25 votes

How to take a drink while riding?

I find that using my primary hand (my writing hand) is better than the other one. Keep eyes on the road, you should not have to look to find your bottle. I use my teeth to open the sippy valve, ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
23 votes
Accepted

Why do cyclists use thin bottles?

Inertia. Bottles are about that big because that's how big bottle cages are, because that's how big bottles are.... repeat. Another cause is that a 10cm bottle would be larger and harder to hold/...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
18 votes

How much hydration is enough hydration during long rides?

When I first started doing longer distance rides, the rule-of-thumb I was told was "drink a bottle every hour." Obviously, that's a very rough figure, and it's going to depend on a lot of ...
DavidW's user avatar
  • 5,043
14 votes
Accepted

From the perspective of a cyclist, what is a common way to hydrate throughout the day?

Very unlikely you were dehydrated from such a short ride. If you were dehydrated post ride, you almost certainly started out dehydrated. Humans evolved to the top of the food chain by drinking when ...
mattnz's user avatar
  • 49.1k
13 votes
Accepted

Floor pump blowing wet air?

Yes, floor pumps can condense water in them. The water is from atmospheric water vapor. When the pump walls are colder than the surrounding air, the vapor can condense just like dew forms on leaves in ...
RoboKaren's user avatar
  • 29.1k
13 votes

How much hydration is enough hydration during long rides?

Good luck on your brevet attempt! 200km, or 124 miles, is a long ride. For reference, on the road, average riders might complete a century ride (160km/100mi) in 5-7 hours, maybe less if one is with a ...
Weiwen Ng's user avatar
  • 29.7k
11 votes

Map of water taps to fill bottles

Openstreetmap with the cycle layer certainly shows some. Here's one I was very grateful for in the French Alps. OSM is not complete but it's open source so you can improve it (I haven't added any ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.3k
11 votes

Why do cyclists use thin bottles?

As noted above, the reason for not using fatter bottles is being able to have a firm enough grip on them to grab them, drink and stow them again with one hand while riding. The best solution for ...
DavidW's user avatar
  • 5,043
10 votes

Ride a Century Without Stopping?

I've almost done this, and its not "easy" but it should be possible. However a non-stop 100 km is much harder than simply doing 100 km. Try working up do it. I don't know what your current distance ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
10 votes

What ingredients are necessary in a sports drink when you must drink a lot?

In the past I was used to buy sport drinks - like Gatorade - spending a lot of money and always in doubt about their efficiency. But my sport Nutritionist suggested me a simple, natural and efficient ...
Marcelo Rodrigo's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Should I leave the water bottle tip open or shut while in the cage?

To quote David Richerby: You're over-thinking this. Most people close their bottles most of the time. I'm not one to worry about a little "gunk", but I close my bottle more than half the time. I ...
andy256's user avatar
  • 17.2k
9 votes
Accepted

Good way to stop electrolyte tabs from turning into powder?

I've got a few individually wrapped tablets (and equivalent powders) that came as samples. I never use them when starting from home instead saving them for carrying with me. This works for long hot ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.3k
9 votes

Why do cyclists use thin bottles?

One reason is the industry measures weight savings in $10's/gram - water heavy, ergo it is expensive. Cyclists tend to plan to refill with water on route if they need large amounts. A couple of ...
mattnz's user avatar
  • 49.1k
8 votes

Why do cyclists use thin bottles?

For a start you can get bigger cages. I use a Topeak Modula EX sometimes, which is adjustable to ⌀74 mm (also for the Modula II, with a metal clip instead of plastic). This is noticeably bigger than ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.3k
8 votes

Sub-zero cycling water bottles that fit regular cages

Not quite a bottle, but if a drinking bladder/backpack suits your riding styles then they will not freeze until you do. Sometimes known as a camelback or camelbak because of the product of a similar ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
7 votes

How to take a drink while riding?

Remove bottle from bottle cage and keep riding using the hand not holding the bottle Pull up the cap with teeth Squeeze bottle in the mouth (if soft bottle) or suck liquid in (if hard bottle) Swallow ...
L.Dutch's user avatar
  • 7,081
7 votes

Ride a Century Without Stopping?

it would seem to me that nutrition, hydration, waste disposal and arm fatigue would be the greatest challenges Nutrition: isn't that hard, although if you haven't already, you might want to spend ...
Useless's user avatar
  • 2,997
7 votes

How to take a drink while riding?

I switched to CamelBak's podium bottle, which has a lock and a self-sealing "Jet Valve" that only has water come out if you squeeze really hard. This has made the whole process easier (and better for ...
Don Chesworth's user avatar
7 votes

Good way to stop electrolyte tabs from turning into powder?

Stuffing the free space in the container with tissue paper has worked for me fairly well in the past. Alternatively, just embrace it and move from tablets to a powder, which is what I use now - it's ...
Diado's user avatar
  • 681
7 votes

Why do cyclists use thin bottles?

tourers basically live on their bikes and that cycling is a sport that really makes people sweat Tourers may basically live on their bikes, but it does not need to be a sport that really makes people ...
gerrit's user avatar
  • 3,637
7 votes

How much hydration is enough hydration during long rides?

This is just some additional tips. One thing I do on really long rides (first on a 400km brevet) is set a periodic reminder on my phone to drink every 15 minutes, also to stretch, and to consume some ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.3k
6 votes

Map of water taps to fill bottles

In the USA free tap water is virtually universal, and I was able to fill up my water bottles at any fast food restaurant and convenience store I stopped at, all over the country. A switch on most ...
Michael Hampton's user avatar
5 votes

Backpack size - 10L vs 14L

Alternative suggestion - don't take a pack. They make your back hot and sweaty and raise your center of mass. Instead I carry two water bottles, so 1.5 L of liquid, enough for ~3 hours of normal ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
5 votes
Accepted

Rubber washer in camelback Antidote Reservoir 1.5L

There's nothing complicated about how it fits. Here's my cap seal for reference.
Chris's user avatar
  • 809
5 votes
Accepted

Ride a Century Without Stopping?

You've essentially just described the 100 mile time trial, which is fairly popular event in the British time trial scene (and perhaps elsewhere, too). The idea in a time trial is simply to complete ...
Will Vousden's user avatar
  • 3,981
5 votes

How to take a drink while riding?

I originally used to prefer to drink with my right (primary) hand but now prefer to use the left, with the right controlling steering and covering the brake (the front brake on my case as I'm in the ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.3k
5 votes

Is there a standard for water bottles?

There is a common format used by all major bottle and holder makers. At least the typical plastic ones, I do not use any other. Wikipedia specifies it as: "The standard size of bottle cage holds a ...
Vladimir F Героям слава's user avatar
5 votes

Why do cyclists use thin bottles?

There's a more simple answer for bottle size which no-one seems to have touched on. For safety, cyclists need one hand on the bars at all times, which means any water bottle needs to be able to be ...
Graham's user avatar
  • 1,049
4 votes

Bottle on frame alternative

First of all: You mention that the placement of the bottle mount is bad. There are adapters which allow you to mount a bottle cage without frame holes. E.g. SKS Anywhere, Minoura or this set. All look ...
Michael's user avatar
  • 26k

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