We’ve been hungry lately. Summer training is in full swing and that means we have been snacking a little bit more than usual. Lucky for us, we had a few new snacks around the office. Check out our thoughts below on GU Big Apple and GU Roctane Sea Salt Chocolate and ERG! Fruit and Nut Bars.
When we weren’t snacking this week, we were checking out the new Trek Madone and Bontrager’s Spring\Summer Road Apparel. We also finished up our time with the Speedfil Micro-Retractor. For such a little device, we are quite big fans.
For those visiting for the first time—welcome! One of our favorite ways to showcase our readers is our Readers’ Rides album on Facebook. You can check it out at http://on.fb.me/12jEqE3. If you would like to have your bike featured in our album just tweet us at @AeroGeeks, Facebook message us, get us on Instagram or email us at info@AeroGeeks.com.
This Week’s Posts
Tuesday – 2016 Trek Madone – First Look
Wednesday – Speedfil Micro-Retractor – Review
Thursday – Bontrager Spring\Summer 2015 Road Apparel – First Look
GU Big Apple and GU Roctane Sea Salt Chocolate
When GU introduced Salted Watermelon last year, we couldn’t help but compare it to a Jolly Rancher (and that wasn’t a bad thing). It tasted awesome, and no matter how hard we were bonking, we never found it hard to stomach. And it seems GU took that to heart because they’ve now added a second “Jolly Rancher” flavor – Big Apple. And much like Salted Watermelon, Big Apple tastes like it’s straight from the Jolly Rancher assorted flavor bag. It’s a flavor we look forward to grabbing whether we are 15 miles in or 55. Load us up with an assortment of Apple and Watermelon, and we’re set.
The Sea Salt Chocolate is there for those chocoholics among us. GU already had Chocolate Outrage, Salted Caramel, and Chocolate Peanut Butter, but this is the first time a more dessert-oriented flavor has made it to the Roctane line. For those unfamiliar, Roctane kicks GUs up a notch with more sodium, an electrolyte that aids in hydration, and even more branched-chain amino acids (leucine, valine, and isoleucine) that reduce mental fatigue and decrease muscle damage. The amino acid beta-alanine helps promote formation of the intramuscular buffer carnosine, while ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate helps promote muscle repair. We found the salt not to be overpowering, but instead cutting sweetness—making this flavor a bit mellower than GU Chocolate Outrage. Needless to say, it’s definite a tasty addition to the Roctane line.
ERG! Fruit and Nut Bar
ERG! bar’s tagline is “put some real fruit in your pocket.” And after just a few samples, we have to say that we can understand why. ERG! bars are made with natural, raw non-GMO and gluten-free ingredients (and with one of our editors having a gluten allergy, that’s a bit on the important side). You won’t find fractionated supplements, corn syrup, or artificial anything on the ingredients list. What’s more, ERG! bars come in a clear wrapper, so you can see exactly what you get. (Oh, and if that’s not enough for you can check out https://erg-bar.com/images/RawPhotos/ to see pictures of all their bars in the nude.)
Every ERG! Bar starts with 25% real fruit – Real apples, cherries, dates, blueberries, lemons, apricots, and more. They grind their own nut butters fresh for every batch with real almonds, cashews, and peanuts. They’re naturally sweetened with honey and real fruit.
We sampled a few bars from the ERG! lineup, and our favorite had to be the Choco Cherry or the Apple Ginger. The bars are flavorful and hearty. With the Apple Ginger, you can distinctly taste the ginger paired with the apple – the natural flavors really carry through. While the bars are fairly small (2.2oz), they’re more filling than you’d expect. Making these more of a post-ride snack versus a pre-ride warm up.
ERG! Bars are slowly making their way into the local bike shop scene. So while you may not yet be able to find these just around the corner, you can get them online at https://erg-bar.com/buy-now.php.
How the Pros Tour
We are Strava addicts. Whether we set a new PR or ended up 200/200 on a local segment, every one of our workouts gets uploaded. But one of our favorite things to do is to check out how the Pros ride. Pro athletes can do things on the bike that us mere mortals can only dream of, and when it comes to the Tour, they kick it up a notch. DCRainmaker just shared all of the TrainingPeaks and Strava data that the pros put up there, and it is worth checking out. Our favorites were Stage 20 (Alp D’Huez) and the Team Time Trial (Stage 9).
Current Reviews
Power2Max Type S
The Power2Max Type S is currently on our test bike, and we have been spending quite a lot of time with it lately. The data its been giving us has been nothing short of excellent. When taken in the context of the price, we’re thinking this could become a real favorite of triathletes who want power on a reasonable budget.
Bontrager Aelous aero helmet
In preparation for our upcoming review, we spent a few hours on the bike in the South Florida heat in the Aelous. The Aelous was built for one thing – pro-tour-level time trialing. This isn’t a helmet built to keep you cool – just to go fast.