ryanparrish

Hello,

I was wondering what you guys do when a water bottle gets ejected from your cage. I was cycling in mild traffic I didn't have a mirror to check traffic so I kept on rolling didn't want to endanger my life over a stupid .99 waterbottle what do you guys do?

Zero_Enigma

Depending on the traffic and the situation I would leave it or pick it up. For example if I was on a small street with houses and probably 1-2 cars pass by there in 5 mins I would turn 180 and go back for it. Water is important to have. Especially on a hot day. Yah it sucks if you drop your h2o and you're out of change to buy more bottles then I would probably go back pending the traffic. Once again remember it's not worth your life over a 99cent bottle going into heavy traffic to retrieve it. Guage the situation and act accordingly.

If the bottle ejects often ( I like to hop on my bike so I get the occasional eject) I would use both hands and push that water bottle cage in to get a tighter grip. If the bottle cage is made with thin guage wire then it may be worth it to just spend the extra (I'm Canadian so funds in CDN) $4.99 on a new bottle cage that has thicker wiring.

Check the thread with the "Topeak mirror" as I listed a cheap $4.99 mirror that works well. The Zefal is $15 CDN or about $13 USD.


Zero_Enigma

Topher_Aus

I just reuse bottled water bottles, but even though I have a few spare, I'd pick it up if it was reasonably safe to do so because I don't like littering.

It isn't the Tour de France with people to clean up after you

ryanparrish

Yeah, I know I was thinking that some one would stumble on it, and be like jerk were I was riding there were allot of train tracks so I was un-guard allday! I am thinking about getting something actually made for the cages instead of the vending machine bottles

Cyclaholic

See, this is why I like my 100oz camelback so much....

krazygluon

+1 for the camel back. I just never felt safe trying to grab the bottle, drink and replace it while pedaling.

I lost one but was able to get it back by virtue of being on a relatively empty residential street at the time.
You could always slow down/stop and see where it rolls. I had assumed mine was going to roll right into traffic and get crushed, but somehow it came to a stop a few meters past where I stopped on my side of the street.

Philatio

I've never had one fall out... if I did and it were unsafe to stop immediately, I'd stop as soon as it was and go back and get it.

$.99? psht, I've got $2.99 invested in each one there's no way in hell I'm throwing that away!

jeff-o

Would you stop and go back for your camelback if it fell off?

ryanparrish

Yeah I have been eyeing this one



Image via

performancebike.com

I like the safety bling on it

JSChance

The only time that I can remember dropping one, it was an easy decision to pick it up.

See, since my wife was riding on my wheel, and when she saw me getting a drink thought it was a good idea. So she had one hand on the bars and another hand reaching down for her bottle when mine traveled out of my fingers, down to the ground and right under her front wheel. I saw my bottle disappear under my bike, and then heard that particular metallic crashing sound behind me and thought "uh oh...I'm in trouble now".

So, it was an easy decision to pick up the bottle, since it was laying right beside my wife at the time.

Luckily, other than leaving some bark, she was OK.

mister

The only time I've had bottles eject are when I'm on busy streets. Murphy's Law.

ryanparrish

Murphy must be a God because his stupid laws follow me all over the place

mister

Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

2manybikes

I would go back only when, and if, it was safe to do so. Even if it took a while.

Um........if you polish your bike with wax of any kind.

Don't wax and polish the bottles, even thought they look great.

OOPS.

JudyO

I lost a bottle once this summer. I stopped to pick it up because it was safe to do so, because I didn't want to litter, and because it was near the beginning of my commute home and I didn't want to be without water (it was really hot/humid that day). If I'd lost it in the middle of an intersection I wouldn't have stopped.

I lost a sandal in the middle of an intersection this summer too, and I stopped for that because I didn't want to loose my shoe and have to ride with one bare foot. Luckily there wasn't any traffic (at a normally very busy downtown intersection). I got better shoes that can't fall off after that incident.

froze

If the bottle was only .99 I would probably forget it, but I use only $10 Polar Bottles so if I ejected one of those I would probably figure out a way to get safely...at least till it got ran over by a car! Recently I was going across a wooden bridge near where I live and the jarring of the wood ejected one of my bottles into the river; I let that bottle go because in order to fitch it I would had to clamber through thick brush and trees, and decided snagging my bike clothes on something would be more expensive then the getting the bottle!

Scorer75

I go back and get them.

I need my water and it's $2.49 for new bottles, not to mention the hassle of getting new bottles.

Lossy

Not to mention getting your bike stolen while you are going for a swim!

KrautFed

Kind of a weird situation because your bottle shouldnt be falling out of its cage by itself (only when you try to pick it up to drink) and you shouldnt be trying to drink where it was dangerous to stop your bike if it were to fall.

likeclover

Last weekend on the St. Paul Classic I lost a screw top water bottle off the tandem and just as I got stopped to see where the bottle had gone, one rider rolled up and handed me the bottle and another the cap! Great, friendly folks on that ride.

beingtxstate

Don't litter!! Now in truth, I understand if you are riding in heavy traffic, and don't want to get killed.

Beware though, the litter karma will catch up to you!!

oboeguy

Where do you get a biking water bottle for $0.99?

Cyclaholic

.....after the surgeons stitched my arms back on, sure.

ryanparrish

the vending machine I think that is why it ejected

oboeguy

Ohhhhh so not a water bottle made for cycling, I get it. Pick it up anyway, litterbug!