After reading, I would rather go the date route…
“Date: a social activity undertaken by two people to assess their suitability for a relationship. It is also a fruit that makes you poop…”
For certain people with social anxiety, *either one *can make you poop
I use Welch’s fruit snacks for most of my training, with some dates and other dried fruit mixed in. The fruit snacks are great, slightly more wholesome than gummy bears, usually less than 20 cents a pack and pre portioned to 80-100 calories or ~gel equivalent.
The downside I don’t think anyone has mentioned is your teeth. Little bits of gummy can get stuck and give you cavity/enamel problems over time. Im more careful washing them down well with water now after a couple bad dentist trips.
Another downside is volume for longer rides at higher fueling rates assuming it’s your lone source of carbs. Minor rounding ahead for simplicity. 1 packet is ~25g carbs. For 100 g/hr, that’s 4 packets an hour. 4-6 hour long ride, that’s 16-24 packets. 10 packets a box, you’re carrying 2 boxes of fruit snacks in your pockets at the start of a ride. FWIW, that’s a TON of gels to carry too. This is when sugar water really starts to make a lot of sense, especially when you can load your bike up with concentrated water bottles at 300+g per bottle.
Some other concerns would be potential gut irritation to all of the gelatin and other ingredients (possibly trainable?) and jaw fatigue from all of that chewing.
Some other concerns would be potential gut irritation to all of the gelatin …
Meaning, none of these snacks are vegan - if that’s your thing
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The downside I don’t think anyone has mentioned is your teeth. Little bits of gummy can get stuck and give you cavity/enamel problems over time. I’m more careful washing them down well with water now after a couple bad dentist trips.
I’m one of those people who carries around those little flosser picks - I’m* always *cleaning, and my dentist loves me for it
I use Welch’s fruit snacks for most of my training, with some dates and other dried fruit mixed in. The fruit snacks are great, slightly more wholesome than gummy bears, usually less than 20 cents a pack and pre portioned to 80-100 calories or ~gel equivalent.
The downside I don’t think anyone has mentioned is your teeth. Little bits of gummy can get stuck and give you cavity/enamel problems over time. Im more careful washing them down well with water now after a couple bad dentist trips.
Another downside is volume for longer rides at higher fueling rates assuming it’s your lone source of carbs. Minor rounding ahead for simplicity. 1 packet is ~25g carbs. For 100 g/hr, that’s 4 packets an hour. 4-6 hour long ride, that’s 16-24 packets. 10 packets a box, you’re carrying 2 boxes of fruit snacks in your pockets at the start of a ride. FWIW, that’s a TON of gels to carry too. This is when sugar water really starts to make a lot of sense, especially when you can load your bike up with concentrated water bottles at 300+g per bottle.
Some other concerns would be potential gut irritation to all of the gelatin and other ingredients (possibly trainable?) and jaw fatigue from all of that chewing.
Its not the lone fuel source on any long/hard ride, I also do 200-250kcals/bottle in the form of cheap gatorade mix or sugar like you said. 1 bottle/hr +2-3 packs is great. That way I buy a 50 packet box from walmart every week or so and Im set. I like to the dates etc. as well but its great to have a grab and go option.
Ive never had gut issues with them or chewing issues although I have had GI distress drinking too much sugar for some reason.
Overall it seems like an easy solution for myself and coaching clients who want to “eat” something on long outings and want easy quantification of calories going in. Its amazing how many athletes do all their training on sports nutrition products (gels, blocks etc) at 2$+/serving just for ease of use. The fruit snacks or gummy bears are a definite improvement on that imo.
I use Welch’s fruit snacks for most of my training, with some dates and other dried fruit mixed in. The fruit snacks are great, slightly more wholesome than gummy bears, usually less than 20 cents a pack and pre portioned to 80-100 calories or ~gel equivalent.
The downside I don’t think anyone has mentioned is your teeth. Little bits of gummy can get stuck and give you cavity/enamel problems over time. Im more careful washing them down well with water now after a couple bad dentist trips.
