Anyone use a Camelbak for road riding ?

s1mon

Hi,

Anyone prefer to use a Camelbak than bottle(s) ? I've just got back into road cycling and thinking about using a small Camelbak to also holes few tools, inner tube etc rather than a saddle bag. I use a Camelbak for offroad but going to be too big for on road.

Thanks.

biscuit959

I've got one and have used it on the road a few times. Thing is though, I'd say its only useful if you're on an all day ride, i.e. when 1/2 bottles wouldn't be enough. The one I've got only has a small pocket - cash, card and a couple of keys size. So I still use a saddle bag with it.

Sure the elite cycling police will tell you not to associate with the mtb'ers and not use one haha.

So yeah, I'd say probably not worth it but depends how far you plan on going?

simon_masterson

No, and I don't have any plans to. I don't want a sweaty back and want to use my rear pockets, for a start. I don't see why you would want to have your tools on your back even if you did have a Camelbak; why not use a wedge pack or similar? It could end up being pretty bulky, and I have strong opinions about the compromising of rear visibility caused by backpacks.

If I really did not want to use bottles and preferred a bladder, I would opt for something like the VelEau, but it's a lot of money for what it is, not to mention not very large in capacity. Two big bottles on the frame plus 2-3 in jersey pockets is enough for a lot of rides. You could add one (or two) on your bars like Bahamontes et al, two behind your saddle a la triathlon... I would pursue either or both of those before opting for a Camelbak. If I needed more water than 5-7 750ml bottles (which is a lot), chances are I might also have luggage on my bike, in which I could keep some more.

http://www.firebox.com/product/4391/Vel ... ion-System

Why do you want to, if I might ask?

Defyand

S Masterson - just what have got against Camelbaks. Rear view visibility ? They are not wardrobes on your back! BUT they are sweaty!!!

simon_masterson

Defyand wrote:

S Masterson - just what have got against Camelbaks. Rear view visibility ? They are not wardrobes on your back! BUT they are sweaty!!!

Well, that depends on which size you get, doesn't it? They come quite large, so far as I know. I'm not particularly claiming that Camelbaks are as problematic in the rear view respect as larger backpacks, but it's still a potential issue and therefore my logic for any sort of 'backpack' is the same.

Otherwise, I don't massively dislike them. I'd probably buy one if I did some more hiking. I just think they're entirely unsuitable for cycling and unnecessary in light of all of the other options available.

Millerman007

not used mine on my road bikes but good for my MTB , however i was thinking about using a small one for 3+ hours on the bike when I'm on my own as i would not leave my bike outside a shop to grab a bottle of water , chances are it would not be there when i come out of the shop !

macleod113

I have one of the camelback vests in which the bladded sits in a pocket on the back. i've worn it for 2 80+ mile rides and find it fine, a bit warm is all. its a lot less bulky than a backpack and my jersey fits over the top just fine. you do look a little like a humpback though.....

Raffles

Ive used a 1 L camelbak on 50 mile club rides as I just cannot ride quickly whilst having one hand on the bars and fumbling with a fluids bottle :oops: , with the camel bak all I have to do is pop the end of the tube in my mouth, drink and let it go. It doesnt cause me any grief and several club members have asked about it, Ive never had any abuse for using it and if the OP wants to, well its his business.

richh

If you're used to using them on you MTB then I'd say go for it and ignore any purists that say otherwise, but I would add that I really don't see why you'd ever need it though. Two 800ml bottles and a small seat wedge pack is more than enough space for everything you need for a 100 miler (or longer). It's easy to refill the bottles on your way around from a shop, pub or friendly local.

Anonymous

Reah velominati "The Rules" on what is and not allowed.

ShutUpLegs

Please please use one, its hilarious seeing someone on a road bike wearing one

Bozman

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Please please use one, its hilarious seeing someone on a road bike wearing one

+1 I've yet to see one in 20 yrs.

NITR8s

I used to use one, then I realised how rubbish they are.

1) They put excess weight on your back
2) You cant see how much you have drunk.
3) They make drinks taste horrible.
4) They make you sweat more.
5) They are agaisnt the rules, as per any bag on your bike. All tools, pumps and spare innertubes should be crammed in your pockets!
6) There has got to be a reason that the pros dont use them!

rolf_f

NITR8s wrote:

6) There has got to be a reason that the pros dont use them!

Yes - they are called team cars. Get one and you need never worry about running out of water or having to carry an unsightly seatpack with you again. Similarly, you can ditch those heavy clinchers and go for the lightweight tubs you covet safe in the knowledge that the team car will provide you with a complete new wheel within seconds of a flat.

And if the rules disallow camelbaks, then use camelbaks. Only slightly sad people need to follow the rules.

