chucky

What's the deal with most cyclists and water bottles? Even the weight weenies seem to have one or more water bottle holders. Don't you have to stop to pee a lot drinking all that water and doesn't it slow you down?

I've always been perfectly happy to keep my water in a bag (one bottle, no holder) with my other stuff because if I drink more than once every 20 miles or so I end up having to stop too often. Sweating doesn't help, in fact the more I sweat the more my body wants to pee to supplement the sweating.

So I've always been a bit perplexed by the general obsession other cyclists have with water bottles (and water bottle holders)...although I've been smelling an ammonia smell lately which I understand could be associated with dehydration.

greyghost_6

I carry 2 because 1 is not enough. I sometimes fill the 2nd one to half way or both to 75% so they arn't as heavy and wont slip out of my hand. No, I don't have to pee that often, maybe once every 30 miles or so, but that's usually to refuel on food and things. How far do you ride for? Whats wrong with bottle holders? Whats confusing to me is putting water in a bag! How do you drink when you are riding? Even with good skill, you have to get it off your back, unzip, find the water, drink the water... Why not just have a holder and you drink without taking your mind off riding, just grab it from the holder. Yeah, the ammonia smell might be dehydration, maybe you have a small bladder?

Mr. Beanz

What good are electrolytes if you don't drink them?

Arcanum

Is this a troll? "I don't understand why people carry so much water and drink so much. Hmm, I seem to be showing symptoms of dehydration...."

Machka 

Yes. This is a troll.


But generally speaking it is a good idea to drink one 750 ml bottle of water (and/or sports drink) every 1 to 1.5 hours ... give or take, depending on weather. Not drinking enough leads to dehydration ... and the medical issues caused by dehydration, like kidney stones.

ctyler

I drill holes in my water bottles to reduce the weight. ;-)

bradtx

On charity rides where there are stops every ten miles or so I carry one bottle. Usually I carry two bottles otherwise and the touring bike has three cages. Having to pee often is a symptom that should be at least checked by the family doctor. In my case I have a small bladder that drove my folks nuts on long car trips and is just a way of life.

Riding in high humidity like I do it's easy to remember to rehydrate, riding in low humidity with high temps involves a schedule because I sweat less which is roughly half a water bottle, 6-8 oz. every 30 minutes and yes I have been bitten in the butt not following that schedule once in low humidity summertime Dallas. Best advice I had was from a nurse friend who said that if I didn't need to pee once an hour, I'm not drinking enough.

Brad

dcrowell

Try riding 60 miles in hilly terrain during the summer heat without three water bottles. We were at Big South Fork in southern Kentucky last year, and ran out of water. It's a remote area, but we finally found a firehouse with an outside spigot. I drank six bottles of water that day.

My LHT has three water bottles. My single-speed and folding bikes have one. My recumbent has two.

I really don't worry about weight. Three of my bikes are steel. I tend to carry a fair amount of "luggage".

AlmostGreenGuy

When I ride, I sweat out every bit of moisture that I take in. If I could, my bike would have 5 water bottles on it. Having to take a leak is NEVER an issue for me.

prathmann

Yesterday I went for a ride of about 80 miles and it was a warm, sunny day. I had two bottles on the bike, drank from them fairly often while riding and had to refill them twice. I presume the water was expelled as sweat since I had no need for a restroom stop until after I got back home. In addition to increasing the water capacity, having two or more bottles lets me keep different things in them. I prefer to have one with just water and the other with some sugar/salt solution.

Steely Dan

ditto, i'm a sweater. when i'm exercising, i drink crap loads of water and it all comes out through my pores. stopping to take a leak has never been an issue for me. that's why for rides in the 75+ mile range, i like to know that i have water replenishment available at least every 20 miles or so.

for my daily commuting (15 miles each way) as long as i remember to guzzle a glass or two right before i leave, one bottle of water is enough to get me to work/home.

Flying Merkel

In the presence of genius I stand in awe.

My philosophy is to never run out of water. My friend & I were hiking in the desert. He assumed the two water bottles I was carrying was for both of us. Found out he had NO water with him until we were well under way. Temps were in the 90s in the shade- if there was shade. Hiking under those conditions with no water is pure hell. We had to cut the hike short. Never hiked with him again. Dehydration will kill you quicker than you know.

frankenmike 

OP have you been checked for diabetes insipidus? Seriously.

