New bike came in...very happy..questions for longer distances
 

What’s good everyone. My 2020 GIANT Contend AR1 came in today and I took it out for a spin. Wow. Loved it. I was a bit nervous as it was my first time riding a road bike and wearing clipless however I quickly picked it up.

I’m am loving the road bike scene and just a little scared of the speed as my trek Marlin was MUCH heavier and I felt that I had more stability. It will just take getting used to.

One question I had for the group, I started hitting 20 mile rides and I’ve been doing ok I guess, just hit 80 minutes for a 20 min stretch today. I want to start venturing to longer rides and wondered if y’all wear camelbaks by chance. I have my phone, multitool, spare inner tube (they came tubeless) and a few other things to carry, not to mention I could be carrying 80oz extra of water. My friend who road bikes at work says they are frowned upon since they have jerseys they pack them. For me, I’m 6’3 - 256 and not the slimmest (getting there) but these jerseys don’t fit the best so I don’t have pockets. What is everyone’s thoughts on it IF you run one and which one do you run. I’m looking to get one and thought I’d come to the experts!


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I dislike greatly wearing a backpack while on the bike. I carry bottles in the cages. And I won't buy jerseys that don't have pockets.

Most of the road riding I do is sufficiently within civilization that, if I need more bottles than a bike can carry, I'll plan to refill at some point. I mostly use saddlebags for repair-kit stuff like tubes, tire levers, multitool, etc... it's just bulky and clunky to be carrying all that within jersey pockets, although on some bikes I do carry my mini-pump in a pocket. Frequent-access personal stuff like keys and phone and food I typically carry in my jersey pockets.

That said, I do have a camelbak which I sometimes use for long gravel rides and such, where I might spend excessive time in the foothills away from civilization. Two 26oz bottles plus a 3L bladder makes for about 4 and a half liters of fluid capacity on the gravel bike. The Camelback partially interferes with jersey pockets, so I carry most stuff in the Camelbak when I'm using it. The Camelbak isn't a big annoyance, but I do prefer to go without when it's not really required, as it worsens the ventilation on my back and makes the body feel just a tiny bit less "free."

One thing that's nice about having a hydration bladder is that it's not only useful when combined with a Camelbak. Touring on my Campeur last summer, I had two 26oz bottles in the usual locations, a 22oz bottle in a third cage below the downtube (a 26oz bottle would interfere with the front fender), and my 3L bladder stowed away in my handlebar bag. That's over five liters of hydration, but on one day, I ended up needing all of it.

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Anyway, as far it "frowned upon", it's just not most peoples' preference. Most of us think that about the comfiest thing to wear on a hot bike ride is a cycling jersey.

Two water bottles/cages and a saddle (seat bag) for tools/phone, etc are my preference. Two large bottles is good for 50-60 miles, on hot days there is always a place to stop and refill. I have a Camelbak I use for kayaking but don't like that sweaty back feeling, or any weight up high on my body.

I don't wear jerseys either, so the saddle bag is where I can carry flat repair stuff and my phone.

Almost no experienced road cyclists (as opposed to mountain bikers, tourers, etc) wear a Camelbak or any backpack. I did when I had more experience than you do so far, though. It's one of the things that will (probably) make less and less sense as you get fitter and go longer distance, but there's no reason to not do it just because you probably won't in the future.

And that paint is beautiful. :thumb:

BTW......nice bike. Love the color. Long rides? 30-40-60 milers? I am totally a road rider on a Trek Madone carbon fiber bike with caliper brakes <. I am old school still....LOL! I have a water bottle carried on frame. In a 20 mile ride I typically consume only 1/3 the contents (Zipp Fizz). But that too depends on profile of the ride and temp. I use to live in the mountains and would do a 16 mile climb up Mt. Pisgah yearly and even though that sounds a lot, the humidity and temps there were not so bad and fluid intake was not a issue to warrant two bottles. However, I have moved back to my hometown where I grew up and temps are mid summer in the 90’s and humidity through the roof so intake is different.

You will find your need after a few rides. As to camelbacks on a roadie.......nahhh. But if that works for you, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

2 large bottles (and the option to refill them along the way) has gotten me through every ride I have done, including summers in Oman (where it would sometimes be 50C when i started cycling). I hate Camelbacks - they arent comfy, my back gets sweaty and they just look a bit daft, to be honest. That said, if there is no other way and you need the water, carry the Camelback. Practicality always wins.

Are triathlete-style saddleback bottle holders and option? If you arent riding in a paceline, you could carry your bottles there instead.

I've reduced my rides to 40 mi or less. So, anything up to about 30 miles is one water bottle and beyond that two bottles. I run tubeless too but also carry a mini pump and a tube. In a year of riding I have not had a flat. And, I wouldn't ride without a jersey with pockets. If I was riding around doing errand I[d have no issue with a small backpack but when I'm out cycling I don't want one.

For jerseys, there are makers of 'big n tall' cycling stuff.. Here's one example:

https://www.aerotechdesigns.com/big-...ng-jersey.html

Agree that is one beautiful bike.

As above, most road cyclists prefer to NOT wear a backpack, it's not comfortable and longer rides cause sweat buildup etc.

Most road cyclists use a combination of jersey pockets and/or saddle bags for their stuff. There are other creative options and you should find out what works best for you.

Awesome color!! I love Giant's colors. :beer:

As for a hydration pack, I wear one when gravel riding, and now on the road since I've been riding solo with no stops to limit my contact. I'm a former ultra runner turned cyclist, so I use an Ultimate Direction trail running pack (AK2.0). It sits high enough that I can still access my jersey pockets, and it has pockets on the front of it to carry more stuff. I keep my repair stuff in a saddle bag, my phone in my jersey pocket, and then food in the other pockets (most jerseys have three pockets). Using this method I can carry enough food and water for a 100-115 mile ride without having to stop anywhere.

A lot of road cycling is about conformity, being a trail runner, I'm kind of the opposite, I say do what works for you. I use SPD pedals where most roadies use SPD-SL, I wear short socks because I've never liked tall socks, I wear a hydration pack when I need it. Just do you and keep on enjoying the ride!


Road riding with a hydration pack and an aero helmet, zero ****s given :p

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IMO, there's no harm in wearing a Camelback as you're getting up to speed with increasingly long rides. Hydration is critical and sometimes difficult to judