Discovering electrolyte drinks before/during rides was a game changer for me. I don't use LMNT but skratch's hydration mix with some dextrose in it too. I notice the most difference during the hotter summer months or long sunny days. Either way, I too noticed a big difference when starting to use it on rides. I don't even finish an entire bottle most rides and it's only mixed in a 450ml bottle on the frame.

Carry that + some water in a hydrator pack

 

LMNT is too salty for me during a ride. But it’s awesome post-ride. Particularly here in Phoenix in the summer.

 

I didn’t use any electrolyte supplement for a couple years worth of training but started to get lots and lots of double heart beat type palpitations etc especially after hard training sessions, funny because before the heart palpitations I also noticed my sweat stains began to lack the white salt accumulation I used to see…started supplementing with electrolytes and the palpitations totally went away. I use the skratch stuff since stevia gives me the creeps and they don’t use it, too much salt for me so I use the lower recommended dose, but wonder if you can adapt to more or less over time?Also use the 40,000 Volts drops in my drinking water…

 

I mix sodium citrate and potassium citrate from bulk powder with gatorade or tang after a ride for rehydration. I sweat a lot and if I drink a lot of just plain water, I pee it all out.

 

I sweat, like a lot...

Electrolytes before, during and after rides has been an absolute game changer for me.

I've used LMNT and agree, it's a strong "flavor". It's something I dilute down a lot more than suggested.

Typically, I have a lighter electrolyte mix before a ride, and even lighter mix as I ride and a stronger mix post ride.

 

We don't sweat chloride, which gives salt much of the strong taste, and causes gastrological issues, which is why I use the citrate salts. If LMNT uses regular NaCl, there might be better options.

 

I used this one last season:

Amazon.com: XTEND Sport BCAA Powder Blue Raspberry Ice - Electrolyte Powder for Recovery & Hydration with Amino Acids - 30 Servings : Health & Household

Buy XTEND Sport BCAA Powder Blue Raspberry Ice - Electrolyte Powder for Recovery & Hydration with Amino Acids - 30 Servings on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

According to the ingredient list, they use both citrate and chloride, citrate being listed first would suggest they use more of that. 🤷‍♂️

Either way, that mix works well for me. My daughter has also had good luck with it, for rowing.

 

When I used LMNT- I ended up cutting the dosage in 1/2 in my 21oz bottle

I've now moved onto Redmond Re-lyte which is much less salty to taste and more cost effective

Re-Lyte Hydration Electrolyte Powder Limited Edition / Cran Apple

With crisp air and cozy celebrations in mind, Limited Edition Cran Apple Re-Lyte Hydration combines the tartness of cranberries with the sweetness of apples, enhanced with Real Salt's hydrating benefits. Every sip evokes memories of festive gatherings and brisk outdoor adventures, leaving you...

redmond.life

 

Here's another vote for Redmond. I've tried Liquid IV, LMNT, DripDrop and a couple other smaller brands, and the Redmond is the best taste and ingredients list i've come across. Although I'm partial to the lemon lime or mixed berry flavrors.

Electrolytes was a game changer for my pre/intra/post hydration, highly recommended for anyone who rides hard

 

I sweat a lot so I drink an electrolyte (SALTT brand) before the ride, have one in a water bottle and carry a packet of the SaltStick tablets to eat while riding. I found this the best solution for me riding in the very humid and hot south.

I used to be a LMNT junky until it came out that they were hiding maltodextrin in the ingredients under "natural flavors". A shame for a product that claims to have "no dodgy ingredients"!

 

Maltodextrin is dodgy!? I have good results with that as a carb in my water bottles…?

 

I've tried LMNT a lot. I recently got the Skratch starter pack and it tastes wayyy better and seems to perform better too. No shade to LMNT, but I think Skratch is better.

Agree that you really need two bottles if you're doing the electrolyte thing during the ride. One with just water. The other with the mix.

 

I’ve tried most of ones listed here and prefer LMNT, specifically orange and mango habanero, but I also like 1 packet to one bottle. Anything less feels flavorless. However, it should be noted that I am the same way in food. Don’t like sugary sweets at all and am fine with eating habaneros straight up. Most people definitely think 1:1 is overkill. I can use any of them though. Just like the flavor of LMNT the best.

 

Don’t like sugary sweets at all and am fine with eating habaneros straight up.

 

I was using (and still may) Hammer Nutrition Electrolytes Capsules, but.... it takes a good quantity of water to wash those sticky things down. They work though, especially if I take a few before I ride.

In recent times, I've taken to a 50/50 mix of generic Pedialyte and water. It works well and it's easier to consume. It took a few tries to find a flavor that I could live with though.

I've tried Tallwind. WAAAAY too sweet for me.

The key to any of these rehydration products is to start taking them BEFORE YOUR RIDE BEGINS.

 

I've been using LMNT for a year now... seems to work. Before I was using SIS and NUUN tablets. I dunno if I necessarily notice a performance advantage of one or the other. However, I do like the flavors and convenience of the packets from LMNT at the downside of cost.

I mix up 1 packet to 26 oz bottle and find it perfect during a ride/workout. Pre or post ride, yea it'll taste a bit saltier... but during it hits the spot. Their "hot" salt mixes on the other hand

 

Nope. On long rides, I just pack a steak and drink water.👍👍

 

No cookies?

