(Noob Alert) Carrying a Bike

cyclolv said:

I have recently started doing longer endurance rides and have found that water is often a problem. I usually am equipped with 1 water and 1 cytomax. But for long rides i pack 2 waters 1 in the back pocket and 1 cytomac. Anyways on really long rides, you need far more water than this, I can go buy water at gas stations and im fine with that but how do i go about bringing my bike in the store. I know im thinking about it to hard but will they be [censored] or what, i was just thinking shouldering the seat but i dont know for sure. Im not about to let a $2000 dollar bike sit outside and a bike chain isnt practical.

FWIW. Many years ago, someone came up with the observation/Maxim: The lighter the bike, the heavier the lock.

Amongst your other options:

• ride with a friend
  
• carry a light(er) lock
  
• live dangerously & leave your bike unattended (Kids, don't try this in the "inner city"!).
  

How do you feel about getting water at a public fountain? If you can find one you can stop there and you won't have to leave your bike unattended.

I drink 1/4 of or less every 15 min. without fault... really humid in florida...

doing so, you can get 2 hours out of your two bottles, and not get dehydrated.

at the 2 hour mark if we are going to continue we usually stop at a gas station, and buy more water... gas stations are good since you can leave the bike outside and see it, from the window.

Bastiani said:

I drink 1/4 of or less every 15 min. without fault... really humid in florida...

doing so, you can get 2 hours out of your two bottles, and not get dehydrated.

at the 2 hour mark if we are going to continue we usually stop at a gas station, and buy more water... gas stations are good since you can leave the bike outside and see it, from the window.

How often someone needs to drink and how quickly someone can dehydrate is an entirely personal thing. Blanket statements cannot be made about how long a person should be able to go on a bottle or two.

OP, when I take my bike in stores, I just roll it in with me. There's no harm in you trying that at a water stop. It helps when you do so that you act like you belong there. The worst thing that can happen is the store workers will say, "No." If you think you want to briefly leave your bike unattended outside, then I suggest you leave it against a window so that you can see it from the inside. Of course there's risk in leaving the bike unattended, so do so at your own discretion.

It might be time for you to start looking into camelbak. They make a wide variety to suit many different sports.
I guess, start with how many ounces you are carrying now via bottles and then try to increase the size for the camelbak. You do not have to fill up the camelbak all the time.
By having the camelbak you would not have to stop at a deli or station for water.
If you buy the correct camelbak it will have pockets to carry additional food stuff and money.
The other nice thing about the camelbak is that you can have the bite valve (that is what they call it) with the tube right there near your mouth, limits the reason to reach for water bottle.
If you like cytomax you would still have that in separate bottle.

Crazymike said:

It might be time for you to start looking into camelbak. They make a wide variety to suit many different sports.
I guess, start with how many ounces you are carrying now via bottles and then try to increase the size for the camelbak. You do not have to fill up the camelbak all the time.
By having the camelbak you would not have to stop at a deli or station for water.
If you buy the correct camelbak it will have pockets to carry additional food stuff and money.
The other nice thing about the camelbak is that you can have the bite valve (that is what they call it) with the tube right there near your mouth, limits the reason to reach for water bottle.
If you like cytomax you would still have that in separate bottle.

+1 on the Camelbak. I bought the smallest size ( 50 ounce) and I really like it, but I wish I had bought a larger size.

+2 on the Camelback. I use to live in the deserts of California and I carried 3 Polar 24oz bottles and a 70oz Camelback. I went with the 70oz and not a larger unit because of the weight on the back would become very uncomfortable on long rides. I would put 50% diluted Gatorade in all 3 bottles and water in the Camelback, chill overnight, freeze one bottle solid, fill one bottle with ice, and one partially with ice and put ice in the Camelback. This way by the time 3 hours of riding went by my 3rd (frozen) bottle was still cold.

Depending on how far I was riding sometimes I still had to stop, so I had a lightweight cheap cable lock I used because no one was going to cut through a lock while people mingled about and do it 5 minutes that I would be gone for, plus I was always near it enough to see any activity around it, and at the most my eyes would only be diverted from view for about a minute. I wasn't going into Walmart, I was going into little country stores.

+3 on Camelbak.

I've got the M.U.L.E. and it's got 100 oz. (3L) of liquid capacity with enough space when fully expanded for a change of clothes, rain gear, a frame pump, many tools, a couple spare tubes, U-lock and braided steel cable (if I plan on parking the bike), wallet, off bike lunch, keys, smartphones, etc. You've got a lot of options for strapping/tying a pair of walking friendly shoes/sandals to the thing as well if you plan on spending time off the bike or you encounter a major mechanical (I've got a pair of ancient Tevas I've dedicated for this purpose even if they make me look like a dirty hippy 😄). All of this is definitely overkill for a regular training ride, but I like the Eagle Scout approach for day trips or anything over a few hours.

I really like the hands free nature of the drinking tube as well, it's pretty damn effortless to stay properly hydrated.

I use the same approach mentioned above for long rides with 1 or 2 bottles of Gatorade in the cages and an appropriate load of water and ice in the Camelbak.

