Ready to geek out on some nutrition science?

OSMO Nutrition is a new sports nutrition company based on the research of Dr. Stacy Sims, an exercise physiologist and sport nutritionist at Stanford University from 2007-2012 with an impressive resume of consulting Lance Armstrong and other top athletes over the years. She’s also a Cat 1 roadie and elite XTerra triathlete.

The name Osmo is a play on Osmolality, the measure of how many solutes (solids) are in a solution. The key with sports drinks is to have the osmalality lower than that of your blood in order to be absorbed quickly. Otherwise, you’re stomach has to work to dilute it.

Sims says most sports drinks are designed to be a fuel source and pack in lots and lots of calories. By packing all that in, it increases the osmolality too high, which hurts absorption. This causes water to be pulled to the digestive system to dilute it, which means it’s being pulled away from your muscles.

Her guideline for athletes is “food in your pocket, hydration in your bottle. If you’re relying on fuel from your liquids, you’re not optimizing your hydration.”

Sims actually doesn’t recommend gels at all, a theory shared with another former Armstrong support member, Dr. Allen Lim. She says for every one gel, you should probably consume 8-12 ounces of water, but even then it’s a concentrated source in the stomach that requires time to mix with the water before it can digest. It also causes heat storage because most gels are comprised of fructose or maltodextrin, which require an extra step for digestion. This extra step produces heat, which is just added to the heat already being produced by your muscles. This decreases the time to fatigue.

Food’s a little different, surprisingly. She recommends simple carbs like white bread or new potatoes with some salt or peanut butter on them. Nothing that’s going to spike the blood sugar too much or cause stomach distress.

OK, with all that in mind, just what sort of drinks did they develop?

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Inspired by founder Gary Erickson’s early Italian rides and adventures, Clif Bar’s new Panforte flavor celebrates the brand’s 20th anniversary.

It’s a limited edition based on the centuries old Italian dessert recipe. Panforte dates to the 13th century and is a mix of fruits, nuts and spices in a fruitcake like treat. Gary’s version, thankfully, is less fruitcake and more Clif Bar, and it’s very tasty. So much so that we’re hoping it makes it into the regular rotation.

New flavor aside, their PR folks have been gently nudging us to recommend their chocolate flavors as a way to thank/remember/celebrate/reward your favorite mom this Sunday. Their latest reminder was a little gift box with some specific flavors and items…photo after the break.

If that’s not enough, try their Chocolate Brownie flavor Clif Bar warmed in the microwave with chocolate ice cream and whipped cream on top. Could be the ultimate recovery treat!

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Dr. Allen Lim, who you may recall from a few of our recent interviews (here and here) or from his adventures feeding a few pro cyclists over the years, has given his little Secret Drink Mix a branding makeover.

The redesign comes as he’s prepping a retail push and developing a few new products. No, gels won’t be among them (read the interviews and you’ll see why), but real-food energy bars, like his infamous rice cakes, could be on deck. We’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid, literally, and it’s good stuff. If you’re the type of person that gets a sour stomach from any sports drink, Skratch might be worth a whirl.

About the name: Lim says it’s a play on “made from scratch” which he endorses as a meal prep method for everyone (and athletes in particular) rather than buying prepackaged, prepared foods. We’re on board, particularly since most packaged foods these days have more chemical ingredients than actual food ingredients.

LaraBar has three new flavors of their all-natural, whole food bars: Carrot Cake, Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte and Blueberry Muffin. All three are tasty, and if you like non-processed, real ingredients, LaraBars are worth checking out.

Click through for refreshment from Fluid and Cytomax…

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Not gonna lie here. First, I thought gel inserts for shoes. Then I thought early April Fools. But no, Louis Garneau is entering the sports nutrition category.

Branding themselves as the complete solution for cyclists, they already offer everything you need to wear from toes to head. Now they’re getting your insides taken care of, too, starting with an energy gel. The lineup claims to have mild flavors, good since everything tastes sweeter and stronger during hard exercise, along with all the essentials like carbs and electrolytes. And the flavors sound pretty good, too. Squeeze past the break for details…

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Our first roundup had plenty to see from the SE Bike Expo, but we’re not through yet.

