Hydration and Camelbak

I'm seeing more and more Camelbaks on the trails and am wondering what the
consensus is here.

My training trail has a lot of water stops available so it is not a major
problem. I usually ride 80 miles daily with a century + on the weekend. I use
two water cages and a fanny pack that has dual bottle carriers. I start the day
with water in the cages and a 20oz bottle of diet Mountain Dew in the fanny
pack. The MD is for the caffiine, I don't drank coffee. The remaining bottle
carrier is for a bananna and heavy duty surgical gloves for roadside repairs.
The fanny pack itself holds protein bars, clear glasses, serving size powdered
Gatorade in baggies and a well stocked first aid kit. (I'm prone to road rash)
My rain jacket rides under my seat with spare tubes and my tool kit. I've sorta
become accustomed to this setup but am thinking maybe someone in the NG has a
better idea.

I'm thinking of moving into double centuries this year and am wondering if a
Camelbak would improve my ride. I've looked at 3 versions. The Rocket looks
sleek and has improved air flow but holds the least amount of liquid. The Lobo
is quite nice, slim, more water capacity, but lite on serious storage. The Mule
holds 100oz and appears to be the logical choice with a net to hold leg warmers
and a long sleeve shirt but is it too big and bulky? I don't know if I want
something this large hanging on my shoulders for a long ride.

While I can't say I ride anywhere near a double century, I do use a Rocket
on a regular basis. I live in Florida and two large bottles just don't cut
it in our tropical humidity. I keep my minitool, keys, spare tube, gloves,
wallet, and other assorted stuff in it and it's quite bearable. It's not
very heavy, and the Coolmax back keeps cool. It's kinda Fredly to wear one
on the road, but I like it.

On 10 Mar 2004 01:39:50 GMT, ospam (whinds) wrote:
I'm seeing more and more Camelbaks on the trails and am wondering what the
consensus is here.

Why is the word "trail" commonly used to refer to pavement? I've
always figured it meant dirt, and one would say "route" or "path"
(depending on context) for pavement.

Of course, if you're talking about doing double centuries on hilly
singletrack, well, you can use any word you want to describe
anything you want; that's quite a feat, deserving much respect.

My training trail has a lot of water stops available so it is not a major
problem. I usually ride 80 miles daily with a century + on the weekend. I use
two water cages and a fanny pack that has dual bottle carriers. I start the day
with water in the cages and a 20oz bottle of diet Mountain Dew in the fanny
pack. The MD is for the caffiine, I don't drank coffee. The remaining bottle

Caffeine can be had in a more compact, lightweight, convenient pill
form; you can break the pill into smaller servings. It's probably a
bit cheaper than 20oz bottled soft drinks, too.

carrier is for a bananna and heavy duty surgical gloves for roadside repairs.
The fanny pack itself holds protein bars, clear glasses, serving size powdered
Gatorade in baggies and a well stocked first aid kit. (I'm prone to road rash)
My rain jacket rides under my seat with spare tubes and my tool kit. I've sorta
become accustomed to this setup but am thinking maybe someone in the NG has a
better idea.

Better than something that you're so satisfied with?

It ain't broke. Don't fix it.

I'm thinking of moving into double centuries this year and am wondering if a
Camelbak would improve my ride. I've looked at 3 versions. The Rocket looks
sleek and has improved air flow but holds the least amount of liquid. The Lobo
is quite nice, slim, more water capacity, but lite on serious storage. The Mule
holds 100oz and appears to be the logical choice with a net to hold leg warmers
and a long sleeve shirt but is it too big and bulky? I don't know if I want
something this large hanging on my shoulders for a long ride.

I ride with backpacks like these. I have a small, streamlined one
that I don't bother with anymore. I have a Camelbak Mule, equipped
for mountain biking. I have an "Ultimate XSpurt", with nearly or the
same cargo capacity as the Mule, equipped for road riding.

Of course, the reservoirs are interchangeable.

The air flow things on the back of my Mule are ineffective, but may
work better if I didn't have it so stuffed. The flat, soft back on
the road pack is fine.

My back gets rather hot and sweaty. Carrying all the crap on my back
ends up putting more weight on my arms and hands. For road riding,
I've been trying to offload some of the stuff to the bike, but am
hampered by having one set of equipment for riding many different
bikes.

I'd say that if you're happy with what you've got, don't mess with
it. If you want to carry additional liquid and/or solid cargo, and
you don't wish to add it to the bike, a backpack is a good option,
but I wouldn't just pull everything off the bike and throw it on my
back.

It's more useful to have on your back when off road, where you need
the more nimble, lighter bike to more easily throw around underneath
you...and the pack + stuff works as back armor when you biff.
--
Rick Onanian

"whinds" wrote in message
...

I'm thinking of moving into double centuries this year and am wondering if
a
Camelbak would improve my ride.

Here's the issues:

One, is, if you have a camelbak, you're more likely to drink more often. So,
in that sense, having a camelbak will improve your ride, if you don't drink
very regularly otherwise. Somehow it's easy to take little sips all the time
with a camelbak, but it's a hassle to reach for your water bottle.

Second, if you're doing a very long ride and it's unsupported, you might
want a camelbak so you'll have enough water between water sources. I
remember one long ride I took in unfamiliar territory, and I very sharply
remember there being an espresso stand (yeah, Seattle area) in the middle of
a small town. The woman at the stand very kindly filled my camelbak with ice
and then cold water, just out of complete human kindness. This really helped
me out, as I otherwise wouldn't have had easy access to water for the next
thirty miles. It's situations like these where having a large water bladder,
and not just a couple of bottles, is really helpful.

