In the beginning there was a tired smile. Energy from a tube - what a load of rubbish; the biker community was unanimous. That was in 1994, when Squeezy presented the first energy gel in Germany. But the rejection quickly turned into enthusiasm. Within a very short time, imitators were found and today the market is almost unmanageable. In the meantime, the paste has been transformed from a simple carbohydrate mix into a high-tech fuel. More and more additives are supposed to improve performance, be it guarana, caffeine or sodium. But how good are these gels really? Do they make you faster and are they really better than a banana or a bar?
Nutrition expert Uwe Schröder from the Institute for Sports Nutrition in Bad Nauheim gave us the answer. "Carbohydrates, which ideally come from different sources, are still the most important thing in the gel," says Schröder. A composition of quickly available and long-lasting carbohydrates is crucial, as this allows the body to access energy over the required period of time. For our test, the nutrition expert checked the composition of ten gels. This composition accounts for 70 per cent of the overall score. The handling of the products accounted for 20 per cent. Our testers had to take the product out of the jersey and open it while riding. The final ten per cent of the overall score is the price/performance ratio. The impression of the flavour is not taken into account. The overall score is calculated from the three areas and is graded as in the school grading system (1-5).
You can find the results of the energy gel test in the PDF download below.
You can find these energy gels in the test:
- Born Energy Super-Gel
- Hammer Gel
- High5 Energy Gel
- Sponser Liquid Energy
- Nutrixxion Energy Gel
- Penco Energy Gel
- Xenofit Carbohydrate Gel
- Squeezy Energy Gel
- Powerbar Gel
- Isostar Gel Energy
