Gatorade keeps impressing me with their latest formulas, and Gatorade AM did not disappoint. Gatorade AM is the same formula you know and love, but it now comes in “morning-friendly” flavors like Orange Strawberry and Tropical Mango. This way you get the same energy and nutrients as any other Gatorade, but it tastes more like typical breakfast drinks, such as orange juice.

This drink is Gatorade’s take on breakfast, and I’m pretty happy with it. The Tropical Mango tastes just like juice, being just a little bit thicker than normal Gatorade. However, it has that crisp aftertaste like Gatorade Rain. So you get the pleasant taste of juice without the thick aftertaste left in your mouth. I’ll be using it for all my morning workouts, like bonk training, from now on.

Unlike Sobe Lifewater, Gatorade AM doesn’t have that water-like aftertaste. It’s good all around. (Sobe Lifewater tastes like good juice as it goes down, then leaves a taste in your mouth like you just had water; a little odd if you ask me.)

One thing to watch out for though is that this loses that good juice flavor once it gets watered down, like when you put it in an ice-filled water bottle and head outside. It’s not good once it gets warm, either. It’s not disgusting, but it’s much better cold.

The Orange Strawberry was pretty good, but I definitely prefer the Tropical Mango flavor. The saving grace is that Orange Strawberry tasted great when mixed with real orange juice. I thought that was a neat idea for breakfast, especially if you need to replenish electrolytes but still want some real fruit in there.

The only real drawback is that there are only two flavors. I’d love to see a peach flavor or even a pomegranate flavor.

Typical consumers seem to disagree though, and they actually scoff at this latest Gatorade. But they’re too consumed by Starbucks and McDonald’s to realize who this Gatorade is for: athletes. For those fatties, this is sugar water without enough caffeine. For Gatorade fans like myself, this is a very welcome addition. It’s another flavor that I can add into the rotation to ward off boredom!

My final verdict is…

Get some! Unless you don’t like juice for breakfast, you should enjoy this, especially the Tropical Mango. Try some next time you have a morning workout.

I’m a big fan of Gatorade Rain and Gatorade Fierce for their crisp tastes and smooth aftertastes, and Gatorade AM fits in nicely. It’s great to mix things up when you’re used to drinking all the current flavors.

And like I always say, what’s the harm in spending a couple bucks to try a sweet new flavor? (Unless you already despise Gatorade, as some people do…)

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[Click here if you would like to get your product reviewed on CoachLevi.com.]

Like most companies that launched a product to compete with Propel fitness water, Sobe came out with a new line called Sobe Lifewater. Basically it’s water with some extra flavor, vitamins, and antioxidants.

The thing with this water is that it has the same amount of calories as Gatorade, at 50 calories per 8 oz serving. That puzzled me because Propel (Gatorade’s fitness water) has something like 20 calories per serving, helping it appeal to general dieters and fitness enthusiasts. Maybe Sobe is just targeting the people that already buy Sobe products looking for energy.

The two main ingredients are filtered water and fructose, so that’s not so bad - certainly better than high fructose corn syrup. However, the drink tastes a little too watered down.

“Watered down? But it’s water?”

Well here’s the thing. I like flavored waters because they taste like water with a little extra flavor. But this tastes like a juice or sports drink that has been watered down way too much. See the difference?

Let me put it another way: When you drink it, you get a little flavor, and then you get a water taste. It’s kind of like separate experiences instead of water with a hint of flavor. You can’t really compare it to Gatorade Rain or Propel Fitness Water either. It’s just its own weird experience.

That might not apply to all the flavors, but this Pomegranate Cherry isn’t something I plan to drink again. I was only attracted to it for the pomegranate flavor, and it turns out that the cherry taste overpowers any hint of pomegranate that might be there. (By the way, real pomegranate juice is exceptional!)

The strawberry kiwi flavor, on the other hand, was half decent. And the orange tangerine was alright. But overall, I wasn’t too impressed.

My final verdict is…

The plain water taste is too weird, so I don’t recommend it. Stick with other drinks like plain water or Gatorade. [Just make sure you choose ones without artificial sweeteners like sucralose.]

But if you do have to try this, opt for the Strawberry Kiwi.

[Click here if you would like to get your product reviewed on CoachLevi.com.]

Let me tell you a little story about properly routing the cable for your front disc brake…

It all started when I purchased my Specialized Stumpjumper at Landry’s Bicycles. I was replacing a stolen bike in the middle of the NCCA collegiate racing season, which also happened to coincide with the gap between bicycle model years. I was lucky to find a bike that fit that was in stock, but I got one.

And what did I do the day after buying it? Raced it, of course!

With the stress of a stolen bike, college, work, and racing season, I couldn’t be bothered with checking out the bike. Plus, Landry’s is always on the “Top 100 Bicycle Retailers” list and they were a sponsor of our team, so I trusted them.

But that led to a little problem… (more on this later.) The problem was caused by the front brake cable routing, which can be seen in the picture on the left.

See, the brake cable is wrapped tightly behind the fork crown and down the fork leg. I never questioned the cable routing until one day when I realized the cable was eating into the aluminum on the fork crown!

You can see the damage in this picture:

Granted, the fork will still work fine. But if given the choice, I’d rather not have the cable rubbing like that. To fix it, I wrapped cable ties around the cable on the fork crown and the head tube (kind of like makeshift cable guides.) That fixed the problem, but it caused another!

The cable tie around the head tube wouldn’t stay in place, so it ended up scraping all the paint off the head tube!

I wasn’t happy at all so I just said “screw it” and let it go.

Then one miraculous day I found an article at BlueCollarMTB.com about proper front disc cable routing. Then everything made sense!

It turns out the cable was not routed properly in the first place! So with the help of that guide and a little common sense, I re-routed my cable to go in front of the fork and down the inside of the leg.

(See the picture on the right, or the picture below, for an example of the proper routing.)

After that simple switch, my braking performance has improved and I have a feeling my fork legs and cable housing will last a bit longer!

What’s the moral of the story then?

Always double check a new bike to be sure it is setup properly.

Chances are the cable was routed improperly when it left from the Specialized warehouse. And not all bike mechanics will bend over backwards to make sure things are perfect. (Although a bike from a bike shop will at least be put together properly, unlike Wal-Mart bikes.)

So you have to look out for yourself! If something looks wrong, it could be. Check it out, read up on the subject, or take it back to the shop if you have to.

(Of course, you could learn to do your own repairs, too.)

Also, note that the “complete idiot” in this case is me, for assuming that the cable was properly routed to begin with.

Happy trails!

It looks like most of the Black Friday deals are over, but now it’s time to watch out for Christmas deals!

I just got coupon codes for Performance Bike and Nashbar:

Who: Performance Bike
What: 20% off web orders of $100 or more.
When: 12/3/07 - 12/5/07
Where: www.performancebike.com
How: By using coupon code 0002200000001563 at checkout.

Who: Nashbar
What: 20% off web orders of $100 or more.
When: 12/3/07 - 12/5/07
Where: www.nashbar.com
How: By using coupon code DEC8220 at checkout.

Shop now before it’s too late!