SIS Gel Review
Whilst many of you probably already have your favoured gels, many of you won't, so here is what I use.
Before we dive into the SIS Gel Review, let's talk about how to use SIS Gels.
I primarily use SIS Gels on longer rides, or really intense rides, for example, a race.
Typically I will have a 5-10 banana smoothie for a 4-5 hour training ride, with some food on board, and won't need gels.
Gels just provide great bang for buck in terms of nutrition, convenience and weight.
On long rides, I'll often swap in Clif bars (standard Clif bars or Luna Bars) or Hammer gels. Clif bars and Hammer gels are a bit harder to swallow; in a race (or something like Etape) I want something that I won't gag on if I am working hard.
I combine all three SIS Gels below during hard rides or races up to 4-5 hours, depending on the weather. After that, I need to add in solid food or perhaps Hammer Perpetuem. I don't have any gels for the first two hours as the body stores enough energy for two hours. For those interested, I discuss my fuelling strategy in this post on SIS Burner gels in berry and have them 10 minutes before a race. I don't have them before a normal ride as they're pretty expensive, so I save them for Etape du Tours and races.
The premise of the Burner gel is that it helps metabolise fat, with fat providing very energy dense per gram.
It uses carnitine to do this so if these stretch your budget a bit, you can get some Acetyle L Carnitine from ebay in bulk and have some with water pre-race or grab some from Wiggle.
Note that the Australian Institute of Sport is still not sure on the efficacy of Carnitine, but, it does seem to reliably decrease lactate production (your muscles can push harder for longer) and decrease muscle soreness post-ride.
Highly recommended.
SIS Go Gels
SIS Go gels are my go-to gels during Etape and in races. They taste good, aren't sticky and are easy to open with your teeth.
I find that 1 or 2 per hour (depending on weather) is more than enough to keep me going, at least until about hour 4 or 5.
SIS Smart Gels
SIS Smart gels are caffeine bombs and intended to be used before a big effort. This means they're perfect for Etape just before the big climbs, or at the end of Etape (or a race) when you need extra stimulation.
I usually take one or two with me on Etape, and one during a race, and have it about 10 minutes before a big climb or the end of the race.
They taste great and work.
Where to get SIS Gels products
You can get all these products from most online retailers.
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