The Road Biker vs. Hydration Pack

[Mark Hickey]

"Mike S." <mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet> wrote:

>> But if I wanna go fast, I leave it at home.
>
>That pretty much sums it all up for most roadies (at least the ones I hang out with).
>
>When mtn riding, I switched to camelbaks when they first came out. They solve the control
>problem: drinking while navigating roots, rocks, and mud. The dirt problem: there's lots of it!
>As well as the carrying enough stuff to fix whatever goes wrong with your bike: tools, patch kit,
>pump, food, etc.

There's one important factor you forgot - they make really, really nice "air bags" if you go over
the bars (something that happens all too often on these Arizona trails). Compared to crashing down
on your spine, landing on a full 100oz. 'bak is wonderful (providing your'e not carrying your cell
phone in the outside pocket).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Naveed]

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 06:30:14 -0700, flatlander wrote:

> After taking up mt. biking several ago, one of things I still look back on as on of the most major
> boosts to my riding was switching from water bottles to a Camelbak. It was a water epiphany you
> might say. Not being a road biker I am perplexed by why virtually no road riders seem to use
> hydration packs. In fact I can't say that I've ever seen a rider with a Camelbak on that didn't
> have knoby tires. Why is this? I guess the only possible arguments against it that I can think of
> might be that is is less aerodynamic. But, I would have to think that with some of the slim packs
> they have out, three bottles and cages would be far less aerodynamic than the pack. So to all you
> roadies out there... what gives?
>
> -FlatLander

I recently was at my LBS and saw the proprieter installing an odd water container onto a road bike.
It was mounted behind the seat, had the shape of a football (american), and had a tube mounted along
the top tube going to the handlebars. It looked like a rather neat way to have the weight on the
bike, but also have the water easily accessible. It also looked like it would hold as much as a
large camelbak.

--
Naveed Near-Ansari I speak for myself

 

[Trevor]

I tried using a CamelBak Blowfish thinking it would be a nifty way to carry a rain jacket, house
keys & cell phone on my road bike AND have easy access to water on longish rides. However, after a
couple of rides I decided I didn't like it. The sweat that builds up between me and the pack is way
uncomfortable and IMO justification enough not to use one. Also, it's pretty inconvenient to use
with layers of clothing for rain and/or cold. I suppose if I lived in Minnesota and liked winter
riding that might solve the sweat problem and, as a bonus, keep my water from freezing.

But if you like yours, by all means use it and dang the torpedoes!

Trevor Taylor

"flatlander" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> After taking up mt. biking several ago, one of things I still look back on as on of the most major
> boosts to my riding was switching from water bottles to a Camelbak. It was a water epiphany you
> might say. Not being a road biker I am perplexed by why virtually no road riders seem to use
> hydration packs. In fact I can't say that I've ever seen a rider with a Camelbak on that didn't
> have knoby tires. Why is this? I guess the only possible arguments against it that I can think of
> might be that is is less aerodynamic. But, I would have to think that with some of the slim packs
> they have out, three bottles and cages would be far less aerodynamic than the pack. So to all you
> roadies out there... what gives?
>
> -FlatLander

 

[R15757]

Hydration packs offer some advantage on trail rides long enough that you will have to carry more
water than what you can carry on the bike. That way you can drink the water on your back first,
without having to switch out bottles, which is nice, because you almost always have a heavy pack on
super long rides. Other than that, the advantages of a hydro-pack are marginal. Yes you can drink
with both hands on the bars, but you also have to reach up and stick the nozzle in your mouth to do
it, and you have to deal with the hose dangling all over the place during your ride. Plus they get
pretty gross after a while.

I havent used a Camelback since one broke at about mile 24 of a 100 mile dirt race, spilling Cytomax
all over me and generally screwing me.

They are not worth the money. Not even close.

Robert

 

[Joshua Zlotlow]

>Subject: Re: The Road Biker vs. Hydration Pack From: [email protected] (R15757) Date: 7/11/03 9:52 PM
>Pacific Daylight Time Message-id: <[email protected]>
>
>Hydration packs offer some advantage on trail rides long enough that you will have to carry more
>water than what you can carry on the bike. That way you can drink the water on your back first,
>without having to switch out bottles, which is nice, because you almost always have a heavy pack on
>super long rides. Other than that, the advantages of a hydro-pack are marginal. Yes you can drink
>with both hands on the bars, but you also have to reach up and stick the nozzle in your mouth to do
>it, and you have to deal with the hose dangling all over the place during your ride.

If you set it up correctly, you do not need to use your hands. Even the old Camelbak I have has a
clip on the straps for holding the hose in place. That means that the hose isn't dangling and most
of the time, you don't need your hands at all once it's set up.

Plus they get pretty gross after a while.
>
>I havent used a Camelback since one broke at about mile 24 of a 100 mile dirt race, spilling
>Cytomax all over me and generally screwing me.
>

I don't know anyone who has broken any hydration pack. I think your use of Cytomax in the pack is
probably why it was so hard to keep clean. Energy drinks take some effort to clean out of a regular
bottle. I'm not a regular hydration pack user, but people I know who use them all the time do not
put anything other than water in them. They keep the energy drinks in their bottles.

