Bottle Carrier

I have been pondering over what type of clamp / bottle carrier I could fit to my Haibike which has no mounting fixings in the frame.

 

I tried a clamp on type on the down post from the seat to the motor which I thought to be the best location on the bike but it was too bulky and held the water bottle too far off the frame; even made contact with the battery so it got used on my other commuting bike.

 

I have however managed to get a solution:-

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zefal-Gizmo-Universal-Bicycle-Water-Bottle-Cage-Mount-Black-from-10-to-60mm-/141641591865

 

These attachments enable a normal type bottle carrier to be fitted almost flush to the post. I had never seen this type of arrangement previously. this opens up the possibility of using the bottle fixings to secure things to the bike. So, for the small cost I thought - nothing to loose.

These are great. I fitted this to my seat tube so I could add an extra bottle cage for holding my tool bottle.

 

It has a very neat and secure clamping system and has stayed nice and tight on my bike for several years.

I recently picked up an Osprey Raptor 10 which has been superb, for those who would like to carry water on their back (3L reservoir) if their bike can't accommodate a water bottle cage...

I'm another that prefers to carry my water, and use two different Camelbak's. A Rogue and a Mule. The Mule is superb, and you don't even notice that you are carrying it.

 

Bottle cages for off road use are a waste of time. If the bottle doesn't bounce out, it'll just get covered in mud.

 

Rogue here. http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/and-the-kitchen-sink.19998/

Edited September 10, 201510 yr by EddiePJ

Why do people need a water bottle carrier? I can understand it in the Tour of Britain, where they cycle hard for 170km and more than 4 hours with sweat dripping off. I can't say that I've ever used one. Once, when it was very hot, I took one of those miniature cartons in my pocket for a half-time slurp after a couple of hours. Another time, on a 80 miler, I stopped at a shop and bought a mars bar and a can of coke. Am I missing out on something?

Why do people need a water bottle carrier? I can understand it in the Tour of Britain, where they cycle hard for 170km and more than 4 hours with sweat dripping off. I can't say that I've ever used one. Once, when it was very hot, I took one of those miniature cartons in my pocket for a half-time slurp after a couple of hours. Another time, on a 80 miler, I stopped at a shop and bought a mars bar and a can of coke. Am I missing out on something?

 

I ride quite hard, even though I have some electrical assistance!

Quite nice to have a couple of sips of something every so often to keep hydrated.

 

Horses for courses I guess

I ride quite hard, even though I have some electrical assistance.

 

So do I. In fact I often use my roadbike now for 40 mile journeys. I've never taken a botle with it. I paid a lot for a 8kg bike. It would be a shame to convert it to a 9kg one.

 

Incidentally, I noticed that in the Tour de France, Vuelta, etc, that they load up with water when a down-hill is coming so that they can get an extra push from gravity, then they chuck it before any climb. Also, they take a very long time to hand it over ftom the car, so they get pulled along by the car for a bit. One guy in the Vuelta got banned because the car pulled him at about 30 mph all the way from a straggling group to the back of the peloton. He was one of the favouites too, trying to cath up after a crash or something.

It's just about staying hydrated, there's nothing good about exercising when you're dehydrated.

 

If anything it's just dangerous!

 

A 600ml bottle half full adds virtually nothing in weight but is pretty vital, especially in warmer weather.

 

It's all up to the individual of course. Who am I to preach!!

I've never felt dehydrated. How do you know if you are?

You'd know if it happened!!

 

Lets just say it's like hitting a brick wall - total loss of energy often accompanied by a blinding headache. Tis not a pleasant experience....

Some have told me that it's best to stake a sip before you become thirsty.

 

So I'm with Plasmadaddy & just take a sip every five or so miles. Seems to work for me.

I normally have a cup of tea before I set off. I've never hit a wall, but I did hit a bollard once when I wasn't looking where I was going properly. Maybe I'm naturally wet.

I have a bottle carrier on all of my bikes, electric and non-electric.

 

My average ride is about 20 miles, at a leisurely pace, and I always take, (and drink) a bottle full of water.

 

Clean water is one of the few substances that we can pour into our bodies with no negative effect, (as far as I'm aware ), so I can't see a downside.

 

As for the excess weight, the bottlefull may be a twentieth of my bike, but it's a hundredth of my weight, (so maybe a good thing that it has no sugar or calories)......

Am I missing out on something?

 

You need to get with the programme d8veh! - it's got nothing to do with hydration and everything to do with style.

 

Selling bottled water is a huge, multi-million pound industry and to ensure it stays that way, large sums of money are spent on advertising, usually portraying smiley, youthful types, looking suspiciously like regular fashion-shoot models, all dressed in designer sports wear and all carrying their water bottle.

 

The other part of the trick is to present a health aspect, i.e., making people believe that a three mile lunchtime jog round the park is dangerous without carrying the now de rigueur bottle of water.

 

In athletics, 5,000 and 10,000 metre runners as well as steeplechasers don't take on water. Only marathon runners do that and even then, the best actually take on quite little amounts.

 

Scientists now acknowledge that the old adages like, 'drink 8 glasses of water a day' or similar are complete nonsense and several studies, using identical twins, have exploded many dietary myths, not least the one about water.

 

Because of the brilliance of the rich people who pay fortunes on advertising, we now have the most egotistical society ever - it really is the 'look at me' generation, evidenced for example, by the huge increase in recent times of the convertible car.....in Britain for god's sake! They're unusable, top down, for half the bloody year! Speaking of cars, they have to be white, even if you can't afford one of the German models. The real killer with specifying white of course, is that it's usually a cost option today where not so many years ago, the manufacturers had trouble shifting the white ones which were always the cheapest as nobody wanted them.

