Trouble drinking from bottle on the move

Raffles

There are riders on the club outings who make it look so easy, they reach down whilst pedalling and lift bottle, ride perfectly straight whilst they drink and replace bottle. Im a different kettle of fish :oops: , I grab the bottle and when it comes to trying to take a drink and continue pedalling , I cant ride in a straight line and im all over the place :oops: Would hate to be using a camelbak as noone else does and id just love to know what im doing wrong.

MountainMonster

Why do you care if no one is using a camelback? I would worry more about being comfortable and getting the fluids I need to ride. No one will think differently of you for using a camelback.

Failing that, make sure you still look up if you try the bottle route. A lot of people make the mistake of staring at the bottle or ground when drinking, and since you are not focusing on riding it makes you swerve more. Looking up the road should solve it.

captain_kelly

You could look at some of the bottles that triathletes use, they sit between their aero bars with a pipe coming out, you just lean forward and suck in your drink.

Alternatively, maybe mount your bottles on the rear of your seat, that could make the, easier to get at and put back if you're used to getting stuff out of jersey pockets

mamba80

Practise on your turbo or on your own - where you can look down to start with, then progress from there, drop to the back of the grp until its second nature - i would suggest you stop pedaling as well, your knees get in the way, you twist them outwards and the bike moves around.

desweller

Can you ride one-handed and no-handed?

If your balance on the bike is poor, might be that your setup is wrong.

Raffles

mamba80 wrote:

Practise on your turbo or on your own - where you can look down to start with, then progress from there, drop to the back of the grp until its second nature - i would suggest you stop pedaling as well, your knees get in the way, you twist them outwards and the bike moves around.

the issue really comes to the fore in a club pack, i can only drink freewheeling on downhills and if i drink on the flats and freewheel then i am holding up all behind me (and looking like an @rse as well :oops: ), its definitely the pedalling that causes my pronblem

ugo.santalucia

Raffles wrote:

There are riders on the club outings who make it look so easy, they reach down whilst pedalling and lift bottle, ride perfectly straight whilst they drink and replace bottle. Im a different kettle of fish :oops: , I grab the bottle and when it comes to trying to take a drink and continue pedalling , I cant ride in a straight line and im all over the place :oops: Would hate to be using a camelbak as noone else does and id just love to know what im doing wrong.

Those riders are on Dura Ace or Super Record...

smoggysteve

Have you tried the camelbak bottle with the straw inside you you don't need to tilt your head back to drink. You can find similar bottles that have the straw that will fit a bottle cage.

chrisaonabike

I'm struggling a bit too, but it's getting easier with practice. I pick a straight bit of road without traffic, move out a few feet, reach down without looking. Then I stop pedalling, drink, glance down and replace. Then start pedalling again.

It was scary the first time, but it's definitely getting easier. I think a camelbak would just be too much admin, so I'm just going to practice till I can do it easily with the bottle.

smoggysteve

Where do you have your bottle? is it on the down tube or the seat tube? or both?

Phil Fouracre

If you were a woman you could multi-task no problem!!

declan1

Try drinking with the bottle to the side of your mouth. That makes it much easier.

Raffles

smoggysteve wrote:

Where do you have your bottle? is it on the down tube or the seat tube? or both?

dont use the seat tube, becomes a fiddle fest trying to get a bottle back in cage and im bad enough using the down tube.

does anyone else get the wayward steering wobbles when they try to pedal and drink ?

Raffles

declan1 wrote:

Try drinking with the bottle to the side of your mouth. That makes it much easier.

tried that dec, but still cant steer in straight line whilst pedalling

chrisaonabike

Raffles wrote:

...but still cant steer in straight line whilst pedalling

Practice slowly on quiet straight roads till you can then.

I couldn't ride very straight one-handed either to start with. So I worked at it till I could. Just pick easy stretches to start with, and take one hand off the bars. Then when you can ride either-handed, try taking the bottle out and putting it back - without drinking. Then when that's easier, drink as well.

I'm not all that confident drinking on the move yet, I have to pick appropriate road conditions.

But like I say to the kids I teach maths and physics to - 'difficult' is just a place between 'impossible' and 'easy'.

Mikey23

Something I struggle with too....wobbling all over the road

smoggysteve

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_760821_langId_-1_categoryId_165633

Get one of these, You dont need to worry about drinking from the corner of your mouth cos its got a straw inside it so you can hold it under your mouth.

