storing and eating/drinkin for long rides (100+ miles) on Silvio or Vendetta

[paco1961]

Three bottles mounted the Easy way. One on the boom. Used the forward most mounting hole w a zip tie at the cage base. Works great w short bottles. Second and 3rd bottles can be seen under seat bolted to frame mounting holes and zip tied to each other behind the frame. I use all short 28oz bottles. Rarely drop one from the boom mount never dropped a seat mount bottle.

Other solution Im working on is a 1.5 liter Camelback Repack strapped to the back. Obviously have the head rest flipped to hold my seat bag. Had to cut the strap buckles off the Camelback and replace w Velcro to remove bulk and keep the seat nice and smooth. Still leaves room on the flipped head rest for a few things secured w a stretch, wrap around Velcro strap.

All together the bladder and 3 bottles give me 4 liters in a single carry. That’s enough fluid for way more miles than I want to ride without a leg stretch . . . or butt stretch!

By the way, anyone interested in a custom Ti Singlespeed or affordable track bike hanging in the background?! Seems the S40 has replaced both . . . There’s a killer carbon CX/gravel frameset hanging up there too.

 

[Bill K]

I'm planning a 500-600 mile ride up the coast of California over 2 days so 300 or so miles into some dive motel then finish up the next day. I'm going to do it on the V20 and I'm going to be packing extremely minimal but I'm trying to figure out how to carry even those minimal items. I figure 1 change of clothes, light jacket for coastal fog, extra sunscreen, some food to compliment what I find on the road, USB charger because if it's not on strava it didn't happen. I have my build it storage box under the seat but that doesn't hold half of what I'd like to take, and I can't mount anything to the back of my seat because that's all dialed in with bottles and lights. I'm considering a scarab bag from cruzbike even though I'm sure it'll cost me a little bit of speed going into the coastal headwind. I think if I could figure out a solution for easy bottle access the Thor dolphin tail box would be ideal but haven't pulled the trigger on something like that yet.

I've used a Revelate bag mounted under the seat. See: #337
I've also used the scarab bag. Both work fine but neither one is waterproof. I put my stuff in a dry bag if it is going to be wet.

 

[DocS]

I got tired of drinking warm water on my rides and decided to take a lesson from Woodguy.

So, I found an adjustable / universal water bottle cage that I mounted fastened to the front boom and bought a 40oz "Bubba" vacuum bottle with flip straw and CamelBak Eddy Hands-Free Adapter tube. It worked great, but added weight to the front and slightly obstructed my view in front of me.

I decided I wanted to be able to avoid the first two rest-refilling stops on the MS150 ride, so I changed out my Carbon Fiber Water bottle cages on the Water Bottle Mount behind my headrest to the adjustable / universal water bottle cages and replaced my 24oz Camelback water bottles with two 40oz "Bubba" vacuum bottles with flip straws connected with CamelBak Eddy Hands-Free Adapter tubes.

Now I have 80oz of water can get a cool drink hands free!

I forgot to get pictures, but will post them...

Blessings,
DocS

 

[Ross Jantz]

I have a custom hydration pack attached to the back of the S40 stock seat that holds two 1 liter Platypus hydration bladders (one on each side of the frame). The whole unit takes up the space between the seat back and the frame. The two bags are currently connected with a tee and I've attached a Hydrapak hand pump/valve (Don't know if they're making them anymore, but there are a couple of manufacturers offering similar items). The hose clips to the side of the pack and has a Velcro strap that sticks to Velcro on the bottom of the seat (to keep the hose out of the way). With the pump I can squirt water anywhere (my mouth, my head, that dog that's on a mission, that DF guy sucking my rear wheel). Being completely tucked in behind the seat, the water tends to stay pretty cool (and I can tuck a small 'Blue Ice' container into the bag or add ice cubes to the bladders if I want things to stay really cold.

 

[paco1961]

I have a custom hydration pack attached to the back of the S40 stock seat that holds two 1 liter Platypus hydration bladders (one on each side of the frame). The whole unit takes up the space between the seat back and the frame. The two bags are currently connected with a tee and I've attached a Hydrapak hand pump/valve (Don't know if they're making them anymore, but there are a couple of manufacturers offering similar items). The hose clips to the side of the pack and has a Velcro strap that sticks to Velcro on the bottom of the seat (to keep the hose out of the way). With the pump I can squirt water anywhere (my mouth, my head, that dog that's on a mission, that DF guy sucking my rear wheel). Being completely tucked in behind the seat, the water tends to stay pretty cool (and I can tuck a small 'Blue Ice' container into the bag or add ice cubes to the bladders if I want things to stay really cold.

Pics?

