poxpower

Anyone does this?
I have found a few recipes online that I've yet to try.

My main problem is that granola bars are too tasty and commercial gels are too expensive. If I make homemade bars of any kind, I will eat all of them. Gels are just disgusting enough though.

anotherbrian

I'm interested in other's results. I've been using a 7:1 mix of maltodextrin:soy protein + salt/lite salt + Crystal Light flavor, in powdered form, for the double centuries the last two years. It's a real pain to get it mixed on the go so that it isn't lumpy, but it is impossible to pre-mix it for more than an hour or so because the protein goes bad. Prep time is only a couple minutes to mix together the powders and is a huge savings over buying Hammer products.

I thought this year I'd make a concentrated syrup of the maltodextrin + electrolytes + flavor, and then find another source of protein during the ride. That or just have a spoonful of soy protein once an hour and try to wash it down with water as quick as possible.

The recipes I've seen for gel's just seem to be maltodextrin dissolved in water (to a syrup) with pectin added to cause the gelling. If it won't spoil in the heat, it'd really simplify what I think has been the most tedious part of my doubles.

HokuLoa

Just getting curious about this too. I usually stuff real foods in my pockets but I do like gels in high heat and on very long hauls. I really dislike paying +/- $1 per gel and using multiple on rides. Homemade and less expensive would be preferable when riding enough to consume 20 of these a week...

BruceN

I make my "gel" by mashing up a banana, or use applesauce, add in about a teaspoon of powdered glutamine and/or powdered BCAA's.
Put it all mixed up in a half size baggie and stuff it a pocket.
Using the powdered amino acids are cheap and I feel the results in my legs, less tired.

poxpower

What brands of glutamine / bcaa do you get?

I also thought about putting some ground up coffee in there for caffeine, but no idea how much.

vesteroid

1 dollar for a gel that gets me 20 plus miles...still way cheaper than gas.

BruceN

I use NOW BCAA powder and JARROW Glutamine powder. I use other brands if there's a sale. Always 100% pure.

I used to use a half teaspoon to a teaspoon of ground coffee, but stopped. I forget why, I'll try it again on my long ride next week.

For store bought gels I found Roctane worked best for me.

I mixed their aminos to mix together but could never match how well Roctane worked: Histidine, Leucine Valine Isoleucine (BCAA), Ornithine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (Okg)

vision646

I make my own using maltodextrin (glucose), honey (fructose + glucose), lite salt(electrolytes), and whey powder (protein). I mix it together with a small amount of water and usually make 10-15 gels worth at a time and store it in a used honey squeeze bottle in the fridge. I've let a batch sit in the fridge for more than a couple of months without any problems. As Anotherbrian stated it takes a little while to mix it together(depending on how much water you put in it), but it does help if you warm the water and add the honey last (and heating the honey also helps). The honey also acts as flavoring but sometimes I add a little orange extract or other flavors. If anybody wants the amounts of the ingredients let me know, I've got an excel sheet which I follow each time.

hobkirk

Post it! I am sure others would also like to see it. Thanks

vision646

I couldn't figure a good way to put it on here so I just took a screen shot of the excel sheet. This will make about 10oz of gu, if you want to flavor it I'd add about 1/2 tsp or so of extract.

poxpower

What do you put it in to eat on the bike?

I made some horrible goo with mollases, honey, protein powder and ... ground coffee...but then realized I had nothing to store this in so I could eat it on the bike. And it would have to be a container that also won't spill into my jersey...

vision646

I use the hammer flask: https://www.hammernutrition.com/produ...-flask.hf.html

poxpower

genius : D
That's gonna get SO DAMN MOLDY so fast though. I should buy 10...

Yeah this is for racing. Otherwise I'd just.. eat a sandwich or a leg of mutton, obviously.

vision646

Lol, why would it get any more moldy than a water bottle? Same concept. I have two and have never had a mold issue.

catonec 

$2000 bike but $1.25 for a gel is too expensive, cool.

Carbonfiberboy 

Just buy Hammer Gel in the pt. bottle and put it in the Hammer Flask. Never gets moldy. Many flavors, tastes pretty good. The big advantage over packaged gels is . . . no packaging! I sure wouldn't call it expensive compared to 7-11 or Starbucks food.

poxpower

I need more than one every 10 years though.

gregf83 

Some people train more than an hour a month. 500 hrs/yr @ 2 gels/hr = new bike in 2 yrs.

Rx Rider

the little flask is great to have, now if could just stop using hammer gel for my pancakes. . .

Carbonfiberboy 

Or serving it on canapes at parties . . .

catonec 

thats friggen hilarious right there, buddy. all im saying is you have to pay to play. yes you have your initial costs but you're also gonna have day to day costs, true in almost any sport.

gregf83 

Nothing wrong, or odd about cutting unnecessary costs though.

Carbonfiberboy 

This discussion is the reason that some of us make homebrews similar to Sustained Energy. It's easy, cheap, and doesn't taste too bad. I gave up using even Hammer Gels many years ago.