Recumbent - Retractable hydration tube

Don't like drinking water with your nose pointed at the sky while steering with one hand? Set up a hydration system with a retracting hose like the one shown in the pictures which are attached to this post. The system consists of the following:

1. A Camelbak (TM) water bottle which has a bite-and-sip nozzle and a straw built into its lid. Be sure the bottle will fit into your water bottle holders.

2. A Camelbak hands-free adapter which allows you to replace the bite-and-sip nozzle on your water bottle with a hose with a bite-and-sip nozzle. Cost, about $10.

3. A Camelbak "Big Bite" valve cover, which will keep the bite-and-sip nozzle clean. Cost, about $6.

4. A "Gear Keeper" cable retractor, which you can order from www.gearkeeper.com (http://www.gearkeeper.com). These come in a variety of strengths, some much stronger than the lightweight cable retractors which you typically find at fly fishing stores. It has a nice little detachable buckle at the end of the cable, so you can detach the bottle and hose from your bike easily.

Attach the cable retractor to a convenient spot on your seat, preferably high enough so it won't get dirty from spray from your tires when the road is wet. I attached my retractor to the bottom of my headrest. Attach the buckle at the end of the cable to the end of the hose with a cable tie.

And you're ready to roll. When you want a drink, grab the end of the hose, pull it up to your mouth, grab the valve cover in your teeth and pull it open, stick the bite-and sip nozzle into your mouth, put your hand back on your handle bars, and start sucking up water. You never need to take your eyes off the road. When you've drunk all the water you want, grab the end of the hose, push the valve cover shut against your chest, and let go of the hose. It'll retract back to the cable retractor, and you're done until you get thirsty again.

ppmpete

I had to read this through a couple of times before I figured out that you were talking about using a water bottle. If you don't like bottles, check out the Fastback systems at Terracycle. Their hydration systems are designed for recumbents. I run the tube under my arm and lay it across my chest, and clip it to my jersey so it doesn't bounce away. My water is always right there in front of me, ready to use, so it's very easy to take a sip whenever I want one.

I had to read this through a couple of times before I figured out that you were talking about using a water bottle. If you don't like bottles, check out the Fastback systems at Terracycle. Their hydration systems are designed for recumbents. I run the tube under my arm and lay it across my chest, and clip it to my jersey so it doesn't bounce away. My water is always right there in front of me, ready to use, so it's very easy to take a sip whenever I want one.
This is what I do -- it's the only way to go IMO.

I should add, there is ONE disadvantage to using a hydration pack as opposed to a water bottle: you tend to take more water than you need. That makes for a heavier bike. The plus side, of course, is that running out of water is a lot harder to do! It may seem counter-intuitive, but I find that I need bladder breaks less often with the hydration packs. Probably due to taking lots of small drinks instead of a few larger ones.

I like water bottles better than hydration bags because (a) I find them easier to fill up, and (b) at the end of a ride I like to take my bottles off my bike, dump the water, and let them dry out so I don't get algae growing in my water supply.

I thought about clipping the hydration tube to my seat, but worried that the tube would slip out of the clip and get tangled in my spokes or my chain, or drag along the ground. The retractor system prevents that from happening.

If you want to have the tube lying on your chest, you wouldn't need to use a retractor. You could permanently attach the tube to the top of your seat or your headrest, leaving enough loose tube so you could drape it over your shoulder and lay it on your chest. Because the tube would be permanently attached to your seat, it wouldn't be able to get tangled in your spokes or chain or drag on the ground. However, you'd need to reposition the tube every time you leaned forward in your seat or stood up.

I set up something like that myself with a 70 oz. CamelBak bladder, an 'L' clamp screwed into the bottle mount, and a retractable carabiner key ring from Staples...

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I set up something like that myself with a 70 oz. CamelBak bladder, an 'L' clamp screwed into the bottle mount, and a retractable carabiner key ring from Staples...

Hah, you beat me to it! I've used a retractable badge holder. The reel has a clip for attaching to your belt - I've hooked it over one of the straps on the back of my mesh seat. Initially I was concerned that the spring might be too weak to hold the hose out of the wheels/road. But I've done ~200 miles on bumpy Bay Area roads now, and it works great.

Before I did this, I used a clip to attach the hose to my jersey. This was really annoying when riding with friends - it would take me much longer to get ready after a stop than upright riders!

I use nalgene bladders that ahve the magnets attached,and ziptie the magnets to a strap. easy peasy.