gels

Mulebar Kicks are energy gels from the company that produces Mulebar energy bars. Just like the bars, the gels have organic and '100% natural' ingredients. We've reviewed them before on road.cc but 2013 sees a new flavour and a slight change to the packaging, although the main formulas stay the same.

The new flavour is called Cafe Cortado, and not surprisingly the main ingredients include coffee, along with rice syrup, barley syrup, agave syrup, guarana and Himalayan crystal salt.

High5 IsoGel is not really a gel at all. Despite the name, it's a liquid. So it's a carb-based sports drink in a gel-style sachet. Thus, it delivers energy and hydration - unlike normal gels where you need to take on liquid separately - but it's of questionable benefit for most road cyclists.

Each sachet of IsoGel is 60g. According to the packaging, each gel contains 26g of carbohydrate, providing 104 kcal of energy. According to the High5 website, each gel contains 22g of carb, providing 88 kcal.

Sponser Sport Food is a Swiss brand of nutrition products, now available in the UK. Liquid Energy is a carbohydrate gel served up in a tube with a cap, just like toothpaste, handy for refuelling on the go.

As with gels from some other brands, Sponser Liquid Energy consists of both glucose and fructose. This, claims Sponser, gives a mix of quick-release and slow-release energy, giving immediate an immediate boost followed by a more sustained supply of fuel.