Bonjour
I make my own energy balls, would love to make my own gel, where can i find recipes?
Merci
Yeah, I needed to add hot water to Guu, well, gel/paste, for otherwise it would clog the nozzle. With liquid-y gels that may not be necessary. But in the end, I ended up unscrewing the nozzle and drink straight out of the bottle.
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I’ve been meaning to do this for years and have had this in my Wish List for the same amount of time:
Hydrapak Softflask:
They come in a variety of sizes. I think Adam Hansen mentions using one - he has definitely talked about some type of squeezy flask although I have a feeling he’s just squeezing gels into it rather than DIY.
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I’ve been using the hammer flask for years, it’s fine. On a related note, besides Hammer and GU, does anyone else sell their gels in bulk? GU is my favorite gel but I hate the packaging even the bulk bag is just a huge gel wrapper. Hammer at least has a recyclable bottle and some of their flavors are pretty good. A home made gel recipe, subscribed.
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I 2nd these. Easy to twist open and closed with your mouth and squeeze suck out gel. Also, the tip cleans up with a quick lick at closing. I just use honey instead of gel and I haven’t had a problem yet with them getting sticky in my pocket or leaking.
Mulebar do gel in a big bottle
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And also sell a small reusable gel flask which works pretty well, but hard to get the dregs out at the end
The other option is to use the gel refillable toiletry bottles that you can pick up on amazon or places like REI.
Unllike the completely collapsible ones that have been referenced above these are easy to clean and easy to fill. It’s hard to put some gels into those softflasks unless they are very liquidy. Things like honey and maple syrup don’t fill easily and are also hard to clean out.
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Similar to the Hammer flasks, the EFS Liquid shot flasks once empty are perfect! It was a trial sample at the time and don’t think they sell these empty/individually but honestly its worth trying as the flavors and energy at the time of the race was phenomenal!
Here’s the item… Liquid Shot
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These look very promising, thanks for sharing!
I have used the Hammer Nutrition flasks for years. while moving, I open it with my teeth and and close it by hitting the top against the side of my hip. It keeps the sticky gel away from my fingers.
Just use old toothpaste tubes; minty!
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If you are riding in cold weather just use one of your bottles. That’s what I’ve been doing this winter: 1x500ml bottle with maltodextrin mix 1x500ml bottle of water (drink to thirst)
Agree on either Hammer or First Endurance flasks. The GU ones are too big and the cap is a pia IMO. I wanted them to work but they seem to work their way out of the jersey pocket and the flex make them clumsy to work on the fly. I take a hammer type flask and use industrial velcro to have it on the stem to grab quickly. GU used to make a holder to put on the top tube or stem but not sure if they still do. Flasks make it so much easier and far less messy.
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Scoop and a half of Gatorade, (90g carbs)
3 cups sugar (600g carbs)
7 tsp sodium citrate (7000mg sodium)
1/8th tsp caffeine powder (400mg caffeine)
Fill remainder with water. Shake vigorously and refill with additional water often during ride.
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I use these:
Cheap, easy to clean and hold about 2-3 gels worth.
I also make my own gels, using this recipe:
I’d be very interested in how you might adapt this @Jonathan!
Reviving this thread - wondering about that as well, got the Hammer Flasks and have been using Maple Syrup and using up the gels I still have (because it’s easier to have a gel from the Flask during riding, but obviously it doesn’t help with reducing waste).
I quite like the SiS gels for their more watery nature, but haven’t been able to find anything like that in bulk.
@Jonathan are you still experimenting with your homemade gel recipes?
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140g of carb per hour? More like 140g per 10 seconds.
Uses M12 batteries which are pretty lightweight!
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Same, I’m converted to SiS formula, it’s a big deal mid race not needing to reach for water right away. I’d love a bulk version as the packaging is obviously even worse than a standard gel.
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I have been using Hammer flasks for over 10 years, $2.39 each. I buy the Hammer gel in bulk and pour it in. When the bike is moving, I take it out of my jersey pocket and take a squeeze. Vanilla flows great in cold weather. I open the flask with my teeth, squeeze, and close the top by pushing the top against my hip. The whole procedure can be done with one hand. I put the flask in the upper rack of the dishwasher, upside down and the top in the utensil tray.