Hi, I’ve been recommended Strykr nutrition, specifically on gels. They have both a 30g and 50g formula. But I am finding it difficult to located genuine testing or reviews. Most look like AI or sponsored reviews between the usual brands. I was wondering if anyone in the community uses Strykr and what their opinion of the gel is? I like the idea of 50g carbs meaning that with a high carb drink, i can reduce the amount of gels i need on longer rides or races but not sure about how this affects the gut. Does anyone have any experience with Strykr?
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I have used Styrkr before. I would strongly recommend extensively reviewing the ingredient lists prior to purchasing. Many of their products have additional ingredients that you probably don’t want/need.
For example, last time I looked - all but one of their gels has stevia in them. There was also something I remember about certain products having Taurine in them - not sure if this is still the case.
The one thing I can recommend are the bars. 50g of carbs, go down easy, etc. Again, a ton of ingredients, but hey.
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I’ve used Styrkr gels a few times. Aside from some of them tasting a bit weird I think they were fine. It is definitely nice to have 50g carbs available in one gel.
That said - if you’re looking to get more carbs in it is hard to beat making your own gels and using a gel flask for consumption. You get to pick the ingredients and you can also have a significantly higher concentration of carbs in a similarly sized package.
You will need something like:
- Maltodextrin powder
- Fructose powder
- Electrolyte Powder (not essential at all, but helpful for the electrolytes and some flavouring)
- Some gel flasks (120ml ones are good)
- A funnel
This video gives a good overview of the process:
And here’s some measurements to get you started:
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Carbs Fuel also has a 50g gel, with simple ingredients. I have not tried them.
As an alternative, one could buy a couple of gel flasks and a gallon of good maple syrup. 
I’ve made similar caffeine gel but taking out the electrolyte and using a shot of espresso and some salt. It’s nice to change up to the fruity flavours.
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Make your own!
If you’re looking to reduce the amount of gels you need to consume, then Maurten would be worth a look. The drink mix 160 and 320 are a great way of fuelling, especially if you have any GI issues; the hydrogel technology really does seem to work.
Another vote for Maurten either gel or powder, only kicker is they’re £££ - so unless you’re burning money, you might want to save them for race days / big rides.
One thing I did last year for my gravel races was use a couple of their Gelflasks filled with 5 hydrogels - significantly quicker/easier to drink from. This was in addition to a camelbak filled with 300g of carbs mix…
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Once this was posted on discord and since then hooked to this stuff. Price to carb ratio is one of the best : Nrgy Gel 45 Nduranz — High-performance Energy Gel for Sports
Thank you everyone. I might try making them myself as suggested. I do already make my own drinks using Maltodextrin and Fructose in a 2:1 mix. I mix around 30g carbs for shorter indoor training workouts and anything from 60g to 90g of carbs for outdoor rides depending on the weather and intensity. This way half a bottle plus one gel could give me up to 80g per hour. It looks like Maurten and Strykr might be good options for a 50g purchased gel so might try those. If making my own gels, does anyone have a good solution for carrying them on a bike? I’m guessing you can’t buy self-fill gel wrappers ?
i’ve been making my own for a while; raw glucose (or maltodextrin) and fructose in 1kg bags off amazon. i like this for a flask: Amazon.com : FITLY Soft Flask - Shrink As You Drink Soft Water Bottle for Hydration Pack - Folding Water Bottle Ideal for Running, Hiking, Cycling, Climbing & Rigorous Activity : Sports & Outdoors
i mix in a regular water bottle and squeeze it in the flask.
you can squeeze it dry. i put about 120g carbs (1:0.8) in it
i like it plain; and i put salt in my bottles
I like the Carb Fuel stuff, they’re a nice middle ground texture, not flavored, and cheap. I also liked the samples of their 75g drink mix.
That said, the packaging is way bigger than it needs to be which is annoying on a long ride. I also wsh they had the little keeper on the tear off part .
I tried Stryker and I echo the “weird taste” comment made. They’re also pretty big & have an unwieldy tab. Personally I don’t think there is a better gel than SIS. Yes, only 25 carbs, but just take 2 (which is about the same size as 1x Stryker or say Carbs Fuel).
You can buy gel flasks from Amazon or AliX readily. Or there are cheap options from nutrition providers. I use these (Australian website):
They’re $3 each and work really well. No leaking and easy to use. I cook my gel on the stove and use a funnel to pour into the flask.
My go-to gel for events and major interval sessions is the Styrkr 50 in mixed berry. It’s easy on the gut and genuinely tasty, though I’ll admit I’m pretty tolerant of most gels anyway. The Nitro one is awful though as it tastes like some intense cough medicine.
That said, I’ve been making my own lately using an Aussie brand called Vert. You get a big, sustainably packaged bag of carbs and mix it up the night before. The reusable pouch is surprisingly roomy — I’ve managed to fit close to 80g of carbs in a single serve. Great value and way less plastic waste.
For drink mix, Tailwind is my other go-to when I want to stack carbs in the bidon. Three scoops hits 75g of carbs in 500ml, which makes it a solid option for longer efforts
I tried making my own stuff. It certainly is cheaper but in the end I got a little over having to buy and prep it all the time.
I’ve settled on a mixture of Carbs gels (50g and cheaper) and SIS (40g but a little more costly). The Carbs gels have no flavor, so it’s good to alternate with SIS and get some taste going. Those combined with some drink mix and I have no issues hitting ~100g per hour.
I should probably have mentioned that another benefit of making gels is the higher concentration of carbs. The flasks I linked are not big but they can hold 120g carbs easily enough. Definitely more space efficient that 2 X 50g carb gels. 500ml bidons for scale:
These are the ones I’ve used. The bite valve takes some practice to figure out how to get the best flow but I’ve never had it leak (other than some small drops) and it’s nice that it collapses super small when it’s empty