General Cycling Discussion - How to carry lots of water? Cool?

Riding around the neighborhood, I don't need to take any water. On the charity rides, I can just stop at the 10-mile rest stops and tank up. But are there any good solutions for carrying lots of water and/or keeping it cool on longer unsupported rides? I'm thinking a gallon or more.

Example: Rode 31 miles this afternoon, took 2- 20 oz bottles of water, bought 32 oz & 20 oz bottles of gatorade along the way, plus 44 oz drink = 136 oz, or a little over a gallon.

its called a backpack and these 2 liter plastic soda pop bottles,I carry two of them which is about a gallon.

try one of these,
http://www.camelbak.com/index.cfm

Well, first, on a ride you need approx. one 750 ml bottle of water and/or sports drink every 1 to 1.5 hours ... depending, of course, on how hot or windy it is.

So on a 31 mile ride, which might take you 2 hours, you could get away with two 750 ml bottles, or perhaps two 1-litre bottles if it was hot.

If you want to keep them cool, put them in a little cotton sock ... yes, socks, like what you'd buy in a department store. Ladies socks work better than men's because they are smaller. Soak the sock in water, and the evaporation will keep the bottle cool ... for a while.

I use a camel back with a 72 ounce bladder and put plenty of ice in it. The backpack insulates the bladder so it stays cool for a few hours. The water in the tube gets warm though. I have rode with some that swore by insulated water bottles, but I haven't tried any yet.

I use a camel back with a 72 ounce bladder and put plenty of ice in it. The backpack insulates the bladder so it stays cool for a few hours. The water in the tube gets warm though. I have rode with some that swore by insulated water bottles, but I haven't tried any yet.

I use a Camelbak and the trick to no warm water in the tube is to blow the water back into the bladder after you drink. Clearing the tube of water means it won't get warm because it wont be there to be exposed to the warmer temp.

I have a 100 oz military camelback. It's got polypropylene insulation on the tube (keeps it cool), along with an external fill port. However if it's > 100F out I can drink the whole thing in 7 miles. They do make a 200 oz and 833 oz one too, but that may be a little heavy on the back.

I've ridden in extreme heat. A couple of frozen plastic gallon milk cartons worked for me.

Camelbak + two water bottles? It sounds dumb, but might just be enough for the trip.

Camelbak + tube insulator

Works well for me and its so simple to get a drink that I'm far more inclined to do it than I am with a water bottle.

for unsupported riding, plan your route so that there are services at reasonable intervals along the way. If you keep the distance between stores no more than 30 miles or so, you shouldn't need more than a 2 liter camelbak and maybe a couple bottles in anything but the hottest temperatures.

You can also plan your ride so you take a couple hour break around 4-6 PM when the heat is worst. Once the sun gets low, the solar heating drops dramatically.

I just picked up a lightweight water purifier for backpacking. I keep having these plans for a long unsupported ride across the Upper Peninsula with my brother and if we ever get around to it would take the purifier with us so all we need is a lake or pond.

Platypus bottles. If I need to haul that kind of water, I use those. Freeze 'em, boil 'em, whatever. When empty they roll up and stuff in a pocket or under your saddle.

Fill up some bottles, wrap them in towels, and throw them in the panniers.

Platypus bottles. If I need to haul that kind of water, I use those. Freeze 'em, boil 'em, whatever. When empty they roll up and stuff in a pocket or under your saddle.

I use these a lot when backpacking. Given the right pack, they're quite handy.


Camelbak + two water bottles? It sounds dumb, but might just be enough for the trip.

I started out with 190 ounces for an epic, 40 mile mountain bike ride to Chicken Corners outside of Moab last year on a breezy 96ºF day. There were two 22 oz. water bottles on the frame, a full 100 oz. Camelbak reservoir on my back, and two more 22 oz. bottles in a pocket of the Camelbak. Two of the bottles got stashed about 6-7 miles into the ride and I had just barely run out of water when we got back to them. The ride took a little over six hours.

For mountain biking carry a CamelBak.

For road riding I carry 2 750mls in cages and a 500ml in my pocket if needed. When it's hot and I'm carrying bottle(s) in my pockets, I wear a race cut jersey so it doesn't sag. Then I pour the water from those bottles into the 750s to lighten the load in the pockets.

I don't need cold water but if I did, I'd fill a Polar bottle halfway and freeze it, then add cold liquid. Then I'd take another Polar bottle, fill it all the way up and freeze it for my second bottle.