PS - if a Camelbak makes your drinks taste horrible, you are doing it wrong!

Balaclavas

Hate to play devils advocate, but didn't one or two of the pros (I'm thinking Schlecks) use them in the 2011 tdf during the tt's? Hence more specific uci rules on using them for next year. IIRC they were mostly used for aerodynamic advantage rather than drinking though. Have to admit I did use one in my first TT (several years before Schleck and co.) though that was because I didn't have any bottle cage bosses on my old steel Carlton.

Raffles

What in the name of goodness does whether or not UCI rules permitting or declining the use of camelbaks for guys heading out on 60 mile club runs have to do with anything ?

On this board alone, id estimate conservatively that the pro peloton contingent would be about 0.00000000002 %.

If anybody worries that they turn up with a camelbak because thats what they prefer to use, which incidentally has no adverse effects on the taste of the fluid, and if it does, you are obviously not cleaning it properly, and some of the club riders are standing laughing at you.................well its those morons that are the jerkoffs in the club and anybody with an ounce of sense should ignore them.

If somebody wishes to use a camelbak , they should just go right on ahead , and the day they become a pro peloton rider , then maybe they can retire the camelbak. Bit of a difference between criticism from a pro tour rider and a saturday club rider.

fast as fupp

Two big bottles on the frame plus 2-3 in jersey pockets is enough for a lot of rides. You could add one (or two) on your bars like Bahamontes et al, two behind your saddle a la triathlon... I would pursue either or both of those before opting for a Camelbak. If I needed more water than 5-7 750ml bottles (which is a lot), chances are I might also have luggage on my bike, in which I could keep some more.

'kinnell 5 bottles! are you riding across a desert?

king_jeffers

s1mon wrote:

Hi,

Anyone prefer to use a Camelbak than bottle(s) ? I've just got back into road cycling and thinking about using a small Camelbak to also holes few tools, inner tube etc rather than a saddle bag. I use a Camelbak for offroad but going to be too big for on road.

Thanks.

I do, don't like to spoil the look of the bike, I only have a tiny pack, small enough for the bladder, money and a couple of tools + pump. Think it looks okay and serves a practical purpose.

Bozman

Why on earth would you need one?
Even if you ride 100 mile don't tell me that you need more than two 750ml bottles, i think that a lot of folk drink far too much fluid, i'd probably stuggle to use 1 500ml bottle on a 40 mile ride.

springtide9

I wear one on my back most of the time... although it generally doesn't contain any fluids lol

Not sure about the visibility statement as like most people, my neck is not capable of rotating 180 degs to actually see the thing.

As for a bag making your back sweat, I generally find that it's the pushing hard on the pedals that makes me sweat rather than a little bag on my back.

I mostly use my pack for carrying a jacket / arm warmers / additional food etc for when you are out for a big day, the weather is changeable etc. I generally only use it as a bladder if it's going to be a big day out and getting additional supplies on the way is going to be an issue. The downside of using the bladder for fluids is that it's not easy to know how much fluid you have left.

The amount of fluids you consume varies on a number of factors: outside temperature, effort, distance/time etc. You just need to replace the fluids you loose from sweat etc. The harder the effort, the more heat you produce, so the more you sweat.

Tools and tubes are in a saddle bag and I also have a stem bag for food.

TBH I could generally do without one if I planned a bit better, but it's the knowing that it breaks one of the godly 'Velominati' rules that just makes me NOT want to stop.

rolf_f

Bozman wrote:

Why on earth would you need one?
Even if you ride 100 mile don't tell me that you need more than two 750ml bottles, i think that a lot of folk drink far too much fluid, i'd probably stuggle to use 1 500ml bottle on a 40 mile ride.

DIfferent people need different amounts of water. I took a mate on a 60 mile ride last year on a day which wasn't hot. He used up one bottle in the first 20 miles - most of which is downhill. Luckily that got us to the bike shop in Tadcaster and I made him get another cage and another bottle.

I hardly use any water but once it gets over 20 degrees my intake increases markedly. I rode from Leeds to Lincoln last year on a hot day with headwinds all the way. Tell me that you'd only need 1.5 litres for that and I'd suspect you were fibbing! I was stopping at every shop!

fast as fupp wrote:

Two big bottles on the frame plus 2-3 in jersey pockets is enough for a lot of rides.

You'd stick 2 or 3 full bottles in your jersey pockets before using a Camelbak? :shock:

Bozman

Rolf F wrote:

Bozman wrote:

Why on earth would you need one?
Even if you ride 100 mile don't tell me that you need more than two 750ml bottles, i think that a lot of folk drink far too much fluid, i'd probably stuggle to use 1 500ml bottle on a 40 mile ride.

