CrimsonEclipse

I've been using Concentrace drops for my hot day rides and it seems to work ok.

Is there a better solution for better portability or quality or is this it?

Iride01 

Depends on what is easy for you. Plain table salt will work too. Or Morton's Lite salt if you want more than just sodium.

I use Hammer Nutritions Endurolyte powder since I put mix in my bottles before I leave the house and sometime carry a couple containers with premeasured mix for times I have to fill up along the way. Others here like their Endurolyte capsules which also come in a pack of 4 and fit nicely in your pocket or bag. And they also have fizz drops you can add to your water or mix.

https://hammernutrition.com/collections/electrolytes

pdlamb

A good dollop of salt, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 tsp, in a bottle of lemonade works as well as anything else (and better than some "solutions").

I'm going retro on after-ride recovery drinks -- a salt pill between the first and second glasses of ice water.

BJack312

I use the SIS or Nuun tabs. Easy to keep a tube of them in my bag for when I refill during a ride.

boozergut

Skratch Labs lemon lime, or Drip Drop.....

teacherman62

This dovetails well with another hobby of mine, making BBQ ribs and brisket. I've always had a very high salt intake, and perhaps not-so coincidentally, consider myself remarkably heat tolerant during outdoor activity, be it cycling or home improvement work, my two primary outdoor movement modes. A quick search of that all-knowing omniscience known as internet tells me that salt IS a big part of heat and exercise performance. One article says some people lose up to two full grams of sodium per liter of sweat. That's 5 grams of salt, most of a teaspoon. Apparently the potassium loss by weight is about one tenth that of sodium. One article claims to have a way to measure one's own sodium loss via sweat, as it purportedly varies greatly by individual. Not being a fan of link promotion, the title is
"Everything You Need to Know about Sweat," by Andy Blow. A training and fitness site, it seems.

On a century ride circa 2002, they had Twinkies at a rest stop about sixty miles in. Skeptical of junk food, I tried one nonetheless. I was rewarded with fifteen minutes of youthful go-get-um, which evaporated immediately after. I think the grease made my joints feel better. So I still use them twenty years later, for what it's worth. I think the garbage assimilates as rapidly as anything elsee, but it's certainly no substitute for thoughtful whole foods based nutrition

canklecat

We all have our favorites. DripDrop works best for me. It uses the World Health Organization standard for oral rehydration solutions, which includes a bit of plain sugar to enhance rapid absorption of water in the stomach and gut.

I tried NUUN and others in tablet form but they always get gooey or hard after a few weeks in the saddle bag, even in the sealed tube, and resist easy dilution in water. DripDrop comes in single serve Mylar packets that resist moisture for a year or longer even in a saddle bag that's often exposed to outdoor conditions. And it's easier to tuck little Mylar packets into hidey holes in my minimalist saddle bags, jersey pocket, even in my socks. Now I use the recycled NUUN tubes to carry ibuprofen, antihistamines, etc., for my own use or to share with friends on group rides if they suffer pain, allergic reactions, etc. The tubes are also handy for toting a few bandaids, clot pads, etc.

Like NUUN and every other major brand magic potion, DripDrop is pricey, although Walgreens and other stores occasionally discount it at the beginning of the month. So I usually save it for emergencies or extreme conditions. I tuck one or two of the little Mylar single serve packets in my saddle bag, jersey pocket, wherever. On two occasions I've given DripDrop to strangers who suffered heat exhaustion and they recovered within 15 minutes. Both said it worked better than whatever else they'd been using.

One mistake some folks still make is taking plain salt tablets, especially in addition to magic potion electrolyte mixes or pre-mixed beverages. While it seems counterintuitive and unPC now, research indicates an emergency Oral Rehydration Solution must contain some sugar to enhance rapid absorption.

