Best Energy Chews for Cycling: What Actually Works on Long Rides

Ask any experienced cyclist what separates a good long ride from a bad one, and the answer rarely comes down to legs or lungs alone. More often than not, it comes down to fuelling. Get it right and you roll into the final kilometres feeling like yourself. Get it wrong and you're crawling home on fumes, wondering why you ever thought a century ride sounded like a good idea. Energy chews have become one of the most popular on-bike nutrition choices over the past decade — and for good reason. They're easy to carry, straightforward to eat while moving, and deliver a reliable hit of carbohydrate when you need it most.

But not all chews are created equal. Some rely on single sugars that oxidise slowly and tax the gut. Others come wrapped in single-use plastic that ends up in a ditch. Some taste like medicine after hour three. If you're trying to work out what the best energy chews for cycling actually are — not in theory, but in practice — this guide cuts through the noise and focuses on what genuinely matters in the saddle.

Why Carbohydrate Intake Is the Single Biggest Variable in Long Ride Performance

Your muscles run primarily on glycogen — glucose stored in the muscle and liver. At moderate to hard efforts, a trained cyclist burns through glycogen at a rate that empties stores within 90 to 120 minutes if nothing is taken on board. Once glycogen runs low, performance degrades fast. Power drops. Your brain starts negotiating with your legs. The famous "bonk" — also known as hitting the wall — is simply glycogen depletion playing out in real time.

The solution is consistent carbohydrate intake throughout a long ride, not just when you feel you need it. Research consistently points to 60–90g of carbohydrate per hour as the target for rides lasting two hours or more, with the upper end achievable only when using a blend of glucose and fructose that uses separate intestinal transporters. This is why the ratio of sugars in your chews matters — a pure maltodextrin or glucose product caps out at around 60g per hour regardless of how much you eat, because intestinal absorption saturates. A 1:1 or 2:1 glucose-to-fructose blend raises that ceiling significantly.

What Makes the Best Energy Chews for Cycling Stand Out

When you're evaluating chews for long rides, there are a few non-negotiable criteria worth applying:

• Carbohydrate type and ratio. Look for a glucose-fructose blend rather than a single sugar. This maximises absorption rate and reduces gastrointestinal stress at high carbohydrate intakes.
• Ease of eating on the move. A chew you can grab one-handed, pop in your mouth and chew while watching the road ahead is worth its weight. Anything fiddly — wrappers that require two hands, gels that dribble — quickly becomes a problem at pace.
• Digestibility. Some athletes find gels cause stomach upset during hard efforts, particularly in hot conditions. Many find solid carbohydrates in chew form are gentler on the gut, possibly because the act of chewing stimulates salivary enzymes that begin carbohydrate digestion before the food even reaches the stomach.
• Taste over hours. Energy nutrition that's pleasant after one hour can become unbearable after five. Overly sweet, intensely flavoured products often lose their appeal as fatigue accumulates. Natural fruit flavours tend to hold up better.
• Packaging and sustainability. Dropping single-use gel sachets every 20 minutes across a four-hour ride generates a lot of waste — and some of it inevitably ends up in the environment. Larger format packaging that you portion out yourself is both more economical and much less wasteful.

Here is how the main on-bike fuel formats compare on the criteria that matter:

When and How to Use Energy Chews on Long Rides

The most common fuelling mistake isn't using the wrong product — it's using the right product too late. Hunger is a lagging indicator of energy need. By the time you feel you need fuel, you're already behind. The goal is to stay ahead of depletion rather than rescue yourself from it.

A workable strategy for most cyclists:

• Start taking on carbohydrates within the first 30 minutes, even if you feel fine. Your glycogen stores aren't yet depleted, but beginning intake early keeps your fuelling consistent throughout.
• Aim for roughly 3–4 chews every 20–25 minutes as a starting point, adjusting based on ride intensity and duration. Harder efforts require more carbohydrate; easy days require less.
• Always take chews with water. Not because they're unpleasant dry, but because hydration and carbohydrate absorption work together — a small amount of fluid helps move glucose from the gut into the bloodstream more efficiently.
• Practise your fuelling strategy in training, not on race day. Your gut needs to adapt to processing carbohydrate at exercise intensity, and this takes time.

