Is there a way to ease my way into using less water without losing my energy. Daily I consume anywhere from 64-100oz of water but when I ride I usually do about 20oz per 10 miles. This means that on a 20 mile ride, I usually wind up using both my water bottles. I don't want to be forced into carrying a full camelback but I seem to require soo much water. Should I just start carrying 20oz for a 20 mile ride and see how it goes, or am I ok on the amount of water I'm drinking

If you are drinking that amount of water- you need it. Can't compute Ozs into volume but I drink about 1 litre of water an hour on a ride. Perhaps a little less in winter but 2 litres in the camelback and a 500ml bottle will last a 3 hour ride. What you could try is an Isotonic additive in one of the bottles to see if it helps.

Actually drinking water is a habit worth having, not breaking...

How long does it take you to do 20 miles?

I try to drink at least one bottle per hour, and wouldn't mind drinking a little more. It takes me about an hour and a half to do 20 miles, so you would be right on pace for me.

Modern American's generally don't drink enough water... and some see this as a major factor in the growth in numbers of dialysis centers, so I would suggest that you don't try too hard to limit your water consumption.

There are some ways to squeeze a couple more water bottles on your bike, and you can usually find some way to refill along the way... Try these alternatives rather than limiting intake.

You can drink too much water, but that takes some pretty intensive drinking, so if you are out for a long ride, adding some electrolytres might be a good idea in some of your fluids.

20 ounces is about 0.6 liters.

Some people require greater amounts of water. Fighting it won't make it better. Might want to take care with your electrolytes as well.

The body needs about 2-3 litres of water per day. That includes all the water in food as well, so fruits and stuff with a lot of water, as well as boiled pasta and grains, supply a fair share of the daily water intake.

When I ride, I consume about half a litre per hour at endurance pace, i.e. where energy intake and time limit my ride distance. At faster speeds, I need more, but I generally only last for less than an hour then, so drinking can be done before and after.

Find a way to carry more water. Bigger bottles, seatpost-mounted bottle cages, bottles in jersey pockets.

I drink about 128oz a day if I don't do anything that makes me break a sweat. When I ride, I drink about 32oz/1L per hour. Find places to stop in and refill. Find houses with nice people inside that will let you refill. When it gets to about 105 around here, my water disappears 30 miles into the ride. I've gone so far as to make my routes more like figure 8s on really hot days, so I can stop home and refuel.

Well, one way to determine the necessary amount of water to drink is to weigh yourself before and after the ride. If your weight is pretty constant, then that volume is fine. If you're lighter afterwards, drink more. If you're heavier, drink less.

One thing you might be facing is loss of electrolytes, which makes you thirsty. So your body is craving something and it my not necessarily be water only. Make sure you drink enough electrolytes, 400-700mg sodium/hr is about right since you can sweat away 600-1000mg sodium/hr easily. Not replenishing your electrolytes will lead to cramps, hyponatremia and even death!!!

I have room for five 0.5 l bottles on my bike as it is now. I could probably fairly easily fix so I could fit another 2-3 bottles, but like my current fifth is (below downtube), they'd only be accessible while stopped.

On the electrolyte front, I just saw some stuff in the LBS, and I forget the brand, but it was electrolytes without the carbs. So, if you don't need the energy from the carbs, you don't get the calories of the usual electrolyte drinks like Gatorade.

It was in little tubes or bottles to be added to your water... but I forget the name.

My regular long-distance fluids load is:
2 bottles with plain tap water, sometimes with a pinch of salt (NaCl).
2 bottles with orange lemonade with a fair amount of salt (again NaCl).

The reason you need a lot more sodium than potassium/magnesium/calcium is that sodium is concentrated primarily outside of the muscle-cells while the others are on the inside. The fluids you sweat away comes from the stuff outside of cells. It's then the electrolyte balance between the insides vs. outside of the cell-membrane that gets thrown off and you end up with improper muscle operation. So the primary electrolyte that needs to be replenished is sodium.

The amount of water you need depends on your local climate and your riding style.
I can go on a long ride in damp, cool conditions with arms and legs covered without breaking into a sweat and my water usage is pretty low.
If you live in hot or desert areas and ride with exposed skin your rate of water loss will be very high, much higher than a runner.
When I was living in a desert, water consumption was about 5l/day.

Get bigger water bottles. My 1½ liter bottles cost 38¢ filled with water and are reusable for months.

These bottles can be bad news to reuse, as they can build up bacteria. The narrow opening can makes them very difficult to wash. How are you washing them?

Something to do with bacteria building up inside the plastic?

Haven't had a problem using them at all. A rinse is all they need; I'm not sharing them with anyone else. I've been using them daily for over 6 years, the same ones up to 6 months.

Any reference for why these bottles are somehow unsafe and bad but bike specific bottles sold at the LBS or xmart are good or safer?

Something to do with old wives' tales/urban legends?

If you believe the American Plastics Council then there is nothing wrong with the bottles as long as they are properly cleaned. IMHO, it is not very easy to clean the narrow mouth bottles.

There was a study at the University of Calgary that showed that chemicals will leach into the plastic over time due to wear and tear. The APC disputes these findings.

In regards to the sodium intake, if you cant stomach the tast of some of the drinks (I cant) you may consider getting the tablets, swing by a GNC or other health and fitness store and they should be able to help you out.

Believe what you want; I believe the chemicals/fumes from plastic bicycle helmet/sweat interactions may leach and cause acute nannyism.

perhaps its the electrolytes. How much salt should I put in a 20oz bottle, I'm guessing even a teaspoon wouldn't taste too good at all. Or what type of tablets should I look for at GNC

just ask the people there they can help you (if no one points you in the right direction here)

You don't have to replace it all. A couple of grams of salt in a regular bottle is fine. That will make it taste quite salty, however, so I usually only mix salt into my "carby" bottles.

Ummm Salt Water, Yummy! What will I hear if I hold the bottle up to my ear?