Hammer Gel??

Is that like, GU or whatever? Trek mentioned in another thread (and boy, did she ever get us off topic! Sheesh! :rolleyes: ) that someone gave her some. I tried a GU gel one time and I don't know if it helped me or not, but I figured it probably wouldn't hurt. A friend of mine who is doing an Ironman in 3 weeks uses Ensure whilst she's riding and loves it.

I'm sure there's a million threads about hammer gel, but I thought it would be nice to resurrect the topic in honor of the Lifecycle gals!! :)

Honestly - I can't eat anything solid when I am riding - I end up with a belly stich and very nauseus if not throwing up altogether. As hard as they are for me to get down, gels are a lifesaver for me.

I was introduced recently to this stuff:
http://www.enervit.com/_vti_g3_prodD...d=2&rpstry=27_

Tastes like Sprite, doesn't gag you on the way down like a gel and there are 2 servings per package - comes in orange too, I havent tried the powdered mix. Its a liquid - not a gel, which is great! I just about CHOKE on the gels!

If fear factor wanted to get me to drop out all they'd have to do is hand me a couple of gel packets and tell me to down em in 30 seconds or less!

Oh and - yes - hammer gel is very similar to GU

I haven't found a Hammer Gel locally yet - but I haven't really looked. Yes they're a Gel but I have to be so careful with ingrediants. I use ClifShots coz they're the least CMac unfriendly. I can't Just do the gels, I have to have something so I supplment with LaraBars or my own PooBars. I realized on my century that I needed just 1 more thing to break the monotony like a nutbutter/jelly tortilla or something coz by the end of that ride I wanted to take all the leftover gels and bars and ditch em! :rolleyes:

i personally don't like Hammer Gel..maybe i just haven't found the right flavor. GU is my gel of choice. it's much easier to digest it rather than a dry bar. I have learned a trick from some racers....you can tape the top little tab to your handlebars. it's very handy and you can rip it open in one pull. it works great.

I use the Hammer Gel Apple Cinamon flavor. It doesn't seem to taste as sweet as the chocolate flavor, which is thicker, too (my husband uses that one - I'm not overly fond of sweets). I used to use Gu when I did endurance riding with my horses. I never could tell if it helped or not, however, it was the horse doing the harder part of the work not me. I can tell a big difference with the Hammer Gel. I think it helps me quite a bit, especially if I am losing energy. (It could be a mental kick as much as physical though)

I use vanilla Hammer gel; I find it not to be too sugary or sweet and the energy it provides to be pretty steady. I get too many sugar shakes from some of the honey gels, for example. I buy the big size and put it into a flask. I agree, though, by the end of a century I am pretty sick of almost all cycling supplements--ugh, and just wanting real food, and, uh, some Scotch.

I can gag down a Power Gel, banana strawberry, pretty easily. It does help, too. Adds 25 mg of caffeine along with the carbs.

I can even do it while I'm riding with my hands off of the handlebars because the packet opens fairly easily. I hate to stop to eat.

They were giving free samples of Hammer Gel Espresso flavor out at the MS150. The results were pretty impressive for me - it gave me a sustained burst of energy when I was beginning to feel the lead-legs coming on (of course it has caffeine too!). I had been using Honey Stingers, which weren't really doing much for me. The LBS guy said the Hammer is strictly complex carbs, so it doesn't give you the "easy come, easy go" burst that a simple carb like honey and some of the other gels would. Like we've said here before, it really comes down to what you can choke down while you ride! :rolleyes: They all taste like nasty cough syrup! (I get a visual of Tom Hanks in "Big" trying to scrape that caviar off of his tongue at the party).

I have discovered that I can tolerate the chocolate ones pretty well - I avoided them because I was thinking "ewww!" but it turns out they are about like licking the spoon when you bake brownies. That I can handle.

I've used Hammer, Gu and Clif Shots and prefer Hammer. I like their flavors better and the texture reminds me of pudding. My husband has used all of those and likes the single serving GU, but finds that if you are using a gel flask it doesn't flow as well as the Hammer. Clif shots worked well too and I really like their "anti-litter" packaging, but both my husband and I get a little gassy after using them.

Hammer Gel's Apple Cinnamon rocks! I've been experimenting with different goos and found that I really like the Power Gel Green Apple and Strawberry Banana.. But step away from the Power Gel Tangerine. Its caffeinated, powdery artificial flavor is a horrible monstrosity of flavor design gone wrong.

Energy-wise, I am somehow happier at going up the hill with Hammer Gel, Power Gel, or Gu. If I don't have my goo somewhere at the base of the hill or midway up, I'm grumpy and unhappy and just not breathing right. Clifshots are okay, too.

Hijacking thread...

Do you ride a Kestrel?