SIS Beta Fuel Dual Source Energy Chews

The SIS Beta Fuel Dual Source Energy Chews are a tasty halfway point between a bar and a gel. They provide an easy-to-eat boost in energy and can be combined with other Beta Fuel products to maximise carbohydrate intake. The price might limit their use to the hardest rides, however.

A bag of sweets is one of the best things about long winter rides, for me. The extra jacket space means there is room for Jelly Babies, Haribo, Dolly Mix or – occasionally – a selection of all three. Ever the fan of a tasty bike snack, I was very keen to try these, and I've not been disappointed.

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This is a tasty way to quickly consume 46g of carbohydrate. It's kind on the stomach and plays nicely with the other Beta Fuel products too, though at £2 per serving, they're a rather expensive option.

SIS has recently refreshed the Beta Fuel range and, along with a fancy new look and a few more products, they offer a new 1:0.8 ratio of glucose to fructose. This, SIS and this study claims, is the key to delivering more of those all-important carbs to your hungry little legs. Whatever the case, there is no horrid taste here, making them easy to eat whenever you need them.

Beta maxed

Jamie has already reviewed the new Beta Fuel gels, and he found the amount of energy provided very advantageous in races. This applies to any high-intensity ride, and during my training for hill climbing season (and for pre-race fuelling) I have been using the chews.

What I like – and Jamie has said the same – is that it is very handy to eat less for a given amount of energy. As long I was getting one of these chews in along with a bottle of energy drink, I was fine to smash my way through a grim number of intervals.

Fuel injected carbs

Each serving of Energy Chew provides you with 190kcal and 46g of carbs, of which 41g is sugar. For comparison, the Enervit Pre Sport Jelly contains 27g of carbs, though it is intended as a slower release of energy. Skratch Labs' Sport Energy Chews get close at 40g of carbs per bag, but the biggest carbs-per-pack award still goes to Clif with its Shot Bloks at 48g.

The key difference, however, is that the SIS chews are designed to be absorbed alongside other SIS Beta Fuel products, and pack in up to 120g of carbs per hour.

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SIS says that working your way up to between 80-120g of carbs per hour will give you optimum fuelling for the hardest rides but (again like Jamie), I find it tricky to get above 100g per hour – I just can't constantly throw energy products down my neck. At least with the Beta Fuel chews, drink and gels, I avoid stomach issues.

There are one or two things I'd change. Firstly, you get two strips of jelly. It's pretty much impossible to get at just one strip while riding, so I'd want SIS to simply combine them into one block. Then the second thing is that very occasionally you find a crunchy bit of jelly. I'd imagine it's just a bit of undissolved sugar, but it's not the nicest.

Value

These are quite expensive, though not the most expensive. Those Clif Shot Bloks will set you back £52 for a box of 18, whereas the Beta Fuel chews are £40 for 20. That makes the Beta Fuel chews better value and, for getting big carbs down in a short space of time, I'd have the SIS offering because of the 1:0.8 glucose/fructose ratio.

The Beta Fuel Energy Chews are a brilliant fuelling option for high-intensity riding. The texture is a nice bridge between a gel and a bar, they pair well with the other Beta Fuel products, and they're easy to wolf down between efforts.

The only thing is the price – while it's reasonable for the performance it's still high at £2 per serving, meaning they're probably best saved for really hard rides.

Verdict

Great for maximising carb intake, tasty and easy to eat – if not the cheapest