Lately there have been some strong challenges by upstarts to the established kings of endurance and recovery products. First it was Fluid, a very effective recovery drink. Now it is CarboRocket, a product designed to be the "next generation of sports drinks."

From CarboRocket developer, Brad Keyes:

CarboRocket is a little project I've been working on for about 2 years. I had come to the conclusion that I wasn't capable of drinking anything but water for endurance training and events because everything else (sports drink wise) made me sick. I realized I needed something so I started messing around with different ingredients and formulas and have been tweaking it for the last 18 months with input from the Monavie-Cannondale pro-team, an exercise physiologist, and a nutritionist I know. I think we finally nailed it. I knew I was on to something once the repeat orders started coming in.

While I've shipped it to every state in the country, thanks to friends who love it and talk about it like the Fatcyclist, I've only got it stocked at a couple local shops right now and I sell it online. It's starting to gain momentum and my next goal is to get in with a distributor like QBP and REI so I can take it nationwide. I currently have a really good following in the mountain bike community and hope to tap into the running and triathlete market as well.

The biggest difference between CarboRocket and everything else out there is that you can drink it all day without getting tired of it or making yourself sick. It's especially drinkable after its been sitting in your bottle all day and the last thing you want is something really sweet. Its loaded with complex and simple carbs as well as electrolytes and minerals and each serving has 1000mg of L-Glutamine to help your muscles deal with the stress of training and racing and recover quicker. Oh, yeah, it's all natural and tastes great.

Everyone who tries it gets hooked. Do we really need another a sports drink? Yes. Yes, we do.

I have been using a combo of Accelerade and electrolyte capsules to supplement my performance on long, hard rides. My biggest issue has always been cramping. I have had hit and miss issues with this, but if the day is long enough or hard enough, I will cramp long before I run out of steam. Very frustrating.  It has gotten better with the addition of products like S caps and Endurolytes, but if I could get that in a drink mix, then the capsules could be avoided.

The combination of ingredients in CarboRocket includes electrolytes to stave off cramping. Brad developed this after finding challenges with the existing drink mixes on the market which either upset his digestion or led to muscle cramps. From his website:

Something had to be done so I set out to create my own sports drink. Obviously, it couldn't make me nauseous and it had to fuel me for hours and hours of biking without bonking or cramping. After a few disasters and a season of epic riding and racing I have come up with the perfect combination of carbohydrates and electrolytes. I call it CarboRocket.

I received a sample pack of several servings of CarboRocket and tried one serving on a 2.5 hour training ride.  I would never try a new product on a race day or any time I needed to rely on proven, tested results, so a test bottle was in order.  I found the taste to be decent, not yummy, but perhaps more importantly it really had very little of a strong taste and hardly any aftertaste.  I had no stomach upset or issues.  On to the next level of testing.

I had a trip scheduled to Utah to attend an endurance ride that I was pretty sure would challenge me.  The effort and distance were significant enough to put me in that cramping mode.  Over the 8 hours or riding and pushing bikes on the Southern Utah Plateau I used a 50/50 plan of attack by combining servings of CarboRocket (mixed in a water bottle) with some Endurolyte capsules.  Although CarboRocket on its own could have been sufficient, I hedged my bet and cut down the amount of tablets but did not eliminate them from the day's supplements.

I found that the CarboRocket powder mixed easily and completely and left very little traces in the bottle when empty.  Although the taste never made me look forward to the next sip, it never left an aftertaste in my mouth like Accelerade does.  It also did not taste any worse when warm as the heat of the day worked its magic on the water in the bottle.  That is a good thing!

I went through 4 bottles of CarboRocket over the course of the day along with 200oz of plain water from my hydration pack.  If I was to try that type of ride again without the electrolyte capsules, I would up the CarboRocket intake to one bottle per hour. I never had any cramps and I was pretty well torched by the last few miles.  Still, I was able to push a hard gear near the end of the ride and never fell over in a ball of writhing agony in full lock-up mode.  Works for me.

If you are looking for a natural approach to an endurance drink or have been left wanting by the other products you have tried, give CarboRocket a shot.  I plan on giving this product more time on the bike and I will report back long term and let ya know!