Hydration while riding the V20

[Bill Osler]

I'm a relatively new V20 rider (~640 miles so far). I've got a Race Case on the back and a water bottle bracket under the seat but I'm nowhere near coordinated enough (yet?) to access those while riding.
I tried removing the rubber retaining bits from the Race Case and put a hydration pack bladder in there but could not figure out how to keep the tube accessible.
Right now I'm using a Sling Pack instead, putting a hydration bladder into that, partially filling the space between the boom and the front wheel and that works but doesn't look great and it makes the front end a bit heavier ... I wonder if there's a better way to have accessible hydration.
Any suggestions?
Bill

 

[jond]

I'm a relatively new V20 rider (~640 miles so far). I've got a Race Case on the back and a water bottle bracket under the seat but I'm nowhere near coordinated enough (yet?) to access those while riding.
I tried removing the rubber retaining bits from the Race Case and put a hydration pack bladder in there but could not figure out how to keep the tube accessible.
Right now I'm using a Sling Pack instead, putting a hydration bladder into that, partially filling the space between the boom and the front wheel and that works but doesn't look great and it makes the front end a bit heavier ... I wonder if there's a better way to have accessible hydration.
Any suggestions?
Bill

bill just do a forum search on “ hydration”. Heaps of info.

I use a bladder with either a retractable lanyard from office works etc or magnetic coupler.

 

[Bill Osler]

bill just do a forum search on “ hydration”. Heaps of info.

I use a bladder with either a retractable lanyard from office works etc or magnetic coupler.

Thanks. I thought I had tried searching for "hydration" already. Maybe I misspelled it.

 

[M.J]

You'll get there with the coordination to grab a bottle and ride at the same time.
I have a bottle under my seat and a camelback bladder in my tailbox. When I first started riding my V20 I couldn't take either hand off the bars, even while coasting. Now after 4,000 miles I can eat or drink comfortably while pedaling at speed.

 

[Frito Bandito]

A few CBers on here are using bite down devices draped over their shoulder, which is essentially a long straw that connects to your hydration bottle. When not in use, you just wrap it around and through your head rest bars so it doesn't unwind and fall into your spokes. You can see it on page 5 of this thread...

https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/my-very-first-recumbent-is-a-v20.13604/page-5

 

[DocS]

On the link that Frito posted, I showed my bottle with Camelbak Bite tube set up . I used a Neoprene sleeve (from Amazon) over the tube as insulation and Like Jond mentioned, I used a retractable badge clip, clipped on my jersey or helmet strap, so the bite tube remained near my face.
It worked great on my Silvio 2.0 and on my Vendetta until I changed my seat out for a Thor...
Now I have a bag on the back and stuff a Camelbak in it...

Blessings,
DocS

 

[LarryOz]

I'm a relatively new V20 rider (~640 miles so far). I've got a Race Case on the back and a water bottle bracket under the seat but I'm nowhere near coordinated enough (yet?) to access those while riding.

Just practice a lot reaching back for your bottle out of your race case and putting it back in. Make it a drill where you do it constantly for 1 or 2 miles, in no time you will be able to do it without thinking

 

[3bs]

Race case. Hole low on one side. bladder inside. Tube runs over my shoulder out to a bit. Black metal paper clamp holds it to my Jersey

 

[paco1961]

I ride w 1 under the boom and 2 behind my head on the V. You’ll get used to the reach. Not too tough to master.

The two on back are a bit unique. Thor Sport Seat and molded head rest. Mounted through both is a pair of Woolf Tooth double cage mounts. Essentially a mount you bolt to std cage bosses that in turn allows you to mount two bottles side by side. Pic below.

After any iterations, this is by far my preferred set up

And yes, the Ti singlespeed in the background is still for sale!

 

[xtalbike]

Are the bottle cages under the seat mounted so that the bottle cap points or down? I have bottle cages that grab the bottle firmly mounted with the cap facing down. It makes for much less contortion to get the bottle out while riding and the bottles stay put (mostly). Still took me a while to learn to drink while riding but it’s no problem now.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Some people leave their nozzles open so of course they put their bottles in the cages upright. I keep my nozzles closed but still put them in upright because leaving them opened sometimes results in the contents sloshing around and occasionally leaking onto the rear wheel which means the liquid gets on the rim brake tracks and makes a gawdawful squeal when applying the brakes. It also means some of the liquid getting onto the hub, and possibly into the bearings. As far as the bottles being put in pointing down, I don't recall seeing anyone doing that since they will probably fall out more easily.

Did you install the cages that way for a reason, such as connecting a specific style of drinking tube? My bite down tube works with the bottles in the upright position with the addition of a straw that reaches into the bottom. It does leave about 50ml in the bottom of the bottle that I can only drink after removing the cap when stopped, but I suppose removing the straw and inverting the bottle might work as a sort of gravity fed bottle. I'd just be concerned about it sliding out more easily than if they were mounted upright.

 

[xtalbike]

It just makes it easier to get the bottle out and put it back in while riding while riding. My shoulder mobility isn’t great. Was suggested by the owner of the shop where I got the V. He rides one himself. Key is to have a cage with a lip that cradles the bottle and a bottle that isn’t too squishy.

 

[Frito Bandito]

I finally got my squishy bottles behind the head and my Ridley cages hold them tight enough so they don't eject, but I can still get them out while riding. They were flying out of the CF cages left and right. The bike looks cleaner with them under the seat IMO, but apparently the wind tunnel shows they are more aero behind the head. It's great that yours stay put though.