 

[super slim]

"If there are NO photos, then it did NOT happen""
A quote from a WISE cruzbike rider!
NOT me!

 

[DocS]

Here are a couple pics of my Silvio 2.0...

I only have one of the Camelbak hoses hooked up, but each bottle has a separate hose.
The bottles each have a 1 way valve in the "straw", so I guess I could have made a "Y" and connected both bottles to one drinking tube...

I'm going to try it like that for a while and see how it works out..

For my normal 40-60 mile rides, I don't need both bottles; one is enough. I plan on using the extra bottle holder with a piece of capped PVC (painted black of course) to hold the extra stuff I want to carry (phone, tubes, tire levers, etc) for those shorter rides.

For my century ride (longer rides) I'm going to make some "saddle bags" that will sit close to my frame (under the seat), so I can put tubes, pump and my phone in... They'll be long and slender, so they'll sit up close to the seat...

When I get them done, I'll post pics of the bags.

20190912_055029

• DocS
• Sep 12, 2019

Vacuum 40oz bottles with camelback tube

20190912_054821

• DocS
• Sep 12, 2019

Front Light and Camera Mount

20190912_054808

• DocS
• Sep 12, 2019

My Silvio 2.0

Blessings,
DocS

 

[Ross Jantz]

Pics?

OK (don't want anyone from down under thinking it didn't happen ) .…

Please excuse my messy office in the background.

The pack is mounted to the seat at the lower water bottle mounts and the holes at the top of the seat (I don't know why they're there - other than as a place for me to attach this!) with three Velcro straps - with reflective patches - along the sides (to keep it tight across the back). There are quick releases at the drinking tube and on the outlet tubes from each bladder. I can fill the bladders individually by taking them out of the pack or both at the same time by plugging a filled spare bladder into the tee. It looks pretty much the same whether the bladders are full or empty (I just give 'em a squeeze to see how much is left) - basically straight across from the edge of the seat & across the frame to the other side.

 

[benphyr]

"If there are NO photos, then it did NOT happen"" A quote from a WISE cruzbike rider! NOT me!

Do photos count if they are fuzzy? Only if they are pictures of a fuzzy wuzzy bear. Recognizing that most of my pictures turn out fuzzy too - and that Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?

Extra points to those who know the rhyme. Pat yourself on the back. Or if you stand up and then high five yourself you will be giving yourself a standing ovation. Ovations are great mint-chocolate sticks that I remember fondly from Christmas in my youth. <end stream of consciousness.>

 

[Ross Jantz]

Do photos count if they are fuzzy? Only if they are pictures of a fuzzy wuzzy bear. Recognizing that most of my pictures turn out fuzzy too - and that Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?

My ten year old flip phone apologizes for its inability to focus at short distances. Much like its owner.

However, as it is a black nylon pack attached to a dark grey/black seat with a black compression strap running vertically down each side through black buckles along with black elastic cord laced across the face (just to hold extra stuff) and black neoprene insulation over the tubes from the bladders to the tee, I'm not sure you'd get a lot more detail even if the pics were in sharp focus.

Everyone knows that anything black on a bicycle is invisible!

For the record, I knew Fuzzy back when he still had hair.

 

[super slim]

What make, model and size and empty are the water bladders?

 

[DocS]

Found some bags on Amazon...
Did a 70 mile ride yesterday... bags worked out very well!

 

[ak-tux]

Looks very nice!

 

[DocS]

Thank you

I ended up finding those Top Rail bags on Amazon for $11.99 each!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S7B7FWV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They have 2 sides with a divider in the middle. This was very cool, because I could store my phone on the outside separated from keys and other stuff that would scratch it ...

I was able to carry tools, a pump, 2 extra tubes, tire levers, a couple bags of jerky, some trail mix a couple "pickle pops" and still had room. The other bag just had my keys, a wallet, a Sig365 and phone! and I still had room!

It worked well on my 70 mile ride Saturday and I'm pretty sure I'm going to do a Metric Century at the Wheelmen 100 this weekend.

The only other person I've met in the San Antonio area that rides a Cruzbike just sold hers...
to buy a new Vendetta frameset!!!

I'm jealous...

Don't get me wrong. I love my Silvio 2.0, but I see a Vendetta in my future, now that I've dipped my toe into the Cruzbike pool!

Is anyone here interested in doing a Metric Century this Saturday?

I would do the Century, but a BROL member is meeting me and wants to stick to the Metric (and I don't want to burn myself out before the MS Ride to the River on October 5th and 6th).

Blessings,
DocS

 

[Ross Jantz]

What make, model and size and empty are the water bladders?

Assuming you were asking about mine: Platypus, Hoser, 1L each (12" x 5 1/2" or 31cm x 12.5cm empty & flat).

