Road Cycling - Hammer's SE...what to do about the taste?!?!

As someone who suffers from rather severe exertion related GI problems, I've become a big fan of the various products offered by Hammer Nutrition. I use their gel for shorter rides, and move to Sustained Energy for anything over about 2 1/2 hours. It does a great job of keeping me fueled without making me puke. The only problem is....I can't stand the friggen taste!

It didn't bother me at first, but the more I ride, and the more often I use it, the harder and harder it is to make myself gag the stuff down. On my long ride yesterday, I wussed out about half way and stopped at a Starbucks for a slice of pumpkin bread lol. (Strangely enough the pumpkin bread didn't bother my stomach, but the iced chai did.)

So, any suggestions on how to improve the taste...or maybe another non-sugared (no fructose or sucrose) product to use?

I mix SE with HEED.

Perpetuem.

You can add hammer gel to it for flavor. Or switch to Perpetuem, their newer 2+ hour fuel.

I gave he SE a shot, I added gel to it but was disgusted in the long run. I don't use SE anymore I use perpetuem, and have much better results.

Add a scoop of HEED, or try the new Caffe Latte flavored Perpetuem.

I've been thinking about trying a big scoop of vanilla flavored whey protein powder.

I've been thinking about trying a big scoop of vanilla flavored whey protein powder.

Badddd idea, whey causes ammonia to build in your muscles, which can cause fatigue and cramps. You're better to use a soy based protein. Actually there's no point of adding more protein powder to SE or Perpetuem that's the whole point of drinking it is because it has soy protein in it. Just put some gel in it something.

There's an "unflavored" flavor of SE. It's not completely without flavor, but it's pretty mild.

You can also try HEED. It's like SE but without the small amount of protein. I find that it goes down easier for me. Again, the unflavored "flavor" is the easiest to swallow. I can even handle it at 2x the recommended concentration, which is something I can't do with any other drink mix. HEED is also maltodextrin based, no fructose.

Perpetuem is pretty foul tasting but it sits in my stomach ok. Few LBSs carry the unflavored Hammer drink mixes, you'll have to order from Hammer.

You might try solid food for long rides. Clif bars work well for me although most of the flavors are too sweet or contain chocolate, which does not taste good when I am exercising.

I tolerate HEED better than anything and can use it on rides up to 4 hours without a problem. If the ride is more than about 2.5 hours, I will have a Hammer Bar (and some gel) too. I tolerate those much better than Cliff bars when riding.

For my long rides i generally use concentrated Perpeteum in my water bottles and a I keep water with a NUUN tablet or two in a camelbak. Yes, I know people hate them, but I can go out into the mountains for 6-8 hours of riding with that setup and I have all the nutrition I need and clothing for different altitudes and conditions.

I find I cannot stomach Perpteum in normal strength in my bottles, but getting down a few gulps of the concentrate with water to wash it down is fine.

There's an "unflavored" flavor of SE.

SE only comes in the unflavored version...and that's the stuff I was talking about.


You might try solid food for long rides. Clif bars work well for me although most of the flavors are too sweet or contain chocolate, which does not taste good when I am exercising.

Solid foods are what usually give me trouble. They're usually too concentrated for me to digest while I'm riding. Clif bars, shots, gels, etc are particularly troublesome. In fact, so far, Hammer's stuff is the only actual sports product I can handle. Other foods I've used and been ok with include fig newtons and rice krispy bars....and now apparently Starbucks' pumpkin bread lol.

Guess I'll have to give the Perpetuem a try. I always liked orange cremesicles lol.

Guess I'll have to give the Perpetuem a try. I always liked orange cremesicles lol.

Yeah, but picture the taste of a cremesicle with some chalk dust in it.

That said, it sits well and works and it actually taste better in concentrated form.

Yeah, but picture the taste of a cremesicle with some chalk dust in it.

That said, it sits well and works and it actually taste better in concentrated form.

I've been using the Orange-Vanilla Perpetuem for the last month and it's flavor is like all of Hammer's stuff..kinda bland esp compared to the whatever-ades. And like all protein mixes it takes more shaking to dissolve. HEED does taste better but I don't find Perpetuem chalky.

I'm with you, I typically can't do solid foods on longer or higher-exertion rides but I can handle the gels just fine. I start with Heed and move on to Perpetuem after the 2-2.5hr mark. I have been thinking about bringing some solid food with me in the form of these for those longer rides, though:
http://www.theprobar.com/bars/

They average around 350-400 calories for a 3oz bar, are vegan, natural, have a good balance of fats, carbs and protein, etc. so a few nibbles here and there might not be bad.

Probars are my favorite bars for backpacking. They taste great, are good for you, and have more calories than anything else out there. They cause me to cramp while cycling though, so I keep them for the back country.

Good to know. Are you talking GI cramp or muscle cramp?

I also take Endurolytes when I'm sweating a lot because I seem to really lose a lot of salts (and generally feel MUCH better after a long ride if I've taken them). Maybe this could help with cramping?

GI cramping. Let's just say they are high in fiber...

Love HEED.

Love Hammergel.

Strongly dislike SE. I've tried it, and tried different ways of getting it to taste better (like adding Hammergel to it, and adding other non-sugar flavorings), but can only stand it for a little while ... and then it stinks up my bottles and makes everything else I try to put in them taste terrible.


