When it comes to hydration in cycling you have several options, unfortunately most of us aren’t afforded the luxury of team cars and a domestique to pass our liquid treasure to us during our rides. Here, we’ve outlined a few of the more popular options that those of us without contracts have for storing liquids on the bike.

The first and most popular option is the frame mounted bottle cage. These are designed to screw into pre-threaded holes that are in the bike frame when you purchase it. Most road bike frames are designed to accommodate two bottle cages, one on the seat tube (tube extending from seat post to bottom of bike) and one on the down tube (tube extending from handlebars to bottom of bike). Some triathlon bike frames are only able to hold one cage and depending on the frame design, it will vary between the down tube and seat tube. Cages can be purchased for as little of $5 for an aluminum one or over $70 for a carbon fiber cage. Unless you are on the advanced end of the scale and need to save every ounce on your bike the aluminum cages make this the most affordable option. The location of the bottles makes them easy to reach while riding and they very rarely pop out of the cages when you don’t want them to.

The next option is the choice of a lot of triathletes. An aero bottle mounts between your aero bars and has a long straw that enables you to easily drink your fluids while in the aero position. The straw being directly in front of your face allows for easy hydration and an effective reminder to use it. This is great to keep you from getting too focused on the race and not on your hydration needs. These can be bought in a few different varieties. Some have one fluid chamber while others have dual chambers and both range in volume.

Another choice is the rear mount system. This is a design that allows you to mount your bottle cages behind your seat and is made of many different materials resulting in a large range of prices. This is an attractive option for many triathletes, some of which are overly concerned about aerodynamics. Whether or not this is more aerodynamic is debatable. It does however, take some getting used to because you are now reaching back to get the bottle out and put it back in. Having your cages mounted in this fashion tends to yield a high percentage of bottle ejections relative to the other two methods.

To sum it all up, all three of these options are viable and at least one of them is bound to be right for you. Before you buy, get some feedback from your fellow athletes and if possible try to borrow some of these setups to test them out. Remember, just because something looks cool or is made of the newest, most advanced technology and research doesn’t mean it’s the best option. The best is the one that works for YOU!

Written by Jay Pedersen