Gels vs bars?
 

Which do you prefer? I never actually eaten anything on my ride but now I am focusing on 30-40mile rides and I think that I should consider eating something from hour to hour. Bars seem annoying to consume so I probably will look into gels. What gels do you guys recommend?

gels are gross but they dont dehydrate me as much. i race w. gels and otherwise ride with bars. meh to either.

clif has gels with a wee bit of caffeine. i like those i guess. they're still gross as hell. but what are you gonna do?

I give it a try and see how it goes.

Thanks

30-40 mile rides are only about 2 hours long. take 2 water bottles and carry a gell for an emergency, but at that duration you dont need anything more than water.

+1

Also, I prefer hammer nutrition's gels. Specifically apple cinnamon. Their gels actually taste good. IMHO

I still like cliff bars for energy bars. Their special flavors are yummy. Chocolate brownie, carrot cake, and on and on.

A gel is a good idea for rides past the one hour point. Energy bars are more substantial food and better if your rides exceed two hours.

My personal preference is to carry an energy drink instead of gel - less messy on the road.

You might want to check out Clif Shot Blocks, if you haven't already. They are easily chewed and don't leave your hands all sticky. Most of the flavors are acceptable.

I overdosed on Power Gels on the Seattle to Portland a couple years ago and can barely even look at them now.

I take along some Gu Gel packs but found myself alternating with Jelly Belly Sport Beans instead of the gels on some of my rides. Not only do the Sport Beans have the necessary carbs for energy, but it also has electrolytes and are less messy to eat. In terms of hydration, I carry two 24oz bottles of water with one of them having two Motortabs tablets dissolved in it.

I need to eat a cliff bar or powerbar for any ride I do that's over an hour if I'm exerting myself at all. I could probably do it without anything, but I start to feel really exhausted. Aka, I bonk if I ride for longer than an hour without food.

I'll either eat a pb&j sandwich before I go out, or carry something with me to make sure that I stay energized.

I like cliff bars and I don't mind their gels. Powerbars are ok in my book. I'm not that picky, although I do eat cliff bars off the bike.

Bananas are awesome ride food. I carry one in my Jersey pocket with the stalk pre-bitten off. You can also chuck into the forest guilt-free too. Don't race without one!

granola bars...i'm really really cheap.

I probably don't eat/drink enough but my general rule of thumb (for me) is on a long, long ride:

gel and two bottles (1 water, 1 with sugary stuff - Enervit or Gatorade seems to be my favorites) in the first 2-3 hours, then 2 bottles and a gel in the next 2 hours, then a gel or crack pack every hour after that, bottles as necessary (1 per hour seems the rule). This is in 60-75 degree weather, dry, mid level effort average with a couple hours of steady threshold effort (i.e. climbing up hard climbs).

If I feel hungry (i.e. stomach feels empty) then I'll have solids - bar, fig newtons, peanuts, whatever I feel like. If I crave it I buy it.

I rode 2.5 hours the other day - 40 deg, a bit windy, overcast. Brought 1 bottle of water. When I rolled the bike into the basement I hadn't touched the water.

cdr

Fig newtons. On yesterday's ride I ate two at the half-way point.

same with me, though, i didnt ride as long as you did, but i'm relatively new to it, so an hour or so is plenty for me. I need to focus on drinking more when i ride even if i'm only going a shorter distance for the sake of staying hydrated. I drink about a gallon of water a day average anyway. just remembering to drink while riding is tougher

Torq bars taste beautiful! I love their apricot ones. I'll generally eat a bar every 30-40 or so. They're good for football matches too :D

+1 on the banana thing too... great ride food!

I usually have two bottles - one with water and one with Hammer Perpetua orange/vanilla stuff mixed in and a gel in case i really bonk out....

Gel = quick energy!
 

I absolutely swear by Clif Shot Gels. They are so easy to suck down when riding fast or in a group, easy to open with my teeth, and I appreciate the "litter leash". I love the raspberry flavor and the double expresso. Can't imagine why someone would consider them "gross"? The raspberry is like eating jam. They give me a really quick boost when I start to feel any loss of energy or onset of hunger. For rides longer than a couple hours I will eat a Clif Bar or two during the ride. Mint Choclate is yummy. Picked up a bunch of Jelly Belly Sports Beans at the Tour of California and I like them also. But, their drawback is this, you open the package with your teeth and a) hope you don't rip the whole side of the package open and lose the beans, or b) you are left with a piece of litter to deal with. I just can't see eating them if you are going very fast, it takes too much balancing and use of the hands. Clif Shot blocks are the same, too many pieces to deal with.
Fausto

i like the gels because when you're out of breath and just tired, the last thing you want to do is try to chew something. Trying to breathe through your nose while you're chewing is tough also while riding hard. Gels go down smooth and fast. They dont taste great though. I like Sportbeans taste better but again, they are hard to chew on and when it's cold out, they are even harder to chew.

depends.

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thanks for the loan.

I prefer to take in one gel every half hour. My body seems to absorb it faster than solid food (don't know if there's any science behind that). This, along with Cytomax, fulfills my caloric needs, generally speaking.

One of my friends prefers the Cliff bar; every 20 minutes or so, he'll take just a nibble. This might be an option if you prefer the type of calories that you chew on.

As far as which brand, that's pretty subjective. I like Hammer gel apple for the flavor; however, I also use the Powerbar gel 4x sodium on the summer rides because I'm what is referred as a salty sweater. You'll have to experiment to see which brand works for you.

And don't forget the traditional options such as bananas, potatoes, sandwiches. Depending the length of your ride, it can't hurt to take in some protein (liquid or solid).

hello overkill.

I probably should have qualified that remark about one gel every half hour. I do this on the centuries, doubles, or epic days.

I've experimented enough that any less and my riding suffers.

Gels only for me. Anything solid makes me puke. Which I sometimes have used to my advantage in a break away. LOL!

You should've seen the look on that chaps face. I won that **** too!