>They are not worth the money. Not even close.
>
>Robert
>

I guess they are worthless if you don't use them correctly. If used correctly, even only
occassionally, they are very well worth the money.

Josh Zlotlow [email protected] Sacramento, California Sacramento Golden Wheelmen www.sacgw.com

 

[Java Man]

In article <[email protected]>, r15757 @aol.com says...
> I havent used a Camelback since one broke at about mile 24 of a 100 mile dirt race, spilling
> Cytomax all over me and generally screwing me.
>
Careful. You may start a run on Cytomax for those who aren't getting it often. ;-)

Rick

 

[Raptor]

Jay Beattie wrote:
> "David Storm" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>Don't know where you ride, but guess you've never been on a 100 mile ride in mountains on isolated
>>U.S. Forest Service roads with no support, water or food for 50-60 miles. A roadie couldn't
>>survive without 100oz of water on his/her back. Almost every road biker I know uses hydration
>>packs on long, unsupported rides out here in
>>CA. Those who don't wish they did later.
>
>
> It's posts like this that make me wonder how I survived for 40 years without anything more than a
> water bottle or two -- even on 100+ mile road rides in, of all places, California. My God, in the
> old days I even ate bananas instead of Cliff Bars or GU and had no sunscreen. The horror! I don't
> ride off road, and that may be a different deal, but on the road, I see no reason to wear a water
> backpack. -- Jay Beattie.

Yeah. When *I* rode all the hills were steeper, and the Injuns would scalp your tires AND your head.
(I assume all the other great old fart jokes have been repeated here ad nauseam.)

We were younger then, and stupid.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

 

[jlockwood98]

Raptor wrote:

>
> Yeah. When *I* rode all the hills were steeper, and the Injuns would scalp your tires AND your
> head. (I assume all the other great old fart jokes have been repeated here ad nauseam.)
>
> We were younger then, and stupid.
>

And the older I get, the faster I used to be.

 

[Eric]

[email protected] (flatlander) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> After taking up mt. biking several ago, one of things I still look back on as on of the most major
> boosts to my riding was switching from water bottles to a Camelbak. It was a water epiphany you
> might say. Not being a road biker I am perplexed by why virtually no road riders seem to use
> hydration packs. In fact I can't say that I've ever seen a rider with a Camelbak on that didn't
> have knoby tires. Why is this? I guess the only possible arguments against it that I can think of
> might be that is is less aerodynamic. But, I would have to think that with some of the slim packs
> they have out, three bottles and cages would be far less aerodynamic than the pack. So to all you
> roadies out there... what gives?
>
> -FlatLander

Just used one last week on a 180 mile 2 day trip. Not bad, but on day 1 about 4 hours into the ride
my left arm started to hurt, then get numb. Seems the strap was cutting off circulation somehow.
Better than other reasons you get pain in the left arm...

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

flatlander-<< After taking up mt. biking several ago, one of things I still look back on as on of
the most major boosts to my riding was switching from water bottles to a Camelbak. It was a water
epiphany you might say. Not being a road biker I am perplexed by why virtually no road riders seem
to use hydration packs >><BR><BR>

Major advantages of a water bag on your back MHO are mostly for MTBers, like -bouncing around, apt
to launch an bottle -inability and not safe to sometimes reach down, one hand ogg the hbar, whilst
MTBing -riding way out there with no access to water.

None of these really apply to road riding...IMHO. I think two bottles on a road bike work fine,
offer no disadvantages or problems that need to be fixed with a water bag.

But if ya want to use it, use it... -

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[H. M. Leary]

In article <[email protected]>, Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Mike S." <mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet> wrote:
>
> >> But if I wanna go fast, I leave it at home.
> >
> >That pretty much sums it all up for most roadies (at least the ones I hang out with).
> >
> >When mtn riding, I switched to camelbaks when they first came out. They solve the control
> >problem: drinking while navigating roots, rocks, and mud. The dirt problem: there's lots of it!
> >As well as the carrying enough stuff to fix whatever goes wrong with your bike: tools, patch kit,
> >pump, food, etc.
>
> There's one important factor you forgot - they make really, really nice "air bags" if you go over
> the bars (something that happens all too often on these Arizona trails). Compared to crashing down
> on your spine, landing on a full 100oz. 'bak is wonderful (providing your'e not carrying your cell
> phone in the outside pocket).
>
> Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

Hmmmm

Quess I had better move my cell phone.

OBTW how does this work for butting P/U trucks???

Hope you are 100% recovered.

--
"Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness"

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution

 

[Peter Cole]

"Mark Hickey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> There's one important factor you forgot - they make really, really nice "air bags" if you go over
> the bars (something that happens all too often on these Arizona trails). Compared to crashing down
> on your spine, landing on a full 100oz. 'bak is wonderful (providing your'e not carrying your cell
> phone in the outside pocket).

