I have sampled nearly every sports drink out there, but Cytomax always eluded me. The name has been popular for many years, and the Cytosport company makes products for all sorts of athletes, but it was just this past year I tried Cytomax Performance Drink.

I bought it on a whim, when the option of a “Peachy Keen” flavor caught my eye. It was just something about a peach flavored sports drink that drew me in!

When I opened the canister, I got a whiff of peach rings! Know those sugar-coated, gummy candies that are red, orange, and yellow? The ones that are totally artificial and way too sweet, but oh so good? Well, this peachy keen Cytomax smells and tastes like those peach rings!

Things got even better from there. Turns out that Cytomax mixes very easily. Just add it to water and shake a couple quick times.

And you’re left with a very thin consistency and no aftertaste. I was surprised how “clean” it left my mouth. There was no stickiness like with many other sports drinks.

The only downside was that the sweetness made it less refreshing. (Whether i was using 1 or 1.5 scoops for a 16oz bottle, it was quite sweet. Not sugary, but sweet. Artificially sweet…)

Cytomax Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

I was so wrapped up in the peach flavor that I completely ignored the ingredients. That is, until I thought about the artificially sweet flavor…

They actually tricked me on this – the label says “no aspartame, no sucrose.” Being a sports drink, I figured it contained maltodextrin or something as the main carbohydrate. I was wrong!

Cytomax contains the artificial sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium. It’s one thing to put that in diet drinks, but to put it in a sports drink powder? Last time I checked, a good sports drink was supposed to provide two things: calories from carbohydrates, and electrolytes. So why remove one of the main ingredients?!

Worse still, I found crystalline fructose on the list. This is basically a powdered form of high fructose corn syrup!

It’s cool that there are some vitamins, minerals, etc., and the “herbal lift” (i.e. caffeine) is an interesting concept, but please, skip the sucralose and other artificial junk!

Funny thing is, they have something called Cytomax Natural Powder, which is basically the same thing but without any artificial sweeteners or flavoring. So why not keep that one and ditch this artificial junk?

Cytomax Taste Test

As I mentioned, the Peachy Keen flavor tastes like peach rings. It is an artificial peach flavor.

It was a great novelty, but it gets old after a few times. I could never drink this on a daily basis.

The other flavors do sound tasty though:

- Cool Citrus
- Fresh Apple
- Pomegranate Berry
- Tropical Fruit
- Go Grape
- Tangy Orange

Cytomax In Use

If you go by the claims on the label, this would sound like a miracle!

“PROVEN Acid Buffering”
“STABILIZES Power Output”
“REDUCES Perceived Exertion”
“REDUCES Oxygen Consumption”
“INCREASES Recovery Rate”

Are you sure this isn’t on the banned substances list?!

The real question is, will you notice these benefits? I doubt it. If you switch from plain water, maybe. But if you switch from another form of sports drink, I can’t imagine that you’ll definitively use less oxygen and stabilize your power output. (And the point of stabilizing your power output, well, that’s a mystery to me.)

In my experience…

The first two times I used it, I felt crappy and ended up with a headache. I almost quit using it, because I blamed those side effects on the abundance of artificial sweeteners.

But then for the third time, I made sure I had a good breakfast and felt great beforehand. Then I did a 4.5 hour ride after some weight lifting and consumed two bottles of this stuff. I felt great the whole time.

So, it seems this drink works fine for me. I can’t attribute the initial crappy feelings or headaches to the sucralose. But I also can’t attribute “feeling good” to this drink either. If I’m well rested and have been eating healthy, I can feel good by drinking any sports drink.

P.S. This stuff permanently stains the inside of your water bottle.

My final verdict is…

There are some things about this drink I really like, as well as things I hate. Unfortunately, the prevalence of artificial sweeteners means I won’t recommend this drink, nor will I buy it again. (And the rest of my canister will be going in the trash!)

Since I did like the taste, texture, and ease of mixing, I may try that Cytomax Natural Powder someday, but it’s more likely I’ll switch to Hammer Heed.

Official website: www.Cytosport.com

Buy online: www.REI.com or www.PerformanceBike.com

When you really get into cycling and long endurance rides, picking out a good sports drink can be a long process…

What sports drink do you use when racing/training over 3 hours on the bike. I got some fruit punch Accelerade for Christmas, didn’t like the flavor and it gave me a headache. Cytomax is okay, but I am looking for something that tastes pretty good and has lots of carbs/energy, but not fattening.

-Endurance Ed

While not quite as difficult as choosing the right saddle, finding the right sports drink can be an arduous process.

