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Submitted by
NutsandBolts
a Cross Country Rider
from Saginaw,Tx,USA
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere there is dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Sams Wholesale | | 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 | | Similar Products Used: | Powerpoo,Powergel and Gu | | Bike Setup: | It dont have a motor, so Its setup great. | | 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. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shelly
a Cross Country Rider
from Lexington, KY USA
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | grocery stores | | 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 | | Similar Products Used: | Various others | | Bike Setup: | 2002 GF Tassajara | | 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. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mountain Man
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Bird Sanctuary | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2.00 | | Purchased At: | General Nutrition Centre | | Strengths: | See my previous review. | | Weaknesses: | — High cost.
— Not enough carbs, too much fat, not enough protein.
— Melt in heat.
— TOO MUCH SUGAR. | | Similar Products Used: | Powerbar, others | | Bike Setup: | '00 Schwinn Moab 1, upgraded | | 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! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mountain Man
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Two Creeks | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2.00 | | Purchased At: | General Nutrition Centre | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: | Powerbar (worst thing I have EVER tasted) | | Bike Setup: | '00 Schwinn Moab 1, Thomson, Syncros, blah blah blah. | | 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. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a Cross Country Rider
from Tempe, AZ
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | 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. | | 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 | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Local Supermarket | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: | Metrx fudge brownie is better for heavy workouts and is quite good. | | Bike Setup: | GT aluminum hardtail, stock | | 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. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sue
a Weekend Warrior
from Canton, MI
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | over the internet | | Strengths: | not sure yet | | Weaknesses: | they make me gag | | Similar Products Used: | CLIF, Luna, URwhatUEat | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Lemond Zurich | | Bottom Line: | These bars are so dense and chalky, they make me gag. I ordered a box of them. I tried one, and my husband was stuck eating the rest of them.
Sorry - I'm sticking to my Luna bars and URwhatUeat.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rod Angler
a Weekend Warrior
from nola
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | hooper | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: | a bunch | | 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) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bobby
a
from Middlebury, CT
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | taste, have enough vitamins to make a meal out of one | | Weaknesses: | variety pack has poor choice of bars that are in it | | Similar Products Used: | Powerbar, Clif Bar | | 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!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
me
a Racer
from here & there
Date Reviewed: December 16, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
the one on dirt | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Great for a recovery, very nutritional | | Weaknesses: |
texture, melts in heat | | Similar Products Used: |
Clif, power bar, Met-Rx bars, ect... | | Bike Setup: |
Procaliber, Carbon SX | | Bottom Line: | 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. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James Doanes
a Weekend Warrior
from Westy, CO USA
Date Reviewed: September 10, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
No real strengths | | Weaknesses: |
No real weaknesses | | Similar Products Used: |
Clif, Steel, Tiger's Milk, etc. | | 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. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rick
a Cross-Country Rider
from arlington, va
Date Reviewed: July 26, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
taste, general goodness | | Weaknesses: |
none i know of | | Similar Products Used: |
ironman, clif bar, ProMax, Powerbar | | 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. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Racer
from Barberton, OH
Date Reviewed: July 11, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Vulture's Knob | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: |
Power Bar
Clif Bars | | Bike Setup: |
I usually use these in my big mouth, which has white teeth and a red tongue. | | 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
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John L.
a Weekend Warrior
from Camp Hill, PA
Date Reviewed: June 16, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Stoney Creek | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | 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. | | Similar Products Used: |
Power Bar, The Zone, whatever | | Bike Setup: |
Tried attaching hydraulic disks, kept falling off bar. | | 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. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John G
a weekend warrior
from Ann Arbor, MI
Date Reviewed: February 7, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Overall, I really like Balance Bars. But, the ingredient labeling seems to be inconsistent. On some bars, the ingredients state that the product May contain traces of various nuts. Others, such as Raspberry Fudge used to NOT say this (which lead me to believe that didn't have nuts in them...) Bad assumption. Newer bars (also Raspberry Fudge) are now labeled to have nuts. SO, bottom line -- If you are allergic to nuts like me, and some people are VERY allergic, be careful about these because the labeling does not seem to be accurate. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
B. Starr
a
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: January 26, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I think Balance Bars are awesome and much tastier and more nutritious than Powerbars. My roommate loves them so much, he's taken to calling himself Balance Boy. Whether I'm lifting, swimming, biking, or just playing around with my extremely active roommate, Balance Bars give me that extra zing to get me through the day.Once when I was hiking through the Himalayas with my active and coincidentally really buff roommate, I started getting really weak and almost couldn't keep up until my hot roommate wipped out a Honey Peanut Balance Bar and gave it to me. It was my first time trying it, and let me tell you, I felt like someone just shot a burst of energy right into my body. From that point on, I became addicted to the stuff. I particularly like eating them with organic milk (and only organic milk, as I've discovered that inorganic milk increases your chance of prostate cancer, a fact also brought to my attention by my hunk of a roommate). I give Balance Bars the highest possible rating. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Iversen