Personally, I use Ensure ... tastes great, goes down smooth, digests well, has a complete set of nutrients ..... mmmmm what more could you want. And it is the fuel of choice among RAAM riders. :)

http://www.ultracycling.com/nutrition/what_raam_riders_eat.html

GI cramping. Let's just say they are high in fiber...

Aha! Fiber... I wonder if one or more flavors is lower in fiber. I'll check it out.

nevermind, they've all got 6-7g+ of fiber... :/

The thing about SE is it turns sour in about 3 hours on a hot day.

Ask how I know... bleh. Tasted like sewer water.

Prior to it turning sour, it tasted fine mixed with HEED.

Personally, I use Ensure ... tastes great, goes down smooth, digests well, has a complete set of nutrients ..... mmmmm what more could you want. And it is the fuel of choice among RAAM riders. :)

Hmmm...hadn't thought about that. I'll have to give the label a good going over and make sure it doesn't have anything else on my no-no list and then maybe give it a try. I'm assuming you put it in another container and don't drag the cans along with you?

Hmmm...hadn't thought about that. I'll have to give the label a good going over and make sure it doesn't have anything else on my no-no list and then maybe give it a try. I'm assuming you put it in another container and don't drag the cans along with you?

Here's the Ensure site:
http://ensure.com/

I start my day of a big ride by drinking one or two bottles of Ensure (see link below). Then I carry a bottle or two with me in my trunk bag. I can eat other food along the way, but the Ensure is for when I've been on the bicycle for 10 or 12 hours and am starting to struggle with digestion.
http://ensure.com/products/index.aspx

I believe you can get Ensure powder as well.

IMO, Orange Vanilla Perpetuem has a light flavor, tastes like watered down soy milk to me. not chalky.

I used to like Perpetuem. Then I started using it quite often and gradually became sick of it. This was amplified in the heat. The stuff is simply disgusting if you are out all day in 80F+ temps trying to live off just it and perhaps their gel. I also used to really like the hammer gel, and settled on the tropical flavor. I now have a new, unopened bottle I'll never touch again.

I recently learned at a 100 mi mtb race about two products called carbo pro and carbo pro 1200. The carbo pro mixes in to water and pretty much can't be distinguished from plain water. the carbo pro 1200 is more like vitamin water, gatorade, etc. Both, I find to be superior to all the other fuels I've used. The 1200 is a bit expensive, but tastes fine even when warm. Worth checking out.

I like the Heed and Hammer Gels and they have worked really well for me....and when it gets really hot...I go with Endurolytes...they are fantastic.

I like potato wedges baked with olive oil and lightly salted. I also like fig newtons.

Machka-
Actually, that Ensure sounds like a great idea. But do you have to keep that cold, like milk? It didn't say on the website.

I use Hammer Gel for rides 3 hours and shorter. I recently started using the Hammer Energy Bars for the long rides. I alternate the gel with the bars every 45 minutes or so and it works great. Easy to carry both gel and the bars and no worries about spoilage that you have with the other products.

Mark

I'm guessin it's like Yoohoo or Slim fast.. tastes better cold but is fine at room temp.. at least the sealed kind. my dad used to do some long canoe races and some of the guys would have Ensure can's

back on the SE
which "serving size" do most people do? on the back of my sample pack it says 1hr bottle, multi hour bottle and gel my longest rides at the moment are like 3 hr

back on the SE
which "serving size" do most people do? on the back of my sample pack it says 1hr bottle, multi hour bottle and gel my longest rides at the moment are like 3 hr

I don't use SE unless my ride goes over 2-2.5 hours or so. Then I mix 2 scoops per hour in one bottle with a little water to get a "gel" like consistency. I figure that, since I can't stand the taste anyway, I'd rather down my medicine in a couple of swallows (washed down with liberal amounts of plain water *gag*) than be drinking it continuously the entire ride.

It sounds like a lot of riders take both the flavored gels and SE on their longer rides - starting out with the gels and then switching to SE after a couple of hours. I tend to do the either/or route. I either take only gels or I take only SE. Maybe I should change it up a bit...might help with the monotony.

i see. i will probably just stick with mostly the gel that i have and maybe mix in a bit of the SE into it to beef it up some in the flask. i do a 24oz bottle of Cyto and a 20oz of water usually for my longer rides

Oh yeah, I definitely mix Raspberry Hammer Gel into my Perpetuem. It makes it perfectly palatable. I imagine you could put any of the gels into SE and it would be much better tasting.

Oh yeah, I definitely mix Raspberry Hammer Gel into my Perpetuem. It makes it perfectly palatable. I imagine you could put any of the gels into SE and it would be much better tasting.

How much gel are you adding in?

I don't use SE unless I'm doing at least 70 miles or more. For less than that, say 3 hours, etc. I'm just carrying HEED and gel, bars, newtons.

SE does taste nasty after the 2nd or 3rd bottle. I flavor with gel to taste. I use 2-1/2 scoops of SE.

How much gel are you adding in?

Well, you have to add the amount you need for taste, and you don't want to make it too strong. I might put two gels and one scoop of Perpet in a 24oz bottle. If I'm making up a long-term bottle (where I also have plain water to drink) then obviously a lot more, but usually the ratio is two gels to one scoop.