i know, it sounds ridiculous, even impossible. but has anyone done it?

i mean short of bringing a cooler, what are the options?

i saw an insulated bag thingy (like a big ziploc) at the grocery store, i'm wondering if that would work long enough to carry 10 or so cubes of ice for an hour or so? it was small enough to be stuffed in a carradice i think..

i suppose a small thermos might do the trick as well. thoughts?

Close?
http://www.freewebs.com/biketour/beer_bike_5.jpg

and i thought for sure someone called "hydrated" would be able to help... =]

great pic, btw - i've seen similar setups at Critical Mass.

Well, I've partly frozen a camelback bladder and let it thaw during the ride.

and i thought for sure someone called "hydrated" would be able to help... =]

Unfortunately, I haven't found a really good way to keep my beverages cold for long rides in the Georgia summer heat. I usually freeze one bottle solid, and pack the other with cubes and cold water... the heat is so nasty that the frozen one is usually completely melted within 40 minutes or so. For a little relief from the heat when it's especially brutal outside, I usually stop at stores along my route and buy cold water or cups of ice.

So I eagerly await the answers in this thread!

On the up side... I've gotten pretty accustomed to drinking warm water!:thumb:

insulated bottles work well, as does freezing bottles before the ride. but of course the ice melts pretty quickly... and things get hot.

i've gotten used to getting ice from stores, etc, but what i'd really like to do is carry some extra ice, for the areas of a ride that might not have any services for 20 miles or more (pretty common in parts of WA state)

i guess i could just carry an extra insulated bottle with ice in it.. but the only place i can fit another bottle would be in my jersey pocket, not something i'm a huge fan of. keep the ideas coming!

Sure you could use a cooler, but there are plenty of alternatives. For instance, when I need extra fluids because I'm starting a long leg of a double-century in hilly country and it's 95 degrees I'll often fill my extra water bottle with ice and then put it inside a one of those big 44oz drink cups in my pannier.

Another old trick is to place an iced-up bottle inside a sock, socks. Add a plastic bag and you can keep it cold for 90 minutes or so.... When things are really crazy, just double-up a couple 44oz drink cups with lids and a couple of bags around them, when your bottles get low, refill from the drink cups........

Sure you could use a cooler, but there are plenty of alternatives. For instance, when I need extra fluids because I'm starting a long leg of a double-century in hilly country and it's 95 degrees I'll often fill my extra water bottle with ice and then put it inside a one of those big 44oz drink cups in my pannier.

Try a Nissan insulating steel thermos. Fill with ice cubes, then liquid to the top. Kept inside panniers or other outer insulation (preferably not solar energy collecting, although I use a dark color Arkel rack bag: http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/tailrider/overview.asp?fl=1&site=), it will still contain ice after 2 hours, and available in size to fit standard bottle holder.

I've found that Camelbaks do the best job at keeping water cold when the temperatures are high. Load it with ice and it'll stay cool until it's empty. Polar bottles, even with a ton of ice in them, only seem to hold out for 30 minutes in 90+ weather.

I would also expect anything that is actually portable would also have significant condensation.

Yeah, come to think of it, taking along a second Camelback makes the most sense....You don't have to use them at the same time...

Camelbak Classic on your back.

Extra 2 liter bladder in the arkel bag shown above. Wrapped in thin insulating material.

You could probably fit 2 bladders in the Arkel tail bag.

Polar bottles, even with a ton of ice in them, only seem to hold out for 30 minutes in 90+ weather.

freeze it.

"For even longer cooling power, fill your Polar Bottle® and store it in the freezer before use. Either way, it will keep liquids cold twice as long as conventional water bottles".

http://www.polarbottle.com/products/specs/

Most of us stop and get ice. One guy freezes an insulated bottle, wraps it in a towel and puts it in his rack bag. Keeps Cold for 4 hours.
I carry four bottles. When it gets 96* I fill two bottles with ice and water. Pour that over my head and back. Good for 20- 30 minutes.

freeze your camelback reservoir. i will still have ice in mine 6 hours later and that's in the desert. if it doesn't stay cold long enough wrap the resevroir in one of those reflective mylar space blankets. that's what i use to do with my old camelback. the new one works so much better that i don't need to wrap it.

freeze your camelback reservoir. i will still have ice in mine 6 hours later and that's in the desert. if it doesn't stay cold long enough wrap the resevroir in one of those reflective mylar space blankets. that's what i use to do with my old camelback. the new one works so much better that i don't need to wrap it.

but what if this is a 24+ hour ride? also i'm not a fan of carrying anything on my back.

i'm thinking another polar bottle just for ice will do - anyone know if they make a mid-size version of that?

In my experience the insulated bottles don't last that long. The scenario I am thinking about is a double century where you start early in the morning, and in the afternoon want to carry ice. I'd use something like a Camelbak, which has very good insulation around the bladder compartment. Btw, the temperature of the water you put in over the ice has a big effect on how long the ice lasts.

rides up to 3 4 hours long i find the polar bottles enough if i freeze them overnight. the camelbak has lasted even longer than that. you might be better off throwing a camelbak in the panniers or trunk so you dont have to wear it but still keep some cold water around.

Forget the polar water bottle. They are gimmicky. I own two of them. They are only slightly better than regular water bottles.

Try this: fill a polar up with ice water. Set out on a humid, hot day. See how long it takes for the bottle to start sweating. That is an indication of their thermal properties. It starts sweating within a minute.

You could put a rack trunk on the back of the bike and line the inside with foam insulation. If you glue the insulation together and form a tight fitting lid, you should get pretty good performance. The thicker the foam, the better. You could try foil backed insulation from a home improvement store, a cheap blue foam sleeping pad from Xmart (glue aluminum foil to the face), or simply cut up a cheap Styrofoam cooler.

A vacuum container (Thermos) will keep ice for a long time, but will have very limited storage and be pretty heavy.

Matt,

Ride in the depths of winter, and carrying ice on your bike won't be a problem :-)

This does bring up another weakness of the Polar bottles. When your bottles have frozen, if they are regular bottles then you can just chuck them in the 7-11's microwave to thaw them out (then fill them with Gatorade, which has a lower freezing point). But Polar bottles can't be put in a microwave.

Nick