I do 2oz maple syrup, 1oz honey, and 1/4 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt in a normal bottle of water (~20 oz). I read somewhere that honey was mostly fructose, so this gives me the magic 2:1 ratio and about 70g carbs to sip on over the course of usually an hour or less.
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Just an anecdote for your consideration: a friend of mine gave himself a very sick stomach by re-using a partial flask of gel he refrigerated after first use. I’m guessing that the combination of his own bacteria and the gel that was un-refrigerated for a time created a giant colony of nastiness that he should not have consumed. Just a guess, but the moral of the story is that you should probably throw out any maple syrup in flasks you don’t finish up during your race.
I love using organic Maple syrup as well.
I mix it about 60/40 (60 being Maple) with organic honey and about 1/4 tsp of Himalayan salt (more or less depending on the heat) and get great results.
I also use a flask, way easier and cleaner and no trash!
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From a Vermonter with tapped trees on his land … organic maple syrup isn’t really a thing. If it’s certified and the price is OK, great! But definitely don’t seek it out or pay extra for it, as any woods that are capable of producing sap in sufficient volume haven’t been anything but woods for a good, long time. While I’m sure there’s a former Superfund site out there that’s been abandoned long enough for a maple stand to grow, the odds seem exceedingly slim.
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YMMV but I routinely top off partially used flasks, and never refrigerate them. I’ll sometimes refill several times in a week before one is emptied at the end of a ride and I can wash it. I also don’t refrigerate the source jug. It sits on the kitchen counter until it’s empty, which takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month.
I’ve had a mold problem once in the last few years. I just poured the syrup out from underneath the mold layer and salvaged about half of what remained in the jug before it started to mix and I couldn’t keep the mold out anymore.
-Tim
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I’m about to dive into the syrup experiment. I tried the Untapped and Tap and had no gut issues, but the price per tube is ridiculous.
What do you use for tubes/flasks?
I have some very old repurposed EFS flasks, that i don’t think they sell anymore. Any flask with a pull-to-open valve (like a water bottle) and soft sides will work. Think of it as a miniature water bottle. I’ve seen them in running stores and on Amazon, though haven’t tried them.
Let us know what you wind up with, and how you like it. One of my flasks doesn’t stay closed anymore. Not a problem in the jersey pocket, but I can’t just toss it into a bag anymore.
-Tim
I’ve had good luck with these.
On the Hydrapak flask, any issues with the valve clogging, given the thickness of the syrup? I was looking at the GU Flask since it is made for gels, but liked the slightly larger Hydrapak.
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I haven’t run into that. I usually stick them in a jersey pocket, so I bet body heat and just the general air temp are warm enough to keep the syrup pretty viscous.
Costco maple syrup and these flasks have saved me a bundle over buying gels!
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Maple syrup is pretty thin. I doubt you’d have issues. Even if you did you could just add a bit of water to it to thin it out.
Try these. Works well with maple syrup.
Synergy Running Water Bottles (4-Pack) (9oz 4-Pack, Pink) https://a.co/d/azbqdE7
Those are basically the same thing I’m using. The nozzle design isn’t the best, but I’ve gotten used to them. You just need to kind of “clean up” the area around the nozzle with your tongue after closing the nozzle or you will have a little syrup staying there that can be sticky. The bottles are perfect for grabbing and stowing in a jersey pocket, they don’t hang up like some things.
I’m about 6 months into my switch to maple and the only issue I’ve had is that it can go down pretty easy and sometimes it’s hard to gauge how much I’m taking. I did a long ride past weekend and let my carbs get out of hand and ended up with some pretty sharp stomach pains and gas. Without even realizing it, I was eating over 150g of carbs an hour for the first 5 hours of the ride (cokes, maple, skratch, other stuff) and I paid for it. Nothing more serious than discomfort, but I was concerned that things would start coming out of my body at some point. It was also the first hot day of the year and 120 mile hilly ride, so I think it was a combo of things. I’m targeting 100-120g per hour at unbound this year, mainly skratch and maple.
One other thing with maple if you are buying on Amazon - the quarts and half gallons are constantly changing price and also become unavailable at times. When I see a good price, I stock up. The quarts can be cheaper per oz than the half gallons.
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I think Maple syrup will be the reason I never get around to trying other homemade gel recipes.
Edit - for flasks I’m using some from the travel section of target - can’t find them online. They have both silicone ones, as well as plastic. I think about $3 each or so. Neither have great nozzles for eating, but they work.
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This is an intriguing thread. I have a brand of gels that I like, but I suspect there is an awful lot of BS around what is essentially a blend of simple sugars and some flavouring. My main issue with gels is that they are a faff to open, eat and (especially) stash the empty wrapper whilst riding - particularly when wearing gloves, or when wearing a gilet that covers your pockets. If maple syrup works for you as an energy source, then you can stash it in a small ‘running’ bottle and have much easier access; provided of course you can dose yourself with some vague accuracy.
Canadian and an obligatory maple syrup fan here too. For races/longer rides, I only fuel with plain maple syrup “gels” (i.e. 1oz individual packs) and Tailwind. I don’t like any flavor to my stuff, only salt and syrup! So far it’s worked great for me and it really beats the taste and texture of all other gels I’ve tried.
Bonus points - it doesn’t freeze until around -30C to -40C and it tastes perfectly fine when warm/hot. I could not handle hot gels, found them to be unpalateable.
I add a splash of coffee. Perfection imo.
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I use Hammer flasks for maple syrup. I can fit about 120 grams worth of carbs in one flask.
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I have a bourbon maple syrup that I add some Aeropress coffee to. You won’t ever find a gel that compares to that in the slightest.
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For reference, we have had a couple of good flask topics with good options to consider:
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