I'm getting kind of tired of explaining/defending my reasons for wanting a
hydration pack--although I'm beginning to suspect that some if not most of
the "why on earth would a roadie want a hydration pack" responses I've been
getting are of the troll, snark and "I love to spew forth my philisophy of
riding, life and all things me"--but here goes, one (hopefully) last time.
I do not intend to carry a cast iron stove on my back or use a hydration
pack every time I go riding. Often, I'm going to want to go riding for 25-50
miles, maybe more, and just ride, on a nice, warm, sunny day, on bike
trails, urban, suburban or country roads, where water is easily available
and my two water bottles will me enough to sustain me between refills, I
won't need a jacket or shell, don't need to carry any books, MP3 players,
cameras, etc., and everything I do need (the usual pump, tools, spare tube,
patch kit, first aid kit, money, cell phone and granola bar or two) can
easily fit on my frame, seat pack or jersey pockets.
HOWEVER, there will be times when I will either be commuting fairly short
distances and need to haul spare clothes and a few other items, or going out
for a ride, but want to take a light book, or camera, or a sandwich, or a
shell or fleece jersey if it might rain or cool down later on, etc. Since I
don't plan on doing either on a regular basis, I don't see the need to fit a
rack and panniers on my bike, and think a light, compact backpack is the
answer for MY needs, not the needs of others in this ng. Now, it doesn't
necessarily have to be a hydration pack, but if I'm getting a pack, it might
as well be a hydration pack, since they're not that much more expensive, I
like the idea of being able to drink hands-free, and I can always use it for
non-cycling activities such as hiking or trekking around town (which, of
course, a rack and panniers would be useless for).
I might, of course, find that carrying water and stuff on my bike takes away
from the pleasure of riding. But given the MANY road cyclists I see out here
riding with packs, I suspect for occasional use, I'll be ok with it. It
might violate purists' notion of what road cycling is all about, but they're
a breed apart and I'm not looking for the approval of people who don't
flinch at spending $100 for a jersey. If you see me on the road, have a good
chuckle, if that's what rocks your world.
And if I sound a tad defensive, it's because I'm getting tired of feeling
like I have to defend myself against advice that, however well-meant, has
little to do with my OP. If hydration packs don't make sense to someone,
that's fine with me, and they shouldn't use them. I'm not them, though.
Anyway, I've already bought one hydration pack, a larger one mostly for
hiking but occasionally for bike commuting. Now I want to buy a smaller one,
mostly for road cycling, for the reasons I explained yet against above. If
they don't make sense to you, then that's not my problem.
--
Kovie
[email hidden]
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:I've been eyeing several Camelbaks, especially the MULE, Blowfish and
HAWG.
I like the compact size of the MULE, but am concerned that it might be a
tad
too small, and that if I packed its various expandable pockets, it would
become unwieldy and shift around.
Go with the MULE. I have a couple Camelbak models. Their valve works
very well. On long brevets, 200-300-400 km, I have wished for more
than the 70 ounces of the models I own. I drink much more with the
Camelbak, which is important on century plus rides. The 100 oz of the
MULE would be nice. As for the cargo capacity of my Camelbak, I use it
for arm/leg warmers, balaclava, wind vest. Never anything heavy. That
would be a miserable bike ride.
For a 400 km brevet this year I used 4 P clips to mount a rack to my
bike. Carried all the heavy and bulky stuff in a rack pack. Nice. I
also had three water bottles mounted to the frame. But its easier to
drink from the Camelbak.
On all the rides I go on, Camelbaks are mostly used by mountain bike,
hybrid bike riders. I may have seen one person on a many thousand
dollar carbon/titanium wonder bike in the past decade using a Camelbak.
People riding those types of bikes do not use Camelbaks or carry much
of anything with them. Most of them have seatbags barely large enough
to hold a credit card. The idea of carbon/titanium wonder bike riders
using a Camelbak or carrying anything on their bikes is humorous.
