To keep going on a long bike ride you need carbohydrate. When you’re start going over three or four hours, you need a bit of protein too. This is because - to put it in the simplest terms - it helps the carbo work better. Protein is also important after a race or long ride to help muscle repair. And that’s where the Builders Bar, from all-natural energy food manufacturer Clif, comes in.
Each bar is 68g - and 20g of that is protein - making it an ideal option for after-ride recovery. You might also use it when you’re actually riding, especially towards the end of a 100-mile sportive, when you physiologically need to take on protein, and psychologically you just can’t face another sticky gel. Or you might just eat it as a snack at home or at work instead of a ‘normal’ chocolate or cereal bar.
As well as the protein, other key components of the bar are carbohydrate (30%) and fat (8%). The Cliff website is keen to emphasise that ‘unlike other protein bars, they contain no trans fats or hydrogenated oils’. In layman’s terms again, that means ‘good fat’ not ‘bad fat’.
The protein comes mainly from soya and nuts, while other ingredients include beet juice, brown rice syrup, cane juice, oats and palm kernel oil - plus chocolate and cocoa. Most of the ingredients are organic.
Tearing off the wrapper, at first glance the Builders Bar looks like any other cereal bar covered in chocolate. In taste and texture, as you might expect, it’s not like a traditional Mars or Snickers bar. But it’s not like a cereal bar either. It has the texture of a caramel slice, though not as sweet, even though it’s covered in chocolate. In short, it's a very nice flavour.
However, if full chocolate isn’t to your taste, other flavours available include choc-mint and peanut butter. They're all suitable for vegetarians.
I have used Builders Bars on the bike, but they get very sticky in my back pocket. If you’re a sportive rider with a tri-bag or an audax rider with a saddlebag you won’t have this trouble. Generally though, they’re better as a recovery food. Personally, I eat one after a long hard ride. It tastes great with a big hot cup of tea. Maybe not very scientific, but sometimes you’ve got to go on feel.
A single Clif Builder's bar costs £1.80 to £2, depending where you buy. On-line you can buy a box of 12 for £20 to £24.
Verdict
A good way to take on protein, and very flavoursome. They're not cheap, but the price is on a par with many other energy foods.
road.cc test report
Make and model: Clif Builder's bar
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Rate the product for value:
8/10
Did you enjoy using the product? yes
Would you consider buying the product? yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? yes
Age: 49 Height: 5ft 10 / 178cm Weight: 11 stone / 70kg
I usually ride: an old Marin Alp My best bike is: an old Giant Cadex
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: touring, club rides, sportives, mtb,
Cows kill more people than sharks every year. Frankly, I'm surprised they manage to kill any sharks at all.
"Work to rule" comes to mind. I think that if somehow every UK cyclist did that one day, this commenter's response would be "no, not like that!"...
" Northumbria Police advise cyclists to “avoid busy areas in rush hour” https://t.co/XRzAKGuEaS " The tweet was deleted a day later.
Why does the shopping centre even need two entrances? There appears to be one planned for Herries Rd / A6102, it would only be 0.4 miles / 0.6 km...
You can't trust those weights to be perfect. You don't know what type of BB each total includes, cassette/chainring sizes, etc. It's always hard to...
"the mum said there needed to be better signs to warn drivers of some of the potential hazards"...
Much obliged for the video Quite a good option. I even was thinking of getting hold of it
I don't know this for sure, but I suspect that there was thought to be something innovative in the idea of providing removable batteries on each...
Am I the only one who thinks the prices for these bikes is utterly ridiculous? For an item with not that many components compared to a motorbike...
I don't entirely agree......