Keeping properly fuelled during your ride (as well as before and afterwards) is a crucial component to unlocking your maximum potential.
Choosing a good source of carbohydrates to consume as you pedal prevents the dreaded energy bonk, where your legs turn to lead and your morale plummets faster than you might like to admit.
While making your own energy bars at home is affordable and easy, sometimes it's nice to have a stash of bars or gels on hand, ready to stuff into your pockets at a moment's notice before jumping on the bike.
Everyone likes a bargain, so we had a dig through Amazon to find the best deals on cycling nutrition available right now.
Science In Sport GO Isotonic Energy Gels (30 pack) – $25.99 $20.12 (save 23%) £46.50 £24.09 (save 48%)
When all else fails, it’s time to break out the energy gels… Here, we’ve chosen Science In Sport and its GO Isotonic Energy Gel.
Containing no artificial flavours and 22g of carbs per sachet, these gels are also isotonic, meaning you don’t need to chase them with water to guarantee smooth digestion.
Science In Sport claims its GO Isotonic Energy Gel was officially recognised as the world's first isotonic energy gel, and is proud of its rigorous testing against WADA-banned substances, and Informed Sport certification.
Amazon has a 30-pack of the blackcurrant flavoured GO gel on sale for £24.09, saving 48%.
- Buy the Science In Sport GO Isotonic Energy Gels now from Amazon UK
- Buy the Science In Sport GO Isotonic Energy Gels now from Amazon.com
Clif Bar Energy Bar (12 pack) – £22.20 £16.99 (save 23%)
Clif Bars have earned a somewhat legendary status in the worlds of sports nutrition and adventure fueling. Offering a plant-based energy hit, these tasty and chewy oat bars pack in 36g of carbs and 11g of protein per serving. They also contain phosphorus, which Clif claims contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
Clif has a multitude of flavours to choose from, and these particular bargain bars are of the chocolate almond fudge variety.
They’re currently on sale at 23% off for £16.99, which works out at around £1.42 per bar. Just be careful to save them for your rides, though, because they can quickly end up being consumed as a late-night treat on the sofa.
HIGH5 Energy Drink (2.2kg) – £29.99 £18.79 (save 37%)
Drinking your carbs is a great and easy way to keep fueled while out on a big ride. This is where HIGH5’s energy drink formula comes in handy - simply mix the powder with water in your bottle, and off you go.
The energy drink itself is free from artificial flavourings and colours, and contains a 2:1 ratio of maltodextrin and fructose. This, HIGH5 claims, enables you to absorb up to 50% more carbohydrates per hour.
To make sure you stay well hydrated, HIGH5 includes essential electrolytes in its Energy Drink formula. Each bottle of Energy Drink (one scoop mixed with 500ml of water) contains 240mg of sodium, 50mg of potassium and 84mg of chloride.
As far as bargains go, this one’s pretty hot – you can get a 2.2kg tub of berry-flavoured energy (which contains 46 servings) for only £18.79. That’s 37% off Amazon’s usual price.
Clif Bar Bloks (10 pack) – £36.90 £30.64 (save 17%)
If you need a little more than carbs to keep you going, Clif has you covered with its Bloks.
As well as packing in 31g of carbohydrates per pack of four, these little energy chews also contain green tea extract, giving them 68.4mg of caffeine. Clif recommends eating up to four pieces a day, depending on your activity.
These blocks pack a punch, so make sure you can handle your caffeine and stick to the recommended dosage. If you’re craving some caffeination on the go, you can pick up a 10-pack containing five flavours (2x Mountain Berry, 2x Strawberry, 2x Black Cherry, 2x Tropical Punch, 2x Margarita Citrus) for £30.64, saving 17%.
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Plant Based Protein Powder – £27.99 £20.90 (save 25%)
Post-ride recovery is equally important as fueling as you go, so let’s round out this list with some quality, plant-based protein powder from Optimum Nutrition.
Consisting of a blend of pea and rice proteins, Optimum Nutrition claims this powder contains a full amino acid profile and 24g of protein per serving, meaning your body should get all the resources it needs to aid recovery and muscle growth. It contains no artificial colourings or flavours, and is also 100% vegan.
On sale here with 25% off is the Vanilla flavour, which contains 21 servings in its 684g tub.