Third, if you're in very hot weather, a camelbak is indispensable. I did a
short but very hot ride in the desert outside of Las Vegas one year in July,
and my husband and I filled out camelbaks three times in three hours -- I
have a 72 oz and he has a 100 oz. That's a lot of water, but each time the
bladders were completely drained by the time we hit a water source again.

However, a full camelbak is heavy. Because of the weight of those things, if
you're planning to do these long rides this summer, the time to start
training with a full camelbak is now. Get used to carrying a weight on your
shoulders in March, and it won't seem so bad in July.

If you regularly hydrate without the camelbak, if you are planning a
supported double century, and if you don't anticipate the weather being
extraordinarily hot, then I wouldn't bother with the camelbak. That's too
much weight to carry on your back for 200 miles.

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Email me the new Tiferet CD (http://www.tiferet.net)
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

"whinds" wrote

I'm thinking of moving into double centuries this year and am wondering if a
Camelbak would improve my ride.

I stopped using a Camelbak for all road rides after using one out of habit for
years. For long road rides, they're just too uncomfortable. I use insulated
water bottles (Polar, 24 oz.). I have 3 holders on my distance bike, and often
use a rear rack to carry extra gear and bottles if the weather is very hot
and/or the distances between water stops is large. Getting all that weight off
your back makes a big difference, especially for doubles & beyond. I'll often
get a big bottle of OJ or similar at stops, drink some, then pour the rest
into an empty bottle to drink over the next hour or so.

On 10 Mar 2004 01:39:50 GMT, ospam (whinds) wrote:

I'm thinking of moving into double centuries this year and am wondering if a
Camelbak would improve my ride. I've looked at 3 versions. The Rocket looks
sleek and has improved air flow but holds the least amount of liquid. The Lobo
is quite nice, slim, more water capacity, but lite on serious storage. The Mule
holds 100oz and appears to be the logical choice with a net to hold leg warmers
and a long sleeve shirt but is it too big and bulky? I don't know if I want
something this large hanging on my shoulders for a long ride.

I rode with water bottles for years and years until I got a Mule a
year and a half ago. What really surprised me was how quickly I got
used to wearing it. If you try a Camelbak you'll probably find you
soon don't even notice you're wearing it.

I still ride primarily with water bottles but find the Camelbak
particularly useful for riding in the Rockies, where I want
supplemental clothing readily available. The mule is also handy for
day-hikes.


jeverett3ATearthlinkDOTnet http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

whinds wrote:

I'm seeing more and more Camelbaks on the trails and am wondering
what the consensus is here.

My training trail has a lot of water stops available so it is not a
major problem. I usually ride 80 miles daily with a century + on the
weekend. I use two water cages and a fanny pack that has dual bottle
carriers. I start the day with water in the cages and a 20oz bottle
of diet Mountain Dew in the fanny pack. The MD is for the caffiine, I
don't drank coffee. The remaining bottle carrier is for a bananna and
heavy duty surgical gloves for roadside repairs. The fanny pack
itself holds protein bars, clear glasses, serving size powdered
Gatorade in baggies and a well stocked first aid kit. (I'm prone to
road rash) My rain jacket rides under my seat with spare tubes and my
tool kit. I've sorta become accustomed to this setup but am thinking
maybe someone in the NG has a better idea.

You ought to be able to fit all this stuff in a medium sized saddlebag plus
jersey pockets. That's what I do, for about the same amount of stuff. Why the
fanny pack?

I'm thinking of moving into double centuries this year and am
wondering if a Camelbak would improve my ride. I've looked at 3
versions. The Rocket looks sleek and has improved air flow but holds
the least amount of liquid. The Lobo is quite nice, slim, more water
capacity, but lite on serious storage. The Mule holds 100oz and
appears to be the logical choice with a net to hold leg warmers and a
long sleeve shirt but is it too big and bulky? I don't know if I want
something this large hanging on my shoulders for a long ride.

You probably don't.

Camelbacks are great for off road riding, where they get the weight off the bike
for better handling on technical terrain. They also make it easier to drink.
But for road riding, it's definately more comfortable to carry stuff on the
bike. If you really need more water capacity, try to find a place on your bike
for an extra water bottle. However, there are usually enough places to fill up
when riding on the road, especially on an organized/supported ride.

In my experience, it's not the weight that matters so much with the Camelback,
but the sweat and heat on your back. It affects how your body radiates heat and
stays cool. If you're riding in an arid climate out west it doesn't matter as
much, but it could really affect you in hot, humid weather with big climbs.

Matt O.

Hey, Folks:

Do you intend to use the word "CamelBak" as a brand name, or merely as
a generic reference to a backpack water carrier?

LONE PEAK PACKS makes many different packs for the bicycle and rider,
including hydration backpacks.

http://www.lonepeakpacks.com/h2o.html

Regards,
Nicholas Grieco

In article ,
(Nicholas) writes:


Do you intend to use the word "CamelBak" as a brand name, or merely as
a generic reference to a backpack water carrier?

I meant the brand CamelBak. I get turned off by the cross naming methods such
as used on eBay. I have yet to see any hydration pack as good as CamelBak's.
CamelBaks are more expensive than the others I've seen but I think their
bladders are the best. I bought a Platypus a couple of years ago and used the
bladder once.


LONE PEAK PACKS makes many different packs for the bicycle and rider,
including hydration backpacks.

http://www.lonepeakpacks.com/h2o.html

Thanks for the link Nicholas, they have a lot of nice looking packs. Have you
used any of them? What does the bladder look like? Do they have screw on fill
caps?