Hey all,
I'm planning a tour from Denver to Philadelphia starting in April, and am trying to scope out some new water bottles/cages. Last summer, touring from Portland, Oregon to Walden, Colorado, I used two store-brand 21 oz bottles (stored in the cages) with another two 25 ounce insulated Polar Bottles (kept in the panniers.) but it was not nearly enough. This year's tour will doubtless be less water-scarce, but I'd still like to scope out some bigger bottles, and perhaps mount a third cage beneath the frame. The problem is, the cages that I've been using (cheap Planet Bike jobbies) don't provide enough support for the 24oz bottles, and will most definately not be sufficient for the 28oz bottles I just ordered online.
Any suggestions?
(On a side note, the water in my Polar bottles tended to turn sour after more than twelve hours, which never happened with the clear 21ouncers. Just a friendly observation...)

If I need more water than you can keep in my two cages, I tend to just buy a few large water bottles from a convenient store and stash them in the bottom of a pannier. You could also do well with a few large Platypus style bladders. Just a few ounces, collapses to next to nothing, and fairly cheap too. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a few of them just in case.

Jeremy, I use Elite Ciussi alloy cages. There is also a SS version called the Ciussi Inox.

Brad

Do you have braze ons for a cage below the downtube? On some bikes (specifically Thorn), that cage will be mounted very close to the bottom bracket shell, allowing a pretty tall bottle. Other bikes (including LHT) mount the cage further up the downtube and that limits the size bottle you can carry, as there is not very much space between the cage and the front fender.

Your water got sour in the Polar bottles? I have never heard of that as an issue. I usually use the larger Polar bottles and have been quite happy with them.

Regarding bladders, some people prefer them but I prefer bottles because I can track how much I am drinking when I can count the bottles that I emptied.

I got 2 above and one below on the down-tube ,one on the seat-tube..
But it's not an off the shelf frameset

the one underneath I put the 22oz MSR fuel bottle for the stove.. in there..

Like fietsbob, I use 2 above for water in standard bottles, and MSR fuel bottle below. Then if I need to carry more water, I just strap a 2 litre pop bottle on the back with bungie cords. Or if water is really going to be scarce, two 2-litres. Occasionally over really bad roads it might slip out, but only once have I ever actually lost one into the dark abyss of a long cliffside ditch. But cheap and easy. If the bottles start getting dirty you can just replace them with a new one.

I've had as many as 5 cages on a DF touring bike. Secured two cages to the head tube with cable ties. Worked just fine, but ultimately preferred extra bottles in panniers and on the rack.

https://kingcage.com/products-waterbottle-cages.html

Look at the "top cap cage mount."

One extra bottle, and kept in a space you weren't using anyway.

Still, on a long trip I'd always have a water bladder packed just in case. I'm very paranoid about running out of water so I always have one. When it's empty, it weighs almost nothing, so why not?

I buy 1L smartwater in store and reuse them for a while. They're more expensive than most bottle water but they're large and fit in normal bottle cages. Zefal makes a 1L bottle. I've use one Topeak XL cage for 1.5L bottles but I gave up after breaking 3 of them, all at the same spot.

I also like Erick L had problems with the Topeak Modula XL cage but have now gone over to the BBB XL Fuel Tanks which have proven to be more robust.


Topeak Modula XL Cage


BBB XL Fuel Tank

I have found that I can only fit one BBB XL Fuel Tank within the diamond frame on my 58 cm Surly Long Haul Trucker.



My water carrying demands are probably a bit more than yours as for this years tour I will be carrying 30 + litres at one stage. For that section I will be using three Ortlieb 10 litre water bags plus my normal water bottles.

Regards
Andrew

I wish it was only a rubber strap issue. Mine actually broke at the weld. The second one lasted just a few days.

Sweet Jesus! Where are you riding that it's that far between water supplies?

I'm impressed, especially if you're also carrying clothes, camping gear, etc.

Not quite the same route, but two 24 oz Polars and (2-3 times) a 2.5 l Platypus in the panniers were enough for the eastern part of the TransAm (Pueblo to Yorktown). On that route, at least, there was almost always a source to refill water bottles every 25-30 miles. Further west and north, water sources were more distant.

Look at his location.

Well I am heading off from Darwin (Australia) in July to back home here in Perth (Western Australia) but I have a bit of an aversion to highways (and three to four trailer road trains) so one section will be from Tom Price (Pilbara) through to Mullewa. Tom Price is the last place to re-stock for food and on the section from Tom Price to Mt Augusta there is one confirmed place for water, a cattle station and a small possibility that a creek may have water (riding in the dry). Given the remoteness (and the lack of traffic - on a good day one may see a mad German out there in a 4WD) one needs to carry the water. "Road" condition is unclear so basically need to allow five days to get through from the station. So need water for six days (one emergency day backup). Also means no option for a rest day. Oh it will be warm as well, averages around 30 C + at that time of the year.

Oh yes it is a completely self-supported ride so carrying all clothes, camping gear etc.

Food is also an issue on this section as Tom Price is the last re-stock place for 17 days so will need to pedal out of Tom Price with 17 days of food. At least there is bitumen for the first 70 + km and it is downhill

This is the planned route for the first part through to Mt Augustus. The second part has a couple of water sources so is not so bad. The satellite view gives you a better concept of the area's remoteness.

Exciting

Andrew

I use two 27oz kleen kanteen bottles on the bike. In addition I throw a couple of 1 liter platypus soft bottles in the pannier to use when I think there won't be a chance to refill the water bottles. The soft bottles are nice because they don't take up any space or weigh much when empty.

And you would need it and probably more if the water starts evaporating - its summer there now, right? you are a brave man, going from Darwin to Perth on a bike?

A friend of mine went up the coast from Busselton (near Perth) to somewhere near Dampier, if I am not mistaken, to do some fishing with a friend and he was on a truck and carrying a ton of water and more than a couple of hundred gallons of gas for the truck. His explanation was that in some parts the only way to get rescued was when equivalent of the Highway Patrol in U.S. did a weekly flyover in a light plane...crazy.

How about ading a Camelback ?

Yes! Thank you one and all! Many great suggestions here!

The Salsa Anything cage is certianly large enough, but maybe a bit too wide for me. I'm going to give one a try soon.
https://salsacycles.com/components/anything_cage/ I believe it was desinged to mount on the fork of one type of their bikes, but should mount on a down tube as well, if as I say it's not too wide. BTW that BBB XL fuel tank looks interesting as well.

Maybe Bladder bags in the panniers, for refill volume, crossing the high desert west..