Sports drink recommendations (Page 2)

x1000!!!

Email the RD and ask what they'll be serving on course and train with that.  Why haul specialty weight when you can live off the aid stations which are there to replenish you.  And of course, race day is NOT the day to be first trying something.

One remedy that has served me well is to water down gatorade to avoid the stomach upset.  On a 10-13 mile bike ride you are probably taking in about a water bottle.  I would try filling it 1/3 with gatorade and the rest with water if you are concerned with getting in some calories/carbs in and after your workouts.

You can also mix up you own sports drink according to what you like/tolerate best.  Web search "home brew sports drink" & get tons of advice & formulas (Kool-aid+salt+other electrolytes+sugars).  Mixing your own saves a little $, but biggest advantage is that you can alter the electrolyte (sodium, potassium, etc.) & sugar (sucrose, fructose, etc.) content as you need (since individual sweat rates and sweat content vary widely).  Some even add whey protein powder to their mix to whatever carb:protein ratio they tolerate & believe in.  Personally, I cannot tolerate large doses of fructose or protein during strenuous exercise so I pick my drinks/gels/bars accordingly.  I do use Accelerade (fruit punch) but as a recovery drink (cramps me up if I drink it during hard long rides).  Never warmed up to Hammer products except for their gel. 

For those interested in the science (not marketing hype)  of hydration/electrolytes and athletics, American College of Sports Medicine has some interesting articles.
www.acsm.org - search "hydration" and "electrolytes".

I use mostly water and almost nothing else for anything under 2 hrs. Maybe 1 gel or a cookie.

For 5-6 hour bike rides though, nutrition is KEY. Maltodextrin is the way to go. Hammer products are based on it, but it's 10x cheaper to just buy it in bulk and use it directly. I only need it for long workouts though, such as bricks or bikes that take over 3 hours.  

X2. I have trained all year on Gatorade Endurance since it's on the Mdot courses and my race schedule consisted of two IM 70.3s and 1 IM. I also want to second what a previous poster said about wanting that sugar. If you're doing long workouts you have to have a carb source so G2 is not a good option. G2 is great for pre-race hydration, or the day before/after, but not during. I get 100% of my nutrition from drinking GE and supplementing with a gel every hour.