What's everyone using?
Have always used SIS ones as they're easily available in the supermarket, have converted to gels as I tend to ride with no bags or anything now, everything I need on the frame and in pockets.
Found a company called Voom which have one of those offers on where you only pay for postage for a sample pack so I'm waiting for those to arrive but have been liking the look of the kendal mint cake company ones with the reusable bottle
High5 for me. Reasonably priced (often on offer), taste OK and seem to work.
They have started doing refill bottles with a squeezy flask think, although I've not tried it.
https://highfive.co.uk/collections/trial-packs
Other brands I've used are OTE & Torq.
Jelly babies for me. 5g carbs in each one and virtually pure glucose - at a significantly lower cost and with much less packaging than gels
SIS, but only use them on long rides. Bought some short sell by date ones (two boxes) for super cheap, and they have been fine - well out of date now.
Torq
Their raspberry ripple sauce one is very sweet but always well-received.
High 5, and there’s another easily-obtainable one that’s similar, we call ‘snot gels’ in the family. Watery flavour and their texture are the reason for the nickname.
Used Gels and Shotblox once... once was enough... it didn't end well...
I use the Sis Beta fuel chews - same amount of carbs as they're gels, but no chance of bursting or sticky packets everywhere, only use them in later stages of long events
Torq, don’t have the artificial sweeteners that others have, and also have a glucose/fructose ratio to aid greater carb absorption.
I finds the sis gels too big.
I have pretty much stopped using them in favour of maltodextrin dissolved in water, pinch of salt in a soft flask, cheaper, less waste packaging.
I do have some cheap gels I bought from myprotein.com for emergency use.
Clif Shot Blox for me too - can't stomach the consistency of gels.
Torq are my favourites, just like the flavours and the consistency is nicer than SiS although I wouldn't NOT buy SiS just for that. I don't know what the caffeine content is but I've enjoyed some fairly heroic legs after a Torq caffeine gel on more than one occasion.
I also like the Ote ones although mainly because they do a blackcurrant flavour and my local shop sells them, they're still more watery than Torq.
I don't use them often though, mainly due to cost, just for very big rides for some extra variety or where I know we'll be pushing hard.
dislike the sensation of gels with a passion
My wife once pointed out that they have similar volume and texture to.. well, you know. Has put me off them ever since.
@Franksinatra Thanks. Gonna be thinking about that every time now 🤣
Torq for me- couldn’t get on with High 5 or SIS
Rawvelo - very thin, almost like juice so easy to swallow and light in your stomach. I'm not a fan of caffeine gels but the other two flavours they have are so tasty. Plus, as the name implies, natural ingredients. Highly recommended. And they're a nice team too who were uber supportive to all at the Frontier 300 this year.
Hilltop Energy - Another natural option, this is effectively honey that's been watered down a little to make it easier to swallow. Tastes great, and there's the option to buy in bulk (i.e. one big bag of gel that you can decant into a re-usable pouch) which reduces waste.
I've gone from Gels, to Jelly Babies (noted above), to Maltodexterine in my drinks bottles (again, noted above), to now using plain white sugar dissolved in my drinks bottles, along with an electrolyte tablet.
Sugar (sucrose) is 1:1 glucose:fructose, apparently a good ratio for sports drinks. SIS Beta has a ratio of 1:0.8 (pretty close) malto:fructose.
Always been fine with High5 or SIS. The more watery High5 'gels' are pretty easy on the palate.
@eatmorepizza just watch the Voom stuff - I got given some of their products on an event and it was like nothing I've ever tasted - absolute rocket fuel! A real emergency 'I'm on the verge of bonking and collapsing' option.
sugar is so cheap!
@snotrag that sounds like what I need, I'm finding on rides where I'm doing a lot of climbing I get to the point where I'm just slogging pedal stroke after pedal stroke with my quads getting noodlier and noodlier and I struggle to keep a good rpm, I'm finding SIS give me the energy to maintain that slog whereas without them I run out of steam and have to stop for a break or get off and push. The same climbs at the start of the ride I'm flying up.
Will see how I get on with this sample pack.
Hi-Five Aqua work for me, just got some about half price off CRC for an upcoming trip.
I've largely switched over to Haribo (or Lidl versions thereof) now though.
Homemade. Bought gels are a rip off.
sugar is so cheap!
So is maltodextrin from bulk.com
Tesco jelly babies for me most of the time, gels with caffeine in for when I really run out of steam, usually high5. TBH it's partly a comfort blanket, mostly normal eating covers my rides but I still don't like to be out without a quick boost in my pocket, I definitely get a bit anxious if I forget to pack my jellow babies! (I've got a soft spot for the KMC Kendal Mint gels too, it's like eating a tube of toothpaste but somehow it works.)
Was it JojoA1 who said on here "gels were invented so that straight men can learn what it's like to swallow spunk?"
Whatever is on offer. Wiggle own brand are good.
Boom are nice but expensive and way too much caffeine.
I also tend to go down the chew route. Cliff Bloks when on offer. Lucho Dolitos. Decathlon own brand.
Active root do a refillable gel thing if you like ginger. Got some samples at Boltby and they were nice enough for me to get some more.
If you are spending money and have a bottle then the high sugar drinks are worth a look. Beta fuel is a revelation for me in the right races. Maurten do it and I think ote as well.
Most of this is about convenience. If you are able to eat them, then any sweets work reasonably well. I just found jelly babies impractical when road and xc racing. Do carry them on longer steadier rides.
Thought this was going to be a thread about posh lasses...
Tesco jelly babies, 250g bag for £1-10, pop ~12 an hour.
SIS gels here as well, mainly because they're available in CostCo as a twin pack of mixed flavours when we visit occasionally, and they don't seem to monkey with my guts too much, I keep them in the Garage fridge and grab some if headed out for a ride likely to exceed 2.5hrs.
At the same time I've also been taking along brownies/flapjacks and using High5 'Energy' mixed in water, so it's actually quite easy to stuff down ~60g+ of carbs per hour between drinks and gels, and take on some more solid food without really thinking about it much, I don't think that's sustainable for more than 8 hours though and/or for back to back days of riding (IMO, I'm sure some people can live on gels and energy drinks for weeks, but it feels like a possible shortcut to type 2 diabetes)...
SIS ones here, but as others have said we buy buy the box when they are going cheap because of a short sell by date, not that they go off, or when there are offers on
Torq. Rhubarb and Custard, Black Cherry Yogurt, Raspberry Ripple, Lemon Drizzle. Avoid the ones with Guarana. I find High5 and SIS just too syrupy.