If you're buying one of the larger packs (anything M.U.L.E. or bigger), I'd try to get one of the newer NV versions. They produce a bit more drag as they have a much more substantial gap between your back and the pack, but this allows for a lot better ventilation.

Due to the fact that I didn't want something heavy on my back, thus the 70oz Camelback Rogue, if I was going on a long ride of over 75 miles I took a handlebar bag and stuffed it with whatever I needed for the ride such as the cable lock, lightweight sandals, lightweight jacket, and food. Thus the need for carry a backpack stuffed with all that in addition to carrying 4.2 pounds of water, or in the case of Sid Nitzerglobi carrying 6 pounds of water PLUS his gear, is not needed, and an aching back is not happening, and your center of gravity is not as bad due to at least 4 pounds off your back.

I also carry a expandable wedge seat bag. In that I carry a spare ultralight folding tire, spare tube, 6 glueless patches, a boot patch, mini tool, folding pliers, 2 tire irons, Quik Stik, keys, cell phone, 2 AA bats (in case the taillight bats die), $40 in cash, and personal and medical info. So all that weight is not on my back but in the seat bag.

You will have a much more comfortable ride if you go very minimalistic on your back, especially on long rides, and that's not to mention perhaps handling problems with the center of gravity a bit higher.

Just consider what I've said before strapping on that weight to your back. If your considering both ideas, simply take a standard backpack and put 8 pounds of weight in it and ride your bike for 50 miles and see how you feel afterwards; then imagine how you might feel after 100 miles.

Froze said:

Just consider what I've said before strapping on that weight to your back. If your considering both ideas, simply take a standard backpack and put 8 pounds of weight in it and ride your bike for 50 miles and see how you feel afterwards; then imagine how you might feel after 100 miles.

Except that after 50 - 100 miles the weight will be gone. Perhaps if he put on a back pack with water bottles full and drank from them it might be a better way to see.

My only issue with Camel Backs is getting sweaty back. I need my back nice and clear, but many people don't find this to be an issue.

Froze said:

Due to the fact that I didn't want something heavy on my back, thus the 70oz Camelback Rogue, if I was going on a long ride of over 75 miles I took a handlebar bag and stuffed it with whatever I needed for the ride such as the cable lock, lightweight sandals, lightweight jacket, and food. Thus the need for carry a backpack stuffed with all that in addition to carrying 4.2 pounds of water, or in the case of Sid Nitzerglobi carrying 6 pounds of water PLUS his gear, is not needed, and an aching back is not happening, and your center of gravity is not as bad due to at least 4 pounds off your back.

I also carry a expandable wedge seat bag. In that I carry a spare ultralight folding tire, spare tube, 6 glueless patches, a boot patch, mini tool, folding pliers, 2 tire irons, Quik Stik, keys, cell phone, 2 AA bats (in case the taillight bats die), $40 in cash, and personal and medical info. So all that weight is not on my back but in the seat bag.

You will have a much more comfortable ride if you go very minimalistic on your back, especially on long rides, and that's not to mention perhaps handling problems with the center of gravity a bit higher.

Just consider what I've said before strapping on that weight to your back. If your considering both ideas, simply take a standard backpack and put 8 pounds of weight in it and ride your bike for 50 miles and see how you feel afterwards; then imagine how you might feel after 100 miles.

I generally keep a spare tube, multi tool, tire levers, CO2 inflator and a couple cartridges and patch kit in my saddle bag. For a 75 mile ride I might fill the bladder 1/2 - 3/5 of the way (still more than 2 bottles worth of water), bring a frame pump and a 2nd spare tube, the sandals, a clif bar or two, first aid kit, wallet, keys, & phone (and maybe a rain jacket depending on the weather) and then the two bottles of Gatorade in the frame cages. It really doesn't wind up feeling bulky or weighty at all to me, but I used to do a good deal of multi-day backpacking trips w/ a whole lot more gear and much worse packs and my position on either bike is probably a bit more upright than many so YMMV.

It can start feeling noticeable on my back when I throw in the lock and cable, fill the bladder all the way, and have a bunch of other stuff in there but still it's a pretty well designed and stabilized little day pack and doesn't seem to mess w/ my balance at all.

If all you'll ever need out of it is a few bottles worth of water and space for keys, wallet, and phone then I agree that the smaller models probably make more sense.

.02

There are lots of ways to add more than the standard 1 or 2 water bottles to a bike. You can, for example, attach two more behind the seat like some triathletes do. More suggestions at this link:
Adding Water Bottle Cages to Bicycles without Braze

TKOS said:

Except that after 50 - 100 miles the weight will be gone. Perhaps if he put on a back pack with water bottles full and drank from them it might be a better way to see.

My only issue with Camel Backs is getting sweaty back. I need my back nice and clear, but many people don't find this to be an issue.

True the water weight would be gone but you would still have all the other stuff in there yet. Then what happens if you go further and refill the bladder? The weight is back.

I haven't had issues with the Rogue because it was designed to allow air to flow under it, as is one or two of their newer models. Also if you put ice into it your back is actually cooler.

I prefer my back to without anything on it, but some rides force the issue.