I went down hard on rocks a couple of years ago, landing directly on my spine. My Camelbak exploded,
soaking my head when the fill cap blew open and the water geyser'ed out. I was completely protected,
didn't feel a thing - got pretty thirsty later, though.

 

[Mike S.]

"> > There's one important factor you forgot - they make really, really
> > nice "air bags" if you go over the bars (something that happens all too often on these Arizona
> > trails). Compared to crashing down on your spine, landing on a full 100oz. 'bak is wonderful
> > (providing your'e not carrying your cell phone in the outside pocket).
>
> I went down hard on rocks a couple of years ago, landing directly on my
spine.
> My Camelbak exploded, soaking my head when the fill cap blew open and the water geyser'ed out. I
> was completely protected, didn't feel a thing - got pretty thirsty later, though.
>
>There's a new ad for the H2O packs: "airbags" (Waterbags?) for your back
when you crash! Get your 100oz protective wear now!

Mike

 

[Mark Hickey]

"H. M. Leary" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> There's one important factor you forgot - they make really, really nice "air bags" if you go over
>> the bars (something that happens all too often on these Arizona trails). Compared to crashing
>> down on your spine, landing on a full 100oz. 'bak is wonderful (providing your'e not carrying
>> your cell phone in the outside pocket).
>
>Hmmmm
>
>Quess I had better move my cell phone.
>
>OBTW how does this work for butting P/U trucks???

Probably hurt if anything - just helped drive me into the truck harder. The good thing is I had my
wallet and insurance card in the 'bak so the good doctors figured out how they would be paid without
my assistance.

>Hope you are 100% recovered.

Back on the bike now for a week and feeling good, thanks.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Chris Zacho "Th]

[email protected] (Naveed) Wrote:

>I recently was at my LBS and saw the proprieter installing an odd water container onto a road bike.
>It was mounted behind the seat, had the shape of a football (american), and had a tube mounted
>along the top tube going to the handlebars. It looked like a rather neat way to have the weight on
>the bike, but also have the water easily accessible. It also looked like it would hold as much as a
>large camelbak.

I saw a biker with one of these. It makes you look like a camel from the back too, if you get my
drift ;-3)

But I had to wonder, under the seat is were most cyclists carry their tools/spare tube. Whith this
space taken by water...?

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

 

[Len]

"flatlander" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> After taking up mt. biking several ago, one of things I still look back on as on of the most major
> boosts to my riding was switching from water bottles to a Camelbak. It was a water epiphany you
> might say. Not being a road biker I am perplexed by why virtually no road riders seem to use
> hydration packs. In fact I can't say that I've ever seen a rider with a Camelbak on that didn't
> have knoby tires. Why is this? I guess the only possible arguments against it that I can think of
> might be that is is less aerodynamic. But, I would have to think that with some of the slim packs
> they have out, three bottles and cages would be far less aerodynamic than the pack. So to all you
> roadies out there... what gives?
>
> -FlatLander

You know I have a 70 oz. blackburn I use, when I'm long rides in the boonies. My favorites. As far
as your question, when I used to ride off road, it seemed to me a water bottle cages, are like
rocket launchers. And they always launch them when you are going downhill, so you have to stop and
rertieve them @ the worst time. I always fill mine with ice water,and it last for an hour or two
depending on the heat. Len

 

[Joe Riel]

> "flatlander" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > I guess the only possible arguments against it that I can think of might be that is is less
> > aerodynamic.

I believe Dylan Casey wore an ice-filled pack a few years ago when he won the US National time trial
championsip. It was in the midwest and the air temperature was hot. He may have worn it under his
jersey, I didn't see any pictures.

Joe Riel

 

[David Damerell]

Rick Onanian <[email protected]> wrote:
><[email protected]> wrote:
>>However, they do have disadvantages. We never like to carry weight on our bodies when we can just
>>strap it to the bike, and water is heavy stuff.
>However, I would argue this point. There's something to be said for better control of the bike via
>removing weight from the bike (at the expense of hanging it on the rider). This is certainly true
>in mountain biking

But this isn't about mountain biking at all; it's about road bicycling, where one doesn't really
need to fling the bike about like that at all, and it's incredibly useful not to have weight on
the wrists.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Kill the tomato!

 

[Risto Varanka]

Qui si parla Campagnolo <[email protected]> wrote:

: None of these really apply to road riding...IMHO. I think two bottles on a road bike work fine,
: offer no disadvantages or problems that need to be fixed with a water bag.

How often (kilos/hours) do people need to refill them, and where?

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 21:04:35 +0000, risto.varank wrote:

> How often (kilos/hours) do people need to refill them, and where?

Today I had to refill mine (2 bottles) after about 50 miles. Where? At a park that had a vending
machine w/water and "poweraide" -- which is awful stuff.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | More people object to wearing fur than leather because it is _`\(,_ | safer to harrass rich
white women than motorcycle gangs. (_)/ (_) |