During-effort fuel · gel · reviewed 3 Sep 2026

2:1 Gel 60

Item: 2:1 Gel
Rating: 60
Author: Lourenço Faria e Maia

4Endurance / 71 g gel / 30 g carbohydrate / $0.86

One of the few gels here with a glucose:fructose ratio stated down to the gram (20 g maltodextrin, 10 g fructose in a 71 g gel), at 2.9 cents a gram of carbohydrate -- cheaper per gram than 4Endurance's own 4Energy Gel.

Score breakdown

Each dimension below is scored 0 to 100 against a fixed scale, not against the rest of the catalog, so adding a product never moves this number. The overall score is the average of the dimensions this product declares data for. How the scales are set →

60/100

Mixed

Absorption rate ?How much carbohydrate an hour the glucose-to-fructose blend can move. Scored from the stated or derived ratio (1:0.8 tops out this scale); an Estimated ratio counts the same as a Stated one here.72

Carb density ?How much fuel one sachet carries. 90 g is the ceiling here, matching the top of the range cited for multi-transportable-carb intake.33

Value (cost/gram) ?Price of one gram of carbohydrate. Not physiological -- a market-based scale from 15 cents/g (0) to 2 cents/g (100).93

Gut comfort ?A proxy, not a taste or tolerance test: shorter ingredient lists score higher, from 15 ingredients (0) to 1 (100). Nobody has actually run these through anyone's gut for this score.43

Cost per gram of carbohydrate

2.9 cents/g

Glucose : fructose

1:0.5

Comparison

6 of 38 gels held

Prices per single sachet at the cheapest box size we track. Best in green, worst in red, across the gels shown.

Measure	4Endurance 2:1 Gel	Maurten Maurten Gel 100	Science in Sport SiS Beta Fuel Gel	Precision Fuel & Hydration Precision Fuel PF 30 Gel	NEVERSECOND NEVERSECOND C30 Gel	GU Energy Labs GU Original Energy Gel
Overall scoreAn average of the various variables measured.	60	47	58	49	42	33
CarbohydrateHow much fuel one gel carries.	30 g	25 g	40 g	30 g	30 g	22 g
Glucose : fructoseGoverns how fast you absorb it. More fructose, higher ceiling.	1 : 0.5	1 : 0.8	1 : 0.77	1 : 0.5	1 : 0.5	~ 1 : 0.47
SodiumAgainst 400 to 1000 mg an hour typically lost in sweat.	100 mg	20 mg	30 mg	not declared	200 mg	60 mg
ProvenanceWhether that ratio is read off the panel, computed from it, or inferred.	Stated	Stated	Derived	Stated	Stated	Estimated
Price per gelWhat one costs. Not comparable across gel sizes.	$0.86	$3.75	$2.50	$3.12	$3.50	$2.00
Cost per gramThe only price that compares across gel sizes.	2.9 cents	15 cents	6.3 cents	10.4 cents	11.7 cents	9.1 cents
Gels for 90 g/hrHow many you open an hour to hold a 90 g/hr target.	3.0	3.6	2.3	3.0	3.0	4.1

Verdict

what it does · what it costs

What it does well

2:1 (glucose:fructose) ratio stated by gram on the label, not left to inference.
100 mg sodium per 71 g gel, more electrolyte content than several concentrated gels costing more.
2.9 cents a gram of carbohydrate, the cheapest per-gram 4Endurance gel among those reviewed here.

What it costs you

No independent scoring reference for this 1:0.5 blend the way Maurten's 1:0.8 has here -- take the 20 g/10 g breakdown as the brand's own math.
10 g of sugars out of 30 g carbs is the most sugar-dense of the 4Endurance gels covered in this batch.
Not sold through US retailers; pricing here is converted from EUR and availability will vary.

Where to buy

Prices and links as last checked. The price next to the name above is per unit at the cheapest box size we track -- a single-unit price below may run higher.

Not yet checked at retail.

Who this is for

the numbers, applied

The field tells you what it is. This is who should act on it.

Worth the money if

You want a stated glucose:fructose ratio without paying Maurten or SiS Beta Fuel prices.
You're already ordering from 4Endurance and want the cheapest gel in their range per gram of carb.

Look elsewhere if

You need a US retail supply chain.
You want electrolytes beyond sodium -- this gel carries no potassium, calcium, or magnesium.