Water Bottle Location

[quint41]

I have a hell of a time drinking from the bottle cage down on the frame. It's just too far a reach for my short arms without getting all unstable. I currently have a Minoura handlebar thingy that allows me to mount a cage on the handlebar, but it doesn't fit properly and is not stable. I have to think of something else ... the thought of having a Camelback on my back the entire ride does not appeal to me (not to mention which, I wouldn't be able to get into my back pockets for tissues when my nose needs blowing, chapstick, etc.). Does anyone have their bottles mounted behind the seat? If so, how do you like them there? Only problem there is that it will mean my wedge has to go, and then where do I stash my tube, keys, cell phone, etc.

I've been looking at handlebar bags, but they all look so honking big!! I'll never be able to see my front wheel. Of course, it doesn't help that the online sellers do not picture the bags ON THE HANDLEBARS and most don't give dimensions so you are just supposed to guess!!

OK, enough griping. I'd love your feedback on the whole water bottle dilemma!

Thanks, girls!

[HillSlugger]

I've got a back-of-seat double bottle holder (Minoura), but so far I haven't tried to get a bottle out while riding. I am able to fit my smallish seat pouch under it but I have to unstrap it to get anything out.

My preferred setup is a Camelbak fannypack. It sits really low so it doesn't cover your back and make you too hot or completely block access to your jersey back pockets. At rest stops I use my water bottles to refill the pack.

[Veronica]

My rig - I have two handlebar bags in this picture. Both are Gille Berthoulds and are sort of expensive. I normally only ride with the black one, but this was for a double century and I needed the second to hold the battery for my light.

I keep food, money, cell phone, spare contacts, chap stick in this bag.

I have a small bento box which holds whatever I'm currently eating and another chap stick.

The saddle bag, that you can't quite see in this picture, holds tools, a jacket, a buff and short fingered gloves.

None of that answers your water bottle question, but it does show you what a small handlebar bag looks like.

V.

[emily_in_nc]

I too really like my Camelbak fanny pack ("Flash Flo", I think it's called). I tend to use bottles on my road bike and the Camelbak on my mountain bike (since bottles get dusty and dirty), but sometimes I'll use the Camelbak on my road bike too. Not many people seem to use them, but I definitely prefer them to the shoulder straps of usual Camelbaks.

Emily

[r900]

I wear a camelback rocket. It rides fairly high on my back, but I'm a 6'2" dude. The road tours I'm on around here about half the riders (guys and gals)wear camelbacks of some sort. The newer camelbacks have wide padded straps so the don't cut into your shoulder.I was once riding down a valley (about40 mph) and being overtaken by a rider with the seat mounted rear bottle carrier.It was shortly after the start and his big bottles were full and the road was rough.One contraction joint too many and the carrier broke off and sent the bottles flying.That was a bad way to start a century.

[tygab]

my bike did not come with a 2nd set of brazeons for a 2nd cage so my DH mounted a cage holder to my handlebars. At first it did not seem stable, as the holder itself would rotate around the bar, so what he did was put a plastic shim underneath basically to absorb any extra space around the handlebar. It has stayed rock solid ever since. I seem to be one of the only ones with this kind of set up.

That said, I still don't drink on the bike well. It has to be 100% flat and very low traffic for me to even think about it. The other day I got the bottle out from the lower cage only to realize I was on a downhill so... bottle or me... I chucked the bottle so I could get both hands on the bars again. [then went and retrieved] I can't imagine how the riders who can eat, put their coats on or off, or perform TdF gear distribution do it. Maybe it will come with time, but I am skeptical.

I have however mastered swigging at stopsigns, which seems to work well enough for most days.

[Zen]

I have however mastered swigging at stopsigns, which seems to work well enough for most days.

me too

[Kimmyt]

I have the behind the seat water bottle holders. There's a picture of em posted in the 4th of july thread. I don't actually care to actively use them for drinking while I ride, usually they are just storage for backup bottles. When I come to a stop and am out of water in my frame bottle then I switch out the bottles so that I have a full one on my frame, which I find very easy to drink out of. The reasons I don't really like to use the ones behind my saddle to drink out of are: 1) the bottle holders are tight. I have a profile designs (I think?) Plastic one and its really hard to get a bottle in there. I've tried to stretch it out but it's always a struggle to get a bottle in and out of it. 2) It's an awkward position to reach around for, it entails sitting up pretty straight in the saddle and keeping one hand on the handlebar and then pulling hard with the other hand to get the bottle out. I'm pretty flexible so I find the frame bottle within easy reach for me though.

[DDH]

I have one on the frame and one on the handles bars and both are easy for me to use. The one on the handlebar is there because I didn't have room on the frame for another holder and I always ride with 2. Even short rides. I'm paranoid about running out of water. Sometimes I even stick an extra one in my seat pack if I think I might go a little further. If I decide not to then at least I was prepared. I know it's extra weight, but I am not fast anyway, and don't worry that much about speed.

[TsPoet]

Another option is to make a sort of camel back think out of your water bottle
http://www.bluedesert.co.il/
I've got these, and they work really well. You have to really suck to pull the water into the tube, but once it's there it stays there.

[Meg McKilty]

Perhaps you could rig an AeroDrink bottle to your bike, if you don't have aerobars.

http://www.sportsbasement.com/jump.j...CT&itemID=3144

[GLC1968]

I had the behind the seat bottles on my previous bike. Like Kimmyt, I also used them to hold the bottles for back up and not as a place to drink from. I did drink out of them while riding on occasion, and it was harder than drinking from the frame bottle.

I had the Minoura holder and my tiny wedge did fit underneath it, but it made it fairly inaccessable. I stored emergency stuff in it (tubes, gauge, etc)...nothing that I'd need regularly. For long rides, I used a small handlebar bag to store camera, lip stuff, multi-tool, snacks, etc.

You can kind of see it all in this photo (the rear bottles, the tiny wedge, the handlebar bag...):

[Chile Pepper]

No one has mentioned hand position, so I'll throw it out there. If you feel unstable when you reach for your bottle, have you tried moving your left hand to the center (next to the stem) while you reach down with your right (or vice versa if you're left handed)? You are much more stable in that position than riding one-handed out on the hoods or in the drops.

[gingergin]

My water bottle is so far down and far away from me that I am certain I will end up on the ground with my bike on top of me if I get my hand anywhere near enough to even attempt to grab it

[quint41]

That said, I still don't drink on the bike well. It has to be 100% flat and very low traffic for me to even think about it. The other day I got the bottle out from the lower cage only to realize I was on a downhill so... bottle or me... I chucked the bottle so I could get both hands on the bars again. [then went and retrieved] I can't imagine how the riders who can eat, put their coats on or off, or perform TdF gear distribution do it. Maybe it will come with time, but I am skeptical.

I'm like you, tygab. I am not secure enough to drink while driving yet, either. I don't know if I ever will be -- I guess if I do this long enough! I ride with guys who let go of the handlebars, unwrap a bar, stretch, etc. It blows my mind.