Road Cycling - So I'm thinking about getting a water bottle for my bike

Now that I'm riding 15+ miles per ride and at a pretty quick pace, I think not drinking water while riding is holding back my training progress. I went to the bike shop earlier today and seen they had water bottle cages and water bottles for sale at a very cheap price. I noticed the cage is to be screwed onto the frame by screws. I wasn't sure if my bike had holes for the screws there or not, so I went home without buying anything. When I got home, I checked and sure enough there were no holes drilled there for any screws to go into. Do most frames have the holes on them already (mine being an exception because its a cheap piece of crap), or is making the holes myself something everybody else has to do? Will I have to get a drill and make the holes myself, or will this be something I have to have the bike shop do and have to pay more for?

Don't be drilling any holes in your frame!

Water bottle mounts are special threaded inserts that are added during the frame manufacturiing process. Some water bottle mounts are metal straps that wrap around the down tube (the one running at an angle from the front of the bike) or onto the main seat tube. You can find those perhaps in a local shop or more than likely in a large sporting goods store (dare I say Big Box store like Dick's sporting goods?).

Better frames usually have the mounts that are part of the frame and are precisely spaced to fit most water bottle cages.

Definately drink water when you ride or you will bonk badly on a longer ride. Take a good gulp every 10 minutes or so and finish a bottle in a hour to stay hydrated.

Good luck

You need a couple of strap-style clamps to hold the water bottle age to your frame. DO NOT SIMPLY DRILL HOLES IN YOUR FRAME -- they will strip out over time. The water bottle "holes" in most newer and higher-quality frames are actually threaded braze-ons. (If you are handy with a torch and touch-up paint, you could consider adding a couple to your frame.)

Other options are water bottle cages which clamp to the handlebar (very popular in the 1930s to early 1960s) or behind the saddle (increasingly popular now).

Or, you could carry your water in a CamelBak type of bladder on your back. There always are a number on sale at Nashbar.com and Performancebike.com., among others. There are many different brands, but, personally, I don't think you can go wrong with either of their store brands.

I'm resurrecting an old thread.

Water bottle straps are very hard to find. I have a custom Ti frame that unfortunately only has one bottle mount on the downtube. Is is feasible to have a frame builder retro-fit another braze-on on the seattube, or am I asking for trouble? I really don't want to go the Camelbak route and I don't particularly like carrying full water bottles in my jersey pocket. However, heading into summer, it would be nice to be able bring two bottles along for the ride. Thoughts? Suggestions?

http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.aspx?PART_NUM_SUB='3242-00'

This might work.

Or the ones behind the seat that triathletes sometimes use; those hold 2 bottles.

Try a King Top Cap Cage Mount. It's the 4th item from the top on this page: http://www.kingcage.com/products-waterbottle-cages.html

For the record, very rarely (if ever) are they "braze ons". They are rivnuts.

Google is your friend

http://www.nordicgroup.us/cageboss/

I have seen the Bell one at Wally World.

If I was in your shoes, I'd go camelbak.

I was going to buy these, but the feedback on wiggle is so horrendous I think I'll pass. So, I need another option.
http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.aspx?PART_NUM_SUB='3242-00'

This might work.

Or the ones behind the seat that triathletes sometimes use; those hold 2 bottles.

I saw this too. They recommend the Elite Universal Water Bottle Cage Clamp, but the reviews on Wiggle are mediocre at best. For those of you who need and use clamps, which one(s) do you like?
Google is your friend

http://www.nordicgroup.us/cageboss/

I have seen the Bell one at Wally World.

Probably nice, but I don't want a bottle on my handlebars.
Try a King Top Cap Cage Mount. It's the 4th item from the top on this page: http://www.kingcage.com/products-waterbottle-cages.html

Easy Solution:
http://aebike.com/product/twofish-quick-cage-no-bottle-sku-wc1002-qc30.htm

Another Solution, use these:
http://aebike.com/product/dimension-zinc-coated-steel-bottle-cage-clamps-plus-hardware-bag-of-10-sku-wc3003-qc30.htm
to attach one (or more) of these:
http://aebike.com/product-list/dimension-b108/water-bottle-cages-standard-t125-m857-qc30/

Has anyone used Zefal Gizmo Clamps? If so, how do you like them?

holy ****ing ****. there was bf in 2002?