Looks to me they are the same except for the addition of simple sugars in roctate but both have the complex carbs and even the same Amino Acid profile. (I do like the roctane but was shocked when I saw that hammer was the basically the same) Roctate does have OKG (which is in anti fatigue caps) and it does have one more amino acid but I am pretty sure that is not worth the 2 dollars more? Wanted to see what others thought…
Amino Acids (L-Leucine, L-Alanine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine)
I tried some Roctane that I got on sale…the only difference I saw between that and regular GU was the price
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all gels (with the exception of clif and maybe anyone else using rice syrup) are essentially “the same”. You’ve usually got a complex carb, possibly a bit of faster burning carb, electrolytes and other additions, caffeine, aminos, etc.
in the end for a lot of people the choice comes down to flavor, consistency, availability and then finally considerations like the electrolyte levels and caffeine. I wish there were more science but all in all there isn’t much or at least not much that is easy to notice for the average athlete.
personally I go for the higher electrolyte content gels as I tend to cramp a lot and like a thinner consistency. besides that, most of them will work the same for me.
It is like frame materials: Everyone talks the differences, but if you take away advertising and visuals (wrap the frame or cover the pouch) hardly anyone can even spot his “favorite”.
Its a fast carb, 5 minutes after taking it you get some energy and - depending on the amount - 20-40 minutes later you get a crash unless you take the next one. Like coca cola … The fancy amino/caffein/vitamin mixes do exactly nothing IMHO. I get ZERO difference in results, if I get a coke instead of a gel, the only advantage is, that on longer rides it is easier to carry 5 gels than 5 Bananas or 5 cans of coke …
I believe you mean Roctane…I’ve never heard of Roctate…although it sounds like a pretty cool name for some gel that increases lactate threshold. I like Roctane for racing because it has the amino acid L-Histidine which is shown to delay the onset of lactic acid during high intense exercise. Maybe Hammer Gel has that??? I haven’t done my homework on that one. Compare the amount of carbs that don’t come from sugar as well. I believe GU is a bit higher but it’s been awhile since I’ve compared. I know that Hammer doesn’t make a Peanut Butter gel and that is hands down the best flavor gel I’ve ever had. If you like PB you will love the GU PB gel. If you don’t like PB I’m guessing you won’t like the PB gel.
… it has the amino acid L-Histidine which is shown to delay the onset of lactic acid …
This would actually be a bad thing … Luckily it doesn’t do that at homeopathic amounts. The amount of L-Histidine that would do anything in your body, would send you to a small plastic cube first at race intensity though (or to a med if you are sensitive to histamin)…
Why do people continue to believe, that a few MGs of an amino acid (less than in a small steak) will do wonders for your body?
But acutally I like the business idea, you start with a chicken breast, which contains a shitload of aminos, take it apart and sell them one by one for 100* the price. Important is, that you hype the aminos one buy one, remember the trends:
Glutamin (for your immune system)
BCAAs (used as fuel so Powerbar adds some trace amounts to its drinks, when we have 200* more freely available anyway)
Arginin (the lactate puffer)
Beta Alanin
L-Hystin
Lysin
Leucine (I wonder nobody sold Isoleucine and Valine individually yet … a marketing chance ? … and a few years later … you reinvent the bcaas)
And I am sure I missed a few fads …
Looks to me they are the same except for the addition of simple sugars in roctate but both have the complex carbs and even the same Amino Acid profile. **(I do like the roctate but was shocked when I saw that hammer was the basically the same) **Roctate does have OKG (which is in anti fatigue caps) and it does have one more amino acid but I am pretty sure that is not worth the 2 dollars more? Wanted to see what others thought…
Amino Acids (L-Leucine, L-Alanine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine)
In addition to some of the other items already noted in this thread (which I’ll leave alone), there’s actually a HUGE difference in the amount of sodium in Roctane (125mg /packet) vs Hammer Gel (25mg /packet). As an example, let’s say you had a 3hr ride/race & were going to take in 3-gels /hr which is a fairly normal amount if you were going to use the gel as your exclusive calorie & electrolyte source (9 gels total). At the end of the ride, your sodium intake if you used Roctane would be 1125mg vs only 225mg if you used the HammerGel.
Of course we can debate all day whether you need/don’t need that much sodium, if there’s any benefit of the inclusion of the AAs, etc… but it is important to understand that they’re not basically the same any more than a Speed Concept 9-series is *basically the same as a SC 2-series (both are Trek Speed Concepts, but there are some significant differences). *Whether or not those differences are of value to you is up to the individual.
As for the other comment which states *‘**20-40 minutes later you get a crash unless you take the next one’. *This falls into the same *hmmm *category along the lines of *‘Don’t start using caffeine until late in the race as you’ll start to crash x-minutes after taking it & need more’. *Speaking from both personal experience & that of the literally 1000s of athletes we’ve worked w/, we have not encountered this ‘crash’, so I assume this individual athlete’s issue is a 1-off & not indicative of the experience of the vast majority of the athletes that use Roctane, gels, bananas, etc…
Interesting new research regarding rice syrup (as found in clif shots)…
“In the quest for healthier sweeteners, many manufacturers have turned to organic brown rice syrup, but in the process may inadvertently have introduced high levels of arsenic into their products, researchers reported. The syrup itself and products made from it – including baby formula and energy bars – have significant concentrations of arsenic, according to Brian Jackson, PhD, and colleagues at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. In some cases, the levels are as much as six times higher than Environmental Protection Agency limits for safe drinking water, Jackson and colleagues reported online in Environmental Health Perspectives.” There are no U.S. regulations governing arsenic in food, although there are for drinking water, and the findings suggest “an urgent need” for such guidelines, the researchers concluded."
The headline story on MedNews Today.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DietNutrition/31214
Not sure if this applies to clif bars / shots but it would seem all brown rice syrup formulas are affected.
I’ve had both and just like the taste of Roctane better.
Darn typo but hey would make a good product name! I hammer gel with caffeine is same as roctane except the taste and price?
Darn typo but hey would make a good product name! I hammer gel with caffeine is same as roctane except the taste and price?
The calorie content is roughly the same, though I think Roctane has some more simple carbs, some extra amino acids, and OKG. I’m too lazy to pull up the ingredient lists right now.