a weekend warrior
from Johnson City, TN
Date Reviewed: October 28, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Tye these if you don't like other performance bars. They have a great taste. I'm no nutritionist, and I'm not sure why this is, but the Rasberry Fudge (THE BEST FLAVOR) gives me an incredible rush about 20 minutes after eating it. I'm going to start eating these before races. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a weekend warrior
from Providence RI/Paterson NJ
Date Reviewed: October 22, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
How could you not like these things! THere are so many flavors there is bound to be something you like. It's not a really heavy bar like some of those others. It's one of the more inexpensive bars out there and they taste pretty good. I think my fav. would have to be the banana coconut or something like that. The chocolate one is also a real treat! I was on a little 35 mile road ride and towards the end I decided to try one of my new flavors (chocolate) It was great! (Anything would have probably been just as good after 35 miles at 17mph on a mountain bike) But all the same, I love them. I also enjoy the Clif Bars but they are not quite as tasty. Hell, both of them got me from Boston to New York so I can't really complain about either! 5 Phatty Chilli's | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Art Mora
a weekend warrior
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: September 8, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Balance bars are definitely the best. They fill you up and provide great nutrition. I like all flavors.I've tried most of them including Metrx, PR and Tiger's Milk, and none of them stack up in taste. I have even used them as meal replacement on several ocassions and had no side effects or felt hunger. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a cross-country rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: August 2, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I love Balance Bars.
They taste great, really fill me up and help me lose weight.
They are quite hard to find in S'pore, but are well worth the trouble.
Definitely cheaper than other bars, such as Ultra-Fuel from TwinLabs.
I read about Balance Bars in Men's Health Mag, and was tempted to try them out. I was quite disappointed to find that the actual bars are quite flat, definitely much flatter than shown in the adverts. But they taste most natural of all health bars and I was surprised that such a small bar could fill me up.
They are not too dry, and so don't make you thirsty.My favourites are Chocolate and Honey Peanut. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sadie Brown
a cross-country rider
from Chapel Hill, NC
Date Reviewed: July 27, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I like Balance bar cranberry the best because it has the most fiber! It fills me up the longest of the bars. I used to eat all the flavors, but now I mostly stick with Cranberry, Toasted Crunch, and occaisonally Honey Peanut. The toasted crunch actually tastes less sweet than the Honey Peanut, and as I'm trying to eliminate sugar out of my diet, I like it much more than before. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JP White
a weekend warrior
from Hendersonville, TN
Date Reviewed: July 5, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have tried most flavors of the Balance bar. I agree with other reviewers that the honey peanut is a good taster, but I soon tire of the taste after a few days of the same flavor. I also like the cranberry, it seems the least artificial of the flavors. I alternate between these two.They do seem to keep hunger at bay for a few hours (not the 3.5 hours the manufacturer claim on their web site). Better staying power than any other snack bar. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a cross-country rider
from NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: June 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I must second that the Honey Peanut bar is quite yummy! I am usually
wary of these bars after trying some powerbars which I though was
disgusting. Then I tried some Clifs and these and found that both
the Clif and the Balance Honey Peanut bars were much better. Haven't
tried any other flavor though. Jay | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ellen Cook
a weekend warrior
from Charlestown, RI
Date Reviewed: May 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Well, since trying the zone and using the balance bars for a quick breakfast, I've been pleased in terms of the turn around and how filling the bars are. Powerbars are gritty and leave an awful taste in the mouth. I do agree with the writer concerning your Toasted Crunch. .... ucky. Other than that, I can have chocolate and not feel guilty! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tera Allegri
a weekend warrior
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: April 28, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
The Honey Peanut Balance Bar is the best tasting bar I've ever had. It resembles the flavor and texture of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, my all-time favorite. However, equal to my passion for the Honey Peanut Bar, is my distaste for the Toasted Crunch flavor. It is aweful! I can't believe the two are related. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cal
a cross-country rider
from SF,CA
Date Reviewed: February 2, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
A few years ago I thought power bars were great. Like their ads showed: a power bar is easier to carry than a banana or much of anything else (that tastes and is good for you). Over time, much better tasting products have come out. Some that you can even eat (without breaking your teeth) when it's under 50 degrees out! While a registered dietician might not thing that the PR, Balance Bar nutrient ratio is ideal, they can't seem to agree with each other either. I read the articles that more or less condemn Barry Sears (Zone book author) as either a kook or simply unscientific. However, the performance teams under his supervision achieved speak for themselves as do the various patents he has been awarded and products he has developed. The current crop of products like Balance Bars taste great, don't upset my stomach, and can be consumed in most climates. And, regardless of what the expert du jour thinks the Zone is, they are relatively healthy. All things considered, Balance Bars are a good thing. | | Overall Rating: |
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