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Veloforte Classico, pack of three

9
£6.99

VERDICT:

9
10
Veloforte bars are nearly faultless: tasty, natural and providing both fast and slow release energy – awesome stuff
Weight: 
69g
Contact: 

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Veloforte bars are an all-natural sports nutrition product, based on an Italian recipe that extends back to the ages of the Roman legions. They offer something really different to what's currently on the market, and I'm certainly a convert.

The bars come in three flavours, the Classico, reviewed here, the fruity Di Bosco, and the chocolatey Ciocco. All three are based around the simple trinity of nuts, fruits and natural sugars, with the Classico being made up of predominantly almonds and citrus peel.

> Buy these online here

The Classico is a refreshing change from the majority of energy bars, in that the flavour is really fresh and vibrant. The citrus makes it a light and zesty affair; the acidic and synthetic tang that can underlie some fruity bars is absent, and it feels like the bar has just come out of your kitchen rather than having been made a month or two prior.

You can taste the nuts in the mix, but they're not overly powerful, adding just the right element of savoury to prevent the bar being overly sweet. I personally think they taste amazing. They're so different from the other stuff out there that the flavour just doesn't get boring.

Texture-wise, the bar is a nice combination of smooth moistness and satisfying crunch. The honeys and fruits make the bar almost juicy in the mouth, while chunks of nut give an element of bite to give your teeth something to work on. Aside from the obvious benefit of the moistness making the bars easy in the mouth, it means that a half-eaten bar stays together in the pocket if you're a nibble-and-stash kind of rider.

The bars are hand-wrapped in foil that can be unwrapped as one piece, should you desire to munch the lot in one go. I'm one for attacking a bar in several goes, in which case the foil can easily be torn to give you access to one end while leaving the other end wrapped.

Nutritionally, the bars pack a real hefty punch. A Classico bar contains a whopping 50g carbohydrate, 9g fat, and 4g each of fibre and protein. The fats are from nuts as opposed to any weird trans fats that you find in processed foods, and which you want to steer clear of. The carb content is the stat that stands out most to me – most sports bars contain around 30-40g of this energy-giving good stuff, so a Veloforte bar far exceeds this. Admittedly, a lot of this (42g) is sugars, but there's some consolation in that this is from fruits and honeys.

The high sugar and carb content packs a SERIOUS punch. On first trying a bar, eating half of it left me with a serious rush of energy, akin to that of a gel but somehow more powerful, with the sugar buzzing around my muscles and seemingly my mind too. However, the beauty of these bars lies in the way in which the energy release is so instantaneous but also quite slow. Come again? Well, despite that initial buzz of energy, a bar seems to act like 'proper' food in your stomach, offering a nice solid lump of food for your digestive system to work away on for hours to come, in the way that your café stop bacon sarnie does. This 'all-day fuelling' is a product of the fats and proteins in the bar, which release energy in a slow and steady way, preventing spikes of energy. So you really are getting the best of both worlds here.

> How to fuel your big ride or sportive

With a pack of three bars costing £6.99, that makes each bar £2.33. If bought in larger boxes the price per bar comes down, with 24 working out at just over £2 per bar. This is still towards the top end of the price spectrum for energy foods, with similar 'natural' bars such as the Lucho Dillitos costing around £1.40 a piece, Clif bars coming in at around £1.65 each, and Torq bars around £1.50.

Although you are paying around 50p more per bar, it's worth considering that a Veloforte bar gives you around 20-25% more energy per piece, meaning it all works out pretty equally. Personally, having experienced how well the bars work, and how good they taste, I'd pay the extra without a second thought.

Veloforte promises a '#realfoodrevolution' on its twitter feed. I'm in. Viva la revolution!

Verdict

Veloforte bars are nearly faultless: tasty, natural and providing both fast and slow release energy – awesome stuff

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Veloforte Classico, pack of three

Size tested: 70g

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?

Veloforte is handcrafted performance nutrition.

Veloforte says: "The Classico keeps you going all-day.

"Based on an ancient recipe it's an exceptional balance of fruits, nuts & spices, offering sustained performance.

"Citrus, almonds, honey & spices make The Classico a customer favourite.

"It's stuffed full of 100% natural ingredients, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free & GM-Free... making it easily and naturally digestible, free from any nasties."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

The Classico bar provides an optimised balance of fruits, nuts & spices, offering sustained performance. The bar offers a hefty 50g of carbohydrate, as well as 4g protein, 4g fibre, and 9g of natural fat.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

The bars perform exceptionally. They offer a fast release of energy via a high natural sugar content, yet provide you the slow release to keep you going all day thanks to the proteins and fats. On my test rides fuelled exclusively with Veloforte bars, I felt strong and energised throughout, with no highs or lows of energy.

Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Initially, the price of £2.33 per bar (when buying a pack of three) seems pricey. However, if you work it down to cost per carb, the bars are comparable to the competition; while the bars are 20% more expensive than similar 'natural' bars such as Luchos Dillitos or Clif bars, they also pack at least 20% more energy-giving goodness per item.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The bars were fantastic. They fuelled me well and tasted great – these will definitely become my 'go-to'.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The taste is bright and fresh, and offers a real point of difference to those on the market. The texture in the mouth is a great balance of chew and crunch, and there's no crumbling if you nibble on a bar rather than having the whole thing in one. And they pack a massive energy punch!

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing really.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Definitely

Use this box to explain your score

These bars have more or less changed my expectations of sports nutrition. They're tasty, natural, and packed full of energy, none of which comes from strange chemicals. I can't see myself going back to 'standard' nutrition.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 31  Height: 6ft 1in  Weight: 61kg

I usually ride: Giant TCR / Cannondale Supersix  My best bike is: Giant TCR

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding

Add new comment

13 comments

Avatar
StraelGuy | 5 years ago
0 likes

I got tired of the constant bombardment by Veloforte adverts on Instagram so I conceded defeat and ordered 3x Classico bars and 3x Di Bosco bars this morning. I've got a 100k sportive on Sunday so will give them a try then. They sound delicious.

Avatar
explosifpete | 6 years ago
0 likes

Tried these a few times and they are great. Really tasty, a bit like Christmas cake!

i cut them up in to chunks to make them easier to eat on the move, I've got a sensitive stomach and these are easy to digest.

as for comparison to the naked bars, these are far far nicer 

  

Avatar
Altimis | 6 years ago
0 likes

This bar not supposes to eat on the ride? "real food" spell "hard for digestive" for me . . .

Eat when stop, maybe, but on the ride?

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 6 years ago
0 likes

I've been using these for a while, along with Luchos and Torq bars - and am a big fan of 'natural products: excellent taste and something you can look forward to on a longer ride (i.e. 80km+).  

But I have a an issue with this type of energy-product review because its entirely subjective and non-technical; i.e. no benchmarking.  Having sports nutritionist review energy products would be more interesting.  They could compare them to Snickers. Nak'd bars, etc.  

I looked to Veccioforte's website for more information, but its all about the natural ingredients, taste, and claims that Roman legions marched on these (I'll ask Mary Beard).  Torq's, for example, is way more scientific, offering links to research papers, etc. 

 

Avatar
ashfanman | 6 years ago
0 likes

For shorter rides like that, fair enough. Although I'd still want to be taking in some water...

Avatar
Stu Kerton | 6 years ago
1 like

I'm a massive fan of these bars.

I rarely eat or drink on the bike but these Veloforte bars are really easy to digest being close to a 'real food' rather than an energy product so I've been using them a lot for rides and long runs.

My favourite is the Ciocco, tasting basically like a chocolate brownie but they all pack a punch without being overly sweet or rich.

Avatar
ashfanman replied to Stu Kerton | 6 years ago
0 likes
Stu Kerton wrote:

I rarely eat or drink on the bike

At all?

Avatar
Stu Kerton replied to ashfanman | 6 years ago
0 likes

ashfanman wrote:

Stu Kerton wrote:

I rarely eat or drink on the bike

At all?

Not really, anything under fifty miles I normally do fasted. I carry my debit card with me and if things go pear shaped I'll dive into a petrol station for a can of Red Bull & a Snickers bar. 

A decade as a commuter without breakfast seems to have honed my body to fuel itself. 

Avatar
davel replied to Stu Kerton | 6 years ago
0 likes
Stu Kerton wrote:

A decade as a commuter without breakfast seems to have honed my body to fuel itself. 

This.

I also found huge benefits in going for longer on less based on fasted morning commutes (and noticed the effects first after about 6 months). I typically get round 50 miles on one bidon (carb drink - haven't tried just water), though I generally get through around four (no food/gels) on 100+ runs.

Avatar
steviemarco replied to Stu Kerton | 5 years ago
0 likes
Stu Kerton wrote:

I'm a massive fan of these bars.

I rarely eat or drink on the bike but these Veloforte bars are really easy to digest being close to a 'real food' rather than an energy product so I've been using them a lot for rides and long runs.

My favourite is the Ciocco, tasting basically like a chocolate brownie but they all pack a punch without being overly sweet or rich.

Totally agree with you on this. I can get other brands at cost price yet choose to buy these for their taste alone. Top marks Veloforte

Avatar
ChetManley | 6 years ago
1 like

Christ, that's a lot for pre sliced panforte

Avatar
HalfWheeler | 6 years ago
3 likes

Nakd bars are pretty similar (made from nuts and fruit) taste pretty good (choc orange for me personally) and are a fraction of the cost.

Avatar
barongreenback replied to HalfWheeler | 6 years ago
0 likes
HalfWheeler wrote:

Nakd bars are pretty similar (made from nuts and fruit) taste pretty good (choc orange for me personally) and are a fraction of the cost.

 

yep. Trek bars also do something similar now as well as the usual oat based ones. 

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