Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy

Good questions.

I measured my ingredients by weight to get my volume measure, 4 Cal./g, same as whey protein, which is convenient. 2c of powder came out to ~750 Cal, so 250/hour for a 3 hour bottle. My stomach can't process more than that per hour, though I frequently don't need that much. On long rides, I go by hunger to a large extent after the first 3 hours.

I don't know about that linked source. Weigh your own. It's impossible for a carb to be over 4 Cal/g. Your source would have malto weighing 7.3 oz./cup, which is obviously wrong. So my guess is that those folks do not have any secrets to reveal about fat.

50g/bottle is a standard measure for all day riding - if your domestique keeps bringing you bottles, and it's a warm summer day and you can drink a bottle/hour without having to pee every hour. Winter riding in the PNW, I might only drink 2/3 of the food bottle and half a bottle of water in 60 miles. That's why I separate food, water, and electrolytes. I have to be able to vary those necessities separately as conditions warrant.

Yes, that is a ton of powder. I put maybe 6 oz. water in the bottom of the bottle, add the powder, fill the rest with water, shake like a maniac, add more water, repeat, refrigerate overnight. It's a thick liquid but not at all off-putting. Goes down fine, tastes a bit like rice water with a bit of chocolate added. I use that amount so that one bottle will last me at least 3 hours. That and a coffee and pastry stop will usually take care of my average day ride. As I said, I also bring along a Hammer flask or maybe a tube of Shot Bloks, though I seldom need that extra boost. If I see my HR drop off for effort, I take an extra hit of carb.

On long rides where I bring extra powder I refill the bottle at my water stops, giving the bottle some extra shaking to break up the lumps. Often I'll only need to top off the food bottle. I almost never empty it. This is a bit frustrating as one loses time mixing the bottle, but I think I get it back by having even energy all ride long, and everyone has to eat something somewhere. Thus I don't have to eat at a control or rest stop as long as the powder lasts, taking all my calories in on the bike. Combine that with a 2 liter Camelbak and one can cover a lot of distance in an all-day ride. On long mountain brevets, I can't bring enough powder and besides it gets boring, so I'll eat something at every control and maybe add bars, spacing out the food bottles so I have some food to drink between controls for the whole ride.

To really gross out the foodies among us . . For breakfast before a long ride, I'll put 100g of my powder in a quart bottle, shake it up, refrigerate overnight, and drink it for breakfast 2-3 hours before the ride start. It's a perfect breakfast and really quick to prepare! I'll only do that once a week - it's totally not a perfect breakfast for every day.