Clif Bar Mini

The Clif Bar Mini is not a new addition to Clif's popular and well-established nutrition range when it comes to flavours, but the smaller 28g size is still a welcome addition to the Clif family. Clif's bars have long been an energy staple for cyclists and for very good reasons too – you can buy them at most cycling and outdoor stores and they come in numerous flavours.

> Buy now: Clif Bar Mini for £8.99 for 10 from Amazon

Clif Bars are made with a host of ingredients, including rolled oats, fruits and nuts, and each of these mini bars offers between 108-111kCal, 4g of protein and around 16g of carbs per serving.

The ingredients are: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Rolled Oats, Soy Protein Isolate, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Roasted Soybeans, Rice Flour, Cane Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate', Organic Soy Flour, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Cocoa Butter', Barley Malt Extract, Sea Salt, Natural Flavors, Soy Lecithin and Organic Cinnamon.

Yes, that's one hefty list of ingredients for such a small bar. Clif says that 70% of the ingredients are organic and the bars are fully plant-based, including vitamins B6 and B12, which vegans often lack in their diet.

The 28g Mini size is about half that of a traditional Clif Bar, and after testing, I'm convinced I prefer the smaller size – but that still doesn't bring these any closer to being my favourite cycling energy bars.

This is because in addition to their long list of ingredients, regular Clif Bars offer about 266kcal per serving, and although the 37g carb content is great, the full-size bars also come with a hefty dose of protein and fats, which gives them a slower-release action than some of the more carb-heavy energy bars.

> How to eat right for sportives and long rides

Nutrition is a very personal thing and your needs also depend on what type of riding you're doing. Personally I prefer to eat a lot of carbs during my rides, and preferably have the protein and fats after the ride – or well before – unless I'm bikepacking. The Clif Mini bar solves this, as I was able to get a good dose of protein, carbs and fats, and then complement the bars on rides with something more carb-heavy, such as energy gels or different bars.

And although I like the Clif Bar flavours – the Minis are available in chocolate chip, peanut butter crunch and white chocolate macadamia – their hearty consistency and the strong taste of some kind of sweetener (or perhaps one of the many syrups) mean I don't want to eat too many of them.

I've never really had the urge to consume a full-size Clif Bar at once, which meant most of the time I left half of the bar for later. The Clif Mini bars solve the issue I had – that of the full-size bars left open in my pocket or bag crumbling away before I got to finish it.

Granted, having multiple small bars results in more empty wrappers, and Clif Bar's aren't recyclable... but unfortunately this is the case with most cycling energy bars.

Value

Then we have the price. These bars cost £1.19 a pop, though a box of 10 is widely available for less than a tenner. For reference, regular-size Clif Bars cost about £1.90 each, but they are double the size, which means double the calories and so on.

The Rawvelo bar I reviewed recently also costs £1.90 each as does the Torq Bar that Liam tested, so the Clif Minis are pretty much on point with their pricing when you take their size in to count – though the Rawvelo bar comes in a recyclable wrapper, which I personally think is a huge bonus.

Conclusion

Overall, I think Clif Bars, whether mini or not, serve a purpose on long, steady rides where fast-release carbs are not as important. They are not the most 'clean' ingredient energy bar, and the wrappers are not recyclable, but if you like the flavours, I think the Clif Bar Minis are a much more digestible size than the full-size one.

Verdict

Mini-sized version of the classic, steady-ride vegan energy bar that you either hate or love