Artkansas 

And you want to be sure that you don't fill them with heavy water.

StephenH

When it's hot, I can go through my 2-24 oz water bottles plus two quart Nalgene bottles in about 30 miles. If I start riding in the morning when it's hot, it'll be mid-afternoon before I need to pee.

The Slow One

Having to urinate may indeed be a sign that you are consuming too much liquid. The main need for fluid replacement is due to sweat loss, in which case electrolytes also need to be replaced. Also, as you warm up there is a migration of water from the blood's plasma into the muscles that have warmed up. There is a much greater need for fluid replacement when it is hot and you are working hard than when it is cold and/or you're not working so hard. In the winter, I used to drink a lot of sports drinks as a source of energy while riding but what I wanted/needed was the energy from the calories and not the water of electrolytes. As a result I had to stop very frequently to urinate because I was over-hydrated. I have since learned to use gels instead of sports drinks when it is cold.

If you are sweating then you do need drink and replace electrolytes or you'll be slowed down by your dehydration a lot more than you'll be slowed down by the weight of the water and any bottle holder.

If I recall correctly, I think that there is a also problem with just drinking plain water without electrolytes. Even though you are replacing the lost liquid you are actually diluting you blood (the concentration of electrolytes in your blood is reduced). As a consequence your body tries to compensate by removing the excess water into your urine so that your electrolyte concentration will be increased... which will cause you to urinate after drinking even though you are dehydrated.

The bottom line is that you have to match both water loss and electrolyte loss. If you do it right you won't be urinating very much, if at all.

ratdog

My bike has 3 bottle cages. One takes a water bottle and the other two bottles are filled with helium to help make the bike a few grams lighter.

caloso

Typically it's > 100F and < 20% RH here in the summer. I'll carry 2 bottles on the bike and one in my jersey pockets. And stop to refill them.

JanMM

You'd save a significant amount of weight by ditching the bottles and putting the water directly into your jersey pockets.

caloso

Or bypass the middleman and just spray it into the air. Our city motto is "But It's A Dry Heat."

chucky

I ride about 50 miles per day and I don't use bottle holders because they only encourage me to drink too much (vs keeping it in a bag where I'm not tempted to drink unless I'm actually thirsty).

Except for the summer most of the year I don't even carry water...I just stop and look for a bathroom if I'm thirsty which wastes less time than if I were peeing from drinking water "just because I have it".

I drink a lot more water when I'm being sedentary because I don't have to worry about where I'm going to pee.

I get full blood work on an annual basis. Never been told my health is less than perfect other than high cholesterol (genetic since infancy).

Hmmm...you might be onto something here. I often have difficulty getting enough calories day to day. Perhaps my body isn't absorbing the water due to a deficiency of electrolytes and other nutrients.

I don't care about the weight. I just don't understand why other people feel the need to drink so much water...maybe because most people only ride long distances during the summer?

StephenH

Three guys were sitting around talking. The first one says he's from Phoenix. "But isn't it awfully hot there?", the others ask. "Yes", he says, "But it's a dry heat so it isn't so bad."

The second one says he's from Denver. "But isn't it awfully cold there?" the others ask. "Yes", he says, "But it's a dry cold, so it doesn't seem that bad."

The third guy says he's from Beaumont, Texas. "But doesn't it rain an awful lot there?" the others ask. "Yes", he says, "But it's a dry rain so it doesn't get you wet."

Northwestrider

? Huh

Machka 

You are supposed to drink BEFORE you are thirsty. There's nothing heroic and strong about going without liquid. Depriving yourself of liquid is just silly.

LesterOfPuppets

I probably don't drink enough water when I ride, but I definitely don't try to hide it from myself. Two bottle cages full. When in the desert I rolled with a big bottle of water in my trunk bag and replenish the frame bottle from there.

I sometimes consider setting up one of my bikes with a bar mounted water bottle cage.

My last century I only peed once and drank about 125 oz of water, 25oz gaterade and 16oz OJ.