I had a ton of tiny cavities start up when eating lots of dates. Same problem - super sticky and little bits love to park themselves in between teeth and destroy enamel. Problem went away entirely when going to all liquid.
Been experimenting with gummy bears for the first time last few workouts. Seems to be all upside (portability, easy to digest…) What do people like about them and what are some of the downsides? Do they melt in the Summer? Get too expensive?
Swedish fish or you’re doing it wrong.
Easy to get at any convenience store, don’t melt, super cheap, tasty.
“Scandinavian Swimmers” if you’re buying the Trader Joe’s version, I’m just sayin’
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Fuzzy Peach, Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Berries don’t have gelatin and are all vegan, at least the Maynard versions are.
Fuzzy peach are the best for riding though, they require the least amount of chewing. Sour patch kids would be next and Swedish berries last. I don’t use either of the last two, they are just too difficult to chew.
Thanks for checking that out; I was just guessing
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I’d be worried about dropping them which is why I opt for gummy worms typically. Though I use them more as a ‘what’s palatable (and doesn’t melt) at this gas station’ vs a deliberate nutrition choice. It’s easy to keep the bag open and just reach back and grab a few worms.
Can confirm - Just ran with a small ziploc of gummy bears this morning and nearly dropped some every time I was trying to fish (ha ha) some out. I often run with my dog and his leash plus digging in sweaty plastic bags is a bad combo. Can only imagine trying it on the bike. Going to try worms instead next.
I love my gummy worms as fuel. Right now I’ve been doing Alex’s suggested liquid mix (gatorade powder, table sugar, sodium citrate) and gummy worms from Walmart. I’ve been able to do 100-110g of carb per hour with no problem. I actually find my stomach does better when I mix in gummy worms rather than doing all concentrated liquids.
I buy the big 5lb bags of gummy worms for use as indoor training fuel. I guess they can work for outdoors but I usually like to use the “regular” stuff when I am actually out riding. I just load up a small plastic container with however many worms I need for the time I’ll be on the bike (3 per 20 minutes = 9 per hour). It’s way cheaper than using the “good stuff” for training purposes. I use the good stuff when racing obviously.
Only downside is the worms have no electrolytes, so I usually use Nuun or similar in my bottles
It works great for me, and I am not spending a ton of money for real “fuel”
I’ve used gummy bears as marathon snacks, but for long bike rides, I prefer the Heimlich-sized Bloks from Clif Bar. A sleeve of six Bloks is equivalent to two gels.
And as far as gummy bears are concerned, remember that the gelatin to make them semi-solid is a by-product of horse hooves, animal skin, bone and tendons. So there’s that.
https://www.britannica.com/...rocessing-of-gelatin
Not sure about the Bloks, I don’t really want to know.
Actually, I just looked it up. Pectin, which is a plant-based starch used in jams and jelly to firm them up, is what’s used in Clif Bloks.
And as far as gummy bears are concerned, remember that the gelatin to make them semi-solid is a by-product of horse hooves, animal skin, bone and tendons. So there’s that.
… And therefor, not vegan, as I posted earlier
Also, anything flavored with honey = not vegan
I’ve thought the larger cinnamon bears and drinking Skratch worked well doing some long days biking for me.
Downsides with any of the candies are first me wanting to eat them when I don’t need to be.
And for something like the cinnamon bears, that much food coloring over the course of a day will leave me looking like I’m suffering from intestinal bleeding the next day…
Bought the 5 pound bag of Albanese gummy bears from BJ’s for $10. They are the perfect treat to keep next to the bike trainer. They also had the little snack size packs of Haribo which are perfect for outdoor rides, but the Albanese were just too cheap to pass up.
I am a big fan of the sour trolli octopus candies. You can rip one edge of the bag off and it lines a jersey pocket perfectly.
These are gas station refuel options for me.