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Racebak by Camelbak

k8trigirlk8trigirl
in General Training Discussions

It has been so HOT in Washington DC this summer. I am looking into a way to carry more water with me so that I don't have to stop and refill so much on the bike. Has anyone tried the Racebak by Camelbak?

Comments

  • jetskrjetskr
    I've never tried it but have seen it in the store. Looks like a good idea if there's a way to add ice as well. One nice thing about stopping every couple hours is getting to refill with some cool/cold water.
  • DellerDeller
    Joanne Zeiger was rocking the smaller size Camelbak backpack at the 70.3 championship she won a year and a half ago. I actually got the Racebak as an experiment a little over a year ago. It sits in my closet now. There just aren't that many situations where it would work well. Because of the small size of the reservoir, it only buys me an extra hour or so before I have to fill up anyway. I'd rather be able to have something I can take off and fill, in which case I'd go with the regular backpack-style.
  • KitbooKitboo
    I believe this product was originally designed to be a reservoir for fluid AND be aero (compared to a cylindrical water bottle on the down tube) and cool core body temperature. The some members of the Garmin pro cycling team used it a couple of years ago during their race season.
    The reservoir is 72 oz---not the largest capacity for a Camelbak (there are 100+ oz ones). An average sized water bottle is 24 oz so it will take the place of 3ish water bottles. As Eric says, on a hot day when you should/could be drinking 40 oz/hour it won't last beyond 2 hours. If you already have 3 water bottle cages on your bike, it's really not much of an advantage from a capacity standpoint. However, if you feel more comfortable staying in aero and drinking from a Camelbak vs. reaching and drinking from a water bottle then it's the product for you.
    As far as getting/having more water on hot rides, I either ride a loop so I can circle back to my house/car and reload or map out a route that has convenient stores to buy water.
  • Steven FordSteven Ford

    I was thinking more of the keep my cool, load some ice in there and some water and try to keep the core temp down a bit.

     

    I wonder how it would work for running? Maybe to sloshy?

     

     

  • k8trigirlk8trigirl
    I think I am going to go with a 72oz backpack model. I have 3 water bottles on my bike, just looking for a way to get thru a 4 hour ride without stopping. Thanks for the responses.
  • Mike HedmanMike Hedman
    Just a couple of thoughts - I don't think I would want the bladder effectively touching my skin. Hopefully there's some insulation, but I don't want my water getting to 98 degrees! Also, I'm thinking it's difficult/impossible to refill without removing the whole thing. Not OK.
    As for the sloshing, there's a trick to this...fill up your bladder, turn it upside down,and burp it - suck on the mouthpiece and squeeze the bladder until all the air is gone.

    Mike
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