[Kerry Irons]

This

The stuff is great, but expensive when you consider Morton's lite salt can do the same thing for pennies a shot.

I am always amazed what people wil pay for "performance products" that are the same as what you can find at the grocery store for a fraction (and in this case a TINY fraction) of the cost. To each his own.

 

[Kerry Irons]

More freedom

Sugar ain't evil.... But by using Nuun I can get electrolytes without the carbs/calories of other drinks. I prefer "chewable" calories on a ride so not having then in my drink gives me more freedom in that respect.

Another problem with putting sugary drinks in your water bottle is that the bike (and you) can end up a sticky mess if you dribble even a little bit of liquid. And of course there's the old "how do I clean this black mold out of my bottles" issue.

I switched back to water after a number of years with various energy drinks. I eat salted fig bars on long rides, and when I take a break (long or regular rides) it's salted mixed nuts, a couple of oatmeal raisin cookies, and a Coke. My bike and I stay nice and clean and I rarely need to wash my bottles. Food is a LOT cheaper than commercial energy food and tastes a lot better too.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Thinking it through

Drinking plain old salty water generally doesn't work out too well. Ask shipwreck victims who tried drinking seawater - if you can find any who survived, that is.

So if your careful analysis is correct, you could drink seawater if you just added sugar to it (like Gatorade), right? It's too bad all those sailors never learned this trick. Or perhaps seawater is WAY saltier than electrolyte/energy drinks. Do you think that could be the case? Just asking.