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review
Energy & recovery gels
Enervit Liquid Gel 60mlEnervit Liquid Gel

Enervit Liquid Gel 60ml

8
by Stu Kerton
UPDATED Fri, Aug 02, 2019 16:43

First Published Aug 2, 2019

7
£2.85

VERDICT:

8
10
Very easy to swallow and gentle on the stomach
Weight: 
77g
Contact: 
www.chickencyclekit.co.uk
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Enervit's Liquid Gel sits somewhere in between a gel and an energy drink, making it more versatile than a lot of products, helped by the resealable pouch.

  • Pros: Easy to swallow and digest
  • Cons: Tastes quite sweet

The three flavours I tried – Black Cherry with Caffeine, Orange, and Lemon – taste quite sweet and a little 'manufactured', but I found they sat easy on the stomach. The ingredients are gluten-free too.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

A single pouch delivers 112kcal and 28g of carbohydrate, which I found enough to get me out of trouble if the dreaded bonk reared its head for around 45 minutes to an hour of riding.

The Black Cherry with Caffeine contains what Enervit says are high caffeine levels (42mg/100ml), and recommends sticking to just two pouches a ride, or four if it is a really long, drawn out effort.

I suppose it all comes down to how you react to caffeine in the first place. As a big coffee drinker, I could feel the hit if I was running out of fuel but not to the point where it had any adverse effects, even taking two pouches one after the other.

With water being the main ingredient, the gel is really easy to swallow – ideal if you need to fuel in the middle of a race or time-trial and don't have the time to ease off the power.

The screw cap might not be ideal in those competition scenarios, though, rather than just tearing the corner off a sachet with your teeth like most gels, but for more sedate riding it is actually a big bonus. You can take just half the gel, for instance, before replacing the cap and sticking it back in your pocket.

> How to fuel right for sportives and long rides

For a 60ml pouch the £2.85 rrp doesn't seem too extreme, considering that most gel sachets at half that size come in around the £1.50 mark. Torq's 47g Energy Gel is £1.85, for instance.

On the whole, the Liquid Gel pouches are handy to keep in your pocket, and thanks to how easy they are to drink and digest I'd imagine they'll work for most people no matter how hard you are riding.

Verdict

Very easy to swallow and gentle on the stomach

road.cc test report

Make and model: Enervit Liquid Gel Competition with Caffeine

Size tested: 60ml

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Enervit says, "Enervit Sport Liquid Gel Competition is a carbohydrate-based product for use during sports. It is a source of thiamine that contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism."

I found the Liquid Gel pleasurable to use and it delivered the energy needed.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

INGREDIENTS (Black Cherry with Caffeine)

Water, Maltodextrin (22,8%), Fructose (17%), Acid: citric acid, Flavourings, Caffeine (0,035%), Thiamin hydrochloride. Percentages indicated in g/100g (100g = 85ml).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Per 100ml, Per 2 cheer packs (120ml)

Energy: 799Kj, 952Kj, 188Kcal, 224kcal

Fat: 0g, 0g

of which Saturates: 0g, 0g

Carbohydrate: 47g, 56g

of which Sugars: 22g, 26g

Protein: 0g, 0g

Salt: 0.013g, 0.015g

Thiamine: 0.33mg, 0.4mg

Caffeine: 42mg, 50mg

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It delivers a decent punch of fuel to flagging legs.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Easy to swallow.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Slightly sweet flavouring.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

For a 60ml serving the price is on a par with many others on the market.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

The slightly manufactured taste aside, these Liquid Gel pouches are really good, delivering an extra hit of fuel when you need it.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 40  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

Enervit Liquid Gel 60ml 2019
Enervit Liquid Gel 60ml
Enervit 2019
Enervit
Stu Kerton

Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.

With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.

He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.

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7 comments

Avatar
Christopher TR1 | 1 year ago
0 likes

Bought some energy gels by this brand from a supermarket. Terrible! Made me feel sick and it felt like acid in my stomach. Steer clear.

Avatar
Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
3 likes

If you're bonking after 45 mins to an hour of riding then you should be looking at your diet in more detail!

Avatar
aegisdesign replied to Rapha Nadal | 5 years ago
0 likes
Rapha Nadal wrote:

If you're bonking after 45 mins to an hour of riding then you should be looking at your diet in more detail!

That's not what the review was saying. It was when you've hit the bonk, this will stave off more bonk for 45 minutes to an hour. ie. it's an emergency "get me home" fix when you've been out for 5 hours already and it's another 1 hour to home but you've ran out of puff.

Personally, that's when I reach for the SIS Double Espresso gel.  150mg of caffeine. Tastes like cold coffee and has the consistancy of er, frogspawn. It's lovely.

 

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
2 likes

Or make your own energy drink which takes seconds, as above all this plastic shit for cycling is disgusting, how much can be recycled, pretty much none of it even if it isn't chucked at the side of the road!

Avatar
DoctorFish replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
2 likes
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

Or make your own energy drink which takes seconds, as above all this plastic shit for cycling is disgusting, how much can be recycled, pretty much none of it even if it isn't chucked at the side of the road!

I really think that packaging really should start to become a part of the review of these unnecessary products.  I've started making my own "energy snacks" blend dates and nuts and roll in to balls.  Cost much less and much less packaging.  A bottle of sugary squash with a pinch of salt for shorter rides, an electrolyte tablet (plastic packaging, need to find one that isn't, or learn to make my own) to prevent cramp on longer rides.  Even packaging that can be recycled might not be, and then there is a limit on what it can be recycled into.  As a group us cyclists could do better, these guys are just selling expensive sugar.

 

Avatar
DoctorFish | 5 years ago
2 likes

That is a lot of plastic packaging for a small amount of sugary calories.

Avatar
bechdan | 5 years ago
1 like

Glad you only gave it 5/10 for value, £2.85 is pretty bad for 28g carbs

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