Energy gels whilst riding

Squaggles

3 bananas per hour ? How do you carry them all ? Taped to the frame ?

smoggysteve

Squaggles wrote:

3 bananas per hour ? How do you carry them all ? Taped to the frame ?

Bandolier?

shmo

paul968 wrote:

I'm not sure where you get that one decent slice of wholemeal bread is about 60g from? More like 15, possibly 20g, but no way is a slice 60g! A bagel is also a fair amount less than 60g.

If I'm wrong on this then I've spent 30 years as a diabetic messing things up pretty badly!

I was hoping that was wrong. Otherwise I've been eating the equivalent of 6 bananas or half a pack of digestives for breakfast every morning.

hatch87

SmoggySteve wrote:

Back on the subject of Gels, Does anyone know of any gels that have a more environmentally friendly package? Nearly all I have used have foil type packages with rip open seals which are (not by me) left all over the floor. There must be a brand that uses a lit that can be replaced without becoming too expensive. I hate seeing litter caused from gel wrappers and torn off caps. Also would be easier to carry home without having sugary goo oozing down my back inside my jersey pockets.

Energy drinks. I use Nectar, its basically a gel that you add water to. That plus a banana or bar of some sort is normally enough for most of what I do, and I could just make it stronger with a third pump. That way you a get a constant supply of energy without having rubbish to worry about every 20 mins. I carry a gel for an emergency but rarely use it.

junglist_matty

Gels; the secret ingredient is Lance Armstrongs cum..... No thanks!

pkripper

Loving all the 'knowledge' quoted here. If it's all about performance, the ideal is to pretty much replace everything you lose (which is probably not possible if you're actually performing) but minimise how much you rip out your glycogen stores vs. how much you replace and have rapid access to due to the body being able to metabolize it quickly.

The 60g thing, whilst specific to individuals, is (i think) around the max the average bod can metabolise of glucose / maltodextrin type sugars, whilst if you add fructose in, you can get around another 30g out of it, as it's metabolised by a different path.

So, gels, if used well can assist in the maintenance of your best performance over a given timeframe. Whether you want to use gels regularly is entirely personal choice, but the theory would suggest that if you perform in training you'll maximise the benefits and adaptations as a result, and therefore perform better in a racing / event situation. However, if you just enjoy riding your bike, as long as you still enjoy it, who cares if you're performing or not!

That's my rudimentary understanding of it, anyway.

g00se

SmoggySteve wrote:

Back on the subject of Gels, Does anyone know of any gels that have a more environmentally friendly package? Nearly all I have used have foil type packages with rip open seals which are (not by me) left all over the floor. There must be a brand that uses a lit that can be replaced without becoming too expensive. I hate seeing litter caused from gel wrappers and torn off caps. Also would be easier to carry home without having sugary goo oozing down my back inside my jersey pockets.

Torq have started making the sachets with extras bits to keep the tab attached. But still easy to ripoff.



Could also use a gel flask and fill in up with 3 or 4 sachets before you go:

nunowoolmez

I like a combination of both. For sportives I take advantage of feed stops but also carry flapjack or mini lunch sized maltloafs. I also I mostly use these for training, along with zipvit energy sweets or jelly babies. I sometimes use the zipvit cereal bars which are very easy to digest & are pretty tasty too. I do take gels for latter stages of sportives, I use the Torq gels which taste good & don't upset my tummy. Drink wise I use High 5.

For long descents I like to take a maxifuel viper boost gel before I start it. It is losded with caffeine & it helps me to recover from the long climb & also sharpens me up so I can fully concentrate on the descent. It really works.

This is all horses for courses tho. Just try stuff out & you will find out ehat works dor you. As long ss you are not bonking you are doing ok!