worldtraveller

Just need suggestions. On all rides for road and Mt bike I use and drink out of a Camelbak

love them over waterbottles.

I want to bring sports drink with me. but i do not want inside of my camelbak getting all smelly and tasting like Gaterade forever, and i rather not use a bottle as well, as that is a lot to carry, what do u suggestion to keep the taste out of my camelbak

or should i just take a small bottle with me for sports drink?

jmess

You could buy another bladder for your Camelbak and use it for sporty drink when you want to run a mix. I always carry a lot of water and juice so I have two bottles in my cages along with the Camelbak. On longer hot rides I will carry a 3rd bottle in my jersey pocket. If you start drinking at 10-15 minute intervals it doesn't take long to lighten your load.

ericm979

I'd use a bottle. It's a pain to clean sports drink out of a bottle. I can't imagine how hard it would be to get it out of a camelback bladder. It'd get moldy in no time.

I like to have both water and sports drink (in bottles). That way I can drink the one I want.

chinarider

I use sport drinks in my Camelbak and don't think it's hard to keep clean. When I'm done with a ride, I simply rinse it well with hot water. It's easier to do this in a bathtub. Occasionally I clean the tube with a brush made for that purpose. After rinsing I hang it on a hanger specially made to keep the bladder open and let it dry completely. No problems. Other have written that keeping it in the freezer prevents problem, but I've never found that necessary.

Carbonfiberboy 

I used to do the sports drink in Camelbak thing. The Camelbak is a PITA to keep clean, but one can do it. However the big reason I quit is that one can't tone down the concentration of food in the belly if one can only pump in more sports drink. So I quit doing that and started putting plain water in the Camelbak and very concentrated drink in a bottle. That worked better. Eventually, I quit the Camelbak entirely and now just use liter bottles on long rides, one plain water, one food.

Christobevii3

I put half water half powerade in a camelbak and rinse immediately afterwards twice without issue.

kevrider

+1. water on my back, gatorade in the bottle.

i hardly ever empty the camelbak in one ride. with filtered water, i don't have to dump it out or clean it. just top it off when necessary.

BloomBikeShop

I used to carry sports drinks in my Camelbak all the time, but I got sick of all the extra hassle keeping it clean. Plus I usually carry sports drink and water separately, so I can do water in the Camelbak and sports drinks in bottles on long rides.

But if you do it, you can keep the Camelbak clean with vinegar, bleach, or denture cleaning tablets (or the Camelbak branded version.)