Only one water bottle boss - what to do

brettjmcc

The training bike I built up earlier this year was a PX Small Frame that only come with 1 water bottle boss. I'll be using the bike on holiday in the south of France around the area that the Haute Var is run in a few weeks. The bike is already there (so I can't change anything) and the recent weather has made me realise that I may come up a bit short on water. The plan was to run a 750ml bottle anyway, but I am quite a heavy drinker fluid wise just because I sweat. Currently my saddle bag is a Fizik clip. So I think I have a few options.

Options I see:
1/ Just try and find places to fill up as I go along
2/ Put a bottle in my jersey, or one of those foldable bottles they like to give out
3/ Different saddle bag and a rear bottle mount

Any other thoughts/recommendations welcome. Thanks

lawrences

Buy a one litre bottle.

marcusjb

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/elite-vip-bo ... prod13892/

redjeepǃ

Foldable bottle in your back pocket or a camelback.

brettjmcc

Thanks, I should add, this is what the bike looks like with a 510ml podium bottle on it

me-109

Look at the triathlon world. There are all sorts of under-seat bottle holders you can get. You could even get a double and a tool bottle so you can transfer the contents from the tail pack.

homers_double

Take a few euros with you and stop at a shop, at least you'll get a nice cold bottle.

BrandonA

Remove the saddle bag and get a Specialized Reserve Rack. On it you can store a key (for tub and tools), Co2 cannisters, a mini pump, and a water bottle cage.

ugo.santalucia

MTFU... 2 bottles were only introduced in the 90s... before we used to go dry... 8)

FYI I don't use my 1980s bike in UK sportives for that very reason.

Beave

Cant you just cable tie another bottle cage on to it ? Its not ideal but its what I did on my steely

Ouija

Why not just buy two DMR hinged clamps of the appropriate size and add two bottle cage mounts to the seat tube....

Wigster

What about a Camelbak rucksack?

IrishMac

Get a bracket/2 to put a bottle cage and subsequent bottle. Wiggle has such brackets believe

DavidJB

get taller.

timothyw

Handlebar mount: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/tope ... -prod74876

peat

Helmet mount:

Iamnot Wiggins

ugo.santalucia wrote:

MTFU... 2 bottles were only introduced in the 90s... before we used to go dry... 8)

FYI I don't use my 1980s bike in UK sportives for that very reason.

brettjmcc

Thanks all for the insightful posts. Sadly even without the bike currently here, I know that I can't fit one in in the seat tube area. My mother has a lot to answer for regarding being vertically challenged.

Paolo, as usual you are my hero I do plan on running only one bottle most of the time, but that is for short early morning runs. I am a worrier and have visions of when I nearly once passed out in Majorca due to running out of water and not being able to find anywhere to refill.

I was planning on taking money anyway, but a lot of the routes I have plotted are not that populated, and I know the area in general. Out of everything that specialized option may appear the be the best, grudgingly.

Ouija

You can get a water bottle down the seat tube. You just need one of those cages that slide the bottle out sideways instead of out the top.

brettjmcc

hmm good point, didn't think of that, thanks Ouija. I guess I need a left handed one.

Regarding the clamp, do you know if these are any good? http://www.decathlon.co.uk/apb-300-bike ... 66980.html

southdownswolf

Looking at the size of your bike and the space that is left, I would probably go with a handlebar mount option.

rolf_f

ugo.santalucia wrote:

MTFU... 2 bottles were only introduced in the 90s... before we used to go dry... 8)

FYI I don't use my 1980s bike in UK sportives for that very reason.

Yeah, Gino Bartali says MTFU, you big girls blouse!

andrewjoseph

I got the lezayne handed cages for my wife for this reason. A left and a right. She now finds she can fit a 1 liter on seat tube and 750 on down tube and no issues with drinking on the go.

Diamant49

brettjmcc wrote:

hmm good point, didn't think of that, thanks Ouija. I guess I need a left handed one.

Regarding the clamp, do you know if these are any good? http://www.decathlon.co.uk/apb-300-bike ... 66980.html

I use these, they are ok but the adjustability is fairly crude so I had to put electrical tape round the seat tube first to get it to tighten on one bike, otherwise it kept moving round into my knee, which was irritating. Otherwise they are fine.

Don't use a second bottle much - back in the 80s I got used to having one 500ml bottle, now I can carry 2 x 750ml (or even 2x 1L) - but I rarely go through that much fluid, even on a longer ride. Mind you, I am in N Ireland, so heat is rarely an issue!

Ouija

brettjmcc wrote:

hmm good point, didn't think of that, thanks Ouija. I guess I need a left handed one.

Regarding the clamp, do you know if these are any good? http://www.decathlon.co.uk/apb-300-bike ... 66980.html

As above, two rubber straps aren't going to grip the seat tube very strongly (i guess it depends on diameter to some extent). Especially when you've got a heavy bottle in the cage and the bikes being swung from side to side as you power up those hills (you do power up those hills, don't you?..... )

Giraffoto

You're unlikely to fit another bottle on that short a seat tube - instead, look at the various clever options for attaching them behind the seat - you can get rigs that allow you to have two bottles and a toolkit there - or underneath the down tube. My Tricross has a third set of bottle bosses under the seat tube and far enough down that it doesn't interfere with the front wheel. If you use a set of clip-on bosses or clamps they'll be less likely to slip around if they're securing a load underneath the tube, too. Add a twin handlebar mount and you could get six bottles on there easily.

keith57

When riding cols in the Alps I only ever take one bottle, so many fountains to fill up at I'd be carrying the 2nd bottle full all the time - and I'd rather not carry the extra weight!