I usually carry two bidons (1L + 0.75L) on any long outing, but with this new frame bag, have had to buy 0.55L bottles that barely fit. Even though this is a road bike setup ridden in Europe (i.e., dieing of thirst is not a likely possibility) I'd prefer to have a bit more water carrying capacity.
I guess I see a few options…
- carry only these two bottles → 1.1L
- put a soft flask (.5L) in the frame bag → 1.6L
- strap a bottle to the seatpost bag → ≥1.6L
- add a bottle holder to the seatpost → ≥1.6L
Any advice?
For #4, does anyone know of gear options for this? I think such a thing exists as some TT bikes have bottles mounted directly under the saddle…
by tomatessechees
9 Comments
Something like this might work. Stabilize your seat post bag and give yourself 2 bottle cage mounts
https://a.co/d/ieGh5uQ
My preference, under the circumstances that you have there, would be feed bags or under the downtube. I can fit a 1,5 liter bladder in my Joey bag.
Options 5 and 6, you add stem feed bags or a wearable hydration pack. I use 2x stem bags when I set my bike up for bikepacking.
Check out the Wolftooth b-rad. It takes a single bottle cage setup and converts it into two side by side
[Wolftooth b-rad](https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/b-rad-double-bottle-cage-adapter)
I have lowering king cages that work with large bottles and a half frame bag. Edit… It looks like your frame bag is a little taller than mine.
I’ve got some bottle bags which strap to the stem and handlebars by roadrunnerbags.us the auto -pilot will just **barely** fit my half gallon/1.9L insulated thermos. So a good sized handlebar bag (Los Angeles resident so roadrunner is local for me) use a “middle earth jammer” which has 19L capacity and can have bulky stuff strapped on top – it’s actually designed for it plus the stem bags hauling an extra 3L or whatever of water allows me some extra capacity. I don’t know about roadrunner’s distribution to Europe, extra price surcharges due to Trump and everything else but their stuff is great.
You could try these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256497144221?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=tKgVfGQDQRe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=gGY_wrmQTIW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Or there is a bracket you can get that fits on your seat that enables you to add two water bottle cages
A handlebar snack bag makes an excellent bottle holder.
The Topeak Backloader Wishbone will stabilize your rear bag and has mounts for bottles.
I feel your pain, this is the solution I’ve come to, along with the recognition that I might just not have an in-between from a frame wedge to a full frame bag.
My frame bag covers the front triangle (4L apidura for mtb and gravel bike) leaving room for a big bottle at the seat tube. I mount an additional Fidlock strap at the top-tube. This allows another bottle under the saddle, leaving room for top-tube bag in front if necessary. Never needed more, but also never cycled in desert-like environment.