What is the best way for me to carry my camelbak bladders?

Question: is this an organized ride?

I can guarantee you that you do not want to carry two full bladders (in addition to your own when it's full!). That will be murder for your back, especially since you plan on carrying other stuff, too. Also, those bladders will not stay in place but will move back and forth as you move, possibly compromising your stability.

Frankly, I'd plan on stopping to refill your water bladder. Do you have water bottle cages on your bike?

I'm confused.....................................................

Why would you buy two bladders without the intended backpack that was made for it? You could have bought one bladder and the backpack for about what it cost you for 2 bladders and then you wouldn't need a place to put it into, just wear it on your back. Then you could have taken 2 24ounce water bottles on your bike, and TwoFish makes a removable water bottle cage and mount that could have been attached to your handlebar and added a third bottle, or instead of TwoFish just put a bottle or two in the handlebar bag. In addition two water bladders in a handlebar bag is too much weight for a handlebar bag to handle.

But you do as you feel fit to do...personally I think your messing with us here.

Quoted post said:

Question: is this an organized ride?

I can guarantee you that you do not want to carry two full bladders (in addition to your own when it's full!). That will be murder for your back, especially since you plan on carrying other stuff, too. Also, those bladders will not stay in place but will move back and forth as you move, possibly compromising your stability.

Frankly, I'd plan on stopping to refill your water bladder. Do you have water bottle cages on your bike?

This is not an organized ride just me and couple of my friends doing this. I'm a newb.

The only reason I want two bladders is because I want one for water and the other for gatorade. So all together I will be carrying two full (or almost full) bladders, plus some food. I have gone on trips where I have carried fluids in bottles that equate to the weight of two bladders and it was not ideal, but okay.

I do have a water-bottle cage. Maybe I should bring one bladder with water and fill the water bottle with gatorade?

Quoted post said:

I'm confused.....................................................

Why would you buy two bladders without the intended backpack that was made for it? You could have bought one bladder and the backpack for about what it cost you for 2 bladders and then you wouldn't need a place to put it into, just wear it on your back. Then you could have taken 2 24ounce water bottles on your bike, and TwoFish makes a removable water bottle cage and mount that could have been attached to your handlebar and added a third bottle, or instead of TwoFish just put a bottle or two in the handlebar bag. In addition two water bladders in a handlebar bag is too much weight for a handlebar bag to handle.

But you do as you feel fit to do...personally I think your messing with us here.

I'm totally new at this and my initial thought was to have two bladders, filling one with gatorade and one with water. I thought buying the bladders separately was what I wanted because I already have a bag that I'm comfortable using, but stupid me did not realize that just having the bladders sitting in my bag without being hung from anything is a problem; they collapse and move around in the bag, affecting the flow of liquid and weight distribution.

Any bags you recommend for me that have a hook to hang bladders from? I don't need a bag that COMES with a bladder since I already have two, but instead just one bag with a hook to hang them from. Finances are an issue, so it needs to be cheap. It's frustrating cause the ONLY issue is where to hang these bladders from inside my bag, since besides these two bladders I'm not carrying anything else that's cumbersome.

Maybe better yet, anyone have any ideas on something homemade I can make? Maybe stitching a strong line onto my bag to hang them from? Again, I DON'T need anything fancy, just something that will hold my two bladders upright.

Again you missed my post. Two bladders in a handle bar bag is too much weight for a handlebar bag to handle. If each of your bladders hold 100oz's then your looking at 12 1/2 pounds in your bag or hanging off your bag.

You can get a third water bottle on either the frame or handlebar with this: TwoFish Stainless Quick Cage, frame/post mount * TF4040CS, TwoFish Water Bottles & Hydration

You can buy all 24oz water bottles, which is the largest you can get in a water bottle for a bike.

You can put 3 extra water bottles in your handlebar bag; then as you use up your bottles on the bike you put the empties in the bag and take the full ones out and onto the bike.

With all those bottles PLUS the using a bladder in the backpack it was designed for you would have enough water/Gatorade for 125 mile ride.

Also on a 125 mile ride usually you'll find a little gas station/convenience store along the route where you get more liquid if needed...but all the above is assuming your riding through a barren land, otherwise you could get away with less water if your willing to stop at a store.

But if you have 100oz bladder on your back, and 6 24oz water bottles you have 244 oz's of liquid; using 24oz's of liquid per hour takes you for about 10 hours; if you average 12mph you have enough. (the last 5-15 miles you don't need water because you can drink all you want when you arrive).

I rode 158 miles in one day from Bakersfield CA through the desert, up over the mountains, to Ojai CA, then onto Santa Barbara CA. On that ride I took 3 water bottles on the bike, 2 extra bottles in my handlebar bag, and a 70oz Camelback. Due to the heat of the desert and the mountains I stopped in Ventucopa CA for a refill.

A) If the backpack has a loop on top, cut a small hole in the top of the backpack and feed the loop down into the cargo area. Use one or more carabiners to attach the bladders to the loop.

B) Or cut two small slots somewhere on the top of the backpack in a reinforced spot (double hem, through the straps, etc.). From inside the backpack, feed a carabiner through one slot and then back into the cargo area through the other slot, and attach a bladder.

C) Buy a used hydration pack off Ebay.

Scotty_Dog said:

A) If the backpack has a loop on top, cut a small hole in the top of the backpack and feed the loop down into the cargo area. Use one or more carabiners to attach the bladders to the loop.

B) Or cut two small slots somewhere on the top of the backpack in a reinforced spot (double hem, through the straps, etc.). From inside the backpack, feed a carabiner through one slot and then back into the cargo area through the other slot, and attach a bladder.

C) Buy a used hydration pack off Ebay.

DEAD ON. Thank you, these are very good suggestions.

Quoted post said:

Again you missed my post. Two bladders in a handle bar bag is too much weight for a handlebar bag to handle. If each of your bladders hold 100oz's then your looking at 12 1/2 pounds in your bag or hanging off your bag.

You can get a third water bottle on either the frame or handlebar with this: TwoFish Stainless Quick Cage, frame/post mount * TF4040CS, TwoFish Water Bottles & Hydration

You can buy all 24oz water bottles, which is the largest you can get in a water bottle for a bike.

You can put 3 extra water bottles in your handlebar bag; then as you use up your bottles on the bike you put the empties in the bag and take the full ones out and onto the bike.

With all those bottles PLUS the using a bladder in the backpack it was designed for you would have enough water/Gatorade for 125 mile ride.

Also on a 125 mile ride usually you'll find a little gas station/convenience store along the route where you get more liquid if needed...but all the above is assuming your riding through a barren land, otherwise you could get away with less water if your willing to stop at a store.

But if you have 100oz bladder on your back, and 6 24oz water bottles you have 244 oz's of liquid; using 24oz's of liquid per hour takes you for about 10 hours; if you average 12mph you have enough. (the last 5-15 miles you don't need water because you can drink all you want when you arrive).

I rode 158 miles in one day from Bakersfield CA through the desert, up over the mountains, to Ojai CA, then onto Santa Barbara CA. On that ride I took 3 water bottles on the bike, 2 extra bottles in my handlebar bag, and a 70oz Camelback. Due to the heat of the desert and the mountains I stopped in Ventucopa CA for a refill.

Thanks Froze. I'm obviously gonna have to try and test different methods. If the two bladders become too uncomfortable then I'm gonna have to get cages for water bottles and play around with that idea. There definitely will be rest stops along the way and I need to map those out before leaving for the trip. Thanks for the advice.