When you’re on the bike for more than an hour, carbohydrates can be an important energy source. So the question isn’t whether you should take in carbohydrates, but how many grams per hour you can typically benefit from without your stomach reacting.
Here you’ll get a practical guide to how many grams of carbohydrate per hour you can aim for on your ride, how you can calculate a personal starting point, and how you can turn the numbers into a concrete fueling plan with sports drink, gels, chews and possibly solid food.
Typical ranges for carbohydrates per hour
For many endurance athletes, it can make sense to work within a range of about 30 to 90 g of carbohydrate per hour when you’re in the saddle for more than about one hour.
- Low to moderate intensity for about one to two hours with a typical target of around 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour
- Moderate to high intensity for about two to four hours or more with a typical target of around 60 to 90 g of carbohydrate per hour
- Very high intensity or very long events, where some well-trained athletes can be at the top end of the range or slightly above, if it has been increased gradually and is well tolerated
It’s not about consuming as many grams of carbohydrate as possible. The focus is to find a level where you can typically keep energy intake steady, reduce the risk of stomach issues and follow a plan that is also practical when your heart rate is high and the pace increases.
If you’re new to fueling planning, a sensible starting point can be around 30 g of carbohydrate per hour, which you can gradually build up from over several training sessions.
Why the type of carbohydrate makes a difference
The body can’t absorb unlimited amounts of carbohydrate through the gut per hour, and the type of carbohydrate can play a role here.
- With a single carbohydrate source such as glucose or maltodextrin, many people in practice are around 60 g per hour as a typical level
- With a mixture of carbohydrates such as maltodextrin or glucose together with fructose, more people can in some cases reach around 90 g per hour, because the carbohydrates can be absorbed via different transport systems in the gut
This is one of the reasons why many sports drinks are formulated with multiple carbohydrate sources. A sports drink like Carbo Race Electrolyte 50 g for your bottle combines carbohydrates and electrolytes and provides about 47 g of carbohydrate per serving, developed for endurance sports.
It can especially make sense to aim for the higher end of the 60 to 90 g of carbohydrate per hour range when you
- Ride long training sessions of two to five hours or more
- Compete at high intensity
- Know that your stomach is used to a higher intake because you have trained it gradually and systematically
Otherwise, a level around 30 to 60 g per hour will often be a more realistic and comfortable place to start.
How to calculate your personal carbohydrate needs
If you want to get closer to a personal number, you can base it on both your total energy expenditure per hour and on how large a share you want covered by carbohydrates during the ride itself.
- Estimate your energy expenditure per hour, for example via a power meter, cycling computer or general tables, where many people are around 400 to 800 kcal per hour depending on size, terrain and intensity
- Choose a share you want to cover with carbohydrates, for example between 45 and 60 percent
- Divide the carbohydrate calories by four to get grams of carbohydrate per hour
A simple formula can look like this:
(Calorie expenditure × 0.45 to 0.60) ÷ 4 = grams of carbohydrate per hour
Example: If you burn about 700 kcal per hour and want to cover 50 percent with carbohydrate, you get
- 700 × 0.50 = 350 kcal from carbohydrate per hour
- 350 ÷ 4 = about 88 g of carbohydrate per hour
This aligns with the calculations you can see in PurePower’s own cycling fueling guide, where the theory is connected to concrete examples of bike rides.
See the model as a guiding reference point and inspiration, not as a definitive answer. Your stomach, daily form and experience with sports nutrition can have a big impact on what works for you.
From numbers to practice on the bike ride
When you know your target in grams of carbohydrate per hour, it often comes down to spreading the carbohydrates evenly instead of taking in a lot at once. A typical structure can look like this.
- Small sips of sports drink continuously, for example every five to ten minutes
- Gels or chews as extra energy every 30 to 45 minutes
- A bit of solid food such as banana, an energy bar or Energy Snack on the longer rides
Some practical reference points you can use when you plan your fueling are.
- Gels where many are at about 20 to 30 g of carbohydrate and an Energy Gel Cola can typically be included every 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how much carbohydrate you get from drink and chews
- Chews where a bag of Energy Chews for steady energy on the bike often corresponds to about one gel in energy amount, but divided into small pieces, so you can for example take one to two chews every ten to fifteen minutes
- Sports drink where a 500 ml bottle of carbohydrate drink typically contains around 30 to 40 g of carbohydrate, depending on the product and mixing ratio, and where a full serving of Carbo Race Electrolyte can be used as a base and adjusted with more water if you want a lower concentration
By combining drink, gels and chews you can adjust your intake based on how your body responds.
