I've never had a hard time cleaning my CamelBak..There is a cleaning kit available. I just throw a cap full of Cool Mint Listerine into the bladder and scrub it out with the scrubbing brush. I used to use water bottles for MTBing, it was a huge pain in the ***. My biggest problem was that you had to ride one handed the whole time you were getting a drink, but with a hydration pack, once the mouth piece is in your mouth, you can ride with both hands. I used water bottles for riding road too, and that was a huge pain in the *** too. Sometimes when I was putting the water bottle back I would miss the cage and drop the bottle.