camelbak on roadbike

littleknown

coming from mtb mainly i found camelbaks really handy especially for climbs etc, ive recently started roadbiking and am still using the bag, just wondering why roadies are so against them? is it purely on the look? i find them very useful and dont use water bottles, whats the difference?

niceonetom

Camelbacks, visors on helmets, baggy shorts, shoes with rubber soles and spds cleats, etc. are all forbidden by the code.

You can, of course, use these anyway. But you will be judged accordingly. And harshly.

Do roadies who do a bit of mountain-biking gripe about having to do things the MTB way? I'm curious. Are there lycra clad roadies on double sus machines being quietly judged too?

Anyway, there's just no need for camelbacks on a road bike. Our frames have room for bottlecages thanks to the lack of big ugly springs. Being able to pull a bidon from its cage, drink, and return it to he cage all without missing a stroke or deviating from group formation is one of the few handling skills that marks a true roadie out.

40. Water Bottles shall be referred to solely as "Bidons" and shall have a volume NOT EXCEEDING 500ml. Bidons shall always match team/kit colours. It is NOT ACCEPTABLE in ANY CIRCUMSTANCE to leave one’s bidons on the bike for more than ten (10) minutes post-ride OR while transporting bikes via bike rack.

Lumen

Some things (bidons) must be carried on the bike. Other things (tools) must be carried in the jersey.

The reasons for this have nothing to do with practicality, and everything to do with style.

You are pretending to be a pro. Therefore the bottles go on the frame, like a pro. But pros do not carry tools (they have support cars), so you must hide the tools in your pockets.

This results in being loaded up like a donkey, and looking unstylish. So you downsize all the tools to a couple of allen keys, hope that a less stylish companion will have a chain tool, and stick the smallest, most useless pump in your pocket and pray you don't have to use it.

It is logically consistent but completely stupid.

Ciaran500

niceonetom wrote: »

Anyway, there's just no need for camelbacks on a road bike. Our frames have room for bottlecages thanks to the lack of big ugly springs. Being able to pull a bidon from its cage, drink, and return it to he cage all without missing a stroke or deviating from group formation is one of the few handling skills that marks a true roadie out.

So you only carry a litre?

niceonetom

Ciaran500 wrote: »

So you only carry a litre?

Them's the rules.

niceonetom

Lumen wrote: »

It is logically consistent but completely stupid.

Something has just occurred to me... um... am I in a cult? Is that what this is?

This whole forum is rife with groupthink.

Bizarre apparel that marks us out from the rest of society and enforces a sort of isolationism ... check.

Slavish and unthinking adherence to nonsensical rules... absolutely.

Veneration of fetishes... yep.

The cultivation of us-vs-them thinking... certainly.

A sense of inherant moral superiority ... very much so.




... slightly worried now.

TinyExplosions

They're allowed under certain circumstances

Lumen

niceonetom wrote: »

Something has just occurred to me... um... am I in a cult? Is that what this is?

I would like to think that cults have fewer stupid arguments.

Besides which we have no leader, no guns, and no bizarre sexual practices (at least, not on the boards spins I've been on).

TinyExplosions

Lumen wrote: »

I would like to think that cults have fewer stupid arguments.

Besides which we have no leader, no guns, and no bizarre sexual practices (at least, not on the boards spins I've been on).

Leader:


Guns:


Sex:
snip (unfortunately)

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

They're allowed under certain circumstances

Those things should be banned.

Chips Lovell

littleknown wrote: »

coming from mtb mainly i found camelbaks really handy especially for climbs etc, ive recently started roadbiking and am still using the bag, just wondering why roadies are so against them? is it purely on the look? i find them very useful and dont use water bottles, whats the difference?

I don't think anyone is particuarly against them per se, just that they've never seen the need. In the same way I wouldn't want to be riding with a backpack, I wouldn't fancy riding with all that water on my back.

Nietzschean

wonder if it has direct(well just plastic between) skin contact without a bag does it act more as cooling rather than the usual warmth of a bag?

littleknown

el tonto wrote: »

I don't think anyone is particuarly against them per se, just that they've never seen the need. In the same way I wouldn't want to be riding with a backpack, I wouldn't fancy riding with all that water on my back.

to be honest ive never really used bottles but found them impractical for mtb as you need to have 2 hands on the bars most of the time, especially technical climbs and downhills, so far ive found it pretty handy on the roadbike too , just like the idea of mainting speed & control whilst having an aul glug of water,---mind you the idea of not carrying the water around on my back is pretty tempting too,(using a 3 litre bag:)

Raam

littleknown wrote: »

just like the idea of mainting speed & control whilst having an aul glug of water

Tis really not a problem on the road

Nietzschean

i initally used a 3L hydration pack(from snowboarding...), but yeah moving to bottles is much handier for road biking, by the time you go through 2 500/750ml bottles you can pretty much always get to a shop/tap. And going up hill on a road bike in anything but gravel should be fine to grab a bottle without missing a trick even as a novice.....

