What is the best carb drink for cycling in South Africa?

What should a cycling carb drink do?

Long rides need 60 to 90 g of carbohydrate an hour from about 2.5 hours, using a glucose and fructose blend (roughly 2:1) so the gut can absorb more (Jeukendrup 2014). A glucose-only source tops out near 60 g/h. A drink is the easiest way to do this on a bike because bottles are built in, and it covers fluid and sodium at the same time.

How do the options compare?

Prices are South African retailer listings, October 2026. The metric is carbohydrate per Rand, but only one product publishes its carbohydrate per serving.

Biogen Pure Energy is a light-carbohydrate electrolyte drink, not a fuel for 80 g/h. Osmolality is not published for any of these, so we cannot rank on it.

Which one should you buy?

• Best value on data: 32Gi Race. Its blend contains isomaltulose, maltodextrin, glucose, fructose and salt, and no caffeine is listed. One serving an hour delivers about 68 g, so it covers most of a 60 to 90 g/h target for about R39 an hour. Trade-offs: a lot of carbohydrate in one bottle can upset some stomachs, and the brand does not publish sodium per serving online.
• Biogen Cytogen and Carbogen: cheaper per serving, with isomaltulose (Palatinose) as the key carbohydrate. They look good value, but with no carbohydrate per serving published you are guessing at grams per Rand. Check the pack.
• Maurten: the premium hydrogel option at R75 to R85 a sachet. We have not compared hydrogel against conventional drinks here, and its carbohydrate content is not verified in our data.

How to use it

1. Practise at race intake in training; the gut adapts.
2. Aim for one bottle an hour, plus gels or food to reach 90 g/h on very long days.
3. Add sodium on hot days and drink to thirst. See how much sodium per hour.
4. Sweet drinks only: rinse bottles, because sugar residue grows bacteria in warm SA weather.

For the Cape Town Cycle Tour specifically, see the fuelling plan. Compare gels on our best energy gels guide.

Safety

People with diabetes need an individual fuelling plan from their doctor or dietitian. Fructose malabsorption can cause cramps and diarrhoea with glucose-fructose blends. Teenage riders should fuel with normal food and drinks, and pregnant riders, people with kidney disease and anyone on regular medication should get individual advice.

Products mentioned