|   Gu/Gels vs. Sport Drinks | TechniKal
Mar 18, 2002 9:46 AM | | I'm be moving up a class in a month and will be doing races at distances that will require me to refuel on the bike. I see that a lot of racers use Gu or other gel-like energy packs. Is there any advatage to these vs a sport drink? It would seem that the sport drink would be easier to handle (put it in a water bottle or even a small camelbak, vs. having to open the gel pack) and you wouldn't risk littering the race course. |
| check the labels... | up_hiller
Mar 18, 2002 12:58 PM | | you are looking for carbs, especially in the form of sugar, to give you some quick energy. protein (like you would get from a clif bar) takes to long and requires to much energy to be digested and used for fuel.
the drinks definitely give you this. i would suspect that the gels are basically the same thing as a drink except in gel form. when you slam a bunch of sugar in the form a drink or a gel you will get a quick burst of energy. however, with a gel, once it's gone you will crash hard (the classic dive after a sugar rush; we all have heard about this even if we have not expereinced it). with a drink, you can take the sugar in more slowly. you still get the same amount of energy, but not all at once, so maybe the nose-dive won't be such a problem. I don't know this for a fact, I'm just thinking "out loud".
drinks are probably also cheaper, esp. if you mix them yourself.
happy trails!
matt |
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