Review: Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Fuel Mix

Great review of Tailwind Nutrition from feedthehabit.com

Tailwind Nutrition is now 10 years young. In the past decade, they have pounded a constant drumbeat that their mixes are all you need for extended activity. I always have one bottle of water and one bottle of drink mix on every ride, so I’ve been riding with Mandarin and Tropical (caffeinated) mixes with great results this summer.

Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Fuel Mix Details:

• Built to speed absorption of fuel and replace what’s lost
• Calories and electrolytes deliver all you need
• Non-GMO, gluten free, vegan, dairy and soy free
• Mixes clear and rinses clean
• Lightweight flavors

Great cycling fuel
The old-school way to stay hydrated was lemon-lime Gatorade. In the 1980’s, that’s about all there was and we dealt with it — thinking it was the bee’s knees. Now, nutritionists have developed more gut-friendly and absorbable drink mixes, with the folks at Tailwind Nutrition being a part of that. When there’s too much packed into that drink mix, your gut will tell you. That’s why Tailwind Endurance Fuel keeps things simple.

To mix it up, I drop two scoops into a standard Specialized Purist or larger Elite Fly 750ml water bottle. The smaller bottle ends up with a slightly more concentrated taste over the Elite, but it’s all good. With two scoops, you’ll have 200 calories in there with a bunch of electrolytes to keep you going all day long. Now, Tailwind ensures this is all you need for all-day adventures, but bringing along that much mix for a long ride, without support could be challenging. That said, I haven’t put it to the all-day test, but I have tested it on 1-2 hour efforts with much success.

I appreciate the flavor and light taste offered by the Mandarin Endurance Fuel mix. It goes down easy and never upsets my stomach. I love that it doesn’t get all sticky either. As an alternative, I’ve also mixed in the Tropical flavor, which is caffeinated. Full-transparency here… I don’t drink much in the way of caffeine. I’m not a coffee guy, nor do I drink any sort of caffeinated beverages. However, on long rides and races, I do down a caffeinated gel here-and-there.

With that, it’s hard to ignore the definitive taste of caffeine (initial taste and aftertaste). It’s bearable on longer rides, but feels overkill to me on short ones. It’s enough to even make me feel a little jittery (70mg is about 15mg more than a can of Mountain Dew). On longer races, I don’t ever get that feeling, but I do on these 1-2 hour rides. That said, you’ll have to determine your caffeine intake, but just be aware that the taste is very apparent.

As you’re mixing these, there’s no noticeable off-gassing, which is nice. With other mixes, you have to pop the top to prevent it from exploding in your face. A couple of firm shakes and you’re good-to-go without any off-gassing. As you can see, the powder features very fine granules and it mixes up almost clear. Drips and spills aren’t as sticky as other mixes as well.

The Good

• Easily-absorbed ingredients
• No gut issues so far
• Light taste
• Not overly sticky
• Fuel and electrolytes all-in-one

The Bad

• Caffeinated flavors have a strong caffeine taste

The Bottom Line: Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Fuel
A couple of scoops is all you need for a few hours in the saddle. With a variety of flavor options and a nice, light taste, the regular endurance fuel is great for any effort. Should caffeine be in your mix, you’ll notice the taste. I love how quickly these mix up and how well they are absorbed in my body.