The thread to rule them all. Post your favorite DIY gel recipes here. Drinks and bars are ok too but I really want to concentrate on gels as there are loads of food and drink threads (unless you have a 5* recipe 
). Please keep the chatter to a minimum and make this just a recipe thread.
Iāll add one:
Gel - maple syrup.
Easy to find, no prep, but VERY sweet.
Cheers,
Greg
Good grief. How do you package that up as a gel?
May I suggest removing drinks from the title if you want to focus on gels?
Iāve considered trying the maple syrup thing, but itās just SO sticky and has such a strong smell that I wonder if it becomes a PITA.
I just rinse the closed flask after every ride, no problem.
I meant during the ride.
I just carry the jug. Hahahaā¦ just kidding. A refillable flask by GU.
Itās actually ok I use a GU flask. Just waaaaaay too sweet for me and very strong taste.
Iāve not seen these before:
And Iāve never heard of people making their own gels either - but you want this thread for recipes so Iāll bow out.
Sugar water with some cordial and salt is hard to beat in a gel flask - cheap, efficient to make and tastes OK. At the ratio I make it with, it has the consistency of thin syrup.
To make enough for 4 hours of riding @ 80g carb an hour, the night before, I put the kettle on and weigh out the sugar in a jug: 320g granulated sugar for 2 x 250ml flasks. I add salt to requirement and pour the boiling water from the kettle to the 500ml line on the jug or 500g on the scales, stir and add cordial to taste. Doesnāt need to be fully dissolved, put it in the fridge overnight, in the morning decant into the flasks.
They fit in 1 jersey pocket and I drink half a flask an hour. It also means that youāre technically carrying an additional 500ml of water in the flasks, giving you more time between stops.
Iām trying these flasks at the moment:
What do you mean when you say cordial? Flavoring?
Also called squash. Itās a liquid fruit flavouring for water.
Ha. I donāt know that term either. Too funny. English vs. English!
Hereās another example of a soft flask.
If you prefer hydration as your fuel, you canāt beat Speed Nectar for simplicity and performance.
Check out Saturday. Their app tells you how much sugar + salt + water you need based on duration of the activity and intensity zone.
Carry some premix in a Ziplock bag for refills on the road.
Only considered?
Do it!
Here is my first attempt.
Recipe from https://www.triathlete.com/nutrition/recipes/how-to-make-your-own-diy-energy-gels/
So, this recipe is quite wateryā¦ I emptied the flask in two squeezes. Meaning it went down really really easy. Iāve never used SIS gels but I have heard they are very liquidy. I loved how easy it went down and was not overly sweet. That said, it doesnt quite have the amount of calories Iām hoping for (about 35/flask, 70 ttl). Iāll tinker with this hoping to get 90-100/flask without being too sweet. The GU flask I am using states is 5oz . For reference when I tried maple syrup (only) thats about 369 cal per flaskā¦ very very sweetā¦
For ref: a ānormalā GU gel is 2 oz at 100 cal.
ā I should add the PB&J recipe was a fail. The PB was way to thick and I couldnt get it through the flask tip (yes I used creamy )
cheers-Greg
Thanks, Iāll give this a go. What cordials do you use?
Pro tip - add pink Himalayan Salt to itā¦cuts down on the sweetness and adds some electrolytes. Just a pinch will go a long way.
I have also used Jot concentrated coffee to cut down on the sweetness and get some caffeine in the mix. About a teaspoon in the bottom of the flask, pinch of pinl salt and then Costco Maple Syrup to fill it up. That and Flow Formulas in my bladder / bottles was all the fuel I used for Unbound last weekend.
Do you go straight Syrup or dilute? Canadian or are you from the UP? haha. Straight was just too much for meā¦
I donāt put ice cubes in my beer, and I donāt water down my syrup! Thats why I have water bottles. College yooper, born and raised under the Mackinac bridge so that makes me a troll 
