April Gear Review: Cytomax Energy Drops

Each month, our friends at Hawley share a review on the latest gear that is passing through their warehouse on its way to your local bike shop. As always, thanks to Ken Klatte, Production Artist with Hawley, for this sneak-preview and words of wisdom. For more from Hawley on the latest and greatest in bike gear, check out their blog or YouTube channel.

I can’t give you an exact number but we’ve reviewed food products on several occasions. The reasoning behind this is that with all the new products on the market, it can be overwhelming for the discerning cyclist to find a product that gives the desired results but still maintains some semblance of normal “taste” that is palpable and if one is lucky, pleasant and desirable.

Cytomax Energy Drops

For long rides, I find myself craving taste over performance. Suffering is often leavened by the surprisingly tasty flavor of a gel or bar that you assumed would be the equivalent to a cardboard and liquid mercury sandwich. Therefore it is without hyperbole or exaggeration that I can proclaim the new Cytomax Energy Drops the best solid energy food product around.

You can tell Cytomax started with taste and texture first, then worried about giving the Drops nutritional content later. They were also smart. Instead of rolling out several flavors that could be hit or miss, they only have two: Pomegranate Berry and Orange Tangerine. Both are delicious. The Pomegranate Berry has a sweet, robust flavor like fruit punch Kool Aid while Orange Tangerine has a tangy front end but finishes sweet as well. The drops chew up easily and don’t leave any excess residue on your teeth.

With each ten-drop bag, you get 22 grams of carbs, 65 grams of sodium and 85 grams of potassium. Muscles are re-fueled with the carbs and kept cramp-free with the sodium. The Orange Tangerine comes with a few milligrams of caffeine for those looking for a little “oomph” to help them with the creeping specter of bonking. I’ve been eating these during all of my long rides this Spring and haven’t been disappointed yet with either their taste or performance.

For riders looking for instant energy in a hurry, the gel will still be the food of choice, but for us epicureans not in a hurry, you can’t go wrong with Cytomax Energy Drops. MSRP is $1.99 per bag.