Camelbak for a touring bike - to carry the water on the bike (not on your back)
I love my Camelbak, I have a large capacity one (100 oz), which allows me to fill up water/ice twice to last me a whole day. It's so much better than having to carry around several bike-bottles.
Unfortunately, I have a neck spondolysis, and it is difficult (except with a lot of pain) to carry the water as a backpack the whole day. I have done it several times, but had a lot of neck pain and stiff neck for days later. I was wondering and would like to solicit ideas bike tourers here have found or implemented during their tours to carry the water on the bike rather than on your shoulder/back. I heard of a water pack called Hydrathon, which seems like an interesting way to carry water on the bike -- it's like a pannier but instead on the bike rack, you hang it on the frame of the bike. Also, it carries also a bit less water than what my camelbak is able to carry (2L vs my camelback which is about 3L), but still better than carrying it on the shoulder. Any pictures/ideas people can share? |
The easiest solution is just to sling a bladder in a frame pack, like bikepackers do. Revelate Designs or, my favorite, Porcelain Rocket can hook you up with little trouble.
More complicated would be something like this: http://www.adventurecycling.org/stor...ion-system.cfm |
Just use liter water (or other drink) bottles from a convenience store, in your pannier. Refillable, recyclable, weigh nothing when empty, recycle or throw away when not needed or gross, easy to get new ones, cost nothing beyond the first water you buy in them.
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Originally Posted by The Impossipede
(Post 13238156)
The easiest solution is just to sling a bladder in a frame pack, like bikepackers do. Revelate Designs or, my favorite, Porcelain Rocket can hook you up with little trouble.
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I have used just the bladder from my Camelback carried inside my handlebar bag while touring. The hose is convenient for being able to drink while riding and it also doubles as a refrigerator. I've filled the bladder with ice from a motel or from the fountain at a fast-food or convenience store and then place any perishable food items that I buy in the handlebar bag. Gives me cold water to drink during the day and there's usually still ice left keeping the food cold when I arrive at the night's campsite.
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Maybe you can rig up the Camelback "unbottle" in some way. I mostly use bottles, but sometime put the unbottle on top of a pannier for additional water.
http://www.rei.com/search?query=unbo...x=0&button.y=0 Impossipedes idea, the under the saddle rig looks like it should work well. |
That Vel Eau thing looks stupid - barely any carrying capacity, awkward rigging, takes up a spot where you probably have your tool bag, requires lots of fiddling to get it on/off the bike for refills, and heavy. Oh, and it costs $80. Couldn't pay me to carry that thing.
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If I need to carry more than 3-4 litres of water I use the MSR Dromedary bags. They range in size from 2L to 10L. They are also all but indestructible, have lash down point on them and can easily be hung to be used as a shower or water supply. I had one fall off the rack on a down hill (my lazy self had not tied it down) it hit the road at 20mph, I walked back up the hill and retrieved it, no damage. I also like the fact it is black, I tie it on top of the rack and on a sunny day I can have a warm shower at the end of the day. If I am using it for drinking water, I will shade it somehow to keep it from getting too warm.
Nothing wrong with using the camel bak if that is what you have and it works for you. It seems to me you are carrying a bit of extra odds and ends when you could carry a 4L dromedary bag for the same amount of weight. Aaron :) |
I've been thinking about getting one of these to clip to my rack.
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I guess I'm missing something, but why not just bungee the bladder to your rack top? Or on top of your rack pack? Or rig up a way to let it hang from your top tube?
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Originally Posted by valygrl
(Post 13238225)
Just use liter water (or other drink) bottles from a convenience store, in your pannier. Refillable, recyclable, weigh nothing when empty, recycle or throw away when not needed or gross, easy to get new ones, cost nothing beyond the first water you buy in them.
Tried fitting my camelbak in a pannier. Too much trouble getting it in there and fiddling with the hose when thirsty. Too much weight on one side of bike as well. Don't like wearing it on my back. Could bungee it to the rack, but that's still a hassle compared to carrying a Gatorade or similar bottle. IMO fiddling around with that hose is just a pain unless the thing is on your back. Stuffing a Gatorade bottle under the top pannier strap worked best. Least hassle, cheapest option. |
Originally Posted by valygrl
(Post 13238887)
That Vel Eau thing looks stupid - barely any carrying capacity, awkward rigging, takes up a spot where you probably have your tool bag, requires lots of fiddling to get it on/off the bike for refills, and heavy.
