Energy Gels?

SimonPieman

I am looking to buy a few gels for a sportive the weekend.
Having never used these before can anyone offer some advice for products they have had good experience with.
I know the flavours are subjective and products are absorbed differently between people, I want to see what your experiences are before i take the plunge!
Tar!

RonB

Just spotted in training...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40011&t=12842818

Bobbinogs

If you have a sportive this w/e then my advice would be to use what you have used so far in training. If that is fig rolls or some other food then so be it. The last thing you want to be doing is experimenting so close to the big day having trained to get here. A day's ride can be ruined if you shove down a load of gels only to find that you get stomach cramps or worse.

Back to the question though, I like the Torq ones, caff or normal. However, just the one or so on a big ride when I need it most. The rest of the time it is normal food for me (bananas, flapjacks and so on).

jordan_217

As above - a bit too late to experiment now IMO.

I like the high5 iso gels because they're not thick and gloopy like others I've tried. You don't need to drink them with fluids too as some brands recommend 100-200 ml of fluid per sachet. The flavours are palatable too. Tesco now sell them for around a quid a sachet if you want to try them. They sell a few other brands too.

anto164

For me, Torq Gels in Rhubarb and Custard flavour.

But only use when either you're all out of food, you need a quick boost (i.e. i had a gel just as i started climbing the horseshoe pass yesterday), or you're nearly home and the tanks running dry.

And put the empties up your shorts. Nothing worse than a sticky pocket.

ilm_zero7

god they are all foul - GU vanilla poss. the least bad - but they all seem to make you fart! Avoid and take real food instead, normally far less sugar

teebs_123

Powerbar red fruit ones are decent tasting. Definately work though.

hodge68

I have used SIS. Less water required, as the gel is isotonic.You will need some to swill the taste out of your mouth. But ive found non of them taste good. I plan using real food as much as possibe now.

Amoger

Big fan of SiS GO gels for running; Tropical seems to be the most "neutral" and per above, don't necessarily need water with them. About a quid each in bike or running shop.

But also agree with the "stick with what you're used to" point.

jibberjim

I've never really understood how anyone can make a gel which tastes disgusting unless there's caffeine (which is pretty bad tasting) I just make my own out of all sorts of flavours, and all of them taste good. Using gel flasks also lets you choose how much water to have (although they will not keep without preservatives if they're that runny - due to the lack of free water being what's needed for them to keep)

ddraver

Cliff bar shot blocks - energy, with none go the drawbacks of gels. Crack one open, leave it in your jersey pocket and just pop one every now and again. 3 blocks = 1 gel

Butterd2

Another for Gu gels, they all taste ok to me. Eat normal food if possible and keep 1 or 2 of these for an emergency if you bonk (or ideally if you feel you are about to), they take effect pretty quickly.

markos1963

I hate gels in general but they are useful if you are running low on energy so I use them as a last resort. Have had terrible problems with stomach cramps with any SIS product so I stay well clear myself. Torq stuff is ok and I get on fine with them, tend to find their caffeine products have a very bitter aftertaste compared to others but the caffeine does work very quickly.

Oh +1 it's far too late before the event to start experimenting now, stick to what food you already use, it's not pretty crouching down behind a hedge with a thousand other sportive riders coming past!

DavidJB

Gels should not be used as part of a sportive type event. You should take two with you just in case you start bonking hard in the last 15-20 miles but they wear out quite quickly and you'll get an upset stomach. Take flap jacks bananas etc and use the feed stations.

Gels should be reserved for emergencies or racing!

EleventhSprocket

Zipvit gels are my favourite, though I was quite satisfied with a High5 one I tried today.

Ignore ther whole "gels should only be used for racing" elitist blx, if you want a quick energy boost and can't stomach real food, they are ideal. As mentioned above though, don't experiment with new products on the day.

thegreatdivide

ddraver wrote:

Cliff bar shot blocks - energy, with none go the drawbacks of gels. Crack one open, leave it in your jersey pocket and just pop one every now and again. 3 blocks = 1 gel

+1

They taste really good too.

Dave_P1

Torq gels taste nice

blablablacksheep

what about these?
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -gel-44693
The Zipvit gells have pretty decent reviews around the tri mags/running mags, and supposed to give your system a mighty kick.

Have got as you can see from my Sig a pretty big 100k run/jog/crawl coming up so looking into the gel market so interested to hear from people.

Dan Ingram

I've just got some of the CNP ones. The caffeine cola flavoured ones are a bit sickly but not to bad. The normal berry flavoured ones are good though, go down really easily and I've had no stomach problems with either of them. The flapjacks are also pretty good as well.

springtide9

thegreatdivide wrote:

ddraver wrote:

Cliff bar shot blocks - energy, with none go the drawbacks of gels. Crack one open, leave it in your jersey pocket and just pop one every now and again. 3 blocks = 1 gel

+1
They taste really good too.

+2

I don't suffer the usual .... arrhhhh, hmm... "windy problems" with shot blocks - like I seem to do with all Gels I've tried.

The caffeine (orange) really sound like a great idea, but the lovely 'pick me up' seems to follow with the usual 'drop me down again' effect of caffeine, so go for the standard ones would be my advice.

If the event is long you'll get fed up with the taste of anything you carry... so mix up what you carry (and eat real food when you can)