(whinds) said:I'm seeing more and more Camelbaks on the trails and am
wondering what the consensus is here.
Why is the word "trail" commonly used to refer to pavement?
I've always figured it meant dirt, and one would say "route"
or "path" (depending on context) for pavement.
Of course, if you're talking about doing double centuries on
hilly singletrack, well, you can use any word you want to
describe anything you want; that's quite a feat, deserving
much respect.
Quoted message said:My training trail has a lot of water stops available so it
is not a major problem. I usually ride 80 miles daily with
a century + on the weekend. I use two water cages and a
[censored] pack that has dual bottle carriers. I start the day
with water in the cages and a 20oz bottle of diet Mountain
Dew in the [censored] pack. The MD is for the caffiine, I don't
drank coffee. The remaining bottle
Caffeine can be had in a more compact, lightweight,
convenient pill form; you can break the pill into smaller
servings. It's probably a bit cheaper than 20oz bottled soft
drinks, too.
Quoted message said:carrier is for a bananna and heavy duty surgical gloves for
roadside repairs. The [censored] pack itself holds protein bars,
clear glasses, serving size powdered Gatorade in baggies
and a well stocked first aid kit. (I'm prone to road rash)
My rain jacket rides under my seat with spare tubes and my
tool kit. I've sorta become accustomed to this setup but am
thinking maybe someone in the NG has a better idea.
Better than something that you're so satisfied with?
It ain't broke. Don't fix it.
Quoted message said:I'm thinking of moving into double centuries this year and
am wondering if a Camelbak would improve my ride. I've
looked at 3 versions. The Rocket looks sleek and has
improved air flow but holds the least amount of liquid. The
Lobo is quite nice, slim, more water capacity, but lite on
serious storage. The Mule holds 100oz and appears to be the
logical choice with a net to hold leg warmers and a long
sleeve shirt but is it too big and bulky? I don't know if I
want something this large hanging on my shoulders for a
long ride.
I ride with backpacks like these. I have a small,
streamlined one that I don't bother with anymore. I have a
Camelbak Mule, equipped for mountain biking. I have an
"Ultimate XSpurt", with nearly or the same cargo capacity as
the Mule, equipped for road riding.
Of course, the reservoirs are interchangeable.
The air flow things on the back of my Mule are ineffective,
but may work better if I didn't have it so stuffed. The
flat, soft back on the road pack is fine.
My back gets rather hot and sweaty. Carrying all the [censored] on
my back ends up putting more weight on my arms and hands.
For road riding, I've been trying to offload some of the
stuff to the bike, but am hampered by having one set of
equipment for riding many different bikes.
I'd say that if you're happy with what you've got,
don't mess with
it. If you want to carry additional liquid and/or solid
cargo, and you don't wish to add it to the bike, a
backpack is a good option, but I wouldn't just pull
everything off the bike and throw it on my back.
It's more useful to have on your back when off road, where
you need the more nimble, lighter bike to more easily throw
around underneath you...and the pack + stuff works as back
armor when you biff.
--
Rick Onanian
