Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

V8 Fusion — a sports drink?

07.10.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

I’ve had a couple of incidents this year caused by inadequate hydration. There was a bonk in April and a difficult hot weather ride last month. So I’m paying more attention to hydrating these days, and replacing lost electrolytes. I usually drink lots of water and one glass of electrolyte replacement before starting a ride, and am getting better about taking a drink every 10 minutes or so during a ride (It used to be 20-30 minutes).

Currently, I’m using Hammer Nutrition’s HEED, on the recommendation of a friend. The jury is still out, but it seems to do the job. I have also used Accelerade, with good results. On rides of more than one hour, I have discovered that plain water simply isn’t enough for me.

A man who recently completed a hilly 100-mile ride said his job was made easier by hydrating with V8 Fusion the day before the ride. He drank most of a 46-ounce bottle, and says it left him with “limited” cramping on the ride. V8 Fusion is a mix of fruit juice and V8’s traditional vegetable juice. There is lots of potassium in the mix, and no added sugar or frutose, but the Fusion, with its fruit juice, is sweeter than all vegetable V8.

The downside? Cost. V8 Fusion runs about $4.50 per 46-oz. bottle. However, a minimal amount of online searching will locate wholesale prices of about half that amount, and a case of eight bottles for about $22.00.

I’ve had the Fusion, just to sample it, and had never thought of it as a sports-type drink. My sweet tooth likes its flavor, so gulping down a big bottle the day before a long ride would not be a problem. I think I’ll pick some up on my next run to the supermarket — just for experimental purposes, of course.

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related

Categories // Rides, training Tags // electrolytes, hydration, sports drink, V8 Fusion

Comments

  1. Jeff Contreras says

    July 10, 2008 at 10:00 pm

    Someone suggested on my blog that I try Nuun products. I just ordered a sampler from http://www.nuun.com. I’m curious to see if it tastes good, and even if it works! This is not a paid endorsement, or even a free one…

    Reply
  2. Mike Weiland says

    July 10, 2008 at 10:22 pm

    I think your hilly friend is on the right track, but not for the VFusion standpoint. I don’t think the drink is the magic bullet he speaks of, however I’ve never looked at the ingredients nor tried the drink. BUT, most people walk around every day a little dehydraded to begin with, so if you start a ride in a dehydrated state you already have started off on the wrong foot. I feel with proper nutrition and fueling you shouldn’t have any cramping let alone “limited” cramping. Since you brought up V8, I like the small little 4oz cans of regular V8. They make a nice recovery drink or they fit nicely into a jersey pocket when you need to replenish while in mid ride.

    FYI if your pee is not clear then you’re dehydrated.

    Reply
  3. Jared says

    July 11, 2008 at 12:19 am

    I’ve been drinking straight water lately but taking an electrolyte pill before starting my rides, and sometimes every hour or two into a ride depending on how long it is. A single tablet is good for about a 2 hour ride…if I know I’m going longer I usually take one every hour. I like Salt Sticks, they have the most “bang” for the buck and a single tablet is a “dose” where the other guys require you to take 2-4 tablets to get the same amount of salts…which makes them considerably more expensive! I actually have some Nuun that I received free, but I have yet to try it. I also have some Heed (I’m guessing it’s the same friend!) but I haven’t been using it all that much. I have found I do better with “real” food rather than a liquid supplement…find what works for you and stick to it. However Heed is better than nothing and it’s really great for long rides. For the 105 miler I used Heed and Perpetuium and I feel they worked rather well. Different things work for different people!

    Reply
  4. Al says

    July 11, 2008 at 8:41 am

    I hate to be a buzzkill, but I have been using plain old Gatorade for years with no issues whatsoever. I buy the gallon bottle at the store for about $3.79 and it does the job. I’ll ride for 3 hours with two bottles (1 liter each) and a gel. That’s plenty to last for the duration (about 50-60 miles).

    I think a lot of the supplements are splitting hairs for those of us that aren’t racing. You need to replace what you lost and keep yourself from dehydrating/bonking. Your GC position will not be affected 😉

    Reply
  5. Apertome says

    July 11, 2008 at 9:23 am

    I like PowerAde Zero. Gets you the electrolytes, without any calories. If one reason you ride is to lose weight, those high-calorie fitness drinks are seriously undermining your progress. A lot of people don’t care about that, but I do.

    I will also drink Gatorade or even use some of those weird gel things if I’m on a really long ride or need a performance boost. Also bringing powered Gatorade is great if you think you’ll run out of Gatorade, but will have access to water.

    I usually just carry one bottle of water and one bottle of PowerAde Zero. Or sometimes two bottles of water and one fitness drink.

    I never thought of the V8 thing, but it sounds interesting.

    Reply
  6. dquack says

    July 11, 2008 at 8:45 pm

    I like the V-Fusion Light, but just for a drink and to try to get more fruits/veg in my daily intake. I don’t like regular V-8 (not a fan of tomato juice). V-Fusion Light doesn’t seem too sweet to me, at least not the orange/mango. In general, not a fan of pre-mixed sports drinks. Too sweet. I either cut with water or just get powder.

    Reply
  7. brthomas says

    October 23, 2009 at 11:08 am

    I like all of the V8 Fusion flavors, but their sugar concentrations are too high to use them as sports drinks during a long, intense workout. My Fruit-Ade recipe shows how to dilute V8 Fusion or any other fruit juice to make a drink with the optimum sugar concentration needed for most rapid absorption of the fluid into your body.
    Recipe for homemade 100% natural Fruit-Ade sports drink.

    Some of the V8 Fusion flavors still taste great after dilution to make a sports drink. See my Fruit-Ade Natural Sports Drink Oct. 2009 Update.

    Some V8 Fusion flavors are somewhat bland after dilution, so for these I use stevia for natural sweetening of homemade sports drinks.

    Reply
  8. Leticia Drechsler says

    February 28, 2010 at 2:10 am

    Good blogpost, I favorited your site so I can visit again in the future, Cheers

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 257 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d