Energy drinks, gels and bars

ugo.santalucia

TheHound wrote:

Just heard Sean Kelly on Eurosport saying that staying hydrated is very important.

What an idiot.

Well, Sean Kelly was the one hyping the chances of Richie Porte, wasn't he? He doesn't always get it right...

cornerblock

ugo.santalucia wrote:

TheHound wrote:

Just heard Sean Kelly on Eurosport saying that staying hydrated is very important.

What an idiot.

Well, Sean Kelly was the one hyping the chances of Richie Porte, wasn't he? He doesn't always get it right...

Very disappointing that was, it looked like he ran out gels.

Anonymous

Navrig2 wrote:

There is no such hype. All these hydration drinks and energy snax are entirely founded on scientific research. Evry company which sells them tells the truth, doesn't over market and has no interest in making a profit from sales.

I still don't get why you seem to think they are acting so maliciously. I get the impression that you think they are in some kind of 70's/80's James Bond underwater hideout planning to overthrow the world.

Do other companies not hype and embellish their products?
I see it more as to compete with the competition than to rip people off anyway.
Whats wrong with wanting to make a profit? Would you not do that if you set a business up?

charlie_potatoes

Cornerblock wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

TheHound wrote:

Just heard Sean Kelly on Eurosport saying that staying hydrated is very important.

What an idiot.

Well, Sean Kelly was the one hyping the chances of Richie Porte, wasn't he? He doesn't always get it right...

Very disappointing that was, it looked like he ran out gels.

If only he had one of those special 'gels' like the one he fetched for Froomey last year 8)

navrig2

Carbonator wrote:

Navrig2 wrote:

There is no such hype. All these hydration drinks and energy snax are entirely founded on scientific research. Evry company which sells them tells the truth, doesn't over market and has no interest in making a profit from sales.

I still don't get why you seem to think they are acting so maliciously. I get the impression that you think they are in some kind of 70's/80's James Bond underwater hideout planning to overthrow the world.

Do other companies not hype and embellish their products?
I see it more as to compete with the competition than to rip people off anyway.
Whats wrong with wanting to make a profit? Would you not do that if you set a business up?

Is that not what I wrote?

birdie23

ugo.santalucia wrote:

birdie23 wrote:

Unrelated, but how does anyone drink High 5? It's vile.

The younger generations have bizarre taste... how do you explain the success of Red Bull? I tried it once and nearly choked!

I'm actually in my earlier twenties, just find High 5 to be like a flavoured Alka Seltzer. Really upset my stomach too. Yet I stupidly keep trying all the free samples I get sent.

sloppyschleckonds

I've got about 20 in my cupboard if you want some more....

simona75

simonhead wrote:

I dont mind the citrus High 5 tabs and the SIS equivalent. Just started using the robinsons squashd stuff which actually tastes nice and makes a change to water.

I've started carrying one of those Robinsons thingys with me on longer rides, really like it

Anonymous

simona75 wrote:

simonhead wrote:

I dont mind the citrus High 5 tabs and the SIS equivalent. Just started using the robinsons squashd stuff which actually tastes nice and makes a change to water.

I've started carrying one of those Robinsons thingys with me on longer rides, really like it

Do you mean the tiny super concentrated things? Squashed I think they are called.

I find the Robinsons ones taste mainly of artificial sweetener and much prefer the Vimto ones.
Just found cherry Vimto which is also nice, but the original is the best IMO.

Not sure I would take cycling though. That super concentrate looks like it would stain bad :shock:

roux_guy

The thing that puts me off gels is the cost! They basically contain maltodextrin which you can buy in huge, multi-kilo, bags for a tenner so my suspicious mind tells me they're 95% profit margin, 5% useful product.

imposter2.0

Roux_guy wrote:

The thing that puts me off gels is the cost! They basically contain maltodextrin which you can buy in huge, multi-kilo, bags for a tenner so my suspicious mind tells me they're 95% profit margin, 5% useful product.

You could say the same about almost anything currently on sale today. You are paying for the convenience of someone making it, packaging it and distributing it to the trade, so it can be provided to you in a form which is convenient to buy, store and consume.

roux_guy

That's a very fair point but £2 for 0.001p worth of maltodextrin is a no-brainer 'don't buy it' for me.

charlie_potatoes

Roux_guy wrote:

That's a very fair point but £2 for 0.001p worth of maltodextrin is a no-brainer 'don't buy it' for me.