 

I may give LMNT a try. I've been using NUUN tablets for a few years now. I think they are ok but I still get a headache after some rides during the hotter months. I'm always a little hesitant to try other things because of GI side effects.

 

For me, I like Nuun tablets in the water bladder. Usually do 1 tab/L (recommended is 2/L but that's too much for me. Then clean it out after the ride

For longer rides, I like Skratch for some sugar, and keep in a frame water bottle.

If LMNT is too salty for you, feel free to try different concentrations? I avoid Tailwind due to this, it tastes way too syrupy for me even at double the recommended dilution.

 

If you dont like syrupy and carbonation crap, I recommend vitalyte. Im prehydrating right now.

 

LMNT was a cramp changer for me, especially during the 100+ summers here. I drink at least one a day and mix one pack in 32oz of water. Diluted taste is fine with me. I got tired of the fruity drinks and tried the chocolate on a whim and I prefer it to any of the fruit flavors.

 

As annoying as it is to admit it, LMNT has been great.

I'll typically mix one packet in a large bike bottle for before/after a ride, have Tailwind in a bottle, then water in my pack. I found I just feel noticeably better the ride (eg the rest of the day) than when I don't have the bottle of LMNT. And yes, helps to avoid triggering a migraine at times. The Tailwind might be on the sweet side for some, but it replaced the Stinger Waffles/Chews I was using prior and is easier on my digestion.

My biggest complaint is the damn packets. I don't always want a full packet and I hate throwing away each one. (Yes, I know I'd have to throw away whatever larger bag/container was the alternative, but throwing a larger container away once feels less bad than throwing away a packet each time. I stopped trying to talk my brain into making sense a long ass time ago.)

 

My biggest complaint is the damn packets. I don't always want a full packet and I hate throwing away each one.

Throw away?
Zip locks-Baggies?

 

A Science-Backed Quantity of Electrolytes
In the many years we spent mixing electrolyte drinks at home before LMNT existed, we made many messes and had quite a few misses, but we also came up with several great recipes. If you prefer to source your own electrolytes instead buying LMNT, jot this down and grab a kitchen scale:

• 2,500 mg sodium chloride (for 1,000 mg sodium)
• 385 mg potassium chloride (for 200 mg potassium)
• 390 mg magnesium malate OR 265 mg di-magnesium malate (for 60 mg magnesium)

Once you’re finished measuring, be sure to mix your ingredients together thoroughly. Then, simply weigh each serving out — if you used magnesium malate, one serving weighs about 3.3 grams; if you used di-magnesium malate, one serving weighs about 3.15 grams.

These are the same science-backed electrolyte amounts and ratios in each grab-and-go stick pack of LMNT. It’s the equivalent of our simplest product: LMNT Raw Unflavored. You can use the electrolytes above as a base to create your own recipes (add your own flavor), or simply follow the guides below to recreate 4 of our most popular flavors.

How to make LMNT's electrolyte drink mix at home

An electrolyte drink should contain sodium, potassium, magnesium, and fluids for hydration. Here’s how to make a few of LMNT’s most popular flavors at home.

science.drinklmnt.com

 

There's an interesting escape collective podcast (and series of articles, though I haven't read all those).
Very interesting discussion and the researcher (his own site here: https://fuelingendurance.com/) suggested a different approach:

• Rehydrate to avoid losing more than ~2% body mass (individuals might be anywhere 1-3%)
• If you are rehydrating more than about 70% of fluid lost, then you may want to add electrolytes. Less than that much % rehydration (e.g. sweating 2L but drinking 1L) will cause your blood to become saltier than you started.
• Generally electrolytes, or lack there of, have no impact on performance, just overall water loss impacts performance (I found this surprising). In very extreme cases not usually found in cycling (5+ hour efforts), incredibly low electrolyte content can be dangerous for your health (and presumably impacts performance at some point?) and you should maybe add electrolytes in if you aren't also eating.
• For recovery, anything (food , drink mix, milk, etc) except chugging many liters of plain water is good.
• Extra electrolytes during exercise generally no issue (unless it results in over or under drinking)
• Didn't mention migraines
• To sum up, focus on rehydrating the correct amount (requires doing measurements before and after rides) using salts as a means of adjusting taste to help you hit the water targets.

My own approach has been to put a nuun in one bottle if I'm consuming at least two bottles of water. From that researcher, sounds like I'm mostly getting placebo effect unless I'm drinking more than about 2L on a ride, with no net water loss, and without eating anything. So... Pretty much any ride.

 

Very interesting discussion and the researcher (his own site here: https://fuelingendurance.com/) suggested a different approach:

While I would believe they are being entirely genuine, it gives me pause when a researcher is simultaneously promoting something they sell. It's also a very generalized method and it's unclear if it takes into account that different athletes will have different "salt-to-water" ratios in their sweat.

I am glad this method works for you, but from experience it does not work for me. I can suck down enough water to counteract fluid loss, but will feel wrecked after a ride. If I hydrate with both water and a bottle with drink mix, I feel much better than with just water. What we sweat out needs to be replenished one way or another. If you are just sticking to water, you'll crave salty food after a ride - and will probably be best suited by eating some (in moderation, of course). I agree that I can't tell a performance difference during a ride between electrolytes and just water, but how I feel after a ride is just as important, imo.

I'd also be curious if/how they address the correlation of getting migraines after riding without replenishing salt/electrolytes.

When it comes to hydration/nutrition, the only clear conclusion seems to be that there is no "one size fits all" method.