Introducing FastAF Hydration mix: Premium, affordable sports nutrition

Written by Tyler Benedict Nov 30, 2018 2:23 p.m. ET

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I’d like to introduce all of you to FastAF, a new premium yet affordable sports nutrition brand. This is a new venture from me (Tyler, Bikerumor.com founder) and my good friend Evan. It’s a project we’ve been working on for two years, and our first product is a hydration drink mix made with real fruit powders and organic flavors. We are super excited to finally have it ready to ship, and even more excited to share our story with you.

As avid athletes that are into cycling (obviously) of all types, as well as trail running, OCR, lifting, parkour, ninja warrior, and just generally leading healthy active lifestyles, we definitely use high quality supplements. And a lot of them. Which adds up very quickly, even if we stuck to the basics like in-ride hydration and food plus a recovery drink or bar. So we decided to do something about it.

What is FastAF?

FastAF is a new sports nutrition brand that offers premium products and formulas at reasonable prices. We made this for endurance athletes. For the athletes that pay attention to what goes into their bodies. And for athletes who’d rather spend their time and money training and racing than chasing the latest supplement fads.

We believe in good, clean, effective sports nutrition. And we believe in fair pricing and honest explanations. And we like to go fast. Fast AF!

We wanted a product that met our expectations for simple, effective, pure ingredients. And we wanted a product that wasn’t exorbitantly overpriced. I’ve long been passionate about nutrition. Evan and I both eat clean and pay attention to what’s in our food and our supplements. Before Bikerumor, I launched and ran two different sports/energy beverage brands, and I’ve kept a close eye on the industry all these years. I combined all of that experience and, together with Evan’s administrative expertise, we’re proud to introduce FastAF.

What’s in it & where can I get it?

Our first product is this amazing Hydration drink mix, offering a light, crisp flavor that’s refreshing on hot or cold days, won’t get overly sweet, and has the osmolality to promote rapid absorption. It’s based on the latest sports hydration science, uses top quality ingredients, and is safe for use in any sport and for any age athlete.

The formula is a blend of five electrolytes, sucrose, glucose, and a few vitamins to act as natural preservatives. The three delicious flavors come from real fruit powder and organic flavors. It’s all batched in a state of the art facility, then packaged into resealable bags that take up less space than traditional canisters, and are lighter to ship.

And here’s the best part: A 25 serving pouch is just $15.95, and each serving is a full 16oz. Compare that to most products retailing for $20-$22 for twenty 8oz servings and the advantage is clear.

I’d like to invite you to try FastAF and get 10% off your first order with code IAMFASTAF (expires Dec. 12, 2018, product can only be shipped inside the USA). Our first batch is very small, and it will sell out, it’s ready to ship now. For now, we’re only available consumer direct through our website, but we’ve got plans. And Hydration is just the beginning. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

FastAFnutrition.com

Tyler Benedict

11,206 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter.

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27 Comments

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Glen Brimmer

5 years ago

Just picked up the variety pack. I was just about to pick up some more from the usual brand that I get, that also makes theirs from scratch. Eager to compare your product to theirs.

Tyler

5 years ago

Reply to Glen Brimmer

Glen, thanks for giving us a shot! Can’t wait to hear what you think!

Glen Brimmer

5 years ago

Reply to Tyler

I think you guys are onto something here. I’ve been using all 3 flavors for a few weeks now and they are definitely good. My favorite seems to be the acia blueberry followed closely by the lemon lime. The orange cranberry is a bit different, but also good. I look forward to what you guys come out with in the future. Good work guys.

tech9

5 years ago

Very cool Tyler. The pricing seems great. Please, Please, Please tell me you will be selling on amazon prime soon?

Thanks and Good Luck!

Tyler

5 years ago

Reply to tech9

tech9 – We’re working on making Amazon Pay an option, but for the near future it’ll probably just be on our site. I love Amazon Prime, too, but note that we offer free shipping if you get 3 or more pouches. And, conveniently, we have 3 flavors!

JHencher

5 years ago

Sounds good, but in the close up pic the instructions say mix 1 scoop in 8 ounces of water. Does that mean there are 50 scoops in a 25 serving bag, or is there a mistake here somewhere?

jeffnology

5 years ago

Reply to JHencher

In the “Supplement Facts” (right below the use instructions) it says “Serving size: 2 scoops” & “Servings per container: 50”.

JHencher

5 years ago

Reply to jeffnology

Ah, yes. Maybe I should try reading past the first sentence.

Tyler

5 years ago

Reply to JHencher

To clarify, yes, there are 50 scoops worth of product in each bag (probably more like 52-53, we over fill them a little just to be safe. That translates into 50+ 8oz servings, or 25+ 16oz servings. We labeled the nutritional facts panel with 8oz amounts because that’s the industry standard, but we wanted to provide actual 16oz servings because that’s the smallest size water bottle most cyclists use…we’ve never seen an 8oz cycling water bottle, so we didn’t think it made sense to make that our actual serving size.

So, depending on what size bottle you use, you should be able to get about 20-25 full bottles per bag, which we think is more than most others offer, and at a much lower cost per serving.

jeremiah

5 years ago

Why bother offering a variety pack that is the exact same price as buying each flavor individually? It seems like you are trying to trick people into thinking they are getting a volume discount.

Glucose and Sucrose? So this is basically just Gatorade without food coloring? Why not use any more complex carbohydrates?

