OTE Sports has announced two additions to its range of naturally flavoured nutritional products for cyclists: the Duo Bar and Sports Hydro Tab.
The Duo Bar is a rice-based energy bar that's packaged as two halves, each of which provides 20g carbohydrate/5g protein/2g fat and 114 total kcal. It's designed to eat either before riding or on longer rides where you don't want think about how much you need to eat in one go. One half bar is about 15-30mins worth of endurance cycling, depending on how fit you are and how hard you're going.
Our first impression of the Duo Bar is that it does fulfill the role of an energy bar: it's easy to digest, tastes natural, is not too sweet and provides enough calories to keep you going. It's not chocolate coated so it won't melt in your pocket and it's easy to open, with nicks in the packaging at both ends of the bar.
The Duo Bar comes in choc/choc chip and vanilla/white choc chip (available March) flavours, priced at £1.79 per bar. It's available separately on in boxes of 24 direct from OTE and its stockists.
OTE wasn't initially interested in making hydration tablets, but couldn't say no to customer demand, thus the OTE Sports Hydro Tab was born. These are effervescent, low calorie (7 kcal/tab) tablets that contain natural flavours and electrolytes to help you stay hydrated during exercise. They come in blackcurrant and lemon flavours. Each tube of 20 tablets is priced at £7.
OTE have also made their energy drink available in bulk packs. £23 gets you 1.2kg (28 servings) of pH-neutral, naturally-flavoured energy powder in a package that doesn't take up all your shelf space by virtue of it not being a huge round tub.