Water bottle or camel back

[Innkeeper]

Now I do the odd long (for me) ride and summer approaching. Which way is best to go. Bottle or back pack. Also what do you guy put in just water ?

 

[kevenh]

Now I do the odd long (for me) ride and summer approaching. Which way is best to go. Bottle or back pack. Also what do you guy put in just water ?

The water bottle kept in a bracket on your bike will be about 500ml typically. Good for an hour to 90min of riding in summer.
A hydration pack will be 2L typically. Good for a half day ride in Summer.
Edit: assuming you start the ride hydrated!!

Camelback are expensive. Look for different brands ??
Biggest issue I have with hydration packs is keeping them clean.
Which reminds me of your other question.
The easiest liquid to take on a ride is water. I prefer squash. I used to take sport hydration drinks that come as a powder you add water too, but they leave you and your drink container sticky ?

TL;DR you’ll sooner rather than later want a bottle AND h

 

[funflair]

I have never used a camel back but would imagine that in the nice weather it will make your back very warm, when touring we use two bottles each but if they are plastic it can taint the water so we add a little juice to make it taste better, in the early days and touring in Turkey so very hot and drinking lots we used "isostar" which is a powdered electrolyte replacement drink.

Martin

 

[Grianan]

I do short rides at the moment but when I did longer rides I preferred bottles ... didn’t want sweaty feel of a camelpak on my back. Wiggle sell little fizzy tabs to put in water ... glucose plus various minerals to sort out your body’s hydration. I put them in just before using so during ride rather than all at the beginning.

 

[Pappy]

Water bottle for shorter rides, camel back for all day rides. This is mountain biking. Roadies tend just to use bottles. No need to add anything to the water. Take a bar or something to top up energy on shorter rides. More for longer.

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[Grianan]

Oh and we had 3 bottles per bike but refilled as we went along

 

[haganap]

depends on what cycling you are doing and how far you are going?

On a training ride of of approx 60 miles I will have either 2 x 500 ml bottles, or on my TT bike an integrated hydration system. I always use hydration tabs as well and more so in the heat. Anything over this I ensure that I am going to pass a shop where I can buy some water.

the only time I would use a camel pack is if I was off road where it serves as not only a hydration pack but a crash protection system.

 

[funflair]

depends on what cycling you are doing and how far you are going?

On a training ride of of approx 60 miles I will have either 2 x 500 ml bottles, or on my TT bike an integrated hydration system. I always use hydration tabs as well and more so in the heat. Anything over this I ensure that I am going to pass a shop where I can buy some water.

the only time I would use a camel pack is if I was off road where it serves as not only a hydration pack but a crash protection system.

So if you crash do you get a shower at the same time?


"Integrated hydration system" sounds very posh but I had one of those in my kayak a lot of years ago, two liners out of 3 litre wine boxes one filled with "isostar" on with "Lucazade" then piped to my life jacket and fastened with a cloths peg, we were out for 29 hours though.

Martin

 

[Coolcats]

Maybe the first thing to do is work out how much water you need to hydrate.
Before cycling strip naked and weigh yourself. Get dressed go for a cycle. When you get back strip naked wipe any sweat off and weigh your self the difference in weight will be the water loss. In summer you will need more hydration in winter less.


Remember the body is like a batterythe salts you sweat out and use need replacement. You can make your own sports drinks or as others have said buy them. Some will help with the body absorb the water quicker.

just a thought: you can drink too much water and it has the opposite effect on performance which is why you should measure what your body has used and understand what you may need.

just editing to say don’t forget beer has loads of electrolytes and minerals it’s just the alcohol which is dodgy and how do you know if your hydrated check your pee it should be light straw colour.

 

[Dave and Mand]

Camel back every time for me, easy to get at never gets dirty and you can carry 2l at a time

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[Pikeman]

I only go off road and use a Camelbak. They are very convenient and most have a zipped pocket, which is good for spares/tools. I use squash as the water sometimes tastes plastic. Only down side is cleaning, especially tube and bottom of liner. I invested in a bespoke brush cleaning kit, which makes the process very easy.

 

[bigtree]

It's a camelback for me, have used bottles before but if it's muddy the mouthpiece can get manky.

 

[Neil Bedwin]

You can see on my bike a Thermos insulated 450ml flask. It's in a neoprene cover to stop it rattling. It has a top you can put ice cubes in and top off with water or juice etc and will even keep coffee warm for the winter rides!

 

[sonny]

Saw the heading ,thought another Old Mo joke
Disappointed

 

[Drexxer]

Camelback for me also, used to use one motorcycle Enduro racing, landed on back plenty of times and never burst!

