Unusual water bottle location?

I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
_underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom bracket.
I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of riding. I
wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has not occurred
to me. Dana

 

In article <[email protected]>, Dana Kilalps <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
> _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom
> bracket. I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of
> riding. I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has
> not occurred to me.

The under-side bottle mounts were common on touring bikes of that period, assuming the frame was
large enough to accommodate them. If you really need that third water bottle, you probably won't
mind the crud. Tools and batteries can also be carried there. Keep in mind that this predates
CamelBak so it's either a bottle cage or put your water in a pannier.

--Paul

 

In article <[email protected]>, "Dana Kilalps" <[email protected]> writes:

> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
> _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom
> bracket. I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of
> riding. I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has
> not occurred to me.

Would also be useful for a fuel bottle (although certainly not the primary idea). I've seen a
"bottle beret" sold to protect the drinking end of water bottles.

Tom Gibb <[email protected]

 

If you still want to use that under-the-downtube bottle location, there are water bottles with
hinged covers that keep the spout clean. I've never gotten used to a CamelBack, so I use these
bottles when MTB'ing, where even bottles mounted in the more conventional locations can get dirty.

Pat

"Dana Kilalps" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
> _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom
> bracket. I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of
> riding. I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has
> not occurred to me. Dana

 

"Dana Kilalps" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube
in
> the usual place. There's a second set on the _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only
> about three inches up from the bottom bracket.
I
> once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of riding. I
> wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has not
> occurred to me.

My 2000 Novara Randonee tourer has the third bottle mount; it's not uncommon on touring bikes. Bruce
Gordon's bikes still have it, among others.

I mount the battery for my lighting system there in the warmer months. That leaves the second cage
free for my coffee thermos which, after it's emptied during the workday, gets filled with cold
springwater from the cooler for last part of the ride home.

RichC

 

RE/
> I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has not
> occurred to me.

That's where Ellsworth put the only water bottle mount on my Isis.

Makes a good place to stash the tool roll. Mostly I carry my water in a belt pack, except when it's
really, really hot and I need more than 2 bottles, then I wear a CamelBack.
-----------------------
Pete Cresswell

 

"Dana Kilalps" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube
in
> the usual place. There's a second set on the _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only
> about three inches up from the bottom bracket.
I
> once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of riding. I
> wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has not occurred
> to me. Dana

Some bikes with a really small centre area - because of the tendency to put the cross bar on a
sloped angle - have only one set of bosses and they are under the down tube. It's not just older
bikes, last years Mongoose Pro Rockadile SX - had only one set down there and yes the drink did get
really dirty. It also really limits the size of the drink because it rubs on the tyre. My daughters
cheap LBS bikes, one of them has only a drink holder under the downtube, but it's so close to the
tyre that no drink actually fits there.

Trentus

 

Paul Southworth wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Dana Kilalps <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
>> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
>> _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom
>> bracket. I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of
>> riding. I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has
>> not occurred to me.
>
> The under-side bottle mounts were common on touring bikes of that period, assuming the frame was
> large enough to accommodate them. If you really need that third water bottle, you probably won't
> mind the crud. Tools and batteries can also be carried there. Keep in mind that this predates
> CamelBak so it's either a bottle cage or put your water in a pannier.

Also, touring bikes are more likely to have full fenders which would greatly reduce the crud. Many
touring bikes still are made with those extra mounts (e.g. the Trek 520, I believe).

You could also stick the air-pressure bladder for an "Air Zound" air horn in there.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent. -- Walt Kelly

 

Dana Kilalps wrote:
>
>>I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
>>bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
>>_underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom
>>bracket. I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of
>>riding. I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has
>>not occurred to me.

Paul Southworth wrote:

> The under-side bottle mounts were common on touring bikes of that period, assuming the frame was
> large enough to accommodate them. If you really need that third water bottle, you probably won't
> mind the crud. Tools and batteries can also be carried there. Keep in mind that this predates
> CamelBak so it's either a bottle cage or put your water in a pannier.

That's correct. This location was also sometimes used by camping cyclists for a bottle of stove
fuel, white gas or the like.

Sheldon "Prefers Restaurants" Brown +--------------------------------------------+
| Life is what happens to you, | while you're busy making other plans. | --John Lennon |
+--------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

Pat Clancy wrote:
> If you still want to use that under-the-downtube bottle location, there are water bottles with
> hinged covers that keep the spout clean. I've never gotten used to a CamelBack, so I use these
> bottles when MTB'ing, where even bottles mounted in the more conventional locations can get dirty.

That's what I put there on my tour last summer: a bottle with a filter built in. I never drink from
it, but use it to refill my other bottles, so dirt, such as it was, wasn't an issue. It's not as if
you can reach it while moving, anyway.

 

Norm wrote:
>
> Talking of which, I used to have a very handy zipped-lid tool pouch, was the same shape as a
> bottle, for this very purpose. I found it very handy for a small, on the road toolkit - making a
> seat pack work when there's a light already attached to the seat-post can be a bore... Anyhow, I
> can't seem to find one like it anymore. Anyone know if such an item is still available anywhere?

A 'rewards' program I'm a member of has a hard-cased bottle that comes with standard bike
tools - screwdrivers, wrenches, a chain tool, etc. Doesn't look like very high quality or low
weight, mind you.

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Pat Clancy) wrote:
>If you still want to use that under-the-downtube bottle location, there are water bottles with
>hinged covers that keep the spout clean. I've never gotten used to a CamelBack, so I use these
>bottles when MTB'ing, where even bottles mounted in the more conventional locations can get dirty.
>
>Pat
>
>"Dana Kilalps" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:<[email protected]>...
>> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
>> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
>> _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom
>> bracket. I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of
>> riding. I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has
>> not occurred to me. Dana

I have had a bottle under the down tube during 2-3 longer rides (540 km non-stop). It's hard to get
the bottle out of the cage. It can be dangerous to take the bottle out of the cage when riding in a
large group, so I tried it when riding on my own before the ride.

When one of the other bottles was empty, I switched it with the full bottle in that cage.

Jørn Dahl-Stamnes, EDB Teamco AS e-mail: [email protected] (remove nospam first)
web: http://spiderman.novit.no/dahls/

 

Benjamin Lewis wrote:
>

> Also, touring bikes are more likely to have full fenders which would greatly reduce the crud.

Exactly. Bikes with this bottle carrier are intended to use fenders.

 

My 2002 Specialized Sirrus Pro has the lower mount also. In the summer I use it.

 

Dana Kilalps wrote:

> I have a mid 80's Raleigh with decals on the top tube that say "Touring 18". It has a couple of
> bosses for a water bottle cage on the down tube in the usual place. There's a second set on the
> _underside_ of the down tube with the bottom one only about three inches up from the bottom
> bracket. I once put a cage down there and carried a bottle, but it was very filthy after a bit of
> riding. I wonder if the two one the underside of the downtube have a different purpose that has
> not occurred to me. Dana
>
Yep they're for a bottle cage. Three bottles and you're ready to go truckin' . We don' need no
steenkin' Camel Bak!

If it's dirty just use that bottle to refill your other bottle(s).

 

I'm pretty sure my Ralleigh Yukon mountain bike I had around 15 years ago had holes for a underside
of the down tube bottle holder as well.

"Chunga" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> My 2002 Specialized Sirrus Pro has the lower mount also. In the summer I use it.