DIfferent people need different amounts of water. I took a mate on a 60 mile ride last year on a day which wasn't hot. He used up one bottle in the first 20 miles - most of which is downhill. Luckily that got us to the bike shop in Tadcaster and I made him get another cage and another bottle.

I hardly use any water but once it gets over 20 degrees my intake increases markedly. I rode from Leeds to Lincoln last year on a hot day with headwinds all the way. Tell me that you'd only need 1.5 litres for that and I'd suspect you were fibbing! I was stopping at every shop!

fast as fupp wrote:

Two big bottles on the frame plus 2-3 in jersey pockets is enough for a lot of rides.

You'd stick 2 or 3 full bottles in your jersey pockets before using a Camelbak? :shock:

We are all different but I feel that a lot of people aren't well hydrated before they go out, if I'm out on a long ride I'll always make sure that I drink well the day before as well as first thing in the morning.
100 miles the other week and I had fluid left out of a 750 and a 500ml, 40 miles today in 26 degrees and I used about 300ml.

simon_masterson

fast as fupp wrote:

'kinnell 5 bottles! are you riding across a desert?

Based on consuming one per hour over a few hours, which isn't uncommon. At races with team cars, fuelling stations and the like, anyway.

But that's moreorless what I'm getting at. When it's possible to carry at least 6 litres of water on your bike (assuming that you've got one bottle on the bars (more if you have aero bars!), two on the frame, two behind the saddle and 2 in your back pockets) without employing any luggage, the couple of extra litres that a Camelbak will carry seem entirely irrelevant to me.

simon_masterson

Rolf F wrote:

Bozman wrote:

You'd stick 2 or 3 full bottles in your jersey pockets before using a Camelbak? :shock:

Of course I would, and I frequently have. A properly made jersey will hold things in the pockets very comfortably. I can stuff up the pockets of my Polaris and ride all the way in comfort; In fact I frequently forget that I have anything in them. My Altura, not so much.

A backpack on the other hand will be sweaty and uncomfortable the whole way round; For me there really is no question.

Bozman

Slightly changing the subject to running but still on hydration, apparently there hasn't been one death from dehydration during marathons but 12 deaths from drinking too much. I read an article a while back where a fair marathon runner had become ill during a race, the 3 litres consumed were deemed to much even though the race was run in a 23 degree heat(sunny day).

Bozman

Simon Masterson wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Bozman wrote:

You'd stick 2 or 3 full bottles in your jersey pockets before using a Camelbak? :shock:

Of course I would, and I frequently have. A properly made jersey will hold things in the pockets very comfortably. I can stuff up the pockets of my Polaris and ride all the way in comfort; In fact I frequently forget that I have anything in them. My Altura, not so much.


A backpack on the other hand will be sweaty and uncomfortable the whole way round; For me there really is no question.

Bozman didn't quote that at all!!

simon_masterson

He didn't indeed. I'm still getting used to this forum software...

lesz42

do what you want! i use a tiny tesco pack, its fine, if you dont like it, you can pay me by the hour to take it off !

fast as fupp

Simon Masterson wrote:

fast as fupp wrote:

'kinnell 5 bottles! are you riding across a desert?

Based on consuming one per hour over a few hours, which isn't uncommon. At races with team cars, fuelling stations and the like, anyway.

But that's moreorless what I'm getting at. When it's possible to carry at least 6 litres of water on your bike (assuming that you've got one bottle on the bars (more if you have aero bars!), two on the frame, two behind the saddle and 2 in your back pockets) without employing any luggage, the couple of extra litres that a Camelbak will carry seem entirely irrelevant to me.

have you considered one of these?

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe ... 1,s:0,i:93

springtide9

To the OP:
So do you now understand the hatred towards Camelpaks? ... it is a bit laughable..

Personally I have found wearing a Camelpak has done wonders for my fitness. The determination I have not to be beaten after 'that look' is given, really drives me.

But remember, you get respect from 'real roadies' by performing well... not by how you look

springtide9

fast as fupp wrote:

have you considered one of these?

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe ... 1,s:0,i:93

FYI
I did a 12 hr MTB 'race' last year and went through 7 litres of fluids. That's just over 9x 750ml bottles of fluids. I actually P'ed twice in that time.. the rest came out as sweat. After a previous 8 hr event I took three pairs of gloves - as my hands looked like I'd been in a bath for days. I sweat a lot when pushing hard... it's just what happens with me. Same in a spinning class... I usually grab the fan and stick it directly infront of the bike.... without the fan.. I will never get anywhere near my max HR... I'll start flagging over 90% HR
On another note. I have ridden 50 miles on the road and not really needed a full 750ml bottle... but the effort was much less and the temps low.