Have just swapped from a backpack mounted bladder to a fanny pack, awesome!!!, hardly know it's there

No more sweaty back and enough water for my 20-30 mile circuit

MTB use mainly but also on the hybrid

Camelbak Repack LR 4 review - MBR

The Camelbak Repack LR 4 is their second attempt at an enduro-style bum bag. The brand have clearly learnt lessons from its older Palos LR 4.

www.mbr.co.uk

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[Innkeeper]

Should have said this will be mainly for roads. Also longest ride I've done up to now is 30 miles. But trying to build that up.

 

[orridge]

I generally use bottles if going out on the road but for off-road or going to visit places will use a camelback as it will carry locks, spares, jackets, foood etc.

if you do not want to pay the premium for camelback then Decathlon have a good range of packs.

water for short rides and anything longer a GU tablet or similar which dissolves in water.

 

[SuperMike]

Personally I use a Camelback water bottle.

Amazon product ASIN B07HGQDWWC

And, if you want a flask, then one of these fits the bottle cage perfectly.

Thermos SK2000 470ml GTB Stainless King Flask - Gun Metal

Buy the Thermos SK2000 470ml GTB Stainless King Flask - Gun Metal at Robert Dyas online. Free Click & Collect on this product or Free Standard Home Delivery when you spend over £30

www.robertdyas.co.uk

Ever so helpful SuperMike, that'll be one guinea.

 

[Nasher]

Neither - stop at the pub to re-hydrate (not at the moment, obviously) ?

 

[Innkeeper]

When I said Camel Bac. It's the only name I know.

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[Kannon Fodda]

As my MTB is an ebike there isn't room on the frame for a water bottle mount, unless somehow I were to fix on top of the crossbar. So it's a hydration backpack style thing for me. Suits well as I tend to take longer cross country rides rather than the technical stuff, and can be out for half a day at a time plodding about, so a single water bottle would be quite limiting. The min rucksack design (about 13 litre storage plus the water bladder) also gives me a bit of space so I have somewhere to stuff an additional layer of clothing. Been out on plenty of hot days and never worried about a sweaty back. Most decent designs of kit provide reasonable ventilation framing so that most of the backpack is clear of your body with various mesh systems.

Must say I like the idea of that waist pack thing.

 

[Silver-Fox]

I’ve only just started riding mtb but love a camel back.
I’m not bothered about the sweat as I sweat like a pig any way ?

You can carry bits and bobs in it.
Stuff a thin jacket in it etc.

I put water in mine with a bit of lemon juice.
I’m figuring the lemon will counter act any nasties ?

 

[Paddywack]

I use both and as ever there are positives and negatives.

Camel Back I use for running, skiing and kayaking:

Positives - can carry a lot including other crap in the rucsac with it, for running it is stable on the back and doesn't bounce around. For kayaking I stick it in the hydration bladder pocket and is good for sips without stopping.
Negatives - use any kind of additive and it will never be clean again - it always looks like a used catheter bag. It also encourages you to carry too much water / weight.

Bottles for a road bike, plenty of different sizes including thermos ones for the winter rides. Mountain bikers tend to use CamelBacks as bottles can jump out of their cages on lumpy ground - it won't be an issue for you.

 

[Mikey RV]

mountain biking one bottle is never enough so invested in camelback, plenty of water 3 litres if I fill it to max and other pockets for small stuff. Don’t have to stop to drink and don’t really know it’s there.

 

[Burgo]

Decathlon do superb own brand 'camel backs' in different sizes. When warm we just freeze the bladder a third full of water overnight. Top up in the morning and you've got a cool back and cold water all day. Works for us in summer in Spain for the last 10 years or more on bike rides, hikes and even just dog walks (I carry a collapsing dog water bowl and simply fil it from the camel back spout).

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[Ewor]

Bottle for short rides, camel back for long rides. When I get back, I rinse the camel bac bag and tube, then store in the freezer to stop it going mouldy-works a treat.

 

[bobandjanie]

We have a 80mm water bottle, ? and 50mm flask of coffee. ? Bob.

 

[Leakylunar]

Camel mainly as a few have said you can carry food and spares . Also when you get hit n sticky it’s somewhere to store clothing layers or waterproof clothing.

 

[JohnJan]

Decathlon do superb own brand 'camel backs' in different sizes. When warm we just freeze the bladder a third full of water overnight. Top up in the morning and you've got a cool back and cold water all day. Works for us in summer in Spain for the last 10 years or more on bike rides, hikes and even just dog walks (I carry a collapsing dog water bowl and simply fil it from the camel back spout).

Top tip that, freezing the water. Am assuming you freeze the third that is opposite end to the hose!

 

[PhilMary]

Camelback for mountain bike and bottle for the others.

PS, empty bottle cage 'cos I have it in my hand?
Phil

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