A bottle cage is an important accessory one needs for anything beyond half an hour's cycling, particularly in this humid Calcutta. Today I went for a 43 km, 3-hr long ride on the road bike and I started feeling thirsty at around 12 km. At 18 I bought a small bottle of water and quenched my thirst.
After coming back home, one of the first things I did is install the bottle cage that had come a few days ago from Merida. It has a hideous green colour that does not go too well with the red of the bike but then I have to do with it for now.
Installation wasn't anything hi fi. New road bikes come with pre-punched and threaded holes. Those holes are covered by bolts with heads that need an Allen key. One needs to take those bolts off and fix the cage. The cage also came with its own bolts, which I am going to keep for any replacement need later.
For precise understanding I used this video from youtube. I was a little foxed and after seeing this video realised that one needs to take off the bolts from the bike first :-)
For now, I think I am going to use a regular water bottle. I don't see any need to invest in a proper sports bottle.
Incidentally, my other bike - the refurbished Hero - does not have any pre-punched holes. I think I shall get two rivnuts punched. This is a decent video on how to tighten a rivnut .
November 4, 2017
Tonight I installed the second bottle cage on my Merida. Tomorrow I am going to go on a 75 km practice ride. Intend to carry one bottle with plain water and another with electrolyte mixed water. This was my strategy during the Roopkund Trek.
These bottle cages from Merida are of decent quality. In a bad cage the bottle can come out if the road surface is bad or bumpy. It has not happened with me so far. And I have ridden on quite a few bad roads. I even had a mild, low speed fall where the bottle took the knock and had a significant scratch on it. However, the bottle never came out of the cage.
Having improved my cardiac and muscular efficiency through regular running and cycling, I feel less thirsty these days. The other day I completed 50 km without a stop and did not need to drink any water. Did not even stop to wipe my face clean. I sweat much less these days. I know it is bad not to drink water during such heavy exercises, particularly to keep electrolytic balance intact. But I took it as a challenge not to stop. Also, while wearing a bib I remain conscious that too much water might demand a pee break and with a cycling bib it might get embarrassingly difficult.
November 4, 2017
Tonight I installed the second bottle cage on my Merida. Tomorrow I am going to go on a 75 km practice ride. Intend to carry one bottle with plain water and another with electrolyte mixed water. This was my strategy during the Roopkund Trek.
These bottle cages from Merida are of decent quality. In a bad cage the bottle can come out if the road surface is bad or bumpy. It has not happened with me so far. And I have ridden on quite a few bad roads. I even had a mild, low speed fall where the bottle took the knock and had a significant scratch on it. However, the bottle never came out of the cage.
Having improved my cardiac and muscular efficiency through regular running and cycling, I feel less thirsty these days. The other day I completed 50 km without a stop and did not need to drink any water. Did not even stop to wipe my face clean. I sweat much less these days. I know it is bad not to drink water during such heavy exercises, particularly to keep electrolytic balance intact. But I took it as a challenge not to stop. Also, while wearing a bib I remain conscious that too much water might demand a pee break and with a cycling bib it might get embarrassingly difficult.
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