I use hammer gel exclusively. It's cheap, the company is great to deal with and it tastes good. Plus they have like 13 flavors. I don't have a weak stomach so I can't speak on that subject, but it's good stuff.

Hammergel is good, cheap and kinda tasty!

I like the Hammer Gel a lot. Seems to work fine, and it's very good on a $/carb basis. Sustained Energy, on the other hand just didn't light my fire. I didn't like the taste or the texture, and I wasn't certain that it fueled me as well as the gel.

everyone's tummy is unique. I used SE for too long. The taste, esp when it got warm from sitting in the sun in T1, sucks. made my stomach shut down and ruined 2 races! Hammergel also turned my stomach. Switched to GU, accelerade/carbopro mix. So far so good. Test the SE in all conditions first.

I've had good experience with Hammer Gel- having used it the last couple of years, but the exact opposite with Sustained Energy. In training for Ironman Florida last year I tried it, and it ruined two long bike workouts (after the 2nd, I quit using it). The SE got too warm, and my normally strong stomach couldn't take it anymore. It was not a satisfying experience to be 1 1/2 hours from home, and all that I had with me on board my bike was SE that I couldn't drink anymore. At least I learned that in training- I know a very experienced triathlete who seemed to do O.K. with it while training (in a bit cooler climate), and then raced with it in the hot Great Floridian ironman distance race and had to drop out because of severe stomach problems from the SE. I switched back to CarboPro, Recovery, Vantage, and continued to use HammerGel and Endurolytes (electrolyte supplement Hammer products makes) and did fine there on out.

My 2 cents....

I have been using both hammergel & SE for the last 2 years without any problems. I live in Florida so my SE gets warm on long rides but I have not had any problems. My wife also uses hammergel but doesn't like the taste of SE.

I've been using HammerGel for 2 seasons now and noticed last year, a unique issue. At the end of the bike, beginning of the run on a 1/2 IM last year, I started getting severe stomach cramps and gas. After about 7 miles of the run it was pretty much gone, but it blew my time since I had to walk way too many times in the first half of the run. I contacted the company to find out what could have gone wrong. What they told me after asking a lot of questions about what I ate and drank that day, was that you really shouldn't mix taking hammergel and drinking Gatorade. The mix of simple and complex carbs is apparently the reason for the cramps. Of course, I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, so I had to take their word for it, but when a few days ago, I did a hard, hilly 45 mile bike, I used HammerGel and water only. No problems, felt really good afterwards.

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- Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
P. J. O'Rourke

I have been using Hammer Gel for 3 years, and started using SE last year in prep for IMMOO. I have always liked Hammer Gel. I did IMCAL in 2000 and 2001 on just watered down Hammer Gel. The raspberry flavor got to be too much near the end, so I cut it with plain now. SE has worked well for me. It tastes like wallpaper paste when you first try it. But after a few hours of Hammer Gel, Gatorade, or other sweet tasting products, the SE is a godsend. If you really don't like the taste, you can put a little Hammer Gel in it to flavor it. For my long rides I mix up a couple waterbottles of SE and bring a ziplock bag of additional SE to mix up later, so I haven't had the problem of it getting too warm. For IMMOO I put ice in the bottles I had in my special needs bag to help keep it cold.

As with anything, YMMV, so get some and try it.

My body is VERY sensitive to sugar when exercising. A single Lifesaver is like a turbo booster. But then I crash hard.

As a result, I can only use race nutrition products that contain complex carbs. Hammer Gel fits the bill perfectly. I use it exclusively and it works great for me. I don't know of any other products that don't contain sugars, although they certainly may exist.

I have been using endurolytes and G-Push/Cytomax with good results. I use Cytomax while riding and then G-Push on the run. It seems to work out pretty well.

I prefer Gu to the Hammer gel, but Hammer gel is way less expensive.

If you haven't tried G-Push, definately give it a try. Level 2 and Level 4 seem to be the ones to use. Level 3, tastes too weird.