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Vibe Energy Gum promises a pint-sized kick

One tube gives the same caffeine hit as five cans of energy drink

Thought you'd seen every conceivable energy product? Think again - we've just taken delievery of a tube of Vibe Energy gum. Energy Gum! If we seem excitable, that's because we've been roadtesting it a bit this morning.

Co-founder David Webb had the idea for the gum when he was working at a ski resort and found the need for a pocket sized energy source: “Working long hours in the mountains left me tired on the hill. I needed an effective, portable energizer; something I could carry whilst I skied but wouldn’t hurt me if I bailed.” Thus was Vibe Energy Gum born.

It's been three years in development but has just launched, and will be available in both convenience and 'extreme sports' stores (we're not sure whether cycling qualifies as an extreme sport). "Vibe is manufactured through cold compression technology which, unlike traditional pellet gum, allows the gum to be entirely fused with functional ingredients that enable sublingual absorption – a rapid absorption through the mouth, which is five times faster than being absorbed through the digestive system," we learned from the press release. That's good news if you're teetering on the edge of a massive bonk, although the gum, which is sugar-free, obviously doesn't contain much by way of energy-giving carbohydrates. It will leave you with minty-fresh breath though.

What it does contain is caffeine, Guarana and ginseng for a pick-me up, and two tabs of the gum contain as much caffeine as a can of 'the leading energy drink'. Asda Blue Charge then. There's ten tabs in the metal tube, which is designed to be waterproof, sandproof and sat-on-proof to keep your powder dry in even the most extreme conditions. A tube will cost you £2.49, with a foil pack of two tabs also available for 79p.

www.vibegum.com

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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11 comments

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Jimrogers | 12 years ago
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sounds interesting, I'll have to look out for this one!

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captain_slog | 12 years ago
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Dave's going to be posting on this thread all night...

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dave atkinson | 12 years ago
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update: took about 30 seconds off my best time and went up to seventh. admittedly my best time to date was when i stopped before the end of the segment and pootled up the last bit in bottom gear, absolutely spent. nevertheless, best time yet  1

http://app.strava.com/segments/760242

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dave atkinson | 12 years ago
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i don't think i'll be able to do 10. i've had six and i feel a bit like i did that day at uni when we bought a gaggia coffee machine from trade-it and sat around drinking espressos all day. maybe i should have kicked back on the coffee a bit.

anyway, i'll chew two more on the ride home and go after the strava segment up the last hill, see how that pans out eh?

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antonio | 12 years ago
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Eeeh baa gumm, what next ?

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dave atkinson | 12 years ago
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maybe i should cut back on the coffee today  4

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mad_scot_rider | 12 years ago
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Wonder what this would do to my hypertension (BP recorded peaking at 198/146 before they changed my meds)

... think I'll give it a miss

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dave atkinson | 12 years ago
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in the interests of research i'm going to try and neck a whole tube in a day. stay tuned  1

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aslongasicycle replied to dave atkinson | 12 years ago
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Do you have a defib unit and an up to date last testament & will handy Dave?

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steff | 12 years ago
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I can recall a guarana gum from years back that Boots used to sell, which was similarly highly caffeinated (and a lot cheaper). At the time I was working as a labourer, and it definitely worked as a small pick-me-up (though nothing like as good as a tin of caffeinated pop or a mug of sugary tea).

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Sarah Barth | 12 years ago
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A bloke I met during the Tour this year gave me a bit of this. The taste is interesting, made me gag!

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