New cyclist, hello !

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JohnRedcoRn

New Member
got started a couple of months ago via cycle to work scheme (also a way around justifying the expense of a new 'thing' to the mrs !) encouraged by 2 mates with about 12 years more experience than me - i'm falling somewhere between my 'leisure' cycling preference and their more competitive drive (they just been up the alps on their £1000 + road bikes, i'm about to do my longest ride - 54 miles on sunday on my £250 giant hybrid)
LOVE it, dont know why i didnt start years ago ! its hard to remain 'casual' about it ; i'm already getting obsessive about weight and practicality issues .

a couple of questions in advance of sundays ride ; i'm after a second water bottle - thinking of mounting one on my handlebars, or is it best to put it in my rack bag ? (i'm about 15 - 16 stone so i dont think a little bit more 'wind resistance will make much diference !) Also, i need a rack bag (already have saddle pack for multi tool, tube etc). the only one i can find and buy in time for sunday is £20 at halfords (their £10 ones all sold out)...so i was wondering, until i upgrade to a more expensive pack / panniers, could i get away with tying my rucksack to my pannier rack with bungee cords ? (not putting it on my back).
thanks for any tips, sorry for the long rambling thread, i'll be back !
 

Willow

Senior Member
Location
Surrey
I just bought a DHB Elstead rack bag from Wiggle, arrived next day and I love it.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Why not consider buying a proper cyclist's backpack with a water bladder? This would have room for spares as well as clothing, a couple of outside pockets and the water bladder, which would take a couple of litres of liquid with a drinking tube to run over your shoulder. The only thing to watch is not to buy one of the floppy vinyl bladders as they are impossible to dry out; get the harder plastic Platypus type, which is stiff enough to stand up on the window sill and dry out.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
hello, and welcome!

Can't really help you on the water bottle front - I guess it depends on whether you have a chance to stop and swap bottles when one is empty, or if you want them both to hand instantly...

With regard to bungying your rucksack to the rack, I don't see anything wrong with that, as long as you are very careful that no dangling straps can catch in the wheel. Again, it might be down to accessibility - if you bungy your rucksack safely, it's perhaps going to take a moment or two more to get at anything in it - if that matters....

You could always invest in the rack pack anyway (unless you're on a really tight budget, something I know all about!). In my mind, you can never have too many luggage options, and it might still come in handy, even after you upgrade to panniers. Or when you put panniers on your current bike, and want the rack pack for the lightweight Audax bike you decide you want in 6 months... ;)

Anyway, whatever you do, enjoy it! 54 miles is very decent distance (my most ever is 68), and it doesn't matter what bike you have, really, it's about getting out and enjoying it!
 

shimano

New Member
hi and welcome - how about using ty-wraps to mount a second bottle on the seat tube? - I often bungy my rucksack to the carrier and as long as all the straps are well tucked in you shouldn't have a problem.
 
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JohnRedcoRn

JohnRedcoRn

New Member
Thanks for all the tips.. ty - wraps, what are they and do cycle shops sell them ? Yes I agree about never having too many options; i was thinking of getting rid of the seat pack and putting everything in one bag but of course its better to chop and change and mix it all up according to what you need / dont need on any given trip isnt it.
basically i only need enough room for my waterproof (altura waterproof night vision so it doesnt fold small enough for my pocket or seat pack), maybe sandwiches and my glasses in case of contact lens mishap ! up till now i just bungee my waterproof to the rack.
PS aside from energy bars, i've heard that a handfull of jelly babies are useful, is this right ? i take cereal bars, does anyone else use these ?
(i've opened pandoras box - millions of questions )
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Ty - wraps - I'd have spelt it Tie-wraps, also known as Zip-ties. Those plastic strips you do up in a loop and have a sort of rachet to hold them closed. You can even get releasable ones as well. Those and gaffer tape, solve almost every problem known to man... You'll find the normal unreleasable ones in any DIY/Hardware/poundshop, and the releasable ones in lots of decent shops - it's not just a bike thing.

Jelly babies could be useful - really it depends how careful you want to be with nutrition. I'm very much a pootler and a tourer, so I get most of my nutrition in teashops;) and full english breakfasts, but I tend to carry some sort of sweet along for a bit of a boost - polo mints or somesuch. I suspect, since I'm rarely pushing myself, it's psychological as much as anything...
 
Arch said:
Ty - wraps - I'd have spelt it Tie-wraps, also known as Zip-ties. Those plastic strips you do up in a loop and have a sort of rachet to hold them closed.
Also known as cable ties
 
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JohnRedcoRn

JohnRedcoRn

New Member
well, treid bungee'ing the rucksack to the rack - its not going to work, so i'm getting a rack mount pack

as fro the second bottle, those nice chaps at my local bike shop pointed out to me that a bottle cage fits on the same fittings as my pump - easy peasy
 
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