 

[velocio]

Found some bags on Amazon...
Did a 70 mile ride yesterday... bags worked out very well!View attachment 8395 View attachment 8396 View attachment 8397

Hey DocS, great solution for carrying a day ride's worth of stuff! Can you give a bit more info on the "Top Rail" bags? How are the supplied velcro straps used to mount them to the frame? You mentioned that they're divided into two sections internally. Are both sections accessible from the same side zipper or is there a zipper on each side of the bag, one per compartment?

I wish Cruzbike offered a "brain box" type bag that worked well with their seat. I have the carbon Race Case and it's dead S3XY (to quote Elon Musk), but falls short in carrying a day's worth of essentials in a convenient way. The Bacchetta Brain Box on my Giro A20 has plenty of carrying capacity, has a spot for a water bladder, easily goes on or off and doesn't hang out in the wind. I've seen attempts to mount this type of bag to the Cruzbike seat using chunks of plywood and other hacks to get the bag to hang properly, but the results I've seen online so far aren't entirely satisfying.

Cheers & safe riding!

 

[DocS]

Can you give a bit more info on the "Top Rail" bags? How are the supplied velcro straps used to mount them to the frame? You mentioned that they're divided into two sections internally. Are both sections accessible from the same side zipper or is there a zipper on each side of the bag, one per compartment?

There is one Velcro Strap in the front of the bag and three on the top. Since I bought 2 bags, one for each side of the frame (under the stock seat), I simply velcro'd the left bag to the right bag strap. I placed them on each side of the frame (like saddle bags) and did the same with the front velcro straps.


There is a zipper on the side of each bag...
It's not that difficult to use the inner zipper to put stuff you're not planning on using quickly/while riding, so I put the tubes and tools in the inner side, while placing my Jerky, Trail Mix in the outer pouch. I was able to access it while riding and retrieved some trail mix, but was paranoid that stuff would fall out...

I replaced the seat over the straps and ensured it was bolted in the front and secured by Velcro on the frame.

Seems like a very easy and cheap way to carry all that I needed / wanted to take.

I have another Metric Century ride this weekend, and feel pretty confident that I'll have all the room I need...

Blessings,
DocS

 

[jond]

Hey DocS, great solution for carrying a day ride's worth of stuff! Can you give a bit more info on the "Top Rail" bags? How are the supplied velcro straps used to mount them to the frame? You mentioned that they're divided into two sections internally. Are both sections accessible from the same side zipper or is there a zipper on each side of the bag, one per compartment?

I wish Cruzbike offered a "brain box" type bag that worked well with their seat. I have the carbon Race Case and it's dead S3XY (to quote Elon Musk), but falls short in carrying a day's worth of essentials in a convenient way. The Bacchetta Brain Box on my Giro A20 has plenty of carrying capacity, has a spot for a water bladder, easily goes on or off and doesn't hang out in the wind. I've seen attempts to mount this type of bag to the Cruzbike seat using chunks of plywood and other hacks to get the bag to hang properly, but the results I've seen online so far aren't entirely satisfying.

Cheers & safe riding!

Go to page 2 for a pic. Aluminium flat bar frame very light and looks good. I reckon.


Aero and great for long fast rides.

 

[velocio]

Go to page 2 for a pic. Aluminium flat bar frame very light and looks good. I reckon.
View attachment 8418

Aero and great for long fast rides.

That's exactly the "brain box" I have on my Giro. It holds a lot of stuff, but not a lot of heavy stuff, is surprisingly inexpensive, easy on & off, has space for a water bladder, looks good and might even help with aerodynamics. If I was buying a similar brain box type bag today I'd probably aim for a smaller, higher quality one from Bent-Up Cycles or Radical Designs.

JonD, you added a "flat bar aluminum frame" to the bag to allow decent mounting on the stock Cruzbike seat? Could you explain further?

Cheers,

-Jack

 

[jond]

That's exactly the "brain box" I have on my Giro. It holds a lot of stuff, but not a lot of heavy stuff, is surprisingly inexpensive, easy on & off, has space for a water bladder, looks good and might even help with aerodynamics. If I was buying a similar brain box type bag today I'd probably aim for a smaller, higher quality one from Bent-Up Cycles or Radical Designs.

JonD, you added a "flat bar aluminum frame" to the bag to allow decent mounting on the stock Cruzbike seat? Could you explain further?

Cheers,

-Jack

I have the radical design bag. Yes it’s a quality product with ykk metal zip external pocket for bidon and reinforced base..... but is simply not as good a design as brain box with its bladder space Velcro pocket etc. plus cheaper.

I’ll take a picture of bracket.