Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Clif bar?

Does anyone eat Clif bars? I have seen them at a local LBS and now have seen them at the local grocery store. I am wondering if they really provide energy like they claim, and if they are tasty. I am a fan of granola bars and the clif bars seem to be like them.

My opinion: Clif Bar = sawdust held together with Elmer's-style glue, with a little bit of flavoring added. Stick with granola bars

My opinion: Clif Bar = sawdust held together with Elmer's-style glue, with a little bit of flavoring added. Stick with granola bars

My wife once described PowerBars with the same terms.

I tried Cliff Bars once, didn't care for the taste, been a PowerBar consumer since I started riding since they were the only bar on the market.

I like them, but I've learned to give the package a little "pinch" to make sure the bar isn't old or dried out. My personal favorites are White Chip macadamia nut, Chocolate brownie, and Iced Gingerbread (although it's only a Christmas time flavor.

I was lucky to have one on me recently as my fathers sugar crashed during a ride (type II diabetic, one of the reasons why I'm pushing myself now) the bar really helped him out. Also, save my butt on my first century in September.

I like 'em...but I'm pretty easy to please. On longer bike rides, I tend to stick with the "mini" Clif bars because it's easier for me to control the amount of calories I'm taking in per hour since they are 100 calories a piece. But of the full-sized bars, my favorites are the white chocolate macadamia, banana bread, and cranberry orange nut bread (limited edition holiday version).

I like the Carrot Cake ones, but in limited amounts. I'll bring one and some fruit on a 50 miler, but I won't try to last a full century on nothing but Clif Bars. I made that mistake on STP, trying to survive on just bars and gels. Ptooey! By hour 10, I was about to hurl at the mere sight of the danged things.

They have a better texture than Powerbars (which reminds me of really disappointing taffy). I find the texture of a clif bar similar to that of an under baked muffin with a peculiar fig paste taste that's over bearing.

Luna bars are tastier and have a nicer, drier texture. I recommend giving those a whirl.

I did see the Luna bars at the store also so I may pick up a box of them also. It does say that they are for women though.

Does anyone eat Clif bars? I have seen them at a local LBS and now have seen them at the local grocery store. I am wondering if they really provide energy like they claim, and if they are tasty. I am a fan of granola bars and the clif bars seem to be like them.

They cost 2 bucks. Why not buy one and try it for yourself?


My opinion: Clif Bar = sawdust held together with Elmer's-style glue, with a little bit of flavoring added. Stick with granola bars

Sounds like you're eating PowerBars, not Clif Bars! All of the Clif Bars I've eaten were like a sort of thick, chewy granola bar. Some flavors are good, some aren't. Luckily, there a dozens to chose from; their website only lists a few, while my grocery has 2 dozen!

My only complaint? Most of the carbs, are there are quite a few, are from simple sugars. I'd swear they had a better balance between simple sugars and other carbs when I started eating them 10-15 years ago. For sustained nutrition on long rides, I use Hammer Gel (http://tinyurl.com/mete8a). For immediate energy, I find that Clif Bars work pretty well.

I don't think Clifbars are give you energy, not a noticeable burst anyway, but may keep a rider from bonking. I use one on a flat 60 miler or a 40 miler with 5000ft of climbing. But really, a P&J sandwich is better IMO, just not as convenient.

I like the cherry almond, walnut raisin flavors. Gina likes the chocolate flavors.

LBS is a rip, $1.59???? Target has several flavors at 99 cents. Also have found great deals at Costco. Gina found a coupon "buy one 24 count box, get one free"!:thumb: And the box was on sale for $19.99. That was 48 bars for $20 bucks!

At HEB they are 5.49 for a box of 6. Not as good as the 48 for $ 20. What it the deal with gels?

They will give you Gas.
Here is proof.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoCHQjGKLP8&NR=1

Thats was worth the view.

I guess Ill just stick to eating noodles before riding. I try to do 20-30 mile rides on the weekend, but I need to start getting up to 40 miles comfortably by the this time next month or sooner. I am planning on doing my first over night self supported tour, and I will probably be doing it solo also by the end of February. I have never toured before so its going to be a experience.

Clif Bar got caught up in that nasty peanut processor scandal in Georgia. PB&J works best for me.

I guess Ill just stick to eating noodles before riding. I try to do 20-30 mile rides on the weekend, but I need to start getting up to 40 miles comfortably by the this time next month or sooner. I am planning on doing my first over night self supported tour, and I will probably be doing it solo also by the end of February. I have never toured before so its going to be a experience.

Go to your grocery store, breakfast section, get some fruit bars there, easy to carry and eat whilie riding.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/bikefood001.jpg

What it the deal with gels?