Gizmodo

Mikey23 wrote:

Something I struggle with too....wobbling all over the road

That's the Christmas spirits to which you have grown accustomed.

smidsy

Raffles wrote:

Would hate to be using a camelbak as noone else does and id just love to know what im doing wrong.

WTF. Nothing wrong with them, they are quality bottles and are always open but never spill. They will not improve your bike handling skills though but at least you do not have to open a top cap.

smoggysteve

smidsy wrote:

Raffles wrote:

Would hate to be using a camelbak as noone else does and id just love to know what im doing wrong.

WTF. Nothing wrong with them, they are quality bottles and are always open but never spill. They will not improve your bike handling skills though but at least you do not have to open a top cap.

I presume he meant an actual Camelbak pouch, Mountain bikers can get away with it but not a roady.

declan1

smidsy wrote:

Raffles wrote:

Would hate to be using a camelbak as noone else does and id just love to know what im doing wrong.

WTF. Nothing wrong with them, they are quality bottles and are always open but never spill. They will not improve your bike handling skills though but at least you do not have to open a top cap.

He's talking about the original Camelback that is a mini-rucksack with an internal water bladder:

smoggysteve

I have one I use for work. OK for patrolling around Helmand Province, not great for road cycling.

Lycra-Byka

// HUMPS ARE FOR CAMELS: NO HYDRATION PACKS.
Hydration packs are never to be seen on a road rider’s body. No argument will be entered into on this. For MTB, they are cool.


See The rules velominati
:roll:

jgsi

Practise and more practise... it reads as though you like your group rides, so this is
ONE vital skill to master.
OK, practise going 1 handed without reaching for the bottle and practise again and again... and keep pedalling smoothly in an easy gear but not too easy, if that makes sense... and dont bother if the road starts to go uphill whilst you are mastering this.
However,Is the bike twitchy when you try it?
Might be setup or are you are all tensed up on the bike making it so.. evryone can wobble if they havent relaxed enough.

No use doing it on the turbo I'm afraid...

Raffles

smoggysteve wrote:

smidsy wrote:

Raffles wrote:

Would hate to be using a camelbak as noone else does and id just love to know what im doing wrong.

WTF. Nothing wrong with them, they are quality bottles and are always open but never spill. They will not improve your bike handling skills though but at least you do not have to open a top cap.

I presume he meant an actual Camelbak pouch, Mountain bikers can get away with it but not a roady.

yeah its the rucksack type i was referring to, i think id be a laughing stock in the club if i rode in with one of those

smoggysteve

Just a possible solution

Raffles

jgsi wrote:

Practise and more practise... it reads as though you like your group rides, so this is
ONE vital skill to master.
OK, practise going 1 handed without reaching for the bottle and practise again and again... and keep pedalling smoothly in an easy gear but not too easy, if that makes sense... and dont bother if the road starts to go uphill whilst you are mastering this.
However,Is the bike twitchy when you try it?
Might be setup or are you are all tensed up on the bike making it so.. evryone can wobble if they havent relaxed enough.

No use doing it on the turbo I'm afraid...

I think I have this mental block about doing it in the middle of a pack, you know yourself that you can be reaching for the bottle and rider in front slows right down in front of you or you have to avoid something quickly with one hand on the bars etc. You are right in that I love club riding and getting over this hangup would be a big plus.

Critch

OP your balance is off imo - try practicing riding no handed (on unused cycleways ofc when nobody is about) to fine tune your balance. As for CamelBaks..... I ride a road bike and wear a Rogue Camelbak (2 litres) on hot days in the summer when I'm out for for around 6 hours so I have 4 litres of fluid onboard with the two bottles on the bike. To sneer at that is just really daft roadie snobbery and I don't give a flying f... what others think. No other road biker has ever said anything anyway, the perception is created by daft cyclists

smoggysteve

I think the reason most people don't wear them is more to do with the weight. Whats the point of spending a small fortune on a carbon frame to then carry up to 4kg on your back?

dodgy

Not sure I'd be keen on riding in a group with someone who couldn't drink on the move without wobbling. But like someone else said, stop looking down, just reach for the bottle and drink but keep looking ahead.

dodgy

smoggysteve wrote:

I think the reason most people don't wear them is more to do with the weight. Whats the point of spending a small fortune on a carbon frame to then carry up to 4kg on your back?

It's not so much the weight, you can get some which are essentially just the bladder with the the bare minimum of material to form a rucksack to hold it. I think the biggest problem is the discomfort from sweat.

They have no place on a road bike.