{"id":820028,"date":"2026-07-23T03:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T03:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820028\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T03:36:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T03:36:24","slug":"i-taste-tested-10-hydration-mixes-these-3-were-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/820028\/","title":{"rendered":"I Taste-Tested 10 Hydration Mixes\u2014These 3 Were Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated5 min read<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re riding all day long or for a quick spin after work, hydrating<\/a> and fueling<\/a> your body properly is important\u2014especially in hot summer weather<\/a>. While water is better than having nothing to drink on rides, it doesn\u2019t provide the carbohydrates or electrolytes your body needs to perform at its highest level\u2014plus, plain water gets boring after a while in the saddle. This is why nutritionists and experts recommend using a sports hydration drink for your rides and training.<\/p>\n

Over the years, our editors have used dozens of different brands, flavors, and formulations of drink mixes for our road<\/a>, gravel<\/a>, and mountain bike<\/a> rides and races. These mixes, typically powders or tablets, are offered by well-known brands and smaller-scale start-ups and sold at bike shops, grocery stores, and online retailers. Some focus on fueling your efforts with higher levels of carbohydrates, while others center on hydration and replenishing electrolytes lost through sweat.<\/p>\n

The Best Tasting Hydration Mixes<\/p>\n

First Place Overall: Mortal Hydration<\/a><\/p>\n

Second Place: LMNT Electrolyte Drink Mix<\/a><\/p>\n

Third Place: Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier<\/a><\/p>\n

Honorable Mention: Tailwind, Endurance Fuel<\/a><\/p>\n

Honorable Mention: SiS Hydro<\/a><\/p>\n

Some drink mixes seem to work well for certain riders, while others don\u2019t. The reasons are varied, but it usually comes down to personal fueling needs and what our bodies can tolerate on rides. Every rider is different, and bodies react differently to some drink mixes than others.<\/p>\n

However, the biggest factor when choosing a sports drink mix is often simply whether or not you like the flavor. And no matter how many nutrients, electrolytes, or carbohydrates a brand packs into a drink mix, if you don\u2019t like its taste, that drink is going to sit in your bottle unused. So, it\u2019s often better to pick a brand, flavor, or formulation that you like and will actually drink on rides.<\/p>\n

\"Mangotrevor raab<\/p>\n

We selected drink mixes across a range of manufacturers.<\/p>\n

10 Tested Mixes<\/p>\n

With peak summer riding now here, we gathered ten different sports drink mixes from seven brands. To help level the playing field, we selected mango flavor for all the mixes\u2014it\u2019s a fun, summer flavor versus an old standby like lemon-lime. Additionally, mango seems to be the hot flavor trend for this summer. But if mango isn\u2019t your thing, each of these products is also available in multiple other flavors.<\/p>\n

All of the mixes below are available through online retailers (such as Amazon<\/a> and The Feed<\/a>). Most are also found at bicycle shops, and some can even be purchased at your local grocery store or big box retailer. These are the ten we tested (listed alphabetically).<\/p>\n

\"Hydration<\/a>\"Electrolyte<\/a>\"Mango,<\/a>\"Salty<\/a>\"Hydro,<\/a>\"Hydration<\/a>\"Hydration<\/a>\"Super<\/a>\"Endurance<\/a>\"RTR,<\/a>\"MangoThe Taste Testing<\/p>\n

Upon receiving the selected drink mixes, my colleague, Senior Health and Fitness Editor Jason Griffin<\/a>, and I gathered the ten flavors and set up a blind taste test of the mango drink mixes in our office. Our goal was simple: Which drink mixes taste best, and which would we take with us on rides?<\/p>\n

All tested powders and tablets were mixed according to the instructions listed on the brands\u2019 packaging. We used chilled, filtered water from our office water dispenser.<\/p>\n

After we prepared the drinks, nineteen coworkers from Bicycling and Runner\u2018s World sampled each flavor. Taste testers were asked to rank their top three choices based solely on taste and whether they would drink it on rides or runs\u2014five points were assigned to first-place votes, three points for second-place, and third received one point. Following taste testing by our staff, I tried the top five mixes on rides to confirm the on-bike drinkability.<\/p>\n

\"Jefftrevor raab<\/p>\n

Speaking of winners, Runner-in-Chief Jeff Dengate even got in on the tasting session.<\/p>\n

Winners and Losers<\/p>\n

Our taste testing demonstrates why personal choice and preferences are important when choosing a drink mix. And the results made me think about some of my usual go-to drink mix choices and consider other options for future rides.<\/p>\n

When votes were tallied, LMNT\u2019s Mango Chili Electrolyte Drink Mix received the highest number of first-place votes but finished in second based on points. However, the Mango Sports Drink mix from Mortal Hydration received the most overall points. Our taste testers liked its light and fruity flavor, and one said it \u201ctastes like juice.\u201d (If you seek a little more salt in your hydration mix, Mortal also offers a Salty Mango option.)<\/p>\n

