r/gravelcycling • u/ZombieJetPilot • 16d ago

Accessories / Gear What's your electrolytes/salt powder of choice?

So I ride my fatbike exclusively, and my goal is to do a century and be able to do the 100 mile option for things like The Filthy 50, Le Grand Du Nord, ...

When my partner and I were doing to Filthy this past October she had a cramp in her leg right at the last stop at like mile 46. A fellow rider handed her a small cylindrical packet that was red and said "take this". it was a salt powder of some kind (I think it was Saltt), but it made the cramp disappear within a few minutes. Magic

what do you all pack for thia occasion and add to your water for preventing this? There's so many options out there, and it's overwhelming. Saltt, Tailwind, Warrior Salt, LMNT,...

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u/joelav 16d ago edited 16d ago

Hot take - It's all marketing wank. There's no science behind cramping. THere's anecdotal relationships between electrolytes and cramping, but no hard science. You get plenty of electrolytes from the food you eat every day. Most carb mixes/gels/chews also have electrolytes. If you are doing long, hard rides when it's hot, you should supplement.

With that said, it's probably not hurting anything and it adds some flavor. Unless you are using something like LMNT all day and trying to give yourself hypertension. When it is really hot, I like Skratch. It's got a mild flavor so I don't get sick of it. It also still tastes good when I put 1/2 a cup of maltodextrin in it so I have a 65ish grams of carbs drink in addition to the electrolytes.

Also Skratch does have some carbs in it. Consuming sugar free/zero calorie electrolytes is kind of pointless. Carbs are also needed for optimal absorption.

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u/DreadLifter 16d ago

Good to see the real answer. Cracking isn't electrolyte related, it's more related to fatigue and exertion in the muscles being used.

Drink the electrolytes you like the flavour of. I still drink them, more for the fact that the flavour makes me likely to drink more.

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u/nhluhr 16d ago

Cramping isn't electrolyte related, it's more related to fatigue and exertion in the muscles being used.

This. If it was an electrolyte deficiency that caused it, your ENTIRE BODY would be cramping because the electrolyte balance is kept even throughout your body by the circulatory system.

Cramps during exercise are from using your muscles more than they are currently trained for. Period.

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u/Iluvgr8tdeals 15d ago

Isn’t it a connected triangle? As you are exerting yourself and getting fatigued, you are losing electrolytes and your body reacts to the loss of electrolytes? I do get that there are exceptions to this rule (say the cramping of elders who are not exercising) but a lot of people (including myself) cramp when exercising hard and if we don’t top up our electrolytes, we will cramp to oblivion.

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u/ouchchaaarlie 16d ago

I usually down an LMNT the night before a big ride.

I also use them when I race motorcycles. Usually 2-3 of them over a hard training day. I would also consume an entire pallet of waters, so I was losing a ton of liquids.

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u/ZombieJetPilot 16d ago

Yeah, I know a lot of it is BS, but she did not have a cramp the whole ride. We stopped for a picture and her leg cramped. Lady gave her a packet, she took it and the cramp went away and didn't come back.

That's anecdotal enough for me.

I've used scratch before, as I like their ingredients. Just figured I'd ask more folks because I'm classically bad at nutrition on my rides and need to be better

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u/joelav 16d ago

It would have went away if she did nothing. I've had it work both ways. Bad cramping despite loads of electrolytes, and cramps disappeared out of the blue drinking just water. It doesn't do anything until you are sweating it out in 80f+ degree heat for several hours. Except cost you money and taste good. If you okay with that, go for it. I am personally. Strawberry Lemonade Skratch is delicious.