You appear to be exaggerating the numbers to emphasize your point

simona75

Carbonator wrote:

Do you mean the tiny super concentrated things? Squashed I think they are called.

I find the Robinsons ones taste mainly of artificial sweetener and much prefer the Vimto ones.
Just found cherry Vimto which is also nice, but the original is the best IMO.

Not sure I would take cycling though. That super concentrate looks like it would stain bad :shock:

Yes that's the ones. I find they fit nicely in my back pocket and quite like the summer fruits ones (but I don't know how they justify the £2.50 or so RRP) No accidents yet......

navrig2

Imposter wrote:

Roux_guy wrote:

The thing that puts me off gels is the cost! They basically contain maltodextrin which you can buy in huge, multi-kilo, bags for a tenner so my suspicious mind tells me they're 95% profit margin, 5% useful product.

You could say the same about almost anything currently on sale today. You are paying for the convenience of someone making it, packaging it and distributing it to the trade, so it can be provided to you in a form which is convenient to buy, store and consume.

That's totally correct. It's mostly about convenience.

You can buy various powders and stuff from the likes of My Protein but you then have to spend time measuring and mixing drinks etc. A gel goes in your pocket and can easily be opened one handed (with your teeth) and consumed with relative ease.

A quick but very rough calculation using figures from Wiggle and My Protien it seems your paying 12 times as much per g of carbohydrate in Gel form compared to powder. Not really a like for like comparison but a start.

If you compare a gel against a mars bar your paying about 3 times more for your carbs. Not entirely a like for like comparison as the mars bar carbs are not as well balanced for sports nutrition (or at least that is what Torq etc would tell us).

The real issue is do we, Joe average, need such finely balanced carbs in our ride nutrition?

Gels are much more convenient when it comes to storage, opening and not melting in your jersey pocket.

The mars bar tastes better though ;-)

Anonymous

I think my GU gels cost me just under £1 and they taste great. I would not dream of substituting anything for them.

Its almost irrelevant that they (or some of the other sports nutrition) are sports nutrition.
Its a thing that costs a pound that I like to eat while cycling.
I bought loads of individual Soreen banana bars today (wife had the great idea of freezing some), and got some Urban fruit dried mango a few days ago.

There is an element of cost, convenience and enjoyability to all of them.

I am not so poor, or do so much cycling that I have to mix up tasteless powders.
Sorry if any of you are, but don't take it out on gels any more than you would any of the non sports nutrition stuff that costs a similar amount.

Do you super scrimpers not buy anything that you could make a bad version of yourself?

I am not against a good super scrimp by the way, but I don't go on the internet raging at people who chose to do it the normal way.

Anonymous

These are the only things I rate performance wise.
Might be in my head, but I always seem to have a good ride after taking one.

http://www.rosiir.com/contents/media/quick%20energy.png

apreading

Roux_guy wrote:

That's a very fair point but £2 for 0.001p worth of maltodextrin is a no-brainer 'don't buy it' for me.

Dont ever buy a bag of chips or a cup of tea while you are out and about then... Have you seen the price of bread too - when the raw ingredients dont cost much at all!

birdie23

I often eat homemade flapjack on longer rides but today on the Etape Pennines I found it very difficult to eat flapjack as it was so warm and my mouth was so dry. Was very glad I had a couple of SIS gels in my pocket that I could open with my teeth and eat the whole lot in seconds.

Most rides I'd just pull over and take my time with the flapjack but in a sportive I'd rather not stop everytime I want to eat.

pippi_langsamer-2

Is there anyone out there who makes a tasteless ie no artificial flavouring, and artificial sweetener free gel!

I'd rather gag on this and wash it down quickly with water from the bottle rather than rot my teeth/ insides with the shoite they put in most of them.

Anonymous

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

Is there anyone out there who makes a tasteless ie no artificial flavouring, and artificial sweetener free gel!

I'd rather gag on this and wash it down quickly with water from the bottle rather than rot my teeth/ insides with the shoite they put in most of them.

Well Torq do not have artificial sweeteners and say 'natural flavours', whatever that means.

Not sure what artificial stuff has got to do with rotting teeth though anyway, and would have thought the more 'natural' gels would be fine for your insides.
Would have thought a flapjack would be worse for your teeth.

