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Who uses energy food such as drinks, bars, etc?
There is a mind blowing choice out there and they are so expensive!
Or is it better to stick to mainstream food for energy intake on a ride such Graham Obree and his jam sandwiches?
In short, are energy products a rip off?
The advice in mags and books is that more than a hour and you need the said carb drinks and snacks but I have cycled 3 - 5 hours on water no problem. Of course know one wants to 'bonk' so we stack up with carbs that we probably don't need.
A box of six 'muesli bars' in any supermarket is about the same cost as one 'energy bar' - I favor honey nut Geobars at 145 kcals/bar and only 5% fat, squidgy rather than crunchy so quite eatable on the go.....
Torq, best you can get and tasty too, problem solved....
Normal food here. Oats are the best. I use bottles and carry a mix of home made energy drink (water / apple juice/salt / sugar) and plain water
Specific products are an expensive way of buying stuff. Maybe marginally better but for recreational cyclists I see no advantage other than maybe convenience.
A few of us live on Sirius muesli bars (from lidl) on rides, they do the job fine unless it's cold as they then turn into rock
my missus made some flapjak yesterday - its got pine nuts in it and no flour.
just got back from a 35 mile ride and thats all we ate - as good as any energy bar i've had. Thanks love !
as for drinks i used to swear by powerbar psp - but lately i've gone back to half water half fruit juice with a dash of salt.
"Or is it better to stick to mainstream food for energy intake on a ride such Graham Obree and his JAM sandwiches?"
pay attention at the back there .... it was marmalade
Another vote for the torq camp , dont use it too often though as it is expensive , tend to keep it for racing. When training i just eat what ever is handy ...if im riding near towns ill take coin and buy ...if im going into the hills , i tend to take cake / flapjack / haribo /water
(largely because it is also what i tend to eat during 24s ....)
Geobars here too, though the jury is still out on the new recipe.
I'm currently loving the apple strudel Mule bars..... not cheap, but they taste so damn good! I often take a tray of Sainsbury's flapjacks out with me. At 99p a tray they are good value and tasty too. Jam donuts are a fave too.
As for drinks, I always use SIS Go now..... just at a lower concentration than they say and topped up with juice on occasion
I buy or make flapjacks, have a supply of clif bars and a box of Torq gels for emergencies. That's about it.
Thanks chaps...I have used malt loaf, dried apricots, elevenis bars, and of course bananas!
I am still a water man myself but I think I am more tempted to carb drinks on the longer rides
add some jelly babies to that list aw 🙂 thats all the food i had on my 3hr10m road ride today, finished strong without a hint of low energy bonk!
i only use water upto 1.5hrs though, sis go or psp22 does the trick as do most energy drinks, i dont think it matters that much on shorter rides but on long ones, i'd want an energy drink to make sure i dont cramp and die