Record11

5 years ago

Reply to jeremiah

I suppose you are…or know Mike Folan….

Tyler

5 years ago

Reply to jeremiah

Jeremiah – The variety pack was an easier way for us to bundle it all into a single click for a package that automatically gets free shipping. But you’re welcome to pick any three (or more) flavors to make your own combo or not. Any order with three or more bags ships for free.

Most of the research we’ve read (and from our own testing) shows that a simple sugar blend like this facilitates fluids moving quickly out of the stomach so they can be absorbed and put to use by your body. This isn’t meant to be fuel per se, just hydration, though it does supply some carbs to keep you going. If you’re going to be out for more than 90 to 120 minutes, probably best to bring some food with you, too.

Kim

5 years ago

Hopefully the product isn’t as tasteless as the name. Seriously?!

Tyler

5 years ago

Reply to Kim

It’s delicious actually, and please interpret the name however you like! We like “Fast And Fun” and “Fast And Furious”, too!

Cecil

5 years ago

Reply to Kim

Kim, maybe you’d prefer BOFA.

Yeehaw

5 years ago

If you buy 5 or more it drops the unit price to $15.15, plus you get free shipping.

FasterAF

5 years ago

Thanks for doing this! I love the price, I can’t justify the prices of the others even if I like their products. Any chance you’ll add speedier options with Beta Alanine, a pinch of sodium bicarbonate and or caffeine?

Tyler

5 years ago

Reply to FasterAF

Thanks! We’ll be adding a caffeinated flavor next year, and we’re already testing a couple more ideas. Beta Alanine is a very expensive ingredient, but it’s of interest so we’re looking into it. Our goal as a brand is to offer the things that deliver real performance benefits without the hype. A lot of supplements out there are like using race fuel…maybe they add a bit to the very top end, but the engine and frame have to be solid first. We believe smart training and hard work are more valuable than trying to eke out a couple extra (very expensive) points by using crazy supplements. Trust me, I’ve tried and spent thousands of dollars on them over the years, and every time, the guys who trained more than me still beat me.

Erik

5 years ago

Cool stuff, probably good too, and with a name that cool you could pretty much be selling anything!

Alfus

5 years ago

(product can only be shipped inside the USA)

Gillis

5 years ago

I’m a little dismayed by the amount of sugar. For me this is too much. Hard pass on this one.

Hexsense

5 years ago

Might be good to have some comparison to other brands (like High5, SiS, etc).
Something similar to what cranksports compare their e-Gels to almost every competition on their website.

mboard182@gmail.com

5 years ago

This product looks similar to vitalyte;
but Vitalyte is $20 for 40 _16oz_ (they label it as 80x8oz servings)
they have similar nutrition profiles
https://www.rei.com/product/109746/vitalyte-electrolyte-replacement-drink-mix-80-servings

record11

5 years ago

With this on the market, will this site stop reviewing race fuels? I am not sure how unbiased someone is when they are getting profit (different from ‘free stuff’). When I had a pro contract more than half a lifetime ago…best bike? The one I am on and wearing a jersey for. There was a guy named Lance who would have fell on a sword for Trek….even if it was a TI bike made in Tennessee.

I do think, like a previous poster this is not a game changing drink. What is changing the game is the logical price point that is going to make this product wildly successful. When you look at other brands with hand tool names you need a drink, some electrolyte pills, a bar, and some syrup substance at given time frames based on intensity (and duration). For me, I went from having to follow a recipe. This for me changed with a drink that was custom blended to replace them ALL…adding protein will cause gastric upset until you get the mix right and that is a very individual thing and will vary based on activity.

At the end of the day, this is going to be (I bet) a wildly successful product at a lower price than the others are – even on Amazon. Currently, I would gander a guess that you will not see this product advertised on other cycling or endurance sports websites with out a huge buy in.

The product I have been using is more than double the price per serving, and I no longer am too worried about intensity and what not (this whole getting old thing). Oh, and the initials of the owner is “MF”….does not bother me.

Author

Tyler Benedict

5 years ago

Reply to record11

record11 – I (Tyler) won’t be reviewing competing products, those will go to another writer here, and they are free to express their opinions. I do happen to be the resident nutrition geek, though, so I will probably still cover new products simply to showcase what’s new and cool (see any of my tradeshow roundups as examples), for which I’m happy to highlight competing brands because that’s just what we do here at Bikerumor. I won’t be passing judgement, just sharing the news. There’s room for many players in this space, and I’ve gotten to know the people behind most of the other brands over the years and am very friendly with them…happy to celebrate their successes and growth!

As for adding protein, we looked at including amino acids, but a) they’re very expensive, and b) they taste terrible, which meant we’d have to up the flavor intensity or sweetness to mask them. BCAA’s don’t contribute too much flavor, but EAA’s taste positively awful. So, for our Hydration mix, we thought it best to keep it simple and focused on a single goal: Provide rapid hydration with a light flavor that’s easy to drink mile after mile.

Thanks for the optimism, too, we think people will love it also!

VARA Cyklar

5 years ago

Skratch Labs must be flattered.

Santana

5 years ago

I purchased the 3 pack just to give all the flavors a shot. The Real Lemon Lime is my personal preference, I feel all three could use a bit more of an intense flavor. I do have to say the Orange Cranberry smells like ass and I almost threw the whole bag out, but the flavor is fine. With the price point being lower than Scratch and also having real sugar as an ingredient it should become a go to hydration mix for most people, only time will tell how well the product actually works.