GELS: best/tastiest/most economic

I am sure working class people bake as well, so you might be OK

As stated, bought flapjack can be full of fat, if you make your own at least you know what has gone into it. You can add or subtract ingredients to suit your own taste, I add a lot more fruit than the original recipe but its a good place to start.
Once you have the ingredients you just make them when you have a spare 15 minutes or so.
I am not a cook by any stretch of the imagination, but even I can make this stuff.

A lot of people suggesting flapjacks from supermarkets which are packed full of fat.

Those who prefer flapjack should try the GCN Power Bar recipe.
I made some just to try and love them, so handed them round to running/cycling friends and they were blown away by the taste too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMJEIiWV3VQ

I prefer Zipvit gels. I love the blackcurrent flavour and get on well with the consistency, which some may describe as gooey. And at 51g of carbs per gel, you get a significant and relatively long lasting boost. During long rides, I will use a combination of water, High 5 Energy Source 4:1 drink, real food (fig rolls, bananas, etc) and gel(s). I find a gel really comes into its own when taken about one hour before I'm due to finish a long ride, giving me a noticeable boost for that last stretch.

As I am diabetic I find that energy gels (and bars) at least give me a very measured consumption of carbs/sugars that I probably wouldn't be able to quntify so easily from homemade equivalents.
Saying that I supplement my Torq gels (rhubarb and custard beat any other makes for taste!) with Jelly Babies and those little caramel shortbread squares

Torq are OK taste-wise, I usually use the High 5 caffeine + ones though as that's what's easily available when I'm in town on my lunch break and they seem to work for me.

Performance-wise far too many variables for me to be able to say I've definitively found one type to be better than the other. I suspect a lot of it is all in the head. I rarely use them at all actually, only on sportives etc. as a sort of special go-juice to perk me up a bit near the end, and then I'll rarely have more than one unless I really start to flag badly. I've usually got one in my saddle pack though.

If you use two drink bottles on longer rides, consider using an energy drink in one and electrolyte in the other. Start switching to more of the energy option from about half way - IMO, a regular intake of energy this way is more effective than gels. For me, half a malt load, a couple of Nature Valley cereal bars, and this drink combo is if good for 100ish mile rides.

Gels are a very personal thing and they do vary. Slightly.

Hi5 - 38g of gel, 23g carbohydrate, 93 kcal per gel (not got one here so got that from amazon)

These figures from the packets:

Torq Banoffe - 45g gel, 28g carbohydrate, 112 kcal.

SIS blackcurrant 60 ml gel, 22g carbohydrate, 87 kcal.
SIS Lemon & lime 60 ml gel, 19g carbohydrate, 76 kcal.
SIS orange 60 ml gel, 22g carbohydrate, 86 kcal.
SIS cola 60 ml gel, 21g carbohydrate, 85 kcal. Plus caffeine.

Torq is the only gel I have to hand that lists potassium in the contents (11.5 mg), that might help if you suffer from cramp.

I've yet to find a brand I couldn't swallow but I find some flavours hard going (peach, really?).

As said above, Torq are rarely on offer anywhere, SIS usually have internet offers straight from SIS and can be found 3 for 2 in supermarkets.

It's been a quiet day, IGMC on the way out.

Get your favourite, most palatable bag of jelly/gum sweets from Aldi. Pretty much identical energy & protein contents and ingredients to many gels. Much, *much* cheaper. Aldi's dominion brand sell 230 g odd for 70p to a £. Massive saving!

The vast majority of these sports gel/drink products are a triumph of marketing: selling staple goods at quite massive markups by slapping "Energy!", "Sport!", etc. on fancy packaging (in small sizes).

I usually buy the High 5 Race day including bottle when its on offer - £3 sometimes. That gets you 10 gels, some recovery stuff, salt tabs, energy powder, bottle etc. I've tried loads. The best are CNP Elite Hydro Max Gel's but they are so expensive I rarely ever get them. Next best are High 5. Torq are more like pudding and make me feel sticky they are that surgery. The worst was something given to me in Belgium - it was like drinking Vics vaporub.

I tend to buy flapjacks, marathons and a few nectarines and bananas as well as the odd gel. You can really feel fruit like oranges and apples working on a hard ride. I'm surprised more people don't have them

Torq are excellent & actually taste as OK. However, price wise, they are too expensive for me considering they do the same job as High5.

-1 for High5! They're cheap but don't work for me at all. Personally I hold Torq stuff right at the top of the tree.

best thing is certainly to try them out, but wiggle et al offer far better value than sainsbury's counter....

I am a big fan of the Torq range, they are thick enough without being too thick, and the flavours are quirky and fun - and genuinely pleasant!

I picked up a couple of espresso flavoured gels at a bike show last year, very nice they were but I'm a coffee lover anyway. I think they are Zipvit, they weren't a sickly as some gels I've had before and actually tasted like the flavour they were supposed to be.

About the only ones I like are the Kinetica Cola ones. No one else I've ever met uses them, but they're pretty ok. Can't stand the High5 ones, and the Torq taste like arse on a hot day.

Can't stomach any gels, luckily for me I'm a demon for fig rolls and they're only 50p for a sainsburys pack.

I've seen more favourable reviews for Torq than any other brand, often by people who have tried others and find it's the only brand they can stomach. You won't find Torq cheap anywhere, but that's deliberate - Matt is selling a premium product and refuses to undermine his brand. There are testers at some stores so you can try the flavours.

OTE were reviewed on road.cc, they sound nice enough.

I've read too many user reviews of Zipvit gels that compare the texture with, er, a bodyfluid I'd rather not swallow, so I can't say I'd be rushing to try them either

I won't touch SIS, they are purveyors of artificial sweeteners

But TBH unless you're racing flat-out I think it's unnecessary, an expensive way to get some sugar. A recent discussion on gels:
http://road.cc/content/forum/115139-how-long-climb-should-you-take-gel

+1 for High5. Think the mixed berry ones are ok, all gels are pretty sickly stuff. Good for that last hill when you are starting to fade.

And take the empty wrappers home with you.

Torq rhubarb and custard! Mmmmmm!!! Not cheap from the shops but then we get them at a very favourable price. Can't beat real food though, as a few have said, it's cheaper and more gentle on the digestive system! However gels are an easy and handy addition to any ride.

Flap Jacks contain about a 5th of the daily calories an inactive person needs, they handily contain different types of sugars and carbs so they are not just a quick fix but slow release as well

They are also only 50p in Aldi.