Bike hydration is something that I worry about quite a bit. For me, there is no such thing as a perfect system for both long distance training rides and racing. For racing, I favour a minimalist approach and plan to pick up everything that I need at aid stations on the course. In training on the other hand, I need to be fully supported for hydration, nutrition and (hopefully not) maintenance.
I do all of my bike maintenance myself and believe it or not, nothing has given me more frustration than the current rear mounted bottle setup on my Cannondale Slice. This bike comes with a very basic aluminum mounting bracket that attaches to the seatpost. I love the idea of a simple mounting bracket, but in practice I've found that this part is made pretty poorly and is extremely difficult to tinker with (something that I do often!). Removing a single bottle cage cage causes the whole part to fall to pieces. But I digress...
On long training rides, I've been starting with my Profile Aerodrink full of water, a second bottle with water to refill the Aerodrink, and a bottle with my concentrated liquid nutrition. For even longer training rides, I can either throw another cage on the seat tube, or stop and refill. I've also got a Bento box on my top tube for gels, etc. and my flat kit is wedged between my rear cages and the saddle. The flat kit consists of:
- 2 spare tubes
- 2 tire levers
- CO2 nozzle
- 2 CO2 canisters (not pictured)
- patch kit (not pictured)
All of this is wedged in place and cinched in using a bungee (like speed laces). For racing, when I remove the rear mount setup (and put a bottle on the downtube), I'll throw on a small saddle bag and likely reduce the amount of stuff that I carry with me.
Daily workouts
- 82 km hilly ride on the Slice (avg 32 km/h, no HR data)
My hideous rear mount setup. This thing should be considered a crime against aerodynamics.
My Slice. The perfect bike for a lanky freak that is all legs (me)
