I post number 6 above, I stated:
Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I prefer to have the weight on the bike frame, not on me.
....
To expand on that, when using bottles, there is the advantage that I know exactly how much water I have left. Over the years I have used different things for water bottles, but currently when touring I am using the one liter size Smart Water or Life WTR (or in Canada, Life Water) brand bottles, three liters on the frame. Those bottles are clear, you can see how much water remains. When I finish one bottle, I know that one liter is gone, second means two liters are gone, etc.
I am fortunate that I can fit three liters on this frame quite easily. I have two other touring bikes, can only fit 2.7 liters on the frame on those two bikes.
For those of you that prefer to wear a backpack, if that works for you, great. Does not work for me.