Submitted by
chaseconnely
a Racer
from Los Angeles
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2011
Strengths: Tastes good
Weaknesses: SUGAR OVERLOAD!!!
Bottom Line:
I wouldnt reccommend these bars. There was way too much sugar..not even a natural sugar, but straight up white sugar. Way too much. It's just a candy bar. Tastes good though!
Submitted by
NutsandBolts
a Cross Country Rider
from Saginaw,Tx,USA
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2005
Strengths: Easy to chew. Tastes good. Provides a decent amount of energy during recovery. Buy em at wholesale place and they are less than a buck, 12 for 10 dollars.
Weaknesses: None really
Bottom Line:
These seem to work better after riding during recovery. They tatse good and they wont break your teeth. All of the flavors are good, but most of all I do not get sick at my stomach when I eat these. I do not feel the need to drink so much water with these to digest them which is a plus if you are on a long ride trying to conserve all your resourses. All in all I would say these work pretty good.
Bike Setup: It dont have a motor, so Its setup great.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Shelly
a Cross Country Rider
from Lexington, KY USA
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2002
Strengths: 40-30-30 nutrition, NO HYDROGENATED FATS, tastes better than any other nutrition bar I have had
Weaknesses: The texture on some could be a little better, need a lot to drink with some
Bottom Line:
I don't think you can get a better nutrition bar for $1. I have seen so many nutrition bars labeled with big promises, and have had a hard time finding good nutrition bars that don't contain hydrogenated fats. If you like eating the equivalent of LARD in your nutrition bars, go ahead and get a Luna or something else. As for me, I will stick with a non-artery clogging, balanced bar.
Submitted by
Mountain Man
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2001
Strengths: See my previous review.
Weaknesses: — High cost. — Not enough carbs, too much fat, not enough protein. — Melt in heat. — TOO MUCH SUGAR.
Bottom Line:
My experience at Fontaine Sport & Cycle today was a mixed one. At first, it was joyous, as I had just purchased my Speedplay Frog pedals and was about to install them and the cleats. But then, I got a cramping in my stomach: "no...", I thought, "I just went this morning! All I've eaten since is a Balance Bar!" But I did indeed have to go. Very badly. "Hey, Steve", I called the mechanic, "Where's the washroom?" He said, "through there and to your left." Twenty minutes later, I returned, and said to Steve: "I have some advice: never eat a Balance Bar. It's really not agreeing with my stomach." Steve let out a chuckle and told me about the time a Balance Bar left him puking at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin. "Sure, eating a Balance Bar is like eating a meal, it has so many vitamins. But they're way too sugary." And they are. I checked the ingredients, the first one is glucose-fructose, and a few ingredients later is plain sugar.
Nutritional bars are meant to be NUTRITIONAL, not just good tasting. Cut down on the sugar, beef up the carbs and protein, and cut a couple grams of fat away because fat is mostly used at very low efforts. Balance bars may be good for lasting energy at lower efforts, like an endurance race, but damn, accumulate enough lactic acid (like when you're sprinting to get out of the way of a blonde-driven GMC Suburban), and these things will play havoc with your stomach.
This is coming from a guy with a very tough stomach. I can eat the spiciest foods (cayenne and jalapeno pepper-infused chicken breast smothered in Wicked Gourmet five pepper hot sauce and Tabasco sauce), with no burning or pains whatsoever. I can consume the most potent alcohol (1/4 bottle of 40% Smirnoff Vodka with two Coors and a Rev cooler), and even though I can hardly walk straight, I don't spill my lunch all over the ground. But today, I was defeated by a 50g Balance Bar. I guess I simply don't like sugar! Out with Balance Bars, in with Clif Bars!
Submitted by
Mountain Man
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2001
Strengths: — Tastes better than anything else (except a big, juicy steak.) Note: I've only tried the Yogurt Honey Peanut flavour. — Contains more vitamins than I knew existed. — The balance of carbs/protein/fat makes for long lasting energy. — Blow Powerbars and other imitation nutritional bars right out of the water.
Weaknesses: — Obscenely expensive. ($3 CDN PER BAR!!!) — I'd prefer more carbs, less fat. — Coating could melt in severe heat.
Bottom Line:
Balance bars are the greatest tasting "energy bars" on the planet. Despite this, they have their drawbacks. I'd rather more carbs (these bars only contain 22grams per bar, while Clif bars contain 43grams.)
Although I've never taken these bars out on a ride (I eat them before a ride and drink Gatorade for energy), I could see the bar becoming a gooey mess in heat.
I haven't had any problems with Balance bars being dry. All the bars I've tasted have been soft and delicious. Perhaps the reviewers below store the bars in extreme temperature?
I have an incredibly slow metabolism... I only need two meals per day. After eating a Balance bar around 4:00, I'm fine until the next morning. The 40-30-30 mix is made for long lasting energy, so this is a great bar for training. For races, however, I'd prescribe a Clif bar (no melting, more carbs.)
3 flamin' chilis for value (regularly eating these bars gets very expensive!), 4 overall.
Submitted by
Nick
a Cross Country Rider
from Tempe, AZ
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2001
Strengths: Decent taste, some are even really good. Small size makes them easy to steal, thus countering the disadvantage of the high cost. (sarcasm.)