2 L cyclone or camelbak. Then the 750ml on the bike, or two if you have space. You can also freeze a couple of aquafina bottles and throw those into the pack. I plan to ride red rock for the first time this weekend, from the loop to the end is 55mi. will start early about 7am and hopefully be done by noon. if i make it heh

Here's what I have done so far... For unsupported self-contained rides:

* Under 2 hours, use 2 bottles on the bike cages.
* From 2 to 4 hours, attach handelbar bag with 2 more bottles (and some bars/sandwiches)
* From 4 to 6 hours, the above plus 2lt camelback. Add some gels too.
* Over 8 hours, attach rack, strap cooler to rack. Fill cooler with ice, liquids and food.

My longest unsupported ride was 9.5 hours. But I've found myself modifying a route, searching for a seven-eleven because my water is freekn hot like chicken soup. Some thermal bottles should take care of that problem.... I think.

Thanks for the ideas, y'all.
I do sweat more than a lot of fit people due to extra insulation and all, so it does take a lot of liquid.
On my 31 mile ride, I had a flat on the way out and hit a stiff headwind on the way back, so it was a slow process.
I didn't realize they made camelbaks in sizes any larger than about 2 liters.
I've carried a gallon canteen when hiking before, it's doable- and I've run dry while carrying one, too.
I've used the filters and iodine tablets, but that's more suited to backpacking than riding a bike around town.
I've noticed if I just stick a 20 oz bottle in my bottle holder, in a half hour, it's warm- doesn't take long.

I've noticed if I just stick a 20 oz bottle in my bottle holder, in a half hour, it's warm- doesn't take long.

Even with a sock?

For mountain bike rides, I've graduated from a Camelbak to a Wingnut Gear Enduro (http://www.wingnutgear.com/product_details.cfm?product_id=151) pack. It's designed to hold one 3 L (100 oz) bladder, but a 2nd 3 L bladder will fit in the main compartment. If you freeze the 2nd bladder overnight, you'll be drinking ice water when you switch! :D

I had it set up this way for a long (7 hr) MTB ride on Saturday. The weather was cool so after finishing the 1st bladder, I only drank about 1 L of the 2nd bladder. There was still ice in it when I got home!

I haven't tried the sock- but, to give you an idea, right now, a bit after midnight, they show 79 degrees and 67% humidity, so things don't cool off a whole lot when wet here.

I haven't tried the sock- but, to give you an idea, right now, a bit after midnight, they show 79 degrees and 67% humidity, so things don't cool off a whole lot when wet here.


That's like the weather in Manitoba in the middle of summer ... hot and humid. However, when you ride, you create wind which blows against your bottle, and if your bottle is encased in something wet, the air around your bottle will be cooler.

Along the same lines, if you soaked your cotton T-shirt in cold water and then went for a ride, you'd be chilly for a while. (Wicking T-shirts and jerseys don't have quite the same effect)

What I've done is to fill my bottle to about 7/8ths full, then freeze it. When I take it out of the freezer for my ride, I soak the sock and go. The coolness of the melting water and sock effect doesn't last forever, but it helps.

I can't imagine carrying much water on my person. The frame of a bike suffers a lot less when you add a little weight to it than a rider's body. Toss a couple quart-sized gatorades into the trunk on your rear rack, put a couple bottles in cages, and go.

I sweat and get too uncomfortable with something riding on my back. If you don't want to go the rack and trunk route, you could also get one of those 'behind the seat' bottle holders too. They can hold a couple more cage-sized bottles, in addition to the two bolted to your frame.

It's 11:35 at night, and it's 82 degrees with 71% humidity, supposed to cool off to 77 degrees by the morning when I leave out. Fortunately, this is a supported ride. :)

Stephen, I live about 180 miles east of you in Bossier City and we have about the same weather....HOT!!... I carry 2 quart bottles with me in the bottle holders and thats usually enough for a couple hours. Last weekend, I did a 60 mile ride and re-filled both bottles at a convenience store. As far as keeping it cool, just learn to drink it at "Biking temperature". The cool water tastes better to you but isn't really any better for you. The body actually spends more energy warming the the cool drink to body temp.

I've ridden in extreme heat. A couple of frozen plastic gallon milk cartons worked for me.

Freezing your backup water works great.

edit: dahoss brings up a good point. It takes a lot of energy to heat/cool water, and that's energy that you want for your ride. Even so, 90 degree water sucks.

