Torq Hypotonic Tangerine

Torq Hypotonic provides low carb and electrolyte hydration for short rides in hot weather, and the small sachets make it ideal to carry in your kit bag to a race or time trial.

The latest nutrition product from British company Torq is one that is designed to 'optimise hydration during short sessions and races', and for chain gangs, evening races and time trials, or just very fast summer rides where sweat loss is high, it's an effective and tasty drink.

> Find your nearest dealer here

It comes in six 18g sachets contained in a plastic screw-top container. This makes it ideal for throwing in your kit bag if driving to a race, and at home makes preparing a drink easy as there's no mess at all. Each 18g sachet makes a 500ml dose but can be used in a 750ml bottle for a weaker concentration.

Each sachet provides just 15g of carbohydrate, which clearly isn't a lot, and Torq stresses that it's not intended for fuelling for longer rides. For rides in excess of 60 minutes it suggests you use its other energy products – bars, gels and energy powder. That said, Torq does say the Hypotonic, because of the handy sachets it comes in, can be used as a backup on longer rides. Stuff a couple in a jersey pocket if venturing out all day on the bike, for example.

That small amount of carbohydrate, delivered via a 2:1 glucose:fructose formulation, is designed specifically to cover the energy requirements for an hour-long ride or race, provided you've fuelled adequately in the hours leading up to it. There are also no added colours, preservatives or artificial sweeteners in the ingredients.

Faster fuel

What Hypotonic is aimed at, according to Torq, is hydrating you faster than the electrolyte tablets that are popular in the cycling market. Not that these tablets aren't packed with electrolytes – including sodium, chloride, calcium lactate, potassium chloride, and magnesium carbonate – so you're getting a good dose.

But Torq reckons its new Hypotonic powder is better than electrolyte tablets, hydrating you faster, according to its own research, because the glucose and sodium ingredients speed up fluid absorption. Electrolyte tablets, because they contain no carbs, are slower to be absorbed by the body.

Taste test

The product is offered in two flavours, Lemon and Tangerine. I tested the latter and, to put it through its paces for its intended use, I filled a 500ml bottle and headed out on the weekday evening chain gang, a high-intensity hour-long training ride. The first thing to note is that the product is easy to mix in a bottle of water with no clogging, and the solution is light on the taste buds with a refreshing flavour. Yes, it does taste remotely of tangerine, but it's not too strong if it's not your fave flavour.

During that ride, I really liked the fact that it didn't have that concentrated taste of some energy products, which can make them hard to stomach for higher intensity rides and races. I liked the taste, and it caused no stomach issues during or after use.

I've been leaning towards water and 'real' food for my riding nutrition in recent years, and rarely reach for energy products unless it's for a race or target event. But Hypotonic changed that. For the short but intense rides that make up much of my riding time, with lots of chain gangs and hour-long high-intensity sessions, I found the small amount of carbohydrate enough to keep my energy levels up, especially when I would normally begin to fade towards the end. Hypotonic seemed to help me maintain a higher energy level in the latter stages of a hard ride.

Torq suggests another benefit of Hypotonic is that it helps to overcome the bloating and suppressed thirst reflex that can result from just drinking plain water during an intense session, because of the carbohydrate and electrolytes in the powder. I certainly didn't notice any bloating or lack of thirst using it.

> People's Choice: road.cc readers' favourite cycling drinks

As with most energy products, it's not cheap to use on a regular basis. A tube costs £7 so that works out at £1.16 a go, which is expensive if you do use it often. Save it just for events like a race or time trial and it starts to make better value. Torq does sell four canisters for £25 and 10 for £55.90, which work out at better value for money.

Torq Hypotonic won't be for everyone, but if you want a better alternative to water for those shorter training sessions and evening crit races, or cyclo-cross races this winter, it's a tasty drink that's easily digestible and very light on the stomach, and will help keep you hydrated.

Verdict

Low carb energy drink ideal for short rides in hot – or cold – weather