Makes sense in retrospect. When I was a Navy Corpsman attached to the Marines in the 1970s we were told all kinds of fudlore that was later proven to be incorrect, including taking plain salt tablets (often unnecessary if we get enough salt in our diets), drinking too much water and risking hyponatremia (which is why adding electrolytes is a good practice when drinking a lot of water), and, by far the worst advice, not drinking at all but instead dabbing water on our foreheads or wrists, like delicate fainting damsels in a Jane Austen novel. Believe it or not, that was common advice from my boxing trainers when I was a teenager, and from a grouchy old senior chief corpsman back in 1976. We ignored him and sneaked extra bottles of water so we could carry a full canteen to prove we weren't drinking. The guy was an idiot but we didn't want to get into a p!ssing or drinking contest with the guy writing our performance evals.

Then, as now, when I've seen active folks vomit plain water after appearing to be drinking enough, it's because they're drinking plain water exclusively, or consumed way too much plain salt without potassium, sugar, dextrose, glucose, whatever, to aid with efficient digestion.

So while I often cheap out and use Propel powder (cheaper than DripDrop, NUUN, etc), I'll add a bit of sugar to the bottle. Same with any sugarfree, artificially sweetened electrolyte mix or flavored drink mix. I don't have any blood sugar problems or contraindications, so there's no harm in adding a bit of sugar. I'll burn it up during a ride, run, jog or walk anyway.

The only other magic potion I've tried which really seems to work is Kore Pre-Workout powder mix. It's a blend of caffeine, niacin, amino acids, taurine and several of the usual wooty zoot supplements. But after trying it for several weeks I'm over my skepticism. It really seems to add a little jolt and juice to my workouts. It's not just the extra caffeine -- I drink coffee and often add caffeine from matcha powder or other sources to my workout drink mixes. It's not just the niacin, which can cause some tingling in the skin that makes it feel like it's "doing something" even if it's mostly placebo. But something in the Kore magic potion works well for me. The only downside is if I drink it too late in the day the extra caffeine keeps me awake. That's unusual because I can often sleep after drinking coffee.

Carbonfiberboy 

I couple of friends of mine, when touring, would eat nothing on the bike except Twinkies. They have a predictable effect and are available everywhere, two key things for long distance fueling. I'm rather the same when touring, but use Snickers, available in many countries, big advantage. I eat healthy meals when touring but use fuel on the bike. The concept of fuel rather than food has helped a few riders I know who had eating disorders.

teacherman62

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. Fuel is exactly what it is, and it feels like the nitrous when added to a race car, which in my case is a wheezing old jalopy...

I am glad to have gotten on this thread, because I had never heard of some of the products I've seen listed here. I will go out and try some of them. I think the Liquid IV is OK for carpentry and yard work, but I wonder how replenishing it is on a four hour level 5 rolling sauna.

Carbonfiberboy 

Many years ago, when I was failing to figure this out. I happened upon Hammer Nutrition and read everything on their website, then purchased some products. My opinion is that everything they're saying there is correct. I've tried their methods and have had better experiences on long rides than most folks as a result. I don't like to be a shill, but there it is.

I bought tubs of fuel product and tried them out. It's fabulously expensive for what it is, but is worth it for experimentation. Every product has an ingredients list, so after reading and experimenting, I put together my own fuels, using their recommendations for timing and quantity and decades later, that's still what I use. My major change is that I use flavored whey protein instead of soy, as soy gives me horrible gas. I never used any of their pills or nostrums, only fuels and Endurolytes capsules. The capsules work very well for me. I carry them in a Hammer coin purse shoved up my shorts leg.
https://hammernutrition.com/collections/fuels
https://hammernutrition.com/blogs/essential-knowledge

jpescatore

On some club sponsored century rides, they offered Hydrant powder in little sealed pouches. On short rides, I'm good on just water but on longer, hotter rides I usually start refilling my water bottles with whatever sports drink is offered or sold at a convenience store on route. But those two long rides with Hydrant I seemed to feel a bit stronger than usual on the last 20 mile grind, so I bought a bag - many flavors offered, some sugar free.

Hydrant URL here.