Chips Lovell

The other issue to remember is that on an MTB, you're away from civilisation to some extent, so it may be practical to be lugging 3 litres of water around with you. On the road, you're never really that far from somewhere you can top up.

Once you're used to it, I think drinking from a bottle on the road is no biggie.

Ryaner

The 1L rule is fine if you are fit or not cycling through the mountains. Few weeks back, I went through almost 3L of water in the space of 80km in Wicklow. And that is a massive improvement over 6 months ago where a 60km gentle spin in winter would use up two bottles.

blorg

The 1L is a Euro rule, e.g. not something to be taken entirely seriously. You only need 500ml bottles according to the Euro rules as you have your team car passing you a new bidon whenever you want it.

Unsupported riders would probably be better off going for 750ml bottles- 2 of them and you would only have to refill once on your 80km around Wicklow (there are shops/cafes in many places and a tap in Laragh.)

Up a mountain is the last place I would want to lug 3L on my back, indeed I generally try to drink my water early on a climb (as that completely removes the weight from the bike-rider system ) and I will rarely have much left at the top. Depending of course on where I reckon my next refill is coming from.

Incidentally OP I did read a book recently that recommended Camelbaks for (ultra) long distance road cycling; I can also see the logic for time trials where there is an advantage to not having to come out of the position.

It does depend on the person though, I did 2h30 in Wicklow this evening in pleasant weather on a single 500ml bottle as it was all I had handy... Probably this was less than optimal though and I drank a fair bit of water before and after the ride (2L since I got home actually.)

copacetic

the camelbak racebak is rumoured to be making inroads in the pro ranks and might be appearing on a lot of backs in time trials at the very least, presumably the euro police will set them straight though!?

thebouldwhacker

Well I for one will be sporting one tomorrow for my road spin, going into the sticks for a long one with plenty of climbing so gonna need water, food and extra layers so aint gonna be euro but tbh where I'm going they haven't heard of euro (hell they still deal in pounds and pence:D), on a positive note the bags colours match the bikes so a few euro points earned back...

nitrogen

niceonetom wrote: »

...are all forbidden by the code.

Did a fourteen year-old autistic kid write those?

64. One must never break the Oath and reveal any details about the non-existent doping culture, or you will be forced out of every cycling community.

Lumen

Ryaner wrote: »

The 1L rule is fine if you are fit or not cycling through the mountains. Few weeks back, I went through almost 3L of water in the space of 80km in Wicklow. And that is a massive improvement over 6 months ago where a 60km gentle spin in winter would use up two bottles.

Yeah, my fluid consumption has dropped loads as I've cycled more. I used to go through 1.5L on a 2hr flat spin, now 1L is more than enough for 4 hours in the mountains.

Also, bigger people seem to require disproportionately more fluids.

ROK ON

Lumen wrote: »

Also, bigger people seem to require disproportionately more fluids.

True for me at any rate. Would easily go thru 1L/ 50-75km depending on course/weather etc. But I just like sipping water a lot. I didnt get enough liquid (and ran out of electolyte drink) into me on a 145km spin at the w/e and last 15km I suffered from very bad cramp as a result. Not nice.

littleknown

blorg wrote: »

The 1L is a Euro rule, e.g. not something to be taken entirely seriously. You only need 500ml bottles according to the Euro rules as you have your team car passing you a new bidon whenever you want it.

Unsupported riders would probably be better off going for 750ml bottles- 2 of them and you would only have to refill once on your 80km around Wicklow (there are shops/cafes in many places and a tap in Laragh.)

Up a mountain is the last place I would want to lug 3L on my back, indeed I generally try to drink my water early on a climb (as that completely removes the weight from the bike-rider system ) and I will rarely have much left at the top. Depending of course on where I reckon my next refill is coming from.

Incidentally OP I did read a book recently that recommended Camelbaks for (ultra) long distance road cycling; I can also see the logic for time trials where there is an advantage to not having to come out of the position.

It does depend on the person though, I did 2h30 in Wicklow this evening in pleasant weather on a single 500ml bottle as it was all I had handy... Probably this was less than optimal though and I drank a fair bit of water before and after the ride (2L since I got home actually.)

at the moment im caught in a bind because im not that fit and im cycling in close to 40 degree heat with the end result being i fly through water, most spins of 2 to 3 hours i need to refill the 3L camelbak, using up nearly 4 to 5 litres, is that way too much?

ps. good to hear im not the only freak on a roadbike with a camelbak,..