Riding the meme, Defeet has created the Honey Badger sock, left. It’s so nasty. And if you’re into that whole Mayan calendar thing, well, it really doesn’t matter what you do this year, so be like the honey badger, click on through while you’re on the clock because you don’t give a…

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• We spotted TwinSix’s tan knickers at Interbike and were delighted at both the quality look and feel and the fact that we now have a non-black knicker option to screw with the minds of our non-cycling friends that can’t appreciate our Euro sensibilities. Finally, the Three Quarter Knicker has started shipping (yes, they’re available in Black, also). They’re made from bluesign® approved 91% post-consumer recycled polyester with 9% spandex with a PFOA and PFOS free DWR coating. In other words, responsibly made. Features include perforated deep zipper pockets, articulated knees, and highly reflective appliqués. More pics below.
• CytoSport has started shipping their Cytomax Drops. Another item we saw at Interbike well before it was available, they’ll come in 10-drop packs of mixed flavors: Pomegranate/Berry and caffeinated Orange/Tangerine. Each will retail for $1.99 and stores can get them in counter-display-friendly 16-count boxes. They rely on their trademark Alpha-L-Polylactate carb plus electrolytes and contain no artificial sweeteners or colors, and they’re gluten and milk-product free. Photo after the jump.
• Check out the winners and entrants from the People Powered Movement Photo Contest sponsored by the Alliance for Biking & Walking.
• Alpine Bike Parks, a bike park design firm, has put together a pre-packaged bike park plan for you to present to your local government officials to get a bike park started in your area. Plan includes timelines, construction standards, conceptual park plan, cost estimates, promotional information, etc.
• We could all use a little help in times of need – Chris Soda needs a little help now.
• IMBA is looking to hire two people full time for their Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew. They are asking prospective trail professionals for a 2 year commitment for the year-round traveling job.
• Submit a photo of your oldest dirtiest jersey on Hill Killer Apparel‘s Facebook page, for your chance to win a shiny new jersey of your choice.
• Specialized and Strava, a social personal fitness app, have teamed up for the Specialized Classic Climbing Challenge. Entrants are challenged to climb 105,312 feet in 45 days as recorded by the cycling app.
• If you haven’t’ heard by now, USACycling has gone with the “Everyone’s a Winner” philosophy which their selection of the hosts of the National Cyclocross Championships for 2014-2016.
• If you’re at NAHBS this week, check out the panel discussion Today at 2pm led by Bicycling’s Joe Lindsey with some of the top builders and business leaders at the show. Check the NAHBS site for a full description and listing of speakers.

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Honey Stinger has added Chocolate to it’s waffle lineup. It’s made almost entirely of organic ingredients and looks delicious. Retail is $1.39 and it’ll be available March 15.

INGREDIENTS: Organic wheat flour, organic palm fruit oil, organic rice syrup, organic cane sugar, organic whole wheat flour, organic cocoa, organic soy flour, organic honey, natural flavor, sea salt, organic soy lecithin, baking soda.

That is all.

We have discovered that VeloPress is in the process of converting an array of their new and bestselling titles to eBook format for such popular devices as Kindle, Nook, Apple iBook, Kobo, and others. VeloPress offers a wide selection of cycling books pertaining to training, exercise, nutrition, biography, and history. They also offer books on triathlon, running, and winter sports.

For example, VeloPress is now offering their recently-published (and quite interesting) “Team 7-Eleven” Kindle version on Amazon for $13.49. Watch Bikerumor for a review of this book in coming days.

To see highlights of what they’re offering and to get the link to the full list of titles currently and soon-to-be available, click more…

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Building on their basic electrolyte replacement formula, GU Brew, their new Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Drink adds some of the performance ingredients found in their Roctane gel varieties.

Upgrades include Taurine, White Tea extract, Beta Alanine and Histidine to buffer acid and the BCAA’s Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine. It’s designed for rides and workouts lasting more than 90 minutes.

Full PR with pricing and sizes behind the break, and if you order through GU’s website, they have a special that includes eight FREE Roctane gels with purchase…

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The Aerobie AeroPress, which is available through Kinetic Koffee’s website, is a simple hand powered espresso and coffee press. It’s perfect for a quick cup or two when you don’t want to brew a full pot, or when power’s not available. We’ve used ours camping this summer and at the BURN 24 Hour Challenge by boiling water on the camp stove. Not only is it really easy, but it’s pretty quick and the coffee it produces it quite tasty.

See what’s in the box, plus several other mini reviews of Muscle Milk, Swiftwick socks, and more after the break…

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Clif Bar and Gu aren’t the only ones releasing limited edition holiday flavors. Cytosport’s Muscle Milk is getting in the game with an Egg Nog rendition of their protein recovery drink mix. It’s only available in their 2.47lb canister for $53.49, but they’ve got free shipping.

Of course you’ll need something to put it in, and Kleen Kanteen has partnered with Nau to offer a set of four stainless steel travel pint cups. We were looking for something like this all summer for our six week road trip, so you can be sure we’ll be getting a set in here for “testing.” They’re stackable, retail for $39 (which is pretty good if you’ve ever price shopped SS cups!) and should do a better job of keeping your hands warm than a thermos should you brew up some coffee at cyclocross races this winter.