My standard energy snacks for some time have been GU gels, Clif gummy’s and Clif Bars. For some reason I’ve developed an issue where the Clif Bars sit in my stomach like a rock and I can’t even stand the texture 😕
What options are easier to digest?

That stuff is full of sugar and soy. Most of them are no good. Try making your own.

Or make a trail mix with cocoa nibs, dates and any nuts or seeds of your choice.

The main thing with any food eaten on the bike is to only eat a small portion at a time. With Clif Bars, break them into quarters, eat a quarter every 15'-30', no more. But I agree, the texture does get tiresome. Nutritionally, they're excellent as long as one is not allergic to any ingredient. I've done double centuries on nothing but Clif Bars, had a strong ride.

What makes any food easier to digest is to drink water with it. Having trouble? Drink more water and take electrolytes with it. Ever plain water can sit in the stomach if it's not isotonic - meaning having the same concentrations as the blood in the stomach wall.

Other than that, experiment with different mini-mart foods. One's food should be either something one takes with them or be available in every mini-mart. I have a buddy who eats nothing but Hostess Cupcakes on the bike when touring. I like Hostess Fruit Pie at a rest stop. My wife drinks Ensure on the bike. Medjool dates are great. Shot Bloks work. For many riders, Hammer Gel in one of those Hammer flasks is all one needs up to say a 60 mile ride. Some people thrive on Hammer's Perpetuem, others like Hammer's HEED. There are many other powders which make a liquid food. One of the wonderful things about Snickers is that they are available in many countries. We've used them touring quite a bit. Yum.

Also see the DIY food thread, just a few threads down.

For shorter rides I like the fig bars from Costco. If it's over 50 miles I'll choke down a Clif Bar (maybe try a different flavor?) For over 75, if it's planned, I'll bring a PB&J. If I'm really eating for fuel, trying to keep up with a group for example, nothing works as well for me as a gel. I like the Clif ones better than Gu. Try for stuff you can pull from your pocket and eat on the bike. It's not a big deal, I know folks who will eat a balogna sandwich mid-ride.

Make your own? There are some good recipes on the internet. I used one that had oats as the main ingredient with melted natural peanut butter, maple syrup, and agave to hold it all together. I'd mix in some protein powder and some chocolate chips. They were really delicious.

Now I just eat pop tarts or granola bars or whatever else I happen to have lying around.

Fig bars, oreos, trail mix, bananas.

If youre going to use protein powder i would suggest hemp protein over whey.

Good idea, thanks. My recipe, have used these for decades, mostly for hiking, some for biking. I put into individual sandwich bags, keep them in the freezer, take out the night before or morning of.

David Bars:

2 large eggs
1 c. honey
½ c. sugar
⅜ tsp. salt
½ c. chocolate whey protein
2 Tbsp. safflower oil
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
½ c. powdered milk
½ c. wheat germ
2 c. fine whole wheat flour
1 c. raisins and/or chopped dates
½ c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat eggs until thick and lemony. Beat in the sugar until the mixture is thick. Beat in the honey, salt, and whey protein. Dissolve the cocoa in the oil and stir into the egg mixture. Mix the powdered milk, wheat germ, and flour together and stir into the egg mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts. Mixture will be very thick. Smooth into an oiled 9" X 13" baking pan with a moistened metal spoon. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool in the pan. Cut into squares, remove from pan, let dry overnight.

Makes 15 bars, 2½ oz. each. One bar = one serving.

Per serving: 268 cal., 19% (54 cal.) from fat; 12% (8g) protein; 6g fat (1g sat.); 69% (50g) carbo.; 85mg sodium; 31mg chol.

I've made bars and rice cakes but mostly just throw a few dates in a baggie. Dates are an almost perfect source of carbs.

Research shows that a mix of sugars and carbs can enhance digestion, rapid and long term metabolism for fuel.

If you're drinking plain water, try adding some electrolytes. Plain water tends to sit in my stomach and makes me feel bloated. I find DripDrop suits my digestion best. I dilute it more than recommended and it still works great. But don't overdo it with electrolytes, especially salt tablets. I've seen runners, cyclists and fellow active duty military on long marches with full packs suffer worse and even vomit from salt tablets. DripDrop has data on their website explaining why a mix of sugar is essential to aiding rapid digestion.

Most energy snacks contain the same ingredients: various sugars, including sucrose, glucose, dextrose; maltodextrin, which is generally easy to digest without problems for most folks. If we're expending enough energy that sugar gets burned up pretty quickly.

Some substitute sugar alcohols. While those can help avoid insulin and blood sugar spikes, maltitol and other sugar alcohols can cause digestion problems for some people. They make me gassy. If you're in a group ride and trying to hold it in to be polite, it's gonna get miserable pretty quickly. Drop to the back and let 'er rip. Or don't eat snacks with sugar alcohols.

