Review: Bonk Breaker Bars

So one of the really annoying things about biking more than 20 miles at a time is you gotta eat. It’s not like you can pig out on a tasty hamburger or mac n’ chz or something. You usually end up with small, pre packaged foods (although some people get fancy and make their own sandwiches, etc), that you shove into your back jersey pockets.

I personally need to eat almost every 20 miles. Big rule of thumb with cycling: Eat before you get hungry, drink before you get thirsty.

Also, “Ride to eat, eat to Ride”. YOU are the machine – gotta fuel the ride, yo!!

So there you are, biking along, mile 30, and you are sick of gels (which I will review later) and need something substantial. There are a buttload of bar options (and weird gel “fruit snacky” things) on the market.

Today, I shall review my current favorite – bonk breaker bars

nom nom nom

So you may be thinking “bonk? what a silly word!”. Bonking means ‘hitting a wall’ while you are running/cycling/whatever-ing and you didn’t fuel yourself. Exhaustion. Fatigue. Fail. Bonking sucks. It makes those last grueling 15 miles feel like the entire century. Don’t bonk. It’s not fun.

There are several flavors these bars come in – PB&J, chocolate chip (MMMM) and almond butter (MMM). As you can probably tell by the “MMMM” , I really like the chocochip and almond butter.

Some major selling points on these bars:
1. The packaging is loose, which allows for easily opening while riding and re storing into your back pocket without the bar falling INTO the pocket, turning into a bunch of mushy pieces while mingling with your sweat, causing you to lose your bar or eat sweaty bar in desperation. Don’t ask.
2. The bar itself does not require too much additional chewing, like Cliff bars. It goes down smooth – no choking on random nut or oat pieces that get stuck in your throat.
3. Dang, they are SO tasty. HIDE them when you are in your house – NO grazing/snacking on Bonk bars unless you are doing something high energy. Seriously. I hide them near my gel packets in the bike room.

These bars have worked really well for me in the past few rides – you don’t need to eat the whole bar at once – I generally graze off of it over a 20 miles period – graze, drink water, graze drink water.

I also wrote the company to tell them how much I liked their product, and that I was glad they donated a bunch to the AIDS Life Cycle (ALC), which is how I learned about their product. The president wrote me back and was super nice. Love personalized companies!

You can find these at your local REI for a pretty good price, especially if you are a member, and your local bike store. The almond butter ones are a bit harder to find right now.

Let me know how you like ’em!

One thought on “Review: Bonk Breaker Bars

  1. I picked up a Bonk Breaker recently at REI and pretty much agree with your write-up. “Bonk Breaker” is an accurate title as the bar fills you up well during long rides. And, yes, it goes down easier then a Clif Bar. I have only tried the PB&J flavor – gotta run out and pick up the other flavors!

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