what's your favorite gel?? (Page 2)

Silver_wlf - 2009-07-03 7:42 AM
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Why would you go to a gel if you're using sport beans?  They have electrolytes and seem to be about equivalent in calories as the gels?  (They are also listed in Triathlon Canada's list of "Quick Fuel" along with Gu Chomps and Honey Stinger Chews.)

gearboy - 2009-07-03 6:58 AM

I was wondering the same thing.  I used to use gels when they were the alternative to powerbars. (My favorite was stinger honey for the texture, followed by Chocolate Gu for the taste).  But gels are much less convenient than blocks or beans.  If you don't consume the whole thing at once, the rest of the gel comes out of the package leaving a big mess wherever.  And if you DO consume the whole thing, there is still residue that in warmer weather (or warm jersey pockets) softens and slowly oozes out all over the place.  But even if they spill all over, blocks and beans don't leave a sticky mess everywhere, and you can stick them in your jersey pocket or bento box and not worry about them.

gearboy - 2009-07-03 7:58 AM



I was wondering the same thing.  I used to use gels when they were the alternative to powerbars. (My favorite was stinger honey for the texture, followed by Chocolate Gu for the taste).  But gels are much less convenient than blocks or beans.  If you don't consume the whole thing at once, the rest of the gel comes out of the package leaving a big mess wherever.  And if you DO consume the whole thing, there is still residue that in warmer weather (or warm jersey pockets) softens and slowly oozes out all over the place.  But even if they spill all over, blocks and beans don't leave a sticky mess everywhere, and you can stick them in your jersey pocket or bento box and not worry about them.

Strychnine - 2009-07-03 2:16 AM

Powerbar gel - vanilla

popsracer - 2009-07-03 12:40 AM Hammer apple-cinnamon

Fielding - 2009-07-03 2:14 AM I like the Honey Stinger gels. They make several flavors -- like strawberry, banana, chocolate -- but I prefer the plain, which tastes just like regular honey. I've found these are by far the easiest for me to consume during a race; almost all other gels make me sick just thinking about when I'm running. Before a race I can tolerate pretty much any gel (since I dislike them all fairly equally).

ouradventure - 2009-07-03 10:37 AM Thanks everyone for the responses. I'll have to give some of the more popular ones a try! However, I am kind of concerned about the whole messiness factor (chocolate gu running down the leg...ewww!) Silver Wlf: Sometimes the sport beans just taste too sweet and I can't get them down. Do you ever have a problem with that too? Usually I'll put a mix of shot bloks (cut in half) and sport beans in my bento box and rotate between them and that seems to help. But, I guess I'm just looking for a way to switch things up a bit.

ouradventure - 2009-07-03 9:37 AM Silver Wlf: Sometimes the sport beans just taste too sweet and I can't get them down. Do you ever have a problem with that too? Usually I'll put a mix of shot bloks (cut in half) and sport beans in my bento box and rotate between them and that seems to help. But, I guess I'm just looking for a way to switch things up a bit.