DIY Neversecond C30: the research-forward gel without the $3.50 price tag
Co-founded by Asker Jeukendrup, one of the most-cited researchers in modern carbohydrate-fueling science. The marketing cites papers where competitors cite palmares — and the formula is exactly what the literature would predict.
·By Croix
Educational, not medical advice. Recipes and dosages are starting points — individual tolerance varies. Consult a healthcare professional or registered dietitian before changing your nutrition strategy. Full disclaimer.
What am I actually paying Neversecond for?
| Neversecond C30 Energy Gel | DIY recipe | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per serving | $3.50 | $0.34 |
| Cost per gram of carb | $0.117 | $0.011 |
| Carbs | 30g | 30g |
| Glucose:Fructose ratio | 2:1 | 2:1 |
| Sodium | 200mg | 200mg |
| Ingredients | Maltodextrin, Fructose, salt | Maltodextrin, fructose, salt |
| ~90% cheaper per serving |
Default recipe
~$0.34/serving- Maltodextrin21.1g
- Fructose10.0g
- Sodium Citrate0.8g
- Water19ml
What do I need to buy?
Everything you need to mix this at home. We primarily recommend Nutricost-brand products (made in GMP-compliant, FDA-registered facilities, third-party tested) and fall back to NOW Foods or BulkSupplements for the few ingredients Nutricost doesn't stock. Each row shows the same product across Nutricost, iHerb, and Amazon — sorted by unit price, with the cheapest highlighted. Links are affiliate — we earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Maltodextrin21.1 g per serving
- Fructose10.0 g per serving
- Sodium Citrate0.75 g per serving
C30 is a 2:1 gel for moderate carb-rate use, not a 1:0.8 race-day high-carb fuel. If your goal is 100g+/hr in a race, Neversecond's C60 or C90 drink mixes are the relevant products — the C30 gel was designed for the lower-intensity end of the spectrum where 2:1 is well within the absorption envelope.
DIY wins
- Same 2:1 maltodextrin + fructose + sodium citrate macros for ~55¢ vs $3.50 retail.
- Neversecond publishes the formulation — DIY is as close to an exact copy as you can get in this category.
- The caffeinated C30+ variant (75mg) can also be replicated with a dosed caffeine pill, though dose carefully.
Where Neversecond still earns its price
- DIY can't nail C30's particular medium-viscosity gel texture — it sits between Maurten's hydrogel and GU's runnier syrup.
- Squeezable gel packaging is genuinely more useful on-bike than sipping a concentrated flask.
- Sponsorship equity (Sam Laidlow, pro triathlon) matters to some athletes — that brand association is what you're paying a premium for.
Is Neversecond C30 Energy Gel actually worth it?
Neversecond leans on research citations the way other sports nutrition brands lean on pro team sponsorships. The company was co-founded by Asker Jeukendrup — visiting professor at Loughborough University, former global senior director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, and one of the most-cited researchers in the modern multi-transporter carbohydrate absorption literature — and the marketing cites papers where competitors cite palmares. That transparency makes DIY replication unusually straightforward: Neversecond doesn't hide what's in the product because the product's entire selling point is that it follows the literature.
What C30 actually is: a 65g gel with 30g of carbs at a 2:1 maltodextrin-to-fructose ratio, 200mg of sodium from sodium citrate, and no caffeine (the C30+ variant layers on 75mg of caffeine for late-race use). The 2:1 ratio places this firmly in the gel category rather than the 120g/hr race-fuel category — Neversecond's higher-density drink mixes (C60, C90) are where they bring out the 1:0.8 ratio that the research supports at 80g+ per hour. C30 is built for normal race and training carb rates where a 2:1 product is well within the dual-transporter absorption envelope.
Neversecond has also become deeply associated with professional triathlon since sponsoring Sam Laidlow's 2023 Ironman World Championship win. That association is real brand equity and not a coincidence — the company has cultivated ties across pro cycling and triathlon as part of its identity. But sponsorship doesn't make the formula proprietary. If anything, Neversecond is the most explicit of the major gel brands about exactly what goes into the product, and Laidlow is consuming the same composition you can mix at home.
Economics: $3.50 for a 65g gel delivering 30g of carbs puts C30 alongside Maurten at the top of the gel market (GU runs about $1.50, Precision about $2.75). A DIY version at 2:1 maltodextrin-plus-fructose with ~200mg sodium runs about 55¢ per matched dose. As with Precision, the gel-format caveat applies — DIY gels are either a concentrated flask sipped rather than squeezed, a home paste with texture compromises, or a honey/maple-syrup base with a different flavor profile. None nails C30's particular medium-viscosity gel texture, which sits between Maurten's very thick hydrogel and GU's runnier syrup.