Personally I like Powerbar Endurance the most. All the flavors are good whether you mix it strong or weak, it has a good amount of carbs, it’s fairly easy to mix, and it’s relatively inexpensive (especially if it is on sale at PerformanceBike.com.)

I typically use that as my only source of calories for rides up to 2 or maybe 2.5 hours. For rides longer than that, I’ll add in a Powerbar or a couple GU gels. (Carrying food on every ride is a good idea, just in case.)

If Accelerade gives you a headache, you could try Hammer Heed or Hammer Perpetuem. A lot of athletes who don’t like the typical sports drinks end up liking the products from Hammer Nutrition. It’s good stuff, but it is one of the more expensive brands, and I don’t like it enough to justify the price.

There are a lot of other brands though – Enervit, First Endurance EFS, GU2O, Carb-BOOM, Clif Shot, Gatorade Endurance, etc. One of them could be perfect for you.

*Sports Drink Tip* Like I always say – try to get together with a group of friends and have everyone purchase a canister of a different drink, and then split them up. It’s a good way to sample various drinks without shelling out hundreds of dollars on stuff you don’t like.

Finally, all sports drinks are fattening if you drink too much. For example, if you do no exercise at all yet consume a gallon of sports drink each day, you’ll probably get fat.

But for us cyclists, it’s not really a big deal. When choosing a sports drink, I’d be more concerned with taste, calories, electrolyte content, and price than wondering if it will make me fat!

Naturally, the first energy bar I ever had was a Powerbar. No surprise, right? The name “Powerbar” is so ubiquitous that the trademark name is becoming synonymous with the generic term “energy bar,” much like what happened to Kleenex and Xerox.

But I took my good old time before trying the Powerbar Endurance sports drink. I did get a sample of it back in 2004, but it was so weak and bland I knew I’d never buy any…

Fast forward to 2008 when a few online retailers started selling 52-serving canisters of this stuff for $10. That’s like 19 cents per serving! (It doesn’t get any cheaper than that when you’re talking sports drinks!)

So I scooped up about five containers, because for that price, who cares what it tastes like!

PowerBar Endurance Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

(Note: The following ingredients and nutrition facts apply to the Lemon Lime flavor.)

Simply put, Powerbar Endurance is a serious sports drink full of carbohydrates and electrolytes – exactly what we need for long, intense rides.

Here are the ingredients:

C2 MAX CARBOHYDRATE BLEND (MALTODEXTRIN, FRUCTOSE, DEXTROSE), CITRIC ACID, SODIUM CITRATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, MAGNESIUM CITRATE, POTASSIUM CITRATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, TURMERIC (AS COLOR).

In each 8oz serving (1 scoop), you get 70 calories, 17g carbs, 190mg sodium, and 10mg potassium.

Multiply all those values by 3 to see what you can fit in a standard 24oz water bottle. For example, you can easily fit 210 calories in each bottle! It’s great for the most part, but it is a tad low on potassium.

It makes a perfect drink while riding, along with directly before and after rides, to make sure your glycogen and electrolyte reserves stay full.

There is no protein, so some people may consider that a downside. But if I want protein after a ride, I usually just have a peanut butter sandwich and I’m fine.

The Powerbar Endurance Drink Taste Test

I tried the Sun Tea, Fruit Punch, and Lemon Lime flavors. Here is what I think about each one:

Sun Tea – Sun Tea was what I was most looking forward to. I mean, how many times can you get a “tea” flavored sports drink?

It turned out to be great. It is a very light tea flavor, which a light sweetness and an even lighter saltiness. It is just salty enough to remind you it’s a sports drink, without ruining the flavor.

When mixed at full strength, I could actually drink this casually while sitting around. It really is that close to regular tea.

If you hate most sports drinks, give Sun Tea a shot. It is totally different than all other sports drink flavors. Really. It’s like drinking water but with a little more flavor.

Fruit Punch – Fruit Punch was not what I expected at all. It does taste a little like a “light” version of Fruit Punch Gatorade, but that’s only half of it.

The other half is kind of odd and really took me a while to pinpoint. Finally, it reminded me of a bubblegum snow cone. You know, the artificial “pink bubble gum” flavor, kind of like the classic Dubble Bubble chewing gum.

At first I didn’t like it, because it was too far off from the standard fruit punch flavor. So if that’s what you want, this is not going to satisfy your desire. But if you can get past that, and accept it as a different flavor, the taste isn’t so bad. It’s not great, but you get used to it, and it grows on you.

