ive used shot bloks and think theyre pretty good, but dont want to pay 2.50 for what is probably just fancy jelly babies.

what else do people eat when riding? other than cereal bars, what cheap alternatives are out there?

jelly babies! As you say shot bloks are just the expensive version.

Only problem with jelly babies is the sugar crash so you need to keep topped up.

actually thinking about it wine gums and haribo are good as well but not as easy to eat if working hard.

Just go into a sweet shop and look at the carb content of the sweets and choose the one with the most. Resign yourself to the fact most of it will be sugar.

I reckon it wouldn't be too hard to do a bit of home baking. Oats, honey, sugar (maybe subsitute for maltodextrin/anphetamines)nuts, fruit. smack it in the oven and cut it up into wee bars.
That is by no means a recipe but I'm sure you could acheive something along those lines.

Bananas rate highly for trail munch. I quite like the good old sandwich preferably with some spice to warm up!

If you're going for performance torq stuff is supposedly pretty good stuff.

If you're going for performance torq stuff is supposedly pretty good stuff.

isn't the main performance benefit the transfer of lots of your money to them ?

Try dried fruit, the varieties that still have a bit of moisture left in them are easier to munch, has the advantage of being slightly lower GI and also rich in potassium so may help cramping.

i make my own cereal bars – which are really nice but, i just seem to prefer jelly type food when im riding.

how about jelly – the stuff you make rabbit shapes out of? ive heard people eat that??

Flapjack for me. When the supermarkets have a decent brand on bogof or such like without too much crap in their bars I stock up by buying a 100 (or so). On a cold day a small flask stuffed full of noodles keeps the carbs levels high.

Natural food company – jelly snakes!
Very easy on the stomach, not too drying, love em for running.

Myprotein.co.uk has loads of different carbs in bulk powders.

Just make up some cereal bars using porrige oats, nuts etc (big carbs) bound together with marshmallow (sugar).

7p Tesco value jelly blocks for me, bit minging but as a cheap source of carbs I'm not complaining too much!

but do they work woody? do you get a spike then a big energy dip?

They seem to do the trick for me. They're more for emergencies really – I keep them in my bag just in case the Haribo runs out 🙂

hmmm, definately worth a go for a couple of pence!

I almost choked on a Haribo Starmix when I breathed in hard with one in my mouth. I'll be sticking to longer jelly- or snake-type sweeties from now on.

Soreen Go bars £1.00 for five at asda.

Mmmmmm…

The cliff shot bloks are just fancy cubes of sugar. They are mostly rice syrup – same as jelly babies are mostly glucose syrup.

but do they work woody? do you get a spike then a big energy dip?

If you get it from jelly babies, you'll get that from shot-blox etc. that's why they recommend eating them one after the other one every ten minutes or something?

I've found skittles are quite a good haribo substitute – they come in big cheap bags, and you can just eat one a minute to keep you topped up.

I wouldn't do any of the energy products / tons of sweets just for normal riding mind – those things are for racing when you really need every bit of speed your body will give you. On normal rides cake is the answer, either stopping for it, or taking Soreen with you.

Joe

Homemade flapjacks are rocket fuel, especially if there is dried fruit and chocolate chips in them!

Otherwise wine gums and jelly babies rock for a quick pick me up, also Dried Mango and soft dried apricots are good too. Still mainly sugar. All tasty but need a bit of water to wash them down quickly, can gum your mouth up otherwise.

Just out of interest… how long do you all ride for?

I never take any food with me for rides under 4 hours, I may take a Clif or Torq bar if I know I'll be out for more than 4, but often won't eat it.

Do people eat on short rides?

Yup, non-stop. In fact, the majority of us take whole pizzas and burgers with us, plus stash more in the car for when we get back after 2, hungry, energetic hours 🙂

well i normally ride for about 3-5 hours, so i take a cereal bar/jelly babies with me, but some mates take sandwhiches and the lot.

im doing my first race next wknd (25k) so it'll just be some quick enegy foods

Depends how hard I'm working but 2hrs without food is the limit for me, and I'll start to eat little bits after about an hour if I know I'm going to be out longer than 2hrs.

I've normally got a stash of flapjack and sweets. Go bars are alright as well, not too pricey (and designed for the job) but very chewy (and some of the flavours are dire!), things like sainsbury's basics jelly sweet things are good i've found (only a few pence a bag as well!)

njee20 – Member

Just out of interest… how long do you all ride for?

I never take any food with me for rides under 4 hours, I may take a Clif or Torq bar if I know I'll be out for more than 4, but often won't eat it.

Do people eat on short rides?

I quite regularly will do the same, I don't really take anything to eat while riding although normally have a stash of flapjack/bananas for post ride.

I don't really like riding on a full stomach and find i need to eat a couple of hours before riding otherwise i tend to feel lethargic/slow.\

Torq bars are good though, probably the only energy product i would use. Alot of the bars are quite hard and i find them quite difficult to actually get down while riding.

I always get a crashing headache after eating those natural food company snakes. Not sure why.

Kendal mint cake – yummy.

I like dried mango the preda stuff is brilliant as it's not too dry…

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/tesco-price-comparison/Dried_Fruit/Forest_Feast_Exotic_Dried_Mango_Preda_Fairtrade_Products_130g.html

Much better than any of that packet stuff.