Weaknesses: They're vitamin-fortified candy bars. I have an insanely fast metabolism- I can eat a full meal and be hungry in an hour and a half- so I notice what energy bars are doing to my body. Clif bars keep me in action for an hour; these things leave me feeling sweaty and sugar-rushed.
Bottom Line:
Eat a banana and save yourself a dollar and a half. These things have far too much sugar and not nearly enough complex carbs, leaving me feeling all gross and sugar-buzzed. Not good in the Arizona heat. If you live someplace cold you might like the sugar more, but my metabolism isn't working to keep me warm around here. If you must have an energy bar eat a Clif. They're delicious.
Similar Products Used: Clif, 151, You Are What You Eat, MetRX, Powerbar, Powerbar Harvest, most everything else
Bike Setup: Azonic DS1, Manitou SXR, XT drivetrain, yadda yadda
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2001
Strengths: Taste and vitamin content.
Weaknesses: Low protein, inconsistent quality, high price for size. The retail is $1.50. ALWAYS BUY IN PERSON AND SQUEEZE EACH BAR. Otherwise you might get a box of very dry bars. DO NOT BUY HARD BARS YOU MIGHT AS WELL EAT CHALK.
Bottom Line:
I prefer the chocolate flavor and variants. The moist ones are better than candy but the dry ones are just awful. I have no idea why so many bad batches get thru - Balance QC really sucks. Use the procedure described above when purchasing. Contains canola oil--ppl w/bad hearts should avoid. Wait for sales ($0.99 ea.) and watch for bad batches of hard tough bars.
Submitted by
Rod Angler
a Weekend Warrior
from nola
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2000
Strengths: Numerous flavors, all taste pretty OK (hey, these nutrition bars are a compromise in the first place).
Seem to keep my blood sugar under control, not too high or low, given the balance of protein, fat, and sugar.
Weaknesses: none, just price.
Bottom Line:
An honest product that strikes a good balance of carbs, protein, fats. Good for leveling out blood sugar levels. You'll find one or more flavors you can tolerate.
(Chocolate Banana, peanut butter, and almond crunch my favs)
Strengths: taste, have enough vitamins to make a meal out of one
Weaknesses: variety pack has poor choice of bars that are in it
Bottom Line:
Easier to eat than powerbars which are too chewy and taste pretty bad. These bars taste so good, especially the chocolate rasperery fudge and the chocolate banana ones. The only thing is that in the variety pack, there aren't any chocolate banana ones. They have 4 chocolate, 4 yogurt honey peanut (those are really good too), 4 almond brownie, and only 3 chocolate rasperry fudge. Whats up with that!!!
Very tasty little bar. The texture is a little funny, but is great after a ride. Filled with vitamins and has protein which helps muscle recovery. Easy to chew and swallow. If the could just work on the texture it would be great.
Similar Products Used: Clif, power bar, Met-Rx bars, ect...
Bike Setup: Procaliber, Carbon SX
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James Doanes
a Weekend Warrior
from Westy, CO USA
Date Reviewed: September 10, 1999
Strengths: No real strengths
Weaknesses: No real weaknesses
Bottom Line:
This is truly a middle ground bar. Taste is okay, price is okay, rigidity in cooler climates is okay. But unlike the Clif or Steel Bars, this one is just okay. Maybe a change in formula or something would make it a great bar.
Similar Products Used: Clif, Steel, Tiger's Milk, etc.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
rick
a Cross-Country Rider
from arlington, va
Date Reviewed: July 26, 1999
Strengths: taste, general goodness
Weaknesses: none i know of
Bottom Line:
These are my favorite all-purpose bars. Enough protein and calories to keep you going and speed recovery, and the peanut butter ones taste good. I usually munch one of these before every workout, on the bike or in the gym, and it has helped immensely. They also have them at Costco, which is a bonus.
Strengths: They are the best, the absolute best. I cannot describe how good they taste and the incredible amount of energy they give me.
Weaknesses: What? These things have no weaknesses, I mean none, they are the absolute best and I don't see why any bike shops would stock anything else.
Bottom Line:
These are the absolute best. I bought a 15 bar case of Mocha and a case of Honey Peanut and I had one of the Mocha bars about 20-30 mins before a race. In the race I had mechanical problems which lose time, but after I got it sorted out I felt absolutely explosive-and after the race, instead of sitting on the ground with my legs burning and gulping water as fast as I can shove it down, I rode around a little bit to cool down! Absolutely amazing. Both flavors I tried are absolutely great, too. The honey peanut is like a chocolate covered candy bar, and the Mocha is awesome tasting. These are great, but just don't give any to your opponents! Joe http://members.aol.com/seamorebns/mtbextreme.html
Bike Setup: I usually use these in my big mouth, which has white teeth and a red tongue.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John L.
a Weekend Warrior
from Camp Hill, PA
Date Reviewed: June 16, 1999
Strengths: Good taste, decent mix of protein and carbs
Weaknesses: Maybe a little too sweet. Certainly too addictive, I no longer buy them by the case.
Bottom Line:
I was searching for a snack without tons of carbs and with some protein (I have to watch carbs for health reasons). Balance Bar is the ONLY one that came close to keeping carbs below 30 grams. I also like the relatively high amount of (mostly soy) protein included, along with reasonable fat levels and vitamin supplements. The only problem is that they taste too good, so I have to buy them one or two at a time. For heavy cranking, I tend to rely more on gorp or bananas, though, since I'm going to burn off the carbs anyway.
