Pursu Banana Endurance Bar (16 pack)

Pursu's Endurance Bars are a tasty, moist wholefood bar with an ethical conscience. Being quite high in fat and protein, they make great slow-release fuel for long days on the bike.

• Pros: All-natural and vegan, compostable wrappers, nice taste and texture
• Cons: Not the biggest carbohydrate bang for your buck, wrapper is a little 'flakey'

Pursu is a new nutrition brand from West London that goes 'the extra mile to source the best naturally nutritious ingredients and are mindful of the inspiring environment in which we love to ride'. The bars are vegan, with no added sugar, and to keep the manufacturing process as clean and unadulterated they're cold pressed. So no nasties, no weird manufacturing process, just proper food.

> Buy these online here

It's a really nice touch and sign of the brand going that bit further that the packaging is bio-based and home-compostable – meaning that when you get home and empty your pockets of the wrappers (because you DON'T throw them into the ditch as you ride), you can put the bars back into nature. Adding to the ethical and sustainable touch, each sale makes a small contribution to the 'Re-cycle' charity that ships old donated bikes to those without transport in Africa.

Flavours

Three flavours of bar are available: Banana and Cacao, Sour Cherry and Almond, and Beetroot and Date. The banana bar, as you'd expect, was a winner – a failsafe choice for sports products and, as you'd expect, this delivers. It's not overly banana-y, though you can taste it. It's more a generic sweetness, but with a nice bitter element thanks to the addition of a bit of cacao, which prevents the bar being overly sweet.

The Cherry and Almond is perhaps my favourite – with slight reminiscences of one of my go-to cake choices when available, the Bakewell tart. It's a light and fresh taste that's zingy and tangy without being over-bitter.

And last but not least, the perhaps controversial beetroot. I like beetroot, but appreciate some are a bit unsure of the purple powerhouse. This bar is definitely worth a try for the believers and non-believers, however. It retains that earthy, robust flavour of a beet, but the dates keep it sweet and juicy, and the cashews and sunflower seeds give a bit of crunch and texture. It's a savoury bar, but not overly so. The first time I tried it I was a bit unsure, but when I went back for a second go I liked it more. It's a grower for sure.

The texture is great for eating on the move – the bars hold together well once opened, and have a nice soft chewiness to them, with a very small element of crunch. They're moist and easy to get down on the move, and don't crumble as you bite some off and then chew – something that can be a choking hazard and can leave your jersey pockets looking like a bowl of muesli if you eat half then stash the rest for later.

The packaging is nice and easy to get into on the move. They rip quite easily, but they can also flake up quite easily, leaving you accidentally dropping small scraps on the road. Sure, it's compostable, but it's not great to be leaving mess lying about.

Fuel delivery

Nutritionally, the bars pack a reasonable punch, though as is typical of more natural bars, a lot of the calories are weighted towards protein and fat rather than carbs. Each flavour has slightly different macros, but each works out at around 200 calories, with 20-25g carbohydrate, 5g protein, and 9g fat. It's important to note nearly all of these fats are the 'good' unsaturated kind, resulting from the inclusion of nuts and seeds in the bars, and this is a great fuel source for longer lower-intensity rides.

Most other energy bars stack up with similar nutrition breakdowns, though there tends to be more of a leaning towards carbohydrate – a result of the inclusion of 'unnatural' additions such as maltodextrin. The slightly lower carb content of a Pursu bar means they're not really what you'd want before a set of top-end intervals or a race, where quick carbs are the answer – you'd likely be reaching for gels or blocks.

> How to eat right for sportives and long rides

I used the bars on three rides, two of which were long and steady tippy-tappy types and they kept me going well – the heavier fat and protein content gives a good source of slow-burn fuel. I also used them on a shorter session with a load of intervals in it – and though this could be a result of all sorts of other factors, I felt a bit out of gas at the end. Maybe it was due to the intensity of the session, not eating enough before, or the lower carbohydrate content of the bar. Who knows? But I do think that given the way the calories stack up, Pursu is best for endurance rather than intensity – they are called 'Endurance bars' after all.

Value

The bars are sold in packs of 16, with a pack costing £28.50 – that's £1.78 each. Compared to others, that's a fair bit cheaper than what could be deemed the market-leading choice for natural nutrition, the Veloforte, which cost around £2.33 each when purchased as a three pack, and more or less the same as a Torq Chew bar, another cold-pressed option. Torq's bars are £1.85 each.

Overall, I enjoyed these a lot and really admire the ethical and sustainable stance taken by Pursu. For steady endurance rides they're great, and those long days in the saddle will give you plenty of time to get used to the initially unusual beetroot flavour! Just make sure you don't drop little bits of the wrapper as you ride...

Verdict

A tasty and nutritionally balanced bar with an ethical and environmental conscience that's great for longer days out