Water - How much?

Mart74
Mart74 Posts: 111
edited April 2013 in Road beginners
A bit of beginners question!

I want to get some water bottles and didn;t realise there'd be such a choice of different sizes. I could always buy a big one and not fill it so much but I thought I'd ask how much you guys consume while riding.

How much water would you normally take out on a ride of 2hrs plus? I realise it's a bit of a how long is a piece of string question as everyone and everyday is different.

As an example: If you were going out tomorrow morning.

Comments

  • stinger53
    stinger53 Posts: 135
    well for a 2 and a bit hour ride 750ml just is enough for me, but any longer and would need more. but as you said each person is different.
  • ThatBikeGuy
    ThatBikeGuy Posts: 394
    I have two 500ml camelbak podiums, one with water, one with energy/nuun drink. Does me for a 50+ miler (2-3hour) although will probably get some 610ml ones for the summer.
    Everyones different on intake levels, depends on your fitness to an extent and how much you sweat on the bike as well.
    Cannondale SS Evo Team
    Kona Jake CX
    Cervelo P5
  • crikey
    crikey Posts: 362
    Get a few 750ml bottles; you don't have to fill them up, but you do have the option to.
  • hannahk
    hannahk Posts: 19
    For under 2 hours I take maybe 500mls but rarely have a drink. Over 2 hours 750mls. Longer then I'll take more or find places to fill up on the way so I don't have to carry so much.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    I like to have 750ml bottles but be sure you get a good design as some that size can be tricky getting back in the cage on the move. SIS bottles are good and you can get them for as part of a bundle with gels and bars etc.
  • stueys
    stueys Posts: 1,332
    crikey wrote:
    Get a few 750ml bottles; you don't have to fill them up, but you do have the option to.

    +1
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    2 hrs today and my wife had consumed 750ml bottle. I was 1/3rd of the way through mine. It just depends how hard you're pushing and the weather.
    Get a 750ml bottle and plan your route to pass a shop/garage 1/2 way round - fill up the bottle if nescersary.
  • Mart74
    Mart74 Posts: 111
    Thanks all.

    I was expecting you all to say more than that. I'll get a couple of 700ml approx.

    thanks
  • captain_kirk
    captain_kirk Posts: 105
    When 20miles was my max distance (not that long ago), I'd easily get through a 750ml bottle riding that distance alone. Did a 45 miler a couple of weeks ago on only just a little more than that. Having said that, I felt a bit dehydrated afterwards.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    How well you are hydrated before you go out will have a bearing on how much you drink when out on the road. I will drink a litre of water in the hour or so before I go out for a long run of 80km or more.
  • elderone
    elderone Posts: 1,410
    I average 750ml for 25 miles.I do drink a lot on the bike.I think all advice on drink little and often has got into my head.Saying that,it,s better to to have drink and dont need it,than need it and not have it.
    Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori
  • simon_masterson
    simon_masterson Posts: 2,740
    I can go through 750ml an hour in hot weather, but that's not to say that I do; I don't mind carrying a couple of extras in my pockets but I don't if I don't need to. I'm sure I probably should. When it's cold one bottle is generally fine for several hours, though I drink plenty beforehand.
    Retro(ish) TT 2017-
    Fixed TT 2015-2016
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Piece of string isn't it? On the 21 mile run to work I might drink a third of a 500ml bottle going in, but not touch what's left coming home. On the 46 mile trip to the folks I'll get through 2 x 750 bottles if it's anything close to being warm. All you can do is learn, but try to not to train yourself into having to drink more than is necessary, like Mr elderone appears to have done. It's nice to go out for shortish rides (<20 miles) without having to carry anything extra.
  • DT1999
    DT1999 Posts: 17
    Buy a camelbak bottle but also buy they're add on cover cap . I did a sportive last year and ended up with shigella which is the shi** in English ended up in a&e and lost a stone in 2 weeks .So always check before you drink.
  • elderone
    elderone Posts: 1,410
    CiB wrote:
    Piece of string isn't it? On the 21 mile run to work I might drink a third of a 500ml bottle going in, but not touch what's left coming home. On the 46 mile trip to the folks I'll get through 2 x 750 bottles if it's anything close to being warm. All you can do is learn, but try to not to train yourself into having to drink more than is necessary, like Mr elderone appears to have done. It's nice to go out for shortish rides (<20 miles) without having to carry anything extra.
    Maybe I have got drinking into my head CiB but I use 2x750ml for 50 miles and you use 2 x 750ml bottles for your 46 mile ride,so in reality not much in it..Dreading the hot days though,ill be needing lots of bottles. :D
    Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori
  • Mart74
    Mart74 Posts: 111
    Just got in from my first ride, all went well. It was 18 miles, nothing huge but it was just a first run. No accidents with the clipless pedals which I was a bit worried about.

    The insides of my elbows got a bit sore and also my undercarriage might need a massage later :oops:

    I took 500ml of water and used it all after about 14 miles. Will take more next time!

    Thanks for all the advice.
  • crikey
    crikey Posts: 362
    You can always stop to fill up!

    ...the best places to do so are garages, cos they are on main routes, are not as likely to be centres of bike theft and they sell the perfect get-you-home drink...