Isn't it the number of times you eat/drink things that is the bigger problem for teeth?
Your teeth do not know the difference between a small and large milkshake if you drink it in one go, but they would if you took all day to drink it.

Problem with cycling is the constant nibbling over many hours.
You can down a gel without it touching your teeth much.

Brushing your teeth after cycling would probably be more beneficial than not having gels.
Indeed as above, having gels is probably more beneficial for your teeth than not having gels in some cases lol.

DavidJB

Anything less than 4 hours is just water.

Over 4 hours I eat flapjacks or cereal bar things.

Gels are for racing not training.

ugo.santalucia

I wouldn't worry about teeth, apparently Luis Suarez goes through a lot of the stuff...

thegreatdivide

DavidJB wrote:

Anything less than 4 hours is just water.

Over 4 hours I eat flapjacks or cereal bar things.

Gels are for racing not training.

For you maybe.

Iamnot Wiggins

On a slightly related note; how long does mixed SIS drink last for?

I went out for 100 miles this weekend with a bottle of SIS & one of water but had to jump on the train back home due a rather large mechanical.

I've still got an entire bottle of the SIS stuff left and it's currently in the fridge - but how long will it last before possibly going "off"? if that even applies to powdered drinks!

DavidJB

thegreatdivide wrote:

DavidJB wrote:

Anything less than 4 hours is just water.

Over 4 hours I eat flapjacks or cereal bar things.

Gels are for racing not training.

For you maybe.

For anyone who doesn't was gastric distress. Gels are good for getting energy in fast...you don't need to do that in a training ride.

ugo.santalucia

Iamnot Wiggins wrote:

I went out for 100 miles this weekend with a bottle of SIS & one of water but had to jump on the train back home due a rather large mechanical.

Details!!!

Iamnot Wiggins wrote:

I've still got an entire bottle of the SIS stuff left and it's currently in the fridge - but how long will it last before possibly going "off"? if that even applies to powdered drinks!

Should it go off? It's salts and sugars, technically it will last forever. The only issue are bacteria growing in your "broth" kept in a non sterilised container... keep it in the fridge for up to a week, if you want to store it longer, freeze it

Iamnot Wiggins

2 gashed tubs - only 1 spare!!! Typical. Thankfully, they were destined for the bin anyway due to being worn and my new ones arrived this morning.

Re; the tasty beverage - that was my thought too in that it shouldn't go off as it's essentially salts etc.

vimfuego

DavidJB wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

DavidJB wrote:

Anything less than 4 hours is just water.

Over 4 hours I eat flapjacks or cereal bar things.

Gels are for racing not training.

For you maybe.

For anyone who doesn't was gastric distress. Gels are good for getting energy in fast...you don't need to do that in a training ride.

Anything over an hour and a half at any kind of effort and I can't get by on just water - electrolyte tabs (I like High5 Zero tabs dammit!) in the odd bottle make a huge difference to my ride and post ride recovery. So yeah - "for you maybe".
As with most debates on here, it boils down to your own opinion/physiology/preference. If it didn't we'd all do the same thing and there'd only be need for one bike manufacturer, one jersey etc - imagine that, rolling along and seeing everyone wearing a Rapha jersey....... hang on, that pretty much describes Box Hill yesterday.... Do we get to be down on Rapha jerseys now that they've become popular with the masses/johnny come latelies?

Anyway - gels have their (limited) place but they are a useful to have on you for big rides (lets not get into an argument on semantics about what "big" means please) in my experience - I'm not advocating using them on every ride & certainly wouldn't use three an hour (as recommended) even in a race (hello stomach cramps!) - but as we all know our own bodies and needs better than anyone else, just try different things and use what works for you, whether it's all homemade flapjacks costing 0.000001p each, or more expensive energy product - if you can afford it, like it and it works without giving you the squits - whatever, knock yourself out, it's your body not mine.

Can we move on now?
Nibali is riding "out of this world" isn't he....? (removes pin, chucks grenade and leaves the room)

charlie_potatoes

DavidJB wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

DavidJB wrote:

Anything less than 4 hours is just water.

Over 4 hours I eat flapjacks or cereal bar things.

Gels are for racing not training.

For you maybe.

For anyone who doesn't was gastric distress. Gels are good for getting energy in fast...you don't need to do that in a training ride.