Energy bars vs Supermarket own brands

rob39

Hi all
been using SIS go energy bars and seems OK on long rides (60-70 miles) at £1 a pop, but wondered if any of the supermarket own brands are just as good, like nutra-grain elevenses etc mixed with a banana or 2??

oxoman

I tend to use nutrigrain type bars, breakfast bars these tend to be more than enough for 100 mile rides for me. I will use gels or clif shots when I get given them free but don't normally buy them.

diy

I've always made my own (flapjacks) with porridge, brown sugar, syrup , apricots and butter. Equal dollops of sugar, butter and syrup, mixed up to form a post-crete (dry-ish concrete) mix. They are nicer if you chop the dried apricots and mix them in with the melted butter first. cook until brown. leave to cool and cut up in to blocks ready to wrap in cling film or a food bag. works out at about 10p a bar.

Porridge is almost perfectly balanced in terms of macro nutrients and the sugars and fats added give you a very good constant supply of energy. Adding apricot gives you more of an endurance bar, as apricot is high in protein.

On 10 hour+ rides, I tend to pack sausage rolls too as you get fed up with "cakes" all the time.

keef66

I stock up on boxes of Frusli bars when they appear in the local Poundland. I think you get 5 to a box so that's 20p a go which isn't too bad. They don't always have them though.

My preferred nutrition for longer rides is however fig rolls and jelly babies.

BSRU

Sainsburys' fruit flapjacks are 5 for £1, 144 calories per bar.

MiddleRinger

diy wrote:

I've always made my own (flapjacks) with porridge

^^ This. Make your own. It's easy and relatively quick. The most time consuming bit is cutting them up and wrapping the bars in baking paper (and resisting the urge to eat them all straight away). All natural ingredients and you can cater for your own tastes with dried fruits, chopped nuts, seeds, desiccated coconut, choc pieces, etc. Get baking!

Bo Duke

diy wrote:

On 10 hour+ rides, I tend to pack sausage rolls too as you get fed up with "cakes" all the time.

Why are you out for 10+ hours, d'you get lost?