So, I haven't tried every idea or product out there, but having been a road/cx/xc/endurance racer, being surrounded by the same crowd, having a former continental pro-coach as a friend, and working in bike shops for seven years, I have tried a lot nutrition ideas. I mean, a lot. There are a lot of theories of what to eat/what not to eat, and when to eat/when not to eat, where do cramps come from and does a solution to cramps even exist, and do cramps even exist in the first place!?!. Everyone has a theory because if you ride your bike for more than an hour at a time nutrition becomes a factor. Try to ride fast (which is relative to you) or ride for hours at a time and nutrition becomes really important.
Part of the reason why I have tried so many products and ideas is because I'm someone who always wants to improve on the bike. Over the years, some products and homemade nutrition recipes have worked great for me...until they don't. I've found what I'll call a "benefit plateau" in a few cases but in most there has been a "benefit wall." When the benefit plateau kicks in I've reached the limits of where that on-bike nutrition helps me go further and/or faster. And when I hit the benefit wall the on-bike nutrition actually works against me. This tends to happen to me with highly engineered products. Anything over-engineered to be a benefit on the bike to the point where it doesn't seem like food anymore eventually gives me gut-rot. At the same time, I can eat a huge gas station cookie 80 miles into a ride and my stomach will be fine for the following 20 miles. Go figure.
All of this is to give you some background as to why I am impressed with CarboRocket. I fell backwards into trying CarboRocket in North County when I met Brad at an endurance race. Which is funny, seeing how we unknowingly crossed paths back east on the cyclocross circuit when he was in Chicago and I was in Milwaukee.
The mainstay of the CarboRocket family now has to be the 333, or Half Evil, and the first thing that stands out is the taste. Don't get me wrong here, all the flavors are not equal, I prefer the grape or black cherry and shy away from the orange. When I talk about the taste what I mean is how not overly sweet or fake tasting the flavors are even when at full strength. Which brings up another good quality: easy customization.
One scoop of 333 is 111 calories, so three scoops reaches the actual 333 mark. Depending on my ride length, planned intensity, and the heat, I adjust how much I put in a bottle. And while this is an all-in-one mix supplying nutrition and hydration, I found the perfect mix for me to be 2 scoops of 333 and a half scoop of the original CarboRocket Hydration Mix for long rides under 4 hours. On rides 4 or more hours long I like to stop and chew something too at some point. Everyone I know has their own preferred mixing ratios. The best thing for me though is that it has never given me gut rot. Not even a weird burp during super high intensity.
Brad has your post ride covered too. Recovery drinks in general work for me and I can tell when I don't have one. Where ReHab stands out is once again in the flavors and lack of intestinal issues, plus the superb dissolving mix-ability. No giant powder chunks to surprise as you gulp this down. The only problem with ReHab for me is that the bags just aren't big enough for how much I go through (especially the new vanilla pear!).
The newest product to come out is Rocket Red. It's a daily or pre-high intensity mix that capitalizes on the power of beets and other nitric oxide goodies. As is par for the course the flavor is banger (I like it mixed into a Greek yogurt parfee) and it also works. There is an actual noticeable difference in the delayed onset of fatigue in the legs from hard efforts early in a ride. It can also give you a tingly or icthy feeling on your skin about 15 minutes after taking it. It doesn't bother me at all, but for others the short-lived tingle sensation drives them nuts.
There is one more product that CarboRocket offers and that is RocketLytes. They are electrolyte capsules. I find the other products work so well for me that I rarely need to use these while riding. Where these get used for me is at home, where my family uses them as well. The RocketLytes have peppermint and ginger in them as well as all the electrolyte goodness you would expect. So, we take them when we aren't feeling well and from the onset of dehydration. The stomach settling attributes of the peppermint and ginger combined with the dehydration fighting electrolytes make for the perfect pick-me-up when any sort of stomach or intestinal virus comes through the house.
Other than CarboRocket products actually working for me, the best part about them is that I haven't hit the benefit plateau or benefit wall after using them consistently for twice as long as I have any other system or product. Not all nutrition theories work for every person, but Brad is onto something with CarboRocket that is worth checking out. And if you happen to be a tall sweaty gangly person with the metabolism of hummingbird with ADD, I can pretty much guarantee the products will work for you!
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