Lemon Lime – Lemon Lime was simply amazing! The taste is great – a lot like the Gatorade Endurance version of lemon lime, but even better! It has that crisp texture and real flavor without any extra taste. (So it is way better than Accelerade’s Lemon-Lime.)

PowerBar must have given me a very weakly mixed sample back in 2004, because when I tried this stuff years ago, it was terrible. It was a weak flavor and not good at all. Now it’s fast becoming my favorite choice! I could easily drink this stuff while off the bike.

I plan to stock up on this flavor for sure!

One last thing, which applies to all the flavors – you can mix it a little weak or a little strong to suit your riding conditions, and the taste will be nearly the same. Sometimes I mix it quite a bit stronger (sometimes 50% stronger) than recommended, and it still tastes great!

How to Mix PowerBar Endurance Drink

Mixing sports drinks really is an art form. “Just add water” doesn’t do it justice. Each drink requires a different approach…

For PowerBar Endurance, you have to dump the powder into a glass of water. Do not dump water onto the dry powder, as it will just clump up and be hard to mix.

However, it mixes so easily when dumped into water. What I do is put a few ounces of water in a bottle, dump in the powder, then swirl it around a bit. Then I add ice and more water.

Before putting the bottle in the cage, I give it a shake. And then it is fine and dandy!

There is no shaking required during the ride, no foaming, and it leaves no residue in the bottle. (OK, if you’re shaking it up in the bottle, it might leave a tiny bit of residue up in the nozzle. But it’s a minuscule amount compared to mixing up a thick drink like Accelerade.)

Overall it gets an A+ for mixability!

My final verdict is…

I love the light taste, and the Sun Tea and Lemon Lime flavors are simply amazing when it comes to sports drink flavors. If you can find this on sale, it totally beats regular Gatorade, due to increased electrolyte content, more calories, and better sugars, for less money!

I see myself continually using this on training rides of 1-2.5 hours where I don’t need food and don’t really need too many calories. But I also use it on longer rides – I may carry a large bottle of this and a small bottle of Accelerade, along with food.

So I still use Accelerade on longer rides if I need more calories, but this Powerbar Endurance tastes better and is easier to mix. I highly recommend it.

Official website: www.powerbar.com

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I’ve always liked the idea behind Accelerade. It’s a sports drink, so it’s high in carbs for energy and packed with electrolytes we need, but it has something special – a little protein.

According to various research studies, consuming carbohydrates and protein in a 4:1 ratio promotes optimal muscle performance and recovery. (Read Optimal Muscle Performance and Recovery for more information on this concept.) So, Accelerade contains this proven 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein.

That’s great, but I really love that you can put about 360 calories into a single water bottle (via three scoops of Accelerade powder.) That is really awesome in situations where you can’t use energy bars, like during a mountain bike race on technical singletrack, when it’s extremely hard to hold an energy bar and eat it.

For years though, I always stuck it out with Gatorade and GU energy gels. Accelerade was just a bit too expensive for my liking… until now.

This summer I got a sweet deal on Accelerade – it was on sale for about 60% off at Nashbar.com, making it roughly 36 cents per serving. That’s even less than Gatorade! (It looks like Accelerade changed their labels and were severely discounting the old style bottles! Good news for me!)

So I grabbed canisters of Lemon-Lime and Blue Raspberry, and here is what I found…

Accelerade Taste Test

Arguably the most important factor in a sports drink is taste. If you don’t like it, you won’t drink it. And you need to drink it for it to be of any use!

So, let’s start with a taste test:

Lemon Lime

At first, I was none too pleased with the smell of this stuff. Actually, I’ve been using it for a while now and I still think it smells crappy. (So don’t take a whiff of this stuff.)

I mixed some up before a ride, and it didn’t seem to taste very good at first (before getting on my bike.) Once I started riding, my first sip wasn’t good, either. But after 30 minutes of riding, this lemon-lime drink started to taste pretty darn good!

As I rode longer, the flavor actually got better. The best part – it tasted just as good as it warmed up! (Considering most drinks taste terrible once they get warm, this was very pleasing.)*

On subsequent rides, I didn’t mind the taste at all, even the first sip. I definitely wouldn’t consider this a good tasting drink, but it’s not that bad. I have no problems drinking it while riding.

The lemon-lime flavor ended up a little stronger than Hammer Heed but much weaker than Gatorade, but more similar in taste and texture to Heed.