It takes about 10 minutes to do the initial install or to move everything to another bike. Once the clips are on, it's not much harder than putting on a regular saddle bag. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6DRS...layer_embedded) It's got a spot for some tools. If you're touring, there's tons of other spots to carry tools as well. You don't have to remove it to refill. You just unscrew the top and pour the liquid right in. Weight specs aren't published. I would agree it will be heavier than a pair of bottles, but probably no heavier than a hydration backpack. $80 may be a lot... for a product you're not interested in. ;) It's not that out of line compared to hydration backpacks. If I was in a hot climate, did TT's, or had an MTB that couldn't really take any water bottles, I'd give it serious consideration. |
We always used regular water bottles in cages on the bikes. If we needed additional water, we strapped empty Coke bottles on somewhere. However - a friend of ours was captaining a triple and couldn't take his hands off the handlebars so found he wasn't drinking enough. He ended up rigging up his water bottles to the Camelbak hose so he could drink without using his hands. I don't know the specifics, but it shouldn't be too hard to rig up.
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Originally Posted by nancy sv
(Post 13241999)
However - a friend of ours was captaining a triple and couldn't take his hands off the handlebars so found he wasn't drinking enough. He ended up rigging up his water bottles to the Camelbak hose so he could drink without using his hands. I don't know the specifics, but it shouldn't be too hard to rig up.
My bottles were at near eye-level, so I didn't need to suck the water up much height. I imagine if the bottles were on the frame it'd take more effort to drink, but don't know if that'd be too bothersome or not. |
Originally Posted by Cyclebum
(Post 13238997)
I guess I'm missing something, but why not just bungee the bladder to your rack top? Or on top of your rack pack? Or rig up a way to let it hang from your top tube?
Also, I don't know if people here have noticed -- if you have a longer drinking tube, more of the water sits in that tube, more of that water that is warm. I hate drinking warm water while I'm bicycling, and I tend to spit out that first "warm" water from my camelbak. I noticed the warm water in my short-tube that I currently have, I think the amount must be twice that much if the tube is that much longer. |
Originally Posted by prathmann
(Post 13238444)
I have used just the bladder from my Camelback carried inside my handlebar bag while touring. The hose is convenient for being able to drink while riding and it also doubles as a refrigerator. I've filled the bladder with ice from a motel or from the fountain at a fast-food or convenience store and then place any perishable food items that I buy in the handlebar bag. Gives me cold water to drink during the day and there's usually still ice left keeping the food cold when I arrive at the night's campsite.
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Originally Posted by Cieous
(Post 13248081)
Also, I don't know if people here have noticed -- if you have a longer drinking tube, more of the water sits in that tube, more of that water that is warm. I hate drinking warm water while I'm bicycling, and I tend to spit out that first "warm" water from my camelbak. I noticed the warm water in my short-tube that I currently have, I think the amount must be twice that much if the tube is that much longer.
Every drink is cold :) |
Duh. How come I didn't think of that. Great idea. Thanks UeberGeek. Will try it out on my next ride.
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Originally Posted by anotherbrian
(Post 13238228)
I completely agree. I have a Revelate Designs "Tangle" frame bag (non-custom, fits along the top tube rather than fills the whole triangle) and it fits a 100oz Camelbak perfectly. I don't normally use it for that, but I was experimenting with ways to carry additional water for road rides when my bottles wouldn't be enough.
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Originally Posted by himespau
(Post 13238983)
I've been thinking about getting one of these to clip to my rack.
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Originally Posted by Cieous
(Post 13248136)
Duh. How come I didn't think of that. Great idea. Thanks UeberGeek. Will try it out on my next ride.
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Originally Posted by UberGeek
(Post 13248119)
After taking your drink, blow back in the tube, to force water back into the bladder.
Every drink is cold :) |
Originally Posted by Cieous
(Post 13248087)
How big is your handlebar bag and what capacity is your Camelbak? It's a neat idea to put it in the handlebar bag, though I am wondering though how big the handlebar bag has to be to host a 100oz Camelbak.
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Originally Posted by Cieous
(Post 13248147)
It's very similar to the one I have right now -- Camelbak Stoway. The Stoway comes with a drinking tube though. Mine is a 100 oz capacity, I have put it in my favorite backpack, but I'm not sure if this one has one too. Let us know if you come up with an ingenious idea of attaching it to the rack.
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Simplicity is usually best...
For a long time I tried over engineering a solution to this problem, but have finally ended up sticking with simplicity. Several people in this thread have suggested some form of simplicity. Just strap bottles onto the packs in back. It works.
If I have a really long crossing, I do carry one of the Dromodary bags someone else mentioned. I fill it with ice and water, and put it in the bottom of my pack. Stays cold all day that way, though it's a tiny bit of a hassle to dig it out when I finally need it and fill the water bottles with it. But worth it for the ice-cold water! I crossed the southern Mojave in June with this system - 90 miles with no water - and it worked dandy. Two bottles on the frame, (insulated), 2 gatorade bottles filled and strapped on the back, and another liter or so in the D-Bag. 150+ oz of water. Granted, the gatorade bottles don't keep stuff cold at 110 degrees, but it's water, and you're gonna have this problem no matter what. My experience is that this is the only time you need more water than the standard water bottles on the frame and maybe a gatorade bottle - when you have a long and hot crossing like a desert. As for camelbacks, I never wear them because I don't want more heat buildup on my back. |
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