ROK ON

The most imortant thing is that you drink while on the bike.
How you do it is your business really, as long as you do it safely I guess.

The Euro thing is a load of bullsh1t. There I said it. A bunch of men in their 30's fawning over the pretentions/delusions of some preening peacock has been (never was???) Italian cyclist.
Give me a break.

Rant over.

Chips Lovell

blorg wrote: »

The 1L is a Euro rule, e.g. not something to be taken entirely seriously. You only need 500ml bottles according to the Euro rules as you have your team car passing you a new bidon whenever you want it.

Unsupported riders would probably be better off going for 750ml bottles- 2 of them and you would only have to refill once on your 80km around Wicklow (there are shops/cafes in many places and a tap in Laragh.)

The Euro rules are of course a joke, but I think how many bottles you bring depends on the rider. I've never needed more than 1 litre in Ireland for long mountainous spins. I'd switch to the 750ml models for Spain alright, but at home I've never found the need.

Raam

ROK ON wrote: »

The most imortant thing is that you drink while on the bike.
How you do it is your business really, as long as you do it safely I guess.

The Euro thing is a load of bullsh1t. There I said it. A bunch of men in their 30's fawning over the pretentions/delusions of some preening peacock has been (never was???) Italian cyclist.
Give me a break.

Rant over.

Can we get a weeks ban for Rok On for speaking ill of the rules?

ROK ON

Raam wrote: »

Can we get a weeks ban for Rok On for speaking ill of the rules?

It was the pressure, I cracked, I finally cracked. I didnt mean to say, you know I didn't mean it:).

Give me just one more chance, I'll make it up. I'll do anything, ditch the triple, shave my legs, whatever.

Raam

ROK ON wrote: »

It was the pressure, I cracked, I finally cracked. I didnt mean to say, you know I didn't mean it:).

Give me just one more chance, I'll make it up. I'll do anything, ditch the triple, shave my legs, whatever.

OK, but as penance you must ride up Howth 4 times with your full zip jersey undone all the way, such that it flutters in the wind. Dangling gold chain optional in this case.

ednwireland

nitrogen wrote: »

Did a fourteen year-old autistic kid write those?

64. One must never break the Oath and reveal any details about the non-existent doping culture, or you will be forced out of every cycling community.

hell no its the code we live by (i have to ride all summer in overshoes to hide my black socks and white shoes )

Raam

ednwireland wrote: »

hell no its the code we live by (i have to ride all summer in overshoes to hide my black socks and white shoes )

White shoes are permitted

ednwireland

Raam wrote: »

White shoes are permitted

sorry thought black socks and white shoes werent allowed must have read that in the continuity or real euro rules somewhere (i also have a camelback but dont use it on the road bike) unless its under my jersey on TT bike (which i dont have - sorry rambling

Raam

ednwireland wrote: »

sorry thought black socks and white shoes werent allowed must have read that in the continuity or real euro rules somewhere (i also have a camelback but dont use it on the road bike) unless its under my jersey on TT bike (which i dont have - sorry rambling

Black socks are a serious infraction. Possible suspension coming your way.

ednwireland

but, but thats all aldi had in (damn theres another one ) if you piled all my gear up it would just be one long series of euro infractions, but i do have an eighties italian road frame in the shed (too big unfortunatly)

Raam

ednwireland wrote: »

but, but thats all aldi had in (damn theres another one ) if you piled all my gear up it would just be one long series of euro infractions, but i do have an eighties italian road frame in the shed (too big unfortunatly)

If it's a 58, I'll buy it off ya!

Raam

And here are some acceptable socks: http://www.prendas.co.uk/details.asp?typ=typ&fkid=18&ID=2310

ednwireland

Raam wrote: »

If it's a 58, I'll buy it off ya!

pm sent

Jawgap

I wonder if it would be possible to stash fluids in the frame of the bike with a drinking tube coming up through the stem?????:) There's a lot of space in most frames.

The advantages to this would be fairly obvious - easier to drink, lowering of the bike's centre of gravity as the ride progresses leading to improved cornering and most importantly it would end the whole bottle cage envy phenomenon.

Cyclists could in all good conscience give up the search for the ultimate bottle cage because they would no longer be needed.

Lumen

Jawgap wrote: »

I wonder if it would be possible to stash fluids in the frame of the bike with a drinking tube coming up through the stem?????:) There's a lot of space in most frames.

I think it depends on the choice of frame material.

petethedrummer

Good idea, but it might be hard to fit the frame in the dishwasher.

thebouldwhacker

Tried and failed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYFmdlzff98

littleknown

whats happening to everyone? has everyone gone euro mad_:pac:

its time to rip up the rule book and start again.