And what's the deal with airline food? Huh, am I right? :lol:

Gels are for the quick burst of energy. They're ~100 calories of flavoured short chain carb, and they'll last you for the attack you're making, hill you're sprinting, etc. They're in and burned up rather quickly.
10 Wheels isn't kidding though. A couple Accel Gels, a few bottles of Accelerade, 12 hours in the saddle, and I get the worst case of rando-gas ever.

Good ole Hill country fare. Be wary when you do buy it though. Check the prices, I have noticed that sometimes it is actually cheaper to buy name brand products.

ProBars are good if you can find them

I like the black cherry shot bloks myself. Make sure you rip em open aforehand as they are not possible to open on the move. If you get em all prepared, you just keep squeezing the tube and popping them in your mouth. They don't taste hideous, and they seem to really help me when I'm feeling low on energy.

I don't think Clifbars are give you energy, not a noticeable burst anyway, but may keep a rider from bonking.

I agree, I like the Clif Bars as a snack halfway through. I had been doing a lot of 2 hour rides and would eat this after an hour. I don't think it gave me a burst, but it helped me complete the ride. I used a ziploc of raisins for a quick pick me up if needed. My favorite is the Chocolate Chunk Brownie, but I also like the blueberry cobler.

ETA - we buy ours at Sam's or Costco as well. We just have to keep checking as they don't always carry them.

I too echo that they will not give a huge energy boost right away, however, they do give decent energy over time in a nice neat wrapper. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches work best for me, however they get messy in a jersey pocket. The cliff bar has the edge in ease of consumption, if you practice a bit you don’t even have to slow down to eat one. The sandwich rout you have to stop to eat unless you don’t mind a sticky mess.

Taste wise, I like them, particularly the chocolate mint ones. Then again, my palate is not difficult to please.

Oh yeah: Cliff Bar farts.

I love Clif bars. I buy them by the case. Before a ride I cut them up into 1" squares and put them in a ziploc bag. That way I can just grab a little piece out when I need it.

Gels are for the quick burst of energy.

Depends on the gel, actually. Hammer Gel, for example, does not contain much in the way of short-chain, fast-acting carbs.

Depends on the gel, actually. Hammer Gel, for example, does not contain much in the way of short-chain, fast-acting carbs.

A primary component of Hammer Gel is their proprietary Energy Smart (R) mixture which is fruit juice concentrate (short sugars) and "natural grain dextrins" (more short sugar).
They balance it with some long chained maltodextrin, but the recommended use is that is can be your primary caloric source for events under 2 hours. They're quick burn fuel. For someone my size they suggest 3/hour, which is the usual 300 calorie suggestion.

Just out of curiosity, unless you're doing a 120 minute sprint/interval session, who needs to eat on a ride of 2 hour or less?

I love Clif bars. I buy them by the case. Before a ride I cut them up into 1" squares and put them in a ziploc bag. That way I can just grab a little piece out when I need it.

I've seen boxes of small invidualy wrapped bite size clifbars at Wally World.:D...I'd get frustrated opening and fighting with the wrappers. Sometimes it's tougher than the ride itself!:roflmao2:

If you were feeling experimental, you could try making your own bars. I forgot all about this recipe I tweaked until I re-read this thread: http://www.momentumplanet.com/food/nrg-bars I changed some of the ingredients: I added several scoops of chocolate whey protein powder, skipped the banana chips and raisins because I hate them and used shredded unsweetened coconut and chopped dried cherries. I doubled the amount of ground coffee beans and tried almond butter instead of peanut (also, if you are allergic to peanuts or almonds, try roasted sunflower seed butter -- my partner is allergic to nuts but is fine with sunflower). The recipe is super sweet so swapping some of the granola for toasted oat flakes helped to cut some of sweetness. I also used flax seeds for some of the sesame seeds.

I find the responses interesting. I prefer Clif bars over all of the competition. For me, they're easier to eat and I've had great luck in them fueling multi-hour rides.

I'm good with Clif Bars up to around 4 hours. If I know I'm riding longer than that, I need to bring real food. My current fave is salami and cheddar on whole wheat mini pita bread. They're 3-bite sandwiches and decent fuel for another couple hours when combined with a bottle of Accelerade and a sack of potato chips.

A primary component of Hammer Gel is their proprietary Energy Smart (R) mixture which is fruit juice concentrate (short sugars) and "natural grain dextrins" (more short sugar).
They balance it with some long chained maltodextrin, but the recommended use is that is can be your primary caloric source for events under 2 hours. They're quick burn fuel. For someone my size they suggest 3/hour, which is the usual 300 calorie suggestion.