 

In the world of fashion, the last few years have seen teenagers wearing drainpipes again as if it's something new and makes them seem a bit rebellious or daring. Mark my word, flares will be back before much longer! These style changes are essential for the maintenance of the textile industries and the international fashion houses.

 

You've probably noticed that narrow-framed spectacles are now passé and large-framed varieties occupy the shelves of all the opticians' shops. The only reason for that change is to cause people to think they're out of touch with the latest fashions and people just can't have that! Opticians need to make a living too, of course.

 

So, if you can grab the window seat in your local Costa and flash your iPad or iPhone 6+ while you sip your expensive but very ordinary coffee, you're in style....especially if you have FB set to let everyone know where you are or have been. A few 'selfies' add to the perception of course and if you can compare tattoos with the best of them, well, these are the things that count today. You've just got to be someone, right!

 

Tom

 

ps I never carry water when I'm on my bike. If I feel thirsty, I find somewhere to stop and have a drink. That's what pubs are for, isn't it?

Edited September 11, 201510 yr by oldtom

Selling bottled water is a huge, multi-million pound industry and to ensure it stays that way, large sums of money are spent on advertising, usually portraying smiley, youthful types, looking suspiciously like regular fashion-shoot models, all dressed in designer sports wear and all carrying their water bottle.

 

Good old tap water mate and I'm no fashion shoot model, that's for sure!

 

I'll take hydration over dehydration any day.

 

We're not all Mo Farrahs after all!

I thought maybe I'd misread something on here when bottled water suddenly entered the equation.

 

Like Plas just said, good old tap water for me too.

 

In fact I've never bought bottled water in my life.

5 sips of drink every 15 mins for me if the journey is over an hour

 

I would be interested to know how you would feel d8veh if you tried to ride your road bike 100 miles rather than 40 miles with your strategy especially in the summer. You might find you yourself being taken away in the broom wagon

 

I've never felt dehydrated. How do you know if you are?

 

When you take a pee if it is dark yellow you are dehydrated.

 

If you used a HR monitor you would notice the longer the ride the higher your heart rate would go for the same effort. This is because your blood volume is decreasing due to water loss through sweating and breathing. That is why correct hydration is so important for endurance athletes or anyone who exercises for polonged periods. Then of course we get onto nutrition which is another can of worms

I probably drink a litre of fluid an hour on an average off road ride. More if it is a hot day. Even then, I'll often return and find that my pee might have that not so good dark yellow appearance.

After just an average evening ride with riding mates, I'll return with soaking wet clothing from sweat. That loss has to be replaced.

Also just as important for me, is electrolyte replacement. Anyone who has suddenly been thrown to the ground in agony with leg cramp, will know exactly just how important that the two aspects are. If I know that a ride is going to be tough and arduos, Ill add 'elete' to my tap water. http://elete.com/about/products/

 

Quinine tends to prevent cramp.

 

The pros take tablets, but for the likes of you and me tonic water is just as good.

5 sips of drink every 15 mins for me if the journey is over an hour

 

I would be interested to know how you would feel d8veh if you tried to ride your road bike 100 miles rather than 40 miles with your strategy especially in the summer. You might find you yourself being taken away in the broom wagon

 

 

 

When you take a pee if it is dark yellow you are dehydrated.

 

If you used a HR monitor you would notice the longer the ride the higher your heart rate would go for the same effort. This is because your blood volume is decreasing due to water loss through sweating and breathing. That is why correct hydration is so important for endurance athletes or anyone who exercises for polonged periods. Then of course we get onto nutrition which is another can of worms

Interesting comments. I did 84 miles once with Saneagle. IIRC we had a cup of tea by the lake at the halfway stage.

 

When my liver packed up, my pee went brown like tea. Do you think that I was suffering dehydration then. They tested me for everything else and couldn't find anything, but I don't think they tested for dehydration. I certainly felt like I had hit a wall then.

 

I have a heart rate monitor on my phone (another good use for smartphones). There's a very vicious climb about half way round my regular ride, which I now do on my road bike without any hydration during the trip, I measure my heart rate at the top of the climb when I'm gasping for breath. I've just checked my S-health app where I recorded the results (another good use for smartphones) and the last time, it was 92 bpm, which is nearly in the range a relaxed person would be. The time before, it was 76 bpm, which some people my age struggle for when asleep, so it seems that for me, lack of hydration slows down my heartbeat.

For anyone who's interested here's a picture of the Bottle carrier brackets, mentioned by Westoe, fitted on my bike:

 

http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc374/kenbogle/bottle%20cage%20002.jpg

 

Often I don't carry a water bottle unless I'm going far off the beaten track, but I always carry my tool bottle.

Having bottle cage's fitted lets me transfer my tools to whichever one of my 6 bikes I'm riding.

Edited September 11, 201510 yr by Kenny

d8veh, you are obviously a very unique individual, I salute you and your very low heart rate.

 

I hope you were using a proper HR chest belt to record these numbers not some jiggery-pokery on your smartphone ?

I bought two of those chest monitors. Neither will register a heartbeat. Only my phone works. It's correct, though. I compared it with a stopwatch measurement. Same result.

I'm surprised by that.

Most of the modern belts are ANT+ compatible and have initially to be paired with the HR receiver, either a dedicated monitor or dongle which fits older iPads or iPhones.

My Beurer HRM requires it to be set to training mode to pick up the heart rate but once that has been done can be set to any of the many display functions.

If the belt is not ANT+ compatible it will only work with its own dedicated display.

Whichever belt you use, always put spit on the contacts before wearing. This ensures a good electrical contact and should enable your HR to be picked up.

They were both Bluetooth ones. The last one came from Aldi. It paired, but wouldn't show the heat beat. The other one wouldn't pair.