    Buy a bottle of water and a 500 ml bottle of Coke. Put the Coke into your cycling bottle and try to de-fizz it with out getting it all over you, then add 250 mls of water.
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,021
    fwiw most of my bottles are 600cc, but i only fill to about 500cc

    as mentioned above, depends how hard you are going and what the conditions are

    it's easy to drink less than required, on short rides that's not an issue, but dehydration affects performance, and if you get more dehydrated a nasty headache can result

    this morning i drank a bottle an hour training, in hot weather i'll easily drink twice that - on long hot rides i find adding something like a nuun tablet makes water more palatable so i'm more likely to keep drinking, often i'll have a coke during the cafe stop to stretch the time before the next refill

    the long hot rides do become a succession of cafe stops, which suits me!
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    Mart74 wrote:
    ... and also my undercarriage might need a massage later :oops:
    There's one of the other benefits of cycling, at least if your wife/girlfriend buys it :D .
  • lotus49
    lotus49 Posts: 763
    I see a lot of questions here about how much water to take on a ride and it always prompts me to wonder whether Yorkshire is the only part of England that has rivers.

    I appreciate that clean rivers are not easy to find in some parts of the country, but I ride past a fast flowing beck every quarter of an hour in the Yorkshire Dales and the water is delicious. Certainly much tastier than anything you'd get in a petrol station.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    lotus49 wrote:
    I see a lot of questions here about how much water to take on a ride and it always prompts me to wonder whether Yorkshire is the only part of England that has rivers.

    I appreciate that clean rivers are not easy to find in some parts of the country, but I ride past a fast flowing beck every quarter of an hour in the Yorkshire Dales and the water is delicious. Certainly much tastier than anything you'd get in a petrol station.

    I have considered getting a purifier (for work mainly) Can get one where you just suck up water through a straw and its clean.You could drink a puddle through it if you wanted.
  • slowsider
    slowsider Posts: 197
    lotus49 wrote:
    I see a lot of questions here about how much water to take on a ride and it always prompts me to wonder whether Yorkshire is the only part of England that has rivers.

    I appreciate that clean rivers are not easy to find in some parts of the country, but I ride past a fast flowing beck every quarter of an hour in the Yorkshire Dales and the water is delicious. Certainly much tastier than anything you'd get in a petrol station.

    You'd want to hope there's no dead sheep upstream in that beck.
  • Mart74
    Mart74 Posts: 111
    lotus49 wrote:
    Mart74 wrote:
    ... and also my undercarriage might need a massage later :oops:
    There's one of the other benefits of cycling, at least if your wife/girlfriend buys it :D .

    Its not working at the moment lol :roll:
    lotus49 wrote:
    I see a lot of questions here about how much water to take on a ride and it always prompts me to wonder whether Yorkshire is the only part of England that has rivers.

    I appreciate that clean rivers are not easy to find in some parts of the country, but I ride past a fast flowing beck every quarter of an hour in the Yorkshire Dales and the water is delicious. Certainly much tastier than anything you'd get in a petrol station.

    I've use one of these before.

    http://www.lifesaversystems.com/lifesaver-products-1/lifesaver-bottles/lifesaver-bottle-4000uf#.UWsYkcqs-So

    Drop it in the Thames, fill with water and drink straight from the other end, brilliant. A bit big to be carrying around on the bike though
  • nolight
    nolight Posts: 261
    I cycle early in the morning with no sunlight. On a typical 2 hr ride, I would carry a full water bottle and drink nothing from it. The reason why I carry the water bottle is to standardise the bike weight as part of riding training. No food and water is required on this trip.
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,021
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    I have considered getting a purifier (for work mainly) Can get one where you just suck up water through a straw and its clean.You could drink a puddle through it if you wanted.

    i use one of these when out in the sticks and in countries with dodgy water supplies...

    http://www.pre-mac.com/PWP_MWP.HTM

    ...you can fill a bottle in a couple of minutes, it'll take out the biological cack and also some chemicals, keep the dirty hose away from the clean end!

    there's an even lighter version, you have to pump longer and replace sooner...

    http://www.pre-mac.com/PWP_SWP.HTM
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • drlodge
    drlodge Posts: 4,826
    I'm using the "Elite Maxi Cincio Bike Water Bottle" from Halfords quite a lot, holds nearly 1 litre and costs £7.99 Had 2 of these yesterday and lasted me the 91 mile ride.

    199870?$PDP_MAIN$
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  • edhornby
    edhornby Posts: 1,780
    if you use a full litre bottle like above, make sure you have a secure cage, you don't want to have to stop the bike and retrieve it from a busy road
    "I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel, how good is that"
    --Jens Voight
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    slowsider wrote:
    lotus49 wrote:
    I see a lot of questions here about how much water to take on a ride and it always prompts me to wonder whether Yorkshire is the only part of England that has rivers.

    I appreciate that clean rivers are not easy to find in some parts of the country, but I ride past a fast flowing beck every quarter of an hour in the Yorkshire Dales and the water is delicious. Certainly much tastier than anything you'd get in a petrol station.

    You'd want to hope there's no dead sheep upstream in that beck.

    I did that very thing somewhere near Black Sail YH in the lakes when I was walking the coast to coast. Sure enough, grizzly decomposing sheep a mile upstream. No harm done fortunately!
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    elderone wrote:
    CiB wrote:
    Piece of string isn't it? On the 21 mile run to work I might drink a third of a 500ml bottle going in, but not touch what's left coming home. On the 46 mile trip to the folks I'll get through 2 x 750 bottles if it's anything close to being warm. All you can do is learn, but try to not to train yourself into having to drink more than is necessary, like Mr elderone appears to have done. It's nice to go out for shortish rides (<20 miles) without having to carry anything extra.
    Maybe I have got drinking into my head CiB but I use 2x750ml for 50 miles and you use 2 x 750ml bottles for your 46 mile ride,so in reality not much in it..Dreading the hot days though,ill be needing lots of bottles. :D
    I was trying to make the point - often repeated on here - that for shorter rides there's no need to eat or drink, but if a ride is a decent distance eating & drinking from early on is more important, hence the difference. Not a big issue though, just clarifying it.

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