If you buy Neversecond because you trust the research-forward positioning, DIY doesn't undermine that — you're making the exact 2:1 maltodextrin-plus-fructose formula the literature supports for gel-intensity carb rates. If you buy it because Sam Laidlow races on it, DIY is a less glamorous answer but the molecules in the packet are the same molecules on your kitchen scale.
What's in this recipe?
Each ingredient links to a deeper guide — what it is, how it works in your gut, and where to buy it in bulk.
- Maltodextrin
The glucose-polymer workhorse in almost every high-carb sports drink — same energy as dextrose, far lower osmolality, nearly tasteless.
- Fructose
The GLUT5-transported sugar that lets you push past the 60 g/hr glucose ceiling — pair with maltodextrin at ~1:0.8 for the modern dual-transporter formula.
- Sodium Citrate
A smoother-tasting sodium source than table salt — the alkalising buffer commercial drinks use to dose sodium without the bite.
How do I tune this for my own ride?
The builder below is pre-loaded with the Neversecond C30 Energy Gel recipe. Drag the sliders to tune carbs, ratio, or sodium to your own sweat rate and ride duration.
Frequently asked questions
Is Neversecond really co-founded by a sports scientist?+
Yes. Asker Jeukendrup — visiting professor at Loughborough University, former global senior director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, and one of the most-cited researchers in endurance carbohydrate metabolism — is a co-founder and is directly involved in the formulations. Among nutrition brands, that's an unusually deep scientific bench, and it's reflected in how heavily the marketing leans on citations rather than palmares.
Why is the C30 gel 2:1 rather than 1:0.8 if 1:0.8 is the research-supported ratio?+
The 1:0.8 ratio is specifically supported at high intake rates — 80g/hr and above — where dual-transporter utilization matters. At 30g per gel consumed over 20-30 minutes, you're well below that ceiling, and 2:1 is within the range that's well-supported by older absorption research. Neversecond reserves 1:0.8 for their C60 and C90 drink mixes where you're delivering the full 80-120g/hr and the dual-transporter boost actually matters.
Does Sam Laidlow actually race on Neversecond?+
Yes, and it's been a defining sponsorship for both. Laidlow's 2023 Ironman World Championship win was heavily featured in Neversecond's marketing, and the brand is arguably as pro-triathlon-coded as a nutrition company gets. Among the brands on this site, Neversecond is the one most tightly tied to specific elite performances.
How does C30 compare to Maurten Gel 100?+
Both are roughly 30g-carb gels selling in the $3-3.50 range, but they're built on different principles. Maurten uses a 1:0.8 ratio, adds the hydrogel, and includes almost no sodium (20mg). Neversecond uses a 2:1 ratio, no hydrogel, and a substantial 200mg of sodium. Which you prefer depends on whether you value the hydrogel texture (Maurten) or the electrolyte contribution and simpler formula (Neversecond).
Can I DIY the caffeinated C30+ version too?+
Yes, with care. Add roughly 75mg of caffeine per gel — the amount in a small cup of coffee. Pure caffeine powder is potent and cheap but has a narrow margin for error; most DIY-ers use pre-measured caffeine pills or capsules and open one into the mix. Do not eyeball caffeine by volume. At 75mg the difference between accurate and careless dosing is already meaningful, and higher doses become risky fast.
Why is C30 more expensive than GU when the macros are similar?+
Brand premium, research-forward positioning, pro-triathlon sponsorship, and better packaging. The sugars themselves are commodity ingredients. GU also includes a small dose of amino acids (BCAAs, histidine) that Neversecond doesn't, but that's a downstream difference rather than the reason for the price gap.
What's the most accurate DIY gel format?+
A concentrated flask is the closest functional match: 100-120ml of water with 30g of maltodextrin plus fructose at 2:1 and 200mg of sodium citrate. Sip in 20-minute intervals instead of squeezing all at once. A honey-based gel tastes different but mixes the ratio naturally (honey is roughly 1:1 glucose-fructose). Paste-style homemade gels are technically possible but messy, sticky, and shelf-unstable.
Also worth looking at
- DIY Maurten 320: the same 1:0.8 formula for a fraction of the price
- DIY SiS Beta Fuel: the most copyable branded fuel on the shelf
- DIY Skratch Super High-Carb: the glucose-heavy outlier, copied honestly
- DIY Tailwind Endurance: tune sodium to your own sweat rate
- DIY Precision PF 30: replace the fuel, not the sweat test
- DIY Maurten Gel 100: the gel half of the $3.50 hydrogel argument
- DIY Tailwind High Carb: 90g of race fuel from grocery-store sugar
- DIY GU Roctane: the premium-tier GU gel without the $2.40 markup
- DIY Skratch Sport Hydration: real-fruit flavor without the $1 scoop