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review
Energy & recovery drinks
Myprotein Tri CarbMyprotein Tri Carb

Myprotein Tri Carb

8
by Stu Kerton
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Mar 6, 2015

2
£9.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Simple to drink, thirst quenching and value for money energy drink for both long and short rides
Weight: 
800g
Contact: 
www.myprotein.com
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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.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Summer Fruits flavour was nice tasting and mixes very easily.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Kept energy levels topped up over hard rides.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
9/10

Very easy on the stomach.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

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.

Overall rating: 8/10

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,

 

Myprotein Tri Carb
Myprotein
Stu Kerton

As part of the Tech Hub here at F-At Digital, our senior product reviewer Stu uses the knowledge gained from putting well over a 1,000 products through their paces (including hundreds of bikes) to write in-depth reviews of a huge range of kit. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 160,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. Although, as he spends a fair bit of his time reviewing ebikes these days he's becoming an expert in letting the motor take the strain. He's also waiting for 23mm race tyres to make a comeback!

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2 comments

Avatar
LarryDavidJr | 8 years ago
0 likes

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!

Avatar
Ad Hynkel | 8 years ago
0 likes

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...

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