- If you feel a drop in energy levels, you can consider supplementing with an extra gel or some extra chews, if tolerated
- If it feels like too much, you can cut back on gels and let the sports drink make up a larger part of your intake
Example plans for 30, 60 and 90 g of carbohydrate per hour
Below you’ll find three simple fueling plans you can test in training and adapt to your own day-to-day riding.
Plan for 30 g of carbohydrate per hour
The low end can suit you if you’re new to sports nutrition or ride easy long rides at low to moderate intensity.
- About 500 ml carbohydrate drink with around 30 g of carbohydrate spread evenly over one hour
- Optionally a smaller gel of about 20 g and a bit of fruit, for example half a banana with about 10 g of carbohydrate during the hour
Here you get a simple and typically well-tolerated energy supplement that can serve as a starting point for many.
Plan for 60 g of carbohydrate per hour
Around 60 g of carbohydrate per hour is a typical level for many cyclists and triathletes on longer training sessions.
- One bottle with about 500 ml carbohydrate drink and about 30 to 35 g of carbohydrate
- One gel with about 20 to 25 g of carbohydrate, spread over the hour
In practice you can for example.
- Drink small sips every five to ten minutes
- Take half a gel every 30 minutes or one full gel spread over an hour
As an alternative, you can combine a bottle of sports drink with a small handful of chews spread evenly over the hour.
Plan for 90 g of carbohydrate per hour
Around 90 g of carbohydrate per hour can be relevant for long and hard sessions, for example in competition or demanding training, and typically requires that you have gradually accustomed your stomach to the amount.
- One bottle with about 500 to 650 ml carbohydrate drink with around 45 g of carbohydrate, for example a full serving of Carbo Race Electrolyte
- One gel with about 25 to 30 g of carbohydrate
- Additionally two to four chews on top with about 10 to 15 g of carbohydrate in total
At this amount it is especially important to distribute the intake in smaller doses throughout the hour, test the plan in training over a period, and ensure that the drink does not become too concentrated by adjusting the amount of water.
When electrolytes make extra sense
Carbohydrates provide energy, while electrolytes can help support fluid and salt balance, which is affected when you sweat. They can be particularly relevant in specific situations.
- When you ride in hot weather
- When you sweat a lot and can see salt streaks on your clothes or taste salt on your skin
- When you often experience cramps or feel flat, even though your carbohydrate intake seems appropriate
There are two classic ways to work with electrolytes that you can adapt to your fueling plan.
- Carbohydrates and electrolytes in the same drink, for example as a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink, where you get both energy and salts in one solution
- Carbohydrates from gels and chews and electrolytes in water, for example with electrolytes for hot and long bike rides in your water bottle
If you want to keep the carbohydrate intake in your fluids a bit lower, you can let electrolyte tablets provide the salts in the water and take most of the energy via gels and chews. This can make it easier to adjust carbohydrates and fluids separately.
How to train your stomach for more carbohydrate
For many endurance athletes, stomach comfort is important when carbohydrate intake increases. Stomach issues can often be linked to some recurring causes.
- Very large single doses such as two gels at once
- Too concentrated a drink because too much powder has been mixed into too little water
- New products that haven’t been tested in training but are first used on race day
- Too fast a jump up in grams of carbohydrate per hour without gradual progression
A more controlled approach is to acclimate your stomach gradually, just like you train other parts of performance.
- Start around 30 g of carbohydrate per hour on your longer rides
- Increase by about five to ten g per hour over several weeks, for example from 30 to 40, 50 and then 60 g per hour
- Assess both perceived energy and stomach comfort after each ride, and then adjust your plan
Before the long training sessions or competitions, it can be a good idea to go through a short checklist.
- Have you tested the products you want to use in training first
- Do you know how many grams of carbohydrate are in your bottle, your gel and your chews
- Do you have enough water with you both to wash gels down and to adjust the concentration in your bottle
- Do you have a simple plan you can remember, even when you get tired, for example a sip every ten minutes and half a gel every 30 minutes
That way you train not only watts and kilometers, but also your ability to follow a fueling plan that can work for you, without your stomach limiting your effort.
Find your own balance in carbohydrate intake
Carbohydrate intake per hour on the bike ultimately comes down to finding your personal balance between energy, comfort and practicality. Use the 30, 60 and 90 g per hour ranges as a starting point, adjust for intensity and duration, and test the plan thoroughly in training before you take it to the start line.