Decent sized water bottle
 

I drink a lot of water while riding my bike. So much that on any ride of considerable distance I run out which is very annoying. Currently I carry 2 0.7L bottles on my bike which obviously isn't enough.

I don't want a camel pack because I don't want to wear something on my back. I've thought of getting a bottle cage that can mount behind my seat but I'm worried that might prevent me from using my seat pouch which carries all my tools.

I think my preferred solution would be to get some new bottles that are at least 1L (1.5L would be awesome). Does anyone know of a company that makes bottles that big? I don't care if I have to buy new cages.

Thanks!

I saw some cages at WallMart that were adjustable, so one could hang a large Gatoraide bottle in it for example.

Get a dual cage for behind the seat and get one of those bottles that can serve as a holder for your tools etc.

Another possibility, there are single and dual possibilities for handebar mounted bottle holders.

Also, Nashbar has Zefal Magnum (32 ounce) and Camelback (1 liter) bottles.

Here is a page that shows a cage for a 1.5 liter water bottle.

http://www.velotique.com/botl.htm

And I have seen in various places (eBay for sure) a cage that allows 2 water bottles.

The CataMount cage

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/coronadel...ir_Blue_01.JPG

is pretty good. I've got a bunch of em. NIce feature is you can bend the wings in and out a bit to suit your actual bottle size.

Topeak sells a 1.5 liter holder. See at http://www.topeak.com/2007/products/...dulacagexl.php

I don't quite get this holder. Does it just hold any store bought bottle (like Evian or whatever)? I don't quite see how that's useful unless you make some sort of special cap so you can actually drink from the thing while riding. Does anyone have any experience with it to comment?

Yes, use a store bought bottle. You can sometimes find a bottle with a "sport cap" which may make it easier to drink from while riding. I use a cage similar to this to carry my coffee thermos to work on my commuter bike. I would rather use a conventional bottle for a road ride

However for long road rides I use a seat carrier with two bottles in it and keep two on the frame. I'll switch the empty ones with the full ones so accessing a drink isn't as hard. Multi-tool, tube and Clif bar in jersey pockets. If you prefer not to have anything on your back, use one of those bottle shaped containers mentioned above, or another kind of bike pack, like a frame pack that fits in the triangle or a small handle bar bag.

Craig

I have at times outfitted bikes with 5 bottle cages and own some 1-liter Zefal Magnum bottles. My touring bike is 5 bottle cages, all the time.

The Topeak Big bottle cage or whatever they call it IS fairly worthy. if you're riding that much, you can stop for a sec and transfer water into a drinkable bottle on the bars or something like that.

the 'behind the seat' 2 bottle Tri cages are pretty darn sweet as well for extra water capacity.

I use the Zefal Magnum ... it is about 1 litre, and are my favorite bottles

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...t%3A%20Bottles

I see that they are $7.99 right now, but I got three a couple months ago for $2.99 each. :)

No rack(s) and panniers, right? If you want to carry a lot of H2O that might be the way to go.

I had those too, but they leak like crazy, and the soft material absorbs tastes too easily.

+1 I'm not impressed with Zefal. The solid ones with the funky tops suck for fast drinking, and the plastic ones taste yukky.

The Topeak looks just like the pair I bought in the PX in Germany over 7 years ago and still serve me well. Those were marked as Copper Canyon Company. Paid about $5 each.

The cap "problem" is solved by sticking the cap in your pocket when cycling. If you keep the bike upright the water stays inside. This holder will also hold a 2 liter soda pop bottle but I find those bottles too difficult to handle with only one hand while cycling.

why not kill 2 birds with one stone;

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GYwB5Oy53F8

i saw schwinn hydration packs on clearance at wal-mart for $9. sucks, i bought one for $20 there. they work ok by i don't like that restricted feeling you get from wearing a backpack. also, the bladder is very thin on the schwinns. i had to replace mine already.

basically, i bought a standard cage and i just keep buying bigger an bigger water bottles as i find ones that fit. i think i'm up to a 24oz bottle right now.

I'm tight so I use the standard cheap wire cage from Nashbar
to hold my "propel" 23.7oz.(700ml) bottles (1 or 2) refilled
at home with fltered water. (the gatorade bottles are to thin)

Maybe stop and refill your bottles along the route?

Never had the leaking problem, assuming I got the cap on straight. The absorbed taste I usually dealt with by adding a dash of lemon juice.

I've never had those problems with mine ... they've been great!! :)