UKC

Those 40g bars... just Sucrose, Glucose and natural peppermint flavourings, indestructible, packable, all but everlasting and in waterproof plastic packaging. With sucrose having a surprising GI of only 60 (same as potato), but being pure carb and very accessible I thought I'd try some as mid-ride fuel. The mint and texture make them easy to eat without the sugariness overpowering. I have to say I'm very impressed. They really do work better on the bike than I ever found them on the hill (maybe because I need fast carbs more when cycling). Scoffed 5 minutes in advance they tangibly helped me demolish the 10 minute hill beast on my usual circuit. I'll be buying them in place of gels for routine now, and tuck one away in the saddlebag as a knock chit. 

Did they go away?  Chocolate covered is particularly nice.

Nope... I just hadn't bought one in 25 years. It was nutrition articles  recommending "just carbs" for most efficient fuelling during cycling that triggered me trying them on the bike.  Now I'm looking at them as an improvement on gels so was passing on the suggestion.

Chocolate tastes even better but gets melty in jersey pockets, and I understand the fat will slow the carb metabilism a bit. 

They have quite a good range now, with bars,  gels, electrolyte drinks and the good old fashioned bars. Mint is good for digestion and I know people who suffer with IBS say mint can settle it a bit.

https://www.kendalmint.co.uk/shop/kmc-nrg-gel-mint-caffeine#

Wow... that was news to me!. I guess my point is pretty much pointless.

Have you tried that gel? Been debating getting some and curious if it is close to a proper mintcake.

As a serial puker* when running, I can confirm the gels are not only quite settling in the tummy department,  but as they also have caffeine in them, they are rocket fuel! 😁

*that's not someone who pukes cereal 

I've always been fan of mintcake, particulary the chocolate covered one for winter walking and have used the normal small sized bar on rides. I tried a trail pack of the cycling gels, didn't find them as satisfying as I had hoped.  The mint overwhelmed any other flavours for me. Worth trying though.

I've had a few of the gels, they are quite strong but its a much better aftertaste than many other fruit gels and didn't have any gaseous after effects! Would buy them again

Given that sucrose has a glycemic index score of 65, a compressed block of sucrose with mint essence should be expected to be in the 60s?

Haven't had KMC (Kendall Mint Cake) for *years*, your post reminds me to get some thanks 

What surprised me was sucrose having that relatively low GI and not being closer to 100. That and "a spoonful of sugar has the same calories as a tomato" opened my eyes to seeing it as reasonable nutrition rather than demonic food of death.

Have you checked out French bread's GI score? (compared to sucrose). That's the one that surprised me the most when I first looked at GI

Given the three reviews I have ordered a pack plus some normal mint cake in case I decide the gels are dodgy.

I buy boxes direct from Romneys, much cheaper, and take them on longer runs. The chocolate covered ones can get a bit claggy if your mouth is a bit dry but the plain ones are great and leave your mouth feeling refreshed. Which is nice.

Apart from the flooding risk, nicely located on the Mintsfeet Trading Estate in Kendal. 

More generally, is there anything to be said against about putting a couple of tsps of granulated sugar in a 500ml waterbottle to start sipping after 30 miles on a longer ride? 

Well your milage may vary.. but I tried that for long distance walking and for me: at first it seemed ok but very rapidly I didn't like it, to the point it actually started to make me feel sick to drink it. I'd get a commercial (flavoured) powder, maybe that's just me. Edit: or eat some Kendall Mint Cake!

Just flavour really - but you'd want a surprising amount of sugar for 500ml if you want to sip your carbs. A teaspoon being about 5-6g if you're looking for about 50g of carb from your bottle. If you're used to sweet drinks no problem -a coke having about 7or 8 teaspoons  in the 330ml tin and flat coke being a Tour favourite.

After a hypothermia "incident" with teams of youngsters which we train (story around what you think you have forgotten,  but haven't, it's just that it's now in your mates rucksack in an identical dry bag to yours after a hurried early start in the dark...), we now give them a high energy pack. They are required to carry emergency food as well, but the "pack" is a huge calorie hit if they find they have scoffed everything.  Contents,  chocky, and hot chocy sachets, energy gels, and lots of kendal mintcake.  They are encouraged to use the packs....even if it isn't a big emergency,  and the mintcake is the first thing that gets eaten! 

In the 70s it seems, so more than table sugar! The one that's just surprised me was maltodextrin, the main carb in SiS and other gels: "Maltodextrin has 4 calories per gram — the same  as sucrose, or table sugar. However, maltodextrin’s GI is higher than table sugar, ranging from 106 to 136." Explains why they kick in so fast.