There are disagreements over the value of protein for most workouts. And some folks can tolerate whey protein but not soy or legume based proteins. Takes some experimenting to find what suits your digestion. I cannot digest legume or vegan proteins, so I use only whey for workouts, and my diet is primarily carnivorous, although I'm not religious about it. I'll add veggies for flavor and variety. But no beans.

Yes, it's true that there's no need for protein during rides of under maybe 4 hours. That said, it doesn't hurt either. While I'm on a long ride there's a good chance that I'll miss 1 or more normal meals which would have contributed to my daily protein intake. There's no downside to including it.

There's decent research showing the ingesting protein before a workout has a protective effect on muscle mass and is just as good as after. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214805/
so I figure, why not during? https://www.gssiweb.org/sports-scien...articleTopic_1

I feel the same about Clif Bars. Fine for the first few years, now even thinking about biting into one gives me a lump in my throat. Powerbars are worse.

Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars are pretty good, if overly soft. They go down easy though. I've taken Rice Krispy treats a few times. A little too sweet for my liking but they travel very well, and hey-- 80 miles in, carbs is carbs.

Fig bars are always good, and you can get them in the single-serve multi-packs with two big bars per individual pack. Handy.

I made little sammitches of peanut butter, honey, and Nutella for my Saturday jaunt, and whoo boy, those'll getcha goin.

I used to use Cliff Bars for part of my nutrition. Usually towards the end of long rides where it's not so bad to take in some protein to start recovery. I got sick of them too though; the taste, and the texture. They are more of a snack food for lower intensity stuff like hiking with all the fat, fiber, and protein, or just a "lifestyle" food frankly.

I mostly replaced them with Nature Valley crunchy granola bars for something that is ready made and cheap. I have not had issues digesting those, or rejecting the taste after many hours on the bike.

When I get bored with Clif or Larabar, I'll switch to stuff from the dollar store: shortbread cookies that come six or eight to a pack, or stroop waffles. Fits easily into a jersey pocket, stays dry. Not as sweet as some energy bars.

If your digestion can handle sugar alcohols, maltitol is sometimes used as a sugar replacement in some cookies. Some folks find it better for energy food. You can buy a 12-16 oz package of faux-sugar wafers for a buck. Pretty cheap fuel.

I find real food hits the spot better than just sugary ****.

It's also very important to look at what intensity you're riding at, what kind of terrain, and ultimately what your nutritional needs are (based on the riding as much as your metabolic adaptation) .

If you're riding lots of hills, high intensity and keeping your heart rate high, prioritize more glucose (sugar/carbs)

If you're riding in high heat / humidity, and sweating lots, then you'll want to try and replenish your electrolyte / salt levels. Sodium/potassium/magnesium are the main 3. Salty / savoury foods on the bike can help with this. Beef jerky, cheese, salami, olives ...

If you're riding long/slow/steady distances, and your metabolism is good at burning fats, you might need nothing or just the odd bit of almond butter or nuts here and there.

I fuel very differently depending on the distance and type of ride.

I've always liked fig bars but recently have tried and adopted SANS Meal Bars. They aren't cheap, but they always have discount promotions. Calorie-wise they are about equal to 2 standard convenience store Fig Newton packages, so they aren't that expensive compared to buying 2 Fig Neutron packages at convenience store prices, but still high compared to if you buy a box of FNs on sale at the grocery store.

There are various flavors but they all taste pretty similar to me. Energy-wise, they really seem to work better for me than Fig Neutrons or the other exercise bars - and much more natural ingredients plus they donate meal bars to needy areas.

Fig bars, chocolate raisins, snicker bars, granola bars, muffins, jerky, dry sausage are great alternatives to cliff bars.

Thanks to all for so many great suggestions. The mentioned foods that appeal to me most are the Fig Newton’s and mixed nuts, think I’ll start there and see how it goes.
I’ve been training for my first double century which I hope to pull off come spring so having snacks I’m compatible with will be vital.

Like DrIsotope alluded to, try Powerbars for one long ride. After that Clif bars are like a Michelin 2-star appetizer.

In most areas, I've defaulted to getting off the bike and walking into a convenience store every couple hours. Fill up the water bottles and live off the land, so to speak. Oreos or Fig Newtons are great, a Honey Bun has enough carbs to go another two or three hours. My favorite is the fried cherry pies, if they don't have the el cheapo brand with hardly any cherries inside.

I even had a frozen burrito once. In my defense, Crowheart, WY doesn't have much else. Three Clif bars, if I'd had that many, would have got me up the hill to a "real" town.

I’ve always felt the same as the OP about Clif bars. They don’t digest for me. For years I relied on traditional powerbars on my rides of 3-10+ hours but they are hard/impossible to get now so I had to find something else. At this point I’m eating the Hammer energy bars and they work well. A bit pricy, though, and I’ve never seen them in a convenience store or other stop on the road.

I just opened a thread about Clifs or other for post-ride recovery.

Where?

In Training and Nutrition.

You just posted at the bottom of such a thread, but you are not the OP? or is that a sock puppet? These are your first posts on that thread?