Point of clarification: Are you talking about the "styrofoam disc" rice cakes from the supermarket (puffed rice), or the rice cakes from the Feedzone Cookbook (below)?

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
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Sorry, yep Feed Zone ones👍

Not for IM stuff, but I have used them quite effectively for marathon MTB races. Hardest part was figuring out the wraping so I could unwrap while on single track.

Experiment. Try them in training.

Have experimented with them too and found them pretty good. Similarly, I found getting them unwrapped is a PITA and they are bulky for transporting. I used them in CeltMan this year taking handups from my support team so could take them partly unwrapped, eat half, drink some fluid then finish the other half.

There's some good stuff in that book, but I think quite a bit of it suffers from the same issue as above - bulky and maybe difficult to handle. Could be a real winner for bike packing or gravel riding though when you have a larger bag...

I have used them for long self-supported road rides and to race the Dirty Kanza 200 gravel race. If you wrap the cakes in baking foil, as recommended in the book, they're hard to handle on a bumpy gravel course. (Not bad on smooth pavement, though.) On gravel, I end up getting one big bite per cake and dropping the rest too much of the time.

After experimentation, I started using zip-lock snack-sized bags that have one flap longer than the other. With the one-flap-longer bags, I could hold one flap with my hand and pull the other flap open with my teeth. The rice cakes don't fall out as easily, they're easy to handle, and not as messy. Using only various Feed Zone rice cakes for solid food, I did Dirty Kanza and never got hungry or depleted. Variety is important, though. In the course of a 14-hour day, I used sweet potato, PB & J, and breakfast rice cakes. Sweet potato, because they hold together better than the others, worked the best.

I have wrapped them in nori (seaweed) and stored them in a large ziplock bag. Then just grab one and eat the whole thing, no mess.

I can't figure out the wrapping so I'm considering making the rice cakes then processing them into a gel consistency and putting it into a gel tube.

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From my experience, they are great for training, but not for racing.

I've tried them out for a few HIM and my first IM. In terms of calories/carbs, liquid nutrition is more dense to easier to carry and take in as long as your stomach can handle it Rice cakes are a little hard to eat while racing but not impossible. I'll still use them occasionally because they are an awesome treat in the middle of a race. I freeze 1-2 up and put in special needs.

I just used them at IMFL. I'm a MOP'er so a little extra time to unwrap with my teeth wasn't a problem. I wore a cycling jersey and had plenty of room to haul. I'd use them again.