Just been out on my road bike for a few hours and passed lots of other people on theirs and I was the only one wearing a camelbak? Only got my roadbike a couple months ago and didn’t really have an interest before that so I’m probably missing something, I normally take a bottle with high 5 in on the bike and 2 litres of water in a camelbak.

I don’t personally use spd’s or wear Lycra but can understand why people do, just don’t understand why people buy really light carbon road bikes then put heavy bottles on them instead of spreading (at least some of) the extra weight across their back/shoulders instead?

I’m not going in to the many reason why but. It’s better to have less weight on your back 😉

Commence the onslaught…

Comfort and no disadvantage

The Rules

Because they drink their own piss 🙂 ?

Aerodynamics….This is also why they never smile. 😉

I was like you for a while. Then I stopped wearing a bak at all for back problem reasons and started loving not wearing one on the road bike. It’s like taking a little step of freedom, so cool and fresh. Yeah, you have to move things about, water bottles, saddle bag, stuff in your pockets but it’s massively more comfortable without a bak IMO.

Just read the rules in dan67’s link, I’ve got a lot to learn!! 🙂 (or maybe I’ll just stick to mtb’s)

Nothing to do with aerodynamics. Some TT riders actually experimented with Camelbaks because they improved the aerodynamics.
As above, more comfortable to ride with nothing on your back, less faff with bottles, easier to see how much liquid you have left, and easier to resupply in a race by getting bottles handed up.

Nothing to do with aerodynamics.

I know, was being silly.. 😀

I also wondered about this. i still use a camel bac on both mtb and road bikes. I’m so use to having the weight on my back on the mtb that it feels odd without it.

stops having a sweaty back

and stops you looking like a ninja turtle

Because if you wear a camelback other roadies will know what you are. A mountain biker pretending to be a roadie. I bet they never acknowledge you when your out either. 😀

I stopped wearing mine on the mountain bike shortly after starting road.

Love the freedom of riding without having a toolset on my back.

Primarily because you can see how much fluid you have left in a bottle. I’d do the same on an mtb were in not for the crud + control while drinking problems

I don’t wear one on the MTB anymore, much nicer!

I don’t use one on my MTB either, horrible things, can’t stand them

No need for something that’s not needed at all.

Road bikes don’t cover the bottles in mud and other crap???

If I´m doing a short local MTB ride I prefer to go Bak-less.
I always feel faster without one on 😉

No real alternative for the long rides though, need to bring at least: pump,spare tube,multitool&cable ties, phone, cash, food and water. Get stuck in the hills without one of those when you need it and it´s a long walk/slow struggle home. Plus I can stick the pads and helmet on it when they´re not needed.

I have one of the very minimal baks for when I use one on my RB but generally I use bottles on my RB cos most rides I do they offer enough volume for between stops. As we tend to do cafe stops I can get my bottles refilled. If I do go out on my own on a very long ride I use fruit juice/energy drink in bottles and add extra volume of water in my bak.

As for why put heavy bottles on your light carbon bike? Your overall mass is no different whether it’s on your back or on the frame. It could be argued that on a light bike any given volume of liquid is better in bottles in the traditional position than up on your back (centralisation of mass). Plus it takes strain off your back and gives better air circulation/cooling than wearing a back pack.

comfort. given the choice would rather not ride with 1.5kilo on my back.

I can’t speak for everyone else but I don’t need a camelbak for 90%* of my rides I can more than adequately fit everything into my jersey pockets and in 2 bottles on the frame.

Also if you have a low front end wearing a back pack is uncomfortable. It slips up your back on the drops and makes my back hurt after a while.

*when it’s less than <20C 1.5L is normally enough to see me round 100miles. I don’t ride that far that often. I imagine for most doing 80 miles with a cafe stop one bottle could be enough.

I’m unable to drink from a bottle without stopping whilst on my road bike so use a Camelbak, much safer for everyone. Not a problem on the mtb though.

They do. They wear them on their chests, though.

I’m tucked o er more on the road bike and it makes back ache worse for me. Must’ve been a sportive on near me today but saw a couple of roadies sporting camelbaks

The Rules

+1

The Rules

-1000

Am I the only one that finds constant referral to the rules irksome? They always strike me as a large dose of snobbery, elitism and snark that are, I hope, lightly camouflaged with irony. Actively trying to engender a culture of excluding people for not adhering to a set of arbitrary preferences really is just the height of gitishness.

Really, as long as someone is enjoying riding the bike then it’s fine.

( and yes, I can see there’s a chunk of knowledge required to ride safely in a group on the road but most of this is irrelevant to that and regardless, this is not the way to disseminate it )

Am I the only one that finds constant referral to the rules irksome?

nope, and they are irony deficient btw.

Am I the only one that finds constant referral to the rules irksome?

No you’re not. That whole site is dire, in fact I’ve just removed it’s link from my blog. Eddy Merckx, Eddy Merckx ooh Eddy Merckx, Molteni cap toss.

I once joked that aero head-tube mounted bladder systems would be the next kerrazy marketing bike thing, and someone had already done it!

Specialized shiv has the camelbak bit inside the down tube.

Apart from the very crucial reasons of not needing to carry 3l of the latest high energy concoction and a selection of workshop tool kit around strapped to thier torso, then it’s probably something to do with;

‘ not wishing to look like your average MTB ‘noob’ on a road bike’ 🙂

Uncomfortable, ugly, sweaty, no need to carry kitchen sink.

bjj.andy.w – Member
Because if you wear a camelback other roadies will know what you are. A mountain biker pretending to be a roadie. I bet they never acknowledge you when your out either.

They were all very polite and all said hello with a smile (probably mocked me once I’d passed) 🙂

Am I the only one that finds constant referral to the rules irksome?

Its a bit tragic, it’s just a bike, ride it and have fun!!

I’ve always assumed that the rules were tongue in cheek. Anyone who took them seriously is sadder than anyone they seriously mock.

However having ridden both types of bike I can say I have no desire to carry a camelpak on road. Everything I need on road fits in a shirt pocket and/or pouch under my seat. The water bottle on the road stays reasonably clean. If I finished it all, it won’t be hard to find somewhere to refill. If major disaster strikes I can probably find somewhere to shelter or get back home by public transport etc.

On the MTB most of the same applies for any riding I do from home (but I do pass people riding local trails (an hour in the evening) with packs on); likewise for most trail centres I’ve visited. The only time I find a camel pack preferable is for really long rides or in really muddy conditions – e.g. all day rides in the highlands. The other reason bottles might be a bit less popular is that with full suss frame space is limited so the volume you can carry is much less.

Am I the only one that finds constant referral to the rules irksome?

You’re clearly not a cyclist, merely someone who rides a bike.

Since riding a road bike I can’t stand using a camel back on the mountain bike either. I love the freedom of being back pack free. That said I only really ride Cannock chase and carrying a mobile workshop around is a bit of overkill. Peaks rides I do tend to carry a pack.

On the road what exactly would you carry in a camel back that you can’t stuff in your jersey pockets? Two tubes, cash, puncture repair kit with split link, small multi tool, phone and jelly babies. Water and pump live on the frame.

I only own a camelbak classic so it has 2 litres of water in and nothing else, i only meant as a means of carrying fluid, everything else does indeed go in the pockets

‘Real’ roadies can ride for thousands of miles without additional fluids.

The British Rider Tom Simpson died during the 1967 Tour de France on Mont Ventoux – it is believed he collapsed and died of shock after seeing one of his fellow competitors ask for a second water bottle.