested in rehydration and not sugar, I recommend Liquid IV. I find it's very effective in preventing the headache/zombie-fied dehydrated feeling after a big/hot ride.. I drink about 16 oz of it along with a bottle or two of water to rehydrate. You can buy Liquid IV in bulk at Costco.

This may be a silly question...but how come so many here dont prefer to have calories in their bottle? Are you not taking in anything at all when you ride, or prefer solid food on the bike for some reason?

After trial and error...and thendoing Barry Roubaix and realizing it was a bit impractical to eat and keep up with the group I was in, i went with calories in the bottle. I prefer it, AND its more convenient/safe on the bike.

Potassium absorption in muscle is under in control by insulin and carbs stimulate insulin release. Without some sugar you'll pee out all those precious cations!

I put Nuun/Hammer Fizz tablets in little bags like these

https://www.amazon.com/ShipGuard-Cou...66DVGJNHYWRNRM

I usually do not do calories for rides under two hours, which, unfortunately, is most rides.

I've recently become a convert to calories in the bottle for longer rides, though. It's just as easy to carry a baggie full of powder as it is to carry GU, candy, or whatever, and it certainly is quite convenient on the bike.

I do one bottle with just Nuun. That's for the early part of a ride, and may refill by adding another tab or half-tab of Nuun as necessary. The 2nd bottle gets 1/2 strength Gatorade, 1.5 scoops of Maltodextrin powder, and 1/2 tab of Nuun.

I don't need calories until about 4 hours. And I'll enjoy real food later, a lot more than I'd enjoy anything you can eat while riding fast.