Great carb mix with good sodium serving. Good taste and definitely a great carb-to-cost ratio.
If you struggle to eat on the bike, this makes it super easy to hit your carb goals provided you stay on top of your drinking too. A little bit difficult to mix at times. I mix half of what I need with half the water, shake it up, and then add the rest of the half of the mix followed by the rest of the water. Vigorous shaking and a little bit of time to let the mixture mix is required (maybe 10-15 mins before your ride starts).
I have used this for almost a year now. I find that it keeps drinks ice cold with only a few ice cubes for 3-5 hours depending on the outdoor temperature. I ride about 65 miles a day and this is amazing in the heat of summer. Water flows surprisingly quickly since the bottle is not squeezable (it's metal). The only negative is really the price-kind of pricy. I wash it in the dishwasher and lost the rubber ring inside the bottle that seals the lid. Fortunately, Bivo sells new rings for only $1 including postage.
These water bottles are clearly on the expensive side, but well worth the investment! I ride in the Phoenix AZ heat and it has always been a challenge to stay hydrated without drinking hot water or energy drink for the second half of the ride. These bottles keep the beverages cold! I have ridden for 4 hours in the heat and still have ice in my bottle at the end of the ride. I highly recommend this water bottle. If your water bottle cage is on the loose side they can rattle around and be pretty noisy, but on 2 of the three bikes I ride regularly they didn't make any noise at all. After I changed cages on the third bike to composite, tight cages the rattle stopped completely on my third bike. Now I don't hear any difference when I use these bottles.
As a cyclist (77 to be 78 in 40 days) who bike tours all over the world unsupported and does 3-4 gravel bike events a year, I have been using GU energy gels for many years, going back to my ultrarunning days. I always found the product to give me the boost I needed when I could feel oncoming tired legs or a feeling of low energy. Found the Expresso Love flavor several years ago and it's become my favorite for the extra caffeine. I'm leaving next week for Unbound Gravel on the 30th of May as my youngest son and I are riding it this year. I'll be taking a package of 24 GU Expresso Love energy gels for the race.
