Water Bottle Location

[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...):

[quint41]

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.

DING DING DING DING DING!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!

I saw this concept somewhere a long time ago and thought "that is what I need." Then I couldn't find it again when I really went looking. I'm going to get one of these! Thanks!!!

[RolliePollie]

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.

Oh, I am SO getting one of these!!! Thanks for the link! I was recently joking to a friend that I needed to buy some surgical tubing to make a long straw for my water bottles. Now I see this wasn't such a silly idea!

I have just recently mastered the drinking-from-bottle-while-riding technique, but like many others here, I'm very unstable, have to stop pedaling, etc. And I can only reach one of my bottles. I've been using a smallish Camelbak, but now that the weather is getting hot, it's starting to bother me. On longer rides, I feel like I still need the Camelbak to ensure that I'm staying well hydrated. Soon, after I place my order, my problems will be solved!

[Trek1500]

DING DING DING DING DING!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!

I saw this concept somewhere a long time ago and thought "that is what I need." Then I couldn't find it again when I really went looking. I'm going to get one of these! Thanks!!!

I'm such a klutz. I also need something like this. I'm definitely going to try it and will report back.

[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.