You must be reading a different nutrition label than I am. My label says that the primary ingredient is "Long Chained Maltodextrin", followed by "Filtered Water". They claim 23g of carbohydrate, with only 2g of "sugars". As an insulin-dependent diabetic, I can tell you what the result is for me: Clif Bars cause my blood sugar to rise precipitously, as verified by a Lifescan One Touch glucose meter, whereas Hammer Gel does not. YMMV.

I find the responses interesting. I prefer Clif bars over all of the competition. For me, they're easier to eat and I've had great luck in them fueling multi-hour rides.

Me too... I like em. But I don't normally need to eat much of anything for a two hour ride.

I too echo that they will not give a huge energy boost right away, however, they do give decent energy over time in a nice neat wrapper. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches work best for me, however they get messy in a jersey pocket. The cliff bar has the edge in ease of consumption, if you practice a bit you don’t even have to slow down to eat one. The sandwich rout you have to stop to eat unless you don’t mind a sticky mess.

Taste wise, I like them, particularly the chocolate mint ones. Then again, my palate is not difficult to please.

Oh yeah: Cliff Bar farts.

Addressing my young and scatalogical friend's final comment:

Most energy bars use soy (AKA soybeans) as a protein source, and may combine that with maltodextrin, which is so strong a laxative that Australia requires products containing it to carry a warning label. (Some American bakers, such as Philadelphia's Tastykake, have started including warnings as well on their products with maltodextrin.) Like Bautieri I enjoy the chocolate mint bars, but I can't consume more than one a ride without discomfort. I won't even look at Powerbars.

On a long ride, I'm likely to carry trail mix (peanuts, raisins, M & Ms, and other goodies) and a turkey or peanut better sandwich. On tour I emulate Sherman's march through Georgia and live off the land, stopping for snacks and meals as I need to - or want to. For example, to carry me the 30 some miles from Cambridge to Delmar, MD, I had a deli turkey sub in my panniers, some snacks, and a ton of drinks (it was a hot day.) I had the first half of the sub just outside Cambridge, and the rest 20 miles in, at Vienna.

They cost 2 bucks. Why not buy one and try it for yourself?



Sounds like you're eating PowerBars, not Clif Bars! All of the Clif Bars I've eaten were like a sort of thick, chewy granola bar. Some flavors are good, some aren't. Luckily, there a dozens to chose from; their website only lists a few, while my grocery has 2 dozen!

My only complaint? Most of the carbs, are there are quite a few, are from simple sugars. I'd swear they had a better balance between simple sugars and other carbs when I started eating them 10-15 years ago. For sustained nutrition on long rides, I use Hammer Gel (http://tinyurl.com/mete8a). For immediate energy, I find that Clif Bars work pretty well.

I like Clif Bars. They're organic and they taste good. Plus, they don't turn into bricks in the winter. Oh yeah, and they're REALLY expensive.

I prefer Quaker Chewey Granola bars. They have the texture of a rice crispy treat made with granola and whatever other bits and flavoring they put in. Eighteen bars cost me $4 at Wal-Mart. My favorite flavor is Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. And the big bonus .... they don't use High Fructose Corn Syrup. Which as organic as I really need to go.

I like Clif Bars. They're organic and they taste good. Plus, they don't turn into bricks in the winter. Oh yeah, and they're REALLY expensive.

Actually, they're only expensive if you buy singles at the grocery store. The Performance Bike near my house frequently has them on sale for $13 for a 12-pack. (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1025311_-1_76000_20000_76003) That's $1.08/bar, which isn't too bad. Their normal price is $16 for 12, or $1.33/bar. Much better than the $1.89/bar that my grocery wants...

The only time I eat Clif Bars is at the rest stops on centuries. Like everything at those stops, they are delicious -- and free!

I usually carry Nature Valley Fruit & Nut bars on rides.

http://www.naturevalley.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductId=18

The 48-count box at Costco makes them about 25 cents apiece, and the carb/sugar is about 50/50.

I also carry peanut butter sandwiches -- on home-baked wheat bread.

On a 4-5 hour ride I can fill my jersey pockets with food and my bottles with Cytomax, all for about a buck.

That's the retiree's version of Clif bars.

For longer rides I prefer Larabars or Cliff Bloks.. The Larabars are very hearty and will help you from bonking on longer ride, lots of flavors to choose from.. They are starting to show at local grocery stores, I like the Peanut Butter or Cashew Cookie..

http://www.larabar.com/food/larabar/

Yes i always bring one or two with me on my rides. The blueberry one is tasty

Liked the old Clif 'Ice' Bars; no surge of energy, but it seems to not go away, either.

For me, a kick comes from PowerGel; Gu, Clif, Hammer, just doesn't do the same thing. PowerBar Harvest will wake up your taste buds, though!