 

[Gary Hudson]

Water bottle top up for me. I'm using the race case for my second bottle and swapping out because it seems easier to use the one on the side.

 

[benphyr]

Water bottle top up for me. I'm using the race case for my second bottle and swapping out because it seems easier to use the one on the side.View attachment 11488

Gary it look as though you have a side wing mounted bottle cage. Please give more details and pictures.

 

[Frito Bandito]

I bought a 2.5L Osprey Hydraulics bladder and stuck it inside the smallest Deuter Road One backpack. It fits, and has a very small amount of room to spare, but I am not sure if the 3L Osprey will fit. The 3L has what they call the HydroStatic backerplate, which in retrospect is pretty nice. Again, I don't know if the 3L will fit in that bag though. My plan is to get rid of the hydration bottles all together, and to be able to use the ice/hydration filled bladder to assist in cooling as well by putting the backpack on backwards for the next ride to see how it works. Of course it has a magnetized bite down tube that I chopped down so there isn't too much hanging out of the bag. It felt pretty good with it on backwards and while sitting on my V20 but a test ride is the only way to find out.

 

[super slim]

I bought a 2.5L Osprey Hydraulics bladder and stuck it inside the smallest Deuter Road One backpack. It fits, and has a very small amount of room to spare, but I am not sure if the 3L Osprey will fit. The 3L has what they call the HydroStatic backerplate, which in retrospect is pretty nice. Again, I don't know if the 3L will fit in that bag though. My plan is to get rid of the hydration bottles all together, and to be able to use the ice/hydration filled bladder to assist in cooling as well by putting the backpack on backwards for the next ride to see how it works. Of course it has a magnetized bite down tube that I chopped down so there isn't too much hanging out of the bag. It felt pretty good with it on backwards and while sitting on my V20 but a test ride is the only way to find out.
View attachment 11928 View attachment 11927

what is the dry weight of the 2.5L Osprey compared to you 2? * 0.6L bottles and bottle cages?

 

[Frito Bandito]

I am using two 750ml water bottles, and it appears that my 750ml bottles are 80g each, and I would guess that the cages are probably about 25g each. Add the 4 stainless bolts and nuts at about 20g for a total of about 230g. However, the Osprey 2.5L bladder is 168g and the Dueter bag is 390g for the 5L version I have and now we are looking at about 560g that carries an extra 1L of hydration with the bladder system.

Bottle system
Two 24-ounce bottles =160g
Two cages =50g
4 stainless bolts and nuts = 20g
Total = 230g (1.5L or 50oz)

If we are going to try and match equal amounts of hydration for both systems then add 115g for 1 more bottle system for a total of 345g (2.25L or 76oz)

Bladder system
Osprey bladder = 168g
5L Deuter Road One bag = 390g
Total = 558g (2.5L or 84oz)

Rounding off, the bladder system is about 200g heavier for an equal amount of hyration without modifying the Deuter bag. There are a few mesh pockets inside the Deuter bag as well as a row of padding on the outside that I could cut off to save weight. This would allow the plastic backplate to lay flat on my stomach which will help in cooling because of increased direct contact. Doing so would drop the weight about about 100g, making the bladder system about 450g, which decreases the gap to about 100g heavier than the bottle system. It frees up the under-seat and behind the head storage though. Then, the bag behind the head can hold other stuff and you can use the under-seat storage for things such as a sleeping mat.

I am mostly thinking of this new system for extremely hot weather where I can take advantage of the cooling. Load it up with ice and hydration and see how well it cools me off while it sits on top of me instead of ice in the bottles just melting away. It would be great to see how aerodynamic it is against 3 or 4 water bottles at various positions on the bike. I really want to buy that 3L bag now but it might be overkill. 2.5L leaves a little bit of room in the bag for food, bars, M&Ms or fruit. The Deuter bag has a small pocket for the rain cover on the bottom, as well as an external pocket that easily holds a wallet and cell phone.

 

[vosadrian]

There is a photo of my setup in my thread. I am using brain bag (5-600g) with 1.5L bladder and lanyard clip. I can fit much more than the bladder in the brain bag, so it is overkill if just to hold a bladder. Took a bit of getting used do to drink out of the tube, but I have it covered now and was able to get >1L of water in my mouth during an all out 50km effort. The trick seems to be finding a flat straight section where you are not breathing at full rate, and take lots of small drinks rather than a big one occasionally. With the lanyard you just let go of the tube and it returns to position by itself. Seems to be a pretty aero setup.

 

[Frito Bandito]

Yeah, sticking a bladder in the Brain Bag (or other brand) behind the head is definitely a good option. I don't mind the water bottles behind the head much at all. Getting them out and putting them in is simple enough while riding, and the 1.5L I can carry in them will get me a pretty far way. I like the bite tube even connected to 1 of the bottles, which is kind of an overkill since grabbing a bottle is so easy. However, as you wrote, breathing while using the bite tube is kind of difficult unless you sip. The main reason for this Deuter bag/bladder system test is for when it is above about 35C, when the terrain is flat, and I need ice/hydration in the bladder on my stomach cooling me off than simply drenching myself in water and let the Vendetta's speed evaporate it. I could feel it cooling a little today, but the pads on Deuter bag only allowed some of the backing plate to touch my stomach. Cutting the pads off would make it feel cooler, which is what I will try next. I will write this though. Once it is out of ice it gets hot quickly.