Myprotein has a beautifully simple way of naming their products and TriCarb is no different. It's a mixture of three slow and fast release carbohydrates to keep you hydrated on your rides. With added electrolytes it's ideal for exercising in warmer climes as well.
Maltodextrin and fructose provide the quick replenishment of carbs in the saddle working with the slower release of the Palitinose (to give it its trade name) to keep your muscles topped up with energy.
In terms of performance it does a pretty good job mainly because it is so palatable and gentle on the stomach that you can happily drink plenty of it without finding it sickly or overly sweet. We had the Summer Fruits flavour though you can also get Tropical or Unflavoured versions.
With the mix of carbs TriCarb is intended as an endurance drink for rides of two hours or more. The two faster-releasing carbs keeping you going in the short term with the Palitinose storing energy up for later when you're going to need it most.
I did find it useful on shorter rides too though when the effort levels are high, intervals and that kind of thing. The 500mg per serving of electrolytes have been proven to help the body absorb water more easily which could be the reason why it works so well for short hard efforts where you are sweating lots.
It is available in both 800g or 1.6kg pouches and represents pretty good value for money at 78p per 700ml mix / 50g serving especially considering the benefits you get from using it.
On the whole the TriCarb is a good value carb drink that works well for short, high intensity rides to long distance epic miles. The fact that it is so easy to drink and mix is another major plus meaning you really find it easy to keep drinking.
Verdict
Simple to drink, thirst quenching and value for money energy drink for both long and short rides.
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Myprotein Tri Carb
Size tested: Summer Fruits
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
TriCarb is intended as an endurance based energy drink thanks to the mix of the release speed of the carbohydrates although I found it worked for shorter efforts of high intensity too.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Per 50g:
Energy: 190.0Kcal
Protein: 0.0g
Carbohydrates: 47.0g
of which sugars: 47.0g
Fat 0.0g
Active Ingredients Per 50g:
Tri Carb (Palatinose®, Maltodextrin, Fructose): 49.5g
Electrolytes: 500mg
Nutritional content may vary slightly between flavours.
Summer Fruits flavour was nice tasting and mixes very easily.
Kept energy levels topped up over hard rides.
Very easy on the stomach.
78p per serving is pretty good value I reckon.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Pretty good, seemed to provide plenty of energy over short hard rides and long distances in the saddle.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The flavour.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Tastes better once it's been in the fridge.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
The TriCarb is a decent performing energy drink that does what it is designed to do, whileprovidinga decent flavour yet above all is very easy on the stomach.
About the tester
Age: 36 Height: 180cm Weight: 76kg
I usually ride: Kinesis T2 My best bike is: Kinesis Aithien
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
Stu knocked out his first road.cc review back in 2009 and since then he's chucked the best part of seventy test bikes around the West Country, a couple of them quite literally! With three alloy and two steel bikes in his fleet he's definitely a metal man (that'll be the engineering background) but is slowly warming to that modern carbon fibre stuff along with fat tyres & disc brakes.
It's not all nostalgia though, after spending the last few years in product design Stu keeps banging on about how 3D printing is going to be the next big thing and he's a sucker for a beautiful paint job too.
2 comments
For those on a budget, homemade alternatives can bring that reasonable sounding 78p per 700ml to a bargain basement level:
http://www.sport-passion.fr/en/training/isotonic-drink.php
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/health_and_fitness/4289704.stm
and slightly more in depth
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/drinks.htm
There used to be a very good FA referees document on the web about this too but can't seem to find it any more...
Might try it out as they are giving away a couple of other freebies at the moment. I'd like to try the home made ones but to be honest I don't often do more than about 2/3 hours on a ride, and water with a banana or flapjack is usually enough for that. Plus, with a powder you can take extra with you for those all day epics.
Making your own means having the ingredients on hand all the time, and thinking ahead. Maybe I need to concentrate on that more!