Blue Raspberry

I always loved blue raspberry ’slushies’ and ’snow cones’ as a kid, and I was hoping for that great blue raspberry flavor in this… and I wasn’t disappointed! The blue raspberry Accelerade is very sweet and pretty close to the blue raspberry flavor I know and love.

It’s like a mix of the sweet blue raspberry flavor with a slightly tart taste (like Fiva has.) In any case, it’s good! Yes, it’s actually good enough that I drank it a few times while sitting around watching TV.

Overall, both flavors were palatable, but blue raspberry was way better than lemon-lime. I’ll certainly be looking for another canister of blue raspberry Accelerade when this canister runs out!

But with either one, you get the benefit of Accelerade remaining palatable after it warms up.

For example, Gatorade tastes great cold, but once it gets warm, it’s pretty bad. Accelerade tasted almost as good warm as it did cool. That right there is what will keep me buying this, because it’s just too hard to keep a drink cold when you’re out for three hour rides in 90 degree heat!

Accelerade In Action

Accelerade has passed the taste test, but let’s see how it actually works. First, we have to mix up the powder…

Accelerade is fairly easy to mix. My strategy was to dump three scoops into a water bottle, add about 4-6oz water, and shake. Then I’d add the rest of the water and ice. (While riding, sometimes I’d shake the bottle before sipping, just to be safe.)

A little more important though, does it keep me filled up with enough calories?

Yes! On my rides, I can eat much less if I drink Accelerade. The extra calories do a good job at keeping me full and providing the required nourishment.

Here’s how my first ride with Accelerade went down:

8:00 AM – Consumed a small bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal.
9:00 AM – Started riding, and kept riding for almost three hours. I consumed a 22oz bottle of Accelerade (1.5 scoops) and 16oz water, for about 180 calories. I also ate a 180 calorie granola bar at the end of the ride, although I could have easily finished without it.

I felt great! I didn’t even need the granola bar. Normally I’d get a little hungry if I only averaged 120 calories per hour on a long ride, but I think the protein in the Accelerade helped keep my feeling strong.

Did I feel better and recover faster from the protein?

I don’t have scientific evidence, but in general, yes. It could just be the extra calories, I can’t really tell for sure. But I don’t as feel wiped out after my rides when I use Accelerade. (While FRS will keep me from feeling worn out, Accelerade helps prevent my body from becoming so worn out.)

Health and Nutrition

Accelerade appears to be on par with most other sports drinks in this regard. The first ingredient is sucrose, otherwise known as table sugar. Normally I would limit my sucrose intake, but while riding, I don’t care, I just want the sugar. Fructose and maltodextrin (two other types of sugar) are also listed, although further down the ingredients list.

The second ingredient is whey protein concentrate, which is the source of protein. The rest of the ingredients are vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes.

Overall, it’s basically a typical sports drink mix but with some protein. It’s not super healthy or natural, but there’s nothing that worries me.

One thing I do like, and think is worth noting, is how it’s low in fat. Sometimes protein sources are also high in fat, but Accelerade keeps the focus on what we really need to ride fast: carbohydrates and electrolytes.

Complaints about Accelerade

I mentioned Accelerade seems to mix fairly easily, at least when compared to similar drinks. But the problem is, it’s still pretty thick and chunky when it’s mixed well.

That means it leaves a nasty film inside my water bottle. It’s a royal pain to clean off, because you really have to wipe out the inside of the bottle. (I would never put this in a Camelbak!)

Even worse, it clumps and sticks up in the nozzle, requiring a toothpick to clean the gunk out before it turns to mold! Because of this I’d really recommend that you mix the stuff up in a separate container (like a big Rubbermaid container) and let it sit in the fridge for a day before using it during a ride.

Also, Accelerade does get a bit foamy when mixed (and when sloshing around on the bike.) That’s kind of annoying because drinking warm foam isn’t that refreshing.

My final verdict is…

I was a fan of the idea behind Accelerade, and now I’m a fan of using Accelerade. I have no problem drinking it while riding, and it keeps me full, so it’s great for mountain bike races where eating an energy bar is damn near impossible.

However, be warned that the taste is a tad weird. It doesn’t bother me, but I’m willing to bet some people won’t like it. Best bet – see if you can try a serving of it from someone that already has some. Or at least opt for the blue raspberry flavor, which is pretty close to a blue raspberry slushie.

In the end I feel the positives outweigh the negatives though, and this will probably be my drink of choice for long mountain bike races where I’d rather not consume solid food.

Official website: www.accelerade.com

Buy online: www.PerformanceBike.com or www.REI.com

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 that requires a sports drink.

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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