Liquid I.V.\u2019s mango-flavor Hydration Multiplier mix rounded out the podium in third-place overall. An honorable mention goes to Tailwind for its Mango Yuzu Endurance Fuel\u2014this limited-edition flavor placed fourth in points. But of the top five finishers, I found it the most drinkable on rides.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd47 Mortal Hydration, Mango
\ud83e\udd48 LMNT Electrolyte Drink Mix, Mango Chili
\ud83e\udd49 Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier, Mango<\/p>\n

Only two clear losers stood out from the pack; both registered zero first, second, or third-place votes from our taste testers. Honestly, we expected one pick to receive a low ranking. However, the other drink mix that did not receive any votes is from a usual fan-favorite and trusted cycling nutrition brand.<\/p>\n

\"Twotrevor raab<\/p>\n

Mortal Hydration earned the most points from our taste-testers.<\/p>\n

\"Blacktrevor raab<\/p>\n

Unbroken\u2019s RTR uses salmon protein and was disliked by every tester.<\/p>\n

The RTR Mango mix from Unbroken received no votes and was unanimously panned by taste testers. \u201cNever again,\u201d \u201ctastes like rotten fruit,\u201d and \u201clike the Mal\u00f6rt of energy mix\u201d were some of the comments shared. And based on its ingredients and strong scent, those comments and the low ranking were not unexpected. (Further demonstrating how subjective taste is to personal preference, the elite cyclocross mountain bike racer on staff disliked the winning Mortal Hydration.)<\/p>\n

Unbroken claims its product is \u201cmade from 100% fresh Norwegian salmon protein,\u201d and that is very obvious once you open the tube and smell the tablet. This is an excellent example that even if a drink mix is the healthiest or best performance option on paper, if you won\u2019t actually use it, then it\u2019s not the best for you.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, Skratch Lab\u2019s Mango Super High-Carb mix also received no votes from taste testers. Two people commented that it was too viscous, and others felt it didn\u2019t have enough mango taste. I\u2019ve used this product and personally liked it. But, as with the lemon-lime and raspberry-flavor Skratch Super High-Carb, it does have a weaker taste than many other mixes. So, I sometimes add a little of the brand\u2019s standard Hydration Sport Drink Mix to punch up the flavor.<\/p>\n

Despite the low ranking, I\u2019ll personally continue using this drink mix. Of the high-carb mixes I\u2019ve used, Skratch\u2019s tends to sit best in my tummy, and I don\u2019t feel as bloated on long rides.<\/p>\n

\"Snacks<\/p>\n

trevor raab<\/p>\n

Our Expert\u2019s Drink Mix Advice<\/p>\n

After the dust settled, I asked Senior Health and Fitness Editor Jason Griffin\u2014Bicycling\u2019s resident expert on topics of training and nutrition\u2014to weigh in on the drink mixes. I asked Griffin for his recommendations on the best and worst picks (of the tested choices) for a cyclist\u2019s health.<\/p>\n

Best<\/p>\n

\u201cObjectively, the healthiest pick is Unbroken, made from hydrolyzed salmon protein that\u2019s rich in amino acids. No sugar and no artificial ingredients\u2014and from my experience, I\u2019ve noticed a difference in what the brand refers to as \u201creal time recovery.\u201d My best way to drink it is to take two tablets in a glass with about a shot\u2019s worth of freezing cold water. Let them dissolve and throw it all back. Drinking it like that is easier to get down than a lot of the gels that are out there, in my opinion.\u201d – J.G.<\/p>\n

Worst<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018worst\u2019 is relative. Some of the things you need when doing endurance activities are high levels of sugar and sodium. The taste testers\u2019 number one pick (Mortal Hydration) has high levels of sodium and sugar (it’s even higher for the Salty Mango flavor). Unsurprisingly, the sweet and salty tasting mix ended up high on the list. While I wouldn\u2019t drink this sitting around watching the Tour de France, I would take this on a long ride on a hot day.\u201d – J.G.<\/p>\n

Member Exclusive: Check Out Our Top Cycling Stories\"Chevron\"Chevron\"Headshot<\/p>\n

As Deputy Editor, Tara Seplavy leads Bicycling\u2019s product test team; after having previously led product development and sourcing for multiple bike brands, run World Championship winning mountain bike teams, wrenched at renowned bicycle shops in Brooklyn, raced everything from criteriums to downhill, and ridden bikes on six different continents (landing herself in hospital emergency rooms in four countries and counting). Based in Easton, Pennsylvania, Tara spends tons of time on the road and trail testing products. A familiar face at cyclocross races, crits, and bike parks in the Mid Atlantic and New England, on weekends she can often be found racing for the New York City-based CRCA\/KruisCX team. When not riding a bike, or talking about them, Tara listens to a lot of ska, punk, and emo music, and consumes too much social media. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"5 min read Whether you\u2019re riding all day long or for a quick spin after work, hydrating and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82,144087],"class_list":["post-820028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-supes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}