Chews vs Gels: The Honest Comparison

Gels have dominated cycling nutrition for decades and they do have genuine advantages: they're fast to consume, require almost no chewing, and deliver a concentrated carbohydrate hit in seconds. For criterium racing or sprint efforts where you need fuel immediately and can't afford the time to chew, a gel has its place.

But for most amateur cyclists on training rides, sportives and endurance events, chews consistently win on practicality and palatability. They're easier to eat at effort without the risk of inhaling liquid. They're less likely to cause gastrointestinal distress. You can eat one or two at a time rather than consuming an entire sachet at once. And frankly, chewing something with actual texture is more satisfying during hours three and four than squeezing another gel.

The best energy chews for cycling in a long-distance context are ones you'll actually eat consistently — and for most riders, that means something that tastes good, is easy to carry in a jersey pocket, and doesn't require wrestling with packaging while descending.

What We Use at FTP Endurance Fuel

We built our energy pastilles specifically around the criteria above. Each chew delivers a 1:1 glucose-to-fructose carbohydrate blend — the same ratio used in professional cycling nutrition — in a format that's genuinely easy to eat at tempo. No sachets, no gel residue on your gloves, no single-use waste. A 1kg pouch lives in your kit bag and refills your jersey pocket before each ride.

Our Tart Cherry Pastilles use Montmorency tart cherry as the primary flavour — a variety that contains high levels of anthocyanins, the polyphenol compounds associated with reduced oxidative stress and faster muscle recovery. It's a flavour that holds up well over long sessions without becoming cloying. If you prefer variety during longer rides, the Mixed Fruit Pastilles rotate through apple, orange and strawberry in a single bag, which helps prevent flavour fatigue on multi-hour efforts.

We're not suggesting these are the only chews worth using. But they're what we developed for ourselves as endurance cyclists, and the formulation reflects how we think about fuelling — practically, scientifically, and with some respect for the environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are energy chews better than gels for cycling?

For most training rides, sportives and endurance events, yes — chews are easier to eat at effort, less likely to cause gastrointestinal distress, and let you take one or two at a time rather than a whole sachet at once. Gels still have a place in criterium racing or sprint efforts where you need fuel immediately and can't afford time to chew.

How many energy chews should I eat per hour on the bike?

It depends on the carbohydrate content of the chew. The target for rides over two hours is 60–90g of carbohydrate per hour — with FTP pastilles, two chews deliver roughly 30g of carbs, so four to six pastilles per hour covers that range. Spread them out in small, regular doses rather than eating a big handful at once, and adjust for intensity.

When should I start eating on a long ride?

Within the first 30 minutes, even if you feel fine. Hunger is a lagging indicator — by the time you feel you need fuel, you're already behind. Starting early keeps your blood sugar stable and means you reach the hard final third of the ride with the tank still half full.

Do I need to drink water with energy chews?

Yes — always take chews with water. Hydration and carbohydrate absorption work together: a small amount of fluid helps move glucose from the gut into the bloodstream more efficiently, and it reduces the risk of gut trouble at higher hourly carb intakes.

The Bottom Line

The best energy chews for cycling are the ones that work with your gut, your ride schedule and your taste preferences — consistently, ride after ride. A product you hate eating doesn't help you, no matter how well formulated it is. Start with the fundamentals: a glucose-fructose carbohydrate blend, clean ingredients, a format that's easy to eat on the move, and something that still tastes decent after three hours.

If you want to try FTP Energy Pastilles without committing to a full 1kg bag, our Taster Pack is a low-commitment way to see whether they work for you. As with all nutrition choices, the best approach is to test in training and refine from there.

Tart Cherry Pastilles 1kg

1:1 glucose-fructose chews with Montmorency tart cherry for recovery.

£42.99

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Mixed Fruit Pastilles 1kg

Apple, orange and strawberry in one bag to beat flavour fatigue.

£44.99

View product

Keep Reading

• Energy Chews vs Gels for Endurance
• How Many Carbs Per Hour Do You Need on the Bike?
• Fuel for Long Rides