You can freeze a Camelbak bladder, too.

Me, I'm going to add a second bottle cage to the road bike. I haven't run out without any options to reload, but it would've been nice to have a surplus to splash on my back or put a drink mix in one (something like Camelbak's Elixir tablets).

What I do is attach a small cooler on my rack. I can put a in 4 24 ounce Gatorade bottles, fill with ice, and stay cools for hours. You can even drink the cold water the ice will produce later on in the day.

The only problem I don't like about ice-cold drinks is that I get brain freeze... :D

The only problem I don't like about ice-cold drinks is that I get brain freeze... :D

Not a problem if you're just naturally *chill... ;)

(or if your brain is always frozen anyway :p )

Riding around the neighborhood, I don't need to take any water. On the charity rides, I can just stop at the 10-mile rest stops and tank up. But are there any good solutions for carrying lots of water and/or keeping it cool on longer unsupported rides? I'm thinking a gallon or more.

Example: Rode 31 miles this afternoon, took 2- 20 oz bottles of water, bought 32 oz & 20 oz bottles of gatorade along the way, plus 44 oz drink = 136 oz, or a little over a gallon.
Holy crap. That's a lot of liquid for only 31 miles. Sounds like overkill to me.

I fill two 24 oz Polar bottles with ice, then add water. Stays cold for 1.5 hours.
Or fill my Camelbak (70 oz) about 2/3 full of ice, then add water. Stay cold for over 2 hours.

On long rides when it's really hot I fill my Camelbak as above and take one or two Polar bottles with ice and Powerade/Gatorade.

As far as keeping it cool, just learn to drink it at "Biking temperature". The cool water tastes better to you but isn't really any better for you. The body actually spends more energy warming the the cool drink to body temp.

That is a myth (http://walking.about.com/od/fluids/f/coldwatermyth.htm). Cool or cold water passes through your stomach faster and is absorbed quicker by the intestines. As for taking more energy to warm the water, consider that you body is a large heat sink to begin with. A human body is 45% to 75% water depending on several factors. For a 180 lb man, that is 135 lb of water at 75%. Adding even up to a pound (16oz) of water at freezing point, which is a very long draw of water, won't have much effect on the overall heat of the system. The water will be at body temperature almost as soon as it reaches the stomach. In high temperature situations, having too little body heat isn't usually a problem;)

Having just returned from riding the Katy Trail in Missouri, I can tell you that the ice packed Camelbak has other benefits. The insulation on them isn't perfect so the cold of the ice come through onto your back. In high humidity situations (not usually encountered in my dry state;)), the water condensing on the bag also wets it and seeps ice cold water through to your back. My wife and I both noticed that we were much more comfortable with an ice filled Camelbak on. And 5 lbs of ice was still frozen for up to 5 hours. We even ran out of water in the bags but not ice.

Finally, the Camelbak wasn't invented in the arid part of the nation. It was invented for the Hotter 'n' Hell 100 and it was invented by a roadie...not a mountain biker.

You can freeze a Camelbak bladder, too.

Me, I'm going to add a second bottle cage to the road bike. I haven't run out without any options to reload, but it would've been nice to have a surplus to splash on my back or put a drink mix in one (something like Camelbak's Elixir tablets).

+ 1

You don't have to freeze the whole thing though. Depending on the length of the ride, you can half fill, or one third fill, whatever, the bladder. Then top up with cold water.

Having just returned from riding the Katy Trail in Missouri, I can tell you that the ice packed Camelbak has other benefits. The insulation on them isn't perfect so the cold of the ice come through onto your back. In high humidity situations (not usually encountered in my dry state;)), the water condensing on the bag also wets it and seeps ice cold water through to your back. My wife and I both noticed that we were much more comfortable with an ice filled Camelbak on. And 5 lbs of ice was still frozen for up to 5 hours. We even ran out of water in the bags but not ice.

Finally, the Camelbak wasn't invented in the arid part of the nation. It was invented for the Hotter 'n' Hell 100 and it was invented by a roadie...not a mountain biker.

I've actually forgotten how cool a frozen Camelbak can be. Maybe I should've taken my roadie version out for today's ride -- I didn't want anything on my back, though.

On really, really hot and humid days, I use a Camelbak that has 70 oz and 2 bottles that I freeze the night before. As I ride I drink from the pak and the bottles will thaw. If I need them, they will still be cool and I can either drink them or use them for water to pour over my head if I need to.