Gels

[Capricorn]

Agreed with the OP in that all it comes down to flavour and dose of stimulant. But I'm off gels and good riddance: overpriced and full of marketeering.

I make my own energy bars and take along a banana or two, and some water of course. The bars are delish if i have to say so myself and easy to digest. Totally suffices for my on-board munchies requirements.

[SeaBee]

Patches, I trust you missed the date on that one. Before we have some guys rushing out for that...

[nonky]

Agreed with the OP in that all it comes down to flavour and dose of stimulant. But I'm off gels and good riddance: overpriced and full of marketeering.

I make my own energy bars and take along a banana or two, and some water of course. The bars are delish if i have to say so myself and easy to digest. Totally suffices for my on-board munchies requirements.

 

Recipe, please?

[rudi-h]

the main difference between flavours are the caffeine content. High-caffeine gels give you a kick but can send your HR through the roof and a friend of mine was in seriously bad shape after too much high caffeine gels during a race

[kandui]

As a Table Mountain Bikers member you get 20% off Powerbar products.

[JGR]

Lately I have been making home made banana bread with some extra stuff (GU recovery shake powder, cocoa ect) and use it in combination with gels. Found it to be much more effective for rides over 4-5hrs than just gels. Also dont enjoy the caffeine has it give me stomach issues.

 

Also be using bcaa power in the drinks combined with just gels on shorter rides.

 

But one thing I think we can all agree on is that are quite steep (along with the drinks).

 

Over the last few months training for IM the costs for drinks/gels ect was astronomical

[Capricorn]

Recipe, please?

 

Nothing you haven't seen before i'd imagine, but YGPM

[Benjamin]

In races, I find the sticky gel wrappers in my pockets are horrid. Slime goes all over whatever else is in there ( tools, phone etc) plus gets on my fingers, gloves, grips and shifters, so I prefer chowing solid stuff. Although a banana skin also gets a bit grim in there after a few hours.

[Lone_Ranger]

If you want a cheap, local alternative try Racefood (www.racefood.co.za). R25 for 5 bars, and they taste great.

 

I've found the gels give me cramps as I need to drink too much water straight after taking them. So I was looking for alternatives, and this was featured in on of the cycling mags recently.

[GaryvdM]

In races, I find the sticky gel wrappers in my pockets are horrid. Slime goes all over whatever else is in there ( tools, phone etc) plus gets on my fingers, gloves, grips and shifters, so I prefer chowing solid stuff. Although a banana skin also gets a bit grim in there after a few hours.

 

I try squeze every drop out of the gels, but it is some times difficult. So I have a system:

• Right hand pocket: phone, keys, money, route cards
  
• Centre pocket: uneaten food or gels
  
• Left hand pocket: rubbish, including used gels.
  

This way I don't get any gel or any other gunk on the phone. It also makes it easy to find the uneaten food or gels.

[Lone Rider]

In races, I find the sticky gel wrappers in my pockets are horrid. Slime goes all over whatever else is in there ( tools, phone etc) plus gets on my fingers, gloves, grips and shifters, so I prefer chowing solid stuff. Although a banana skin also gets a bit grim in there after a few hours.

 

Slightly off topic - Unlike gel wrappers, banana peels are biodegradable. Out in rural areas I don't think there's anything wrong with tossing them into the bushes. They will eventually turn to compost. It beats having to use plastic bags to dispose of them.

[Active Monkey]

I use the USN ones for R11 a pop, purely because they are cheap. Don't care about taste but generally buy vanilla and express

[TK-Sp3cialiSt]

I cramp every time i have gels(no matter how much water i drink with it) tested the theory a few times. I now ride with bananas and pvm energy bars

[Lone_Ranger]

I cramp every time i have gels(no matter how much water i drink with it) tested the theory a few times. I now ride with bananas and pvm energy bars

 

I had the same problem. I'm testing the Racefood bars now, and they seem to be OK. Definitely don't make me thirsty like the gels. And haven't cramped since I started using them.

 

PS I don't work for Racefood , just really like the product, it's cheap and locally produced.

[Bianchisti]

Anyone tried "Go-zo"?

[RocknRolla]

Energy Gels make me want to instantly chunder.

The texture of the liquid does not sit well with my brain apparently.

 

The other issue I have is that my daily caffeine intake renders the supplelemt caffeine useless.

 

Recently I have taken quite a liking to Racefood Nougat, really tastes nice, and seems to provide a fairly sustained release of the stuff (technical term) my body needs while riding.