Recently, I’d be wondering what had happened to Endurox and it’s family. For a while there, it was all anybody used and became the 4:1 benchmark against which all other recovery drinks were suddenly fashioned after. And then, at least ’round these parts, they all but disappeared.
Well, they didn’t. They’ve been plugging along for the past 10 or so years since the heyday, and now they’ve got a new new flavors and a new gel that’s loaded to hilt with energy to blast you through the next big ride. And there’s an all-natural sports drink they didn’t even show at Interbike!
Above, Green Apple is the latest in their Accelerade line, which is a less concentrated version of Endurox R4 that’s intended for use during activity. It joins an already expansive menu including orange, lemon lime, mountain berry, lemonade and fruit punch. The formula has been updated to include both whey and soy protein, the latter adding higher amounts of glutamine, arginine and valine, amino acids that boost protein utilization for energy and overall recovery.
The original product was Endurox R4, a recovery drink that mixes four parts carbs to one part protein in order to speed up recovery. The latest flavor is Banana Creme, which is delicious and is almost a suitable replacement for the original Pepto Bismol flavor (yes, I liked it). Other flavors are tangy orange, lemon lime, fruit punch, vanilla and chocolate.
Not shown is Accelerade Hydro, a lighter sports drink that has half the carbs and protein of regular Accelerade for anyone wanting full flavor with half the calories. Or just water down the regular version to half strength and save some coin if you don’t mind the diminished electrolyte count.
The latest product is 2nd Surge, a gel that packs in 100mg of caffeine with a wide variety of superfood/fruit extracts, agave syrup and cane sugar plus whey and pea proteins. It comes in chocolate, espresso and piña colada flavors. Thirteen grams carbs, 3g protein per serving.
Newer to the market is Six Nutrition, a company that offers multivitamin blends for men and women along with these two hydration formulas. Both are sugar free, sweetened with Sucralose, and use vitamin and herbal blends to offer potential health benefits.
Energy provides a couple B vitamins and natural caffeine from green tea and guarana. Focus has ginseng, yerba mate, ginkgo biloba and the same caffeine blend as Energy. Click to enlarge for full ingredients list.
They’re also working on this recovery formula with the three branched chain amino acids (aka BCAAs), glutamine and Arginine alpha-keto-glutarate. It switches to Stevia and maybe a gram or two of sugar to sweeten it.
Honey Stinger now has organic kid’s sized waffles, but it’s what’s coming that’s most exciting.
Their waffles are getting a few organic and gluten-free options, which come in Cinnamon, Salted Caramel and Maple for $1.49 each. For recovery, they’ll have protein chews that use 5g of plant-based proteins rather than whey, fiber, plus vitamins C and B2, in Raspberry, Juneberry and Cherry-Lime flavors for $2.49 a pack. Both will drop in January 2016, along with a new Mango Orange flavor for their organic energy gels.
If waffles and gels aren’t your thing, how ’bout some chocolate? Compete Energy Bites are like little chewy truffles that also happen to be good(ish) for you.
Besides being delicious, they’re jacked with 135mg of caffeine per bite.
If you prefer to make your own snacks but have been struggling to find something good to wrap them in, Skratch Labs’ Skratch Paper is your answer. It’s designed to work particularly well with all the rice cake snacks in their Feed Zone cookbook, but the parchment-over-aluminum-foil paper should work equally well for your own concoctions. They’re designed so food isn’t sticking on the inside while keeping moisture (rain, sweat, or worse) from infiltrating from the outside. They’re 8.5″ x 8.5″ and come 40 sheets per box for $11.50. Yes, even they admit just using parchment paper or just using tin foil is cheaper, but if you like the combo, they’re on par with what you’ll find elsewhere…if you even know where to find such things. At least now maybe they’ll be in your local bike shop.
If your home made concoctions are of the liquid variety, there’s the Smart Shake shaker cup. It’ll work equally well with any of the drink mixes shown above, too, and the integrated strainer helps break up clumps from denser mixes like meal replacement shakes. Snacks or the powdered mix can be stored in the lower compartments until needed.
If all that sweet stuff is just too much, try Pickle Juice(TM). Not just any pickle juice, but Pickle Power Pickle Juice(TM).
It tastes just like pickle juice, which was surprisingly refreshing in a sea of sweet drinks and snacks. Available in bottles and shots, it packs a massive amount of sodium (though only about half what’s in Skratch Labs’ Hyper Hydration drink mix with 1,700mg sodium per serving. Seriously).
