Hydration alternative

[Robert Lewis]

Came across this simple solution for hydration. If it works for sailboat racing it works on my S30

 

[JerseyJim]

I have a kit that does the same thing. It has different bottle tops for standard bike water bottles and commercial plastic bottles.
BTW, Sweet S30. Where'd you find the unicorn?

 

[Robert Lewis]

I have a kit that does the same thing. It has different bottle tops for standard bike water bottles and commercial plastic bottles.
BTW, Sweet S30. Where'd you find the unicorn?

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to purchase it online, through Recumbent Classified. Frame only

 

[DocS]

Hey Robert! Nice seeing you on here!

 

[Robert Lewis]

Couldn’t resist! Got involved in the century challenge so…here I am, racking up the miles.

 

[CruzinCambridge]

Looks good. On the topic, I've been struggling with hydration on my S30. I started with a water bottle mounted under the seat, but I can't reach it unless I'm stopped.
I bought a T-Cycle, double century bag, but struggled installing it. I've got it working now. I think it's higher than it's designed for, but it worked pretty well. I was pretty proud of my hose magnet hack - putting it on a loop of tape around my bib strap. But I'm still working on the best way to route it... around the side, if it comes loose it gets into the spokes. If it's over the shoulder, it's out in the wind and sometimes pulls off if I sit up at a light. That said, the bags spoil the clean lines of the bike, but they're light, they stayed put, and were out of the wind as far as I can tell.
Any other "double century" users out there with tips on setup?

 

[Frito Bandito]

Dialing in the hydration storage takes a bit of time. I tried bottles under the seat and behind the head. For short rides up to 100km depending on the temperatures, I go with a 1L Nike bottle behind my head in a triathlon X-Lab Torpedo Kompact cage. Many here seems to agree that that location for hydration is the most aero. But for anything longer than 80km-100km, especially in hot temps, I have a 2.5L (85oz) Osprey Hydraulics LT bladder in a Deuter Road One backpack that I wear on my chest. I use a powdered drink mix and fill it with ice and water. There is a 3L Hydraulics LT bladder that will likely fit, but so far the 2.5L has been enough for several rides from 200km-246km in September.

It doesn't seem to be much less aero than the 1L bottle behind my head, but having 2.5L of ice cold hydration on your chest feels pretty incredible in the Summer heat. Accessing the bite down tube while riding simply requires me to slightly turn my head to the left and it is right there. I never have to let go of the bars, pull a bottle from behind my head, or sit up to wrangle a bottle out from under the seat.

The bag also has 2 pockets for wallet, keys, phone, bluetooth earphone recharging case, energy gels and more. Since 1 of the pockets is on the bottom, I could put the 10,000mAh recharger in it with a cable, and connect it the Wahoo Bolt on the bars to recharge while I am riding, or connect it to my phone in the top pocket to recharge it.

The back of the back has 2 foam cushions that I'll likely trim off at some point to allow the cold to seep through to my chest, but for now those are still on. A good thing about this is that I can simply walk into a convenient store with the bag on my chest and have everything I need without having to dig through the Moose bag for my valuables.

 

[JerseyJim]

I have a couple of Camelbak backback pouches and never once did I think about wearing one on my chest. This is genius! Right now I have a hydration bladder in the pannier bag that attaches to the back of my seat. It works just fine for me, but if I ever need more storage space I'll remember your trick.

Hmm, If I get a nice reflective one it could take the place of my vest for brevets.

BTW, I also have the Smartube system which does the same thing as in the original post here.

 

[Frito Bandito]

I have a couple of Camelbak backback pouches and never once did I think about wearing one on my chest. This is genius! Right now I have a hydration bladder in the pannier bag that attaches to the back of my seat. It works just fine for me, but if I ever need more storage space I'll remember your trick.

Hmm, If I get a nice reflective one it could take the place of my vest for brevets.

BTW, I also have the Smartube system which does the same thing as in the original post here.

Any of them will work fine. I like the Deuter Road One backpack, but if it were a little shorter then I would like it even more. It has a backplate inside that I trimmed a little so it doesn't rub on my neck as much when I sit up. I have yet to find another backpack to replace it. The Osprey bladders seem to fit the shape of it almost perfectly, but again, Camelback or other will work. It is not hot here in Japan yet, but 3L of icy hydration on the chest feels fantastic. The Road One does have a few strips of reflective tape on it, but I think the location only makes you visible to helicopters and people watching from the 3rd floor and above

 

[JerseyJim]

but I think the location only makes you visible to helicopters and people watching from the 3rd floor and above

Ah, but the T50 has a more upright seating position so my chest is mostly facing forward. Riding an S30 is problem I'd like to have.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Ah, but the T50 has a more upright seating position so my chest is mostly facing forward. Riding an S30 is problem I'd like to have.

Well, that seat angle surely makes a difference than my V20. The S30 would be a nice problem to have. 1 thing many people don't discuss as the seat angle gets lower is how the view gets better. Of course I can see a couple of meters in front of the tire so I don't headbutt anything, but much more of the sky is visible. Which is exactly why my face looks like a raccoon on days I forget to use sunblock but wearing a mask haha.