Do you need the sweet sports drinks for energy?

[teawoman]

I'm confused. The point of sports drinks and gels is that you are burning carbs while you ride so you need to replenish them. Anything that is "carb free" fails to do that. So you run low on glycogen and you bonk.

You can get carbs from other sources, like pretzels, fruit, etc., if your stomach can tolerate them. (Unfortunately mine usually can't, especially during hot summer rides.) One benefit from sports drinks and gels over actual food is that the drinks/gels are formulated to be processed quickly by your digestive system so your body gets the benefits more quickly.

Yeah, I'm not looking for carb free, I'm asking whether a lower sugar drink will give me the same energy benefits as one like gatorade--or if I can just eat a) carbs that are more complex and b) an electrolyte tab in water, thus staying away from the super sweet drinks altogether. Dried fruit is out for me because I'm allergic to the sulfites (and they seem to be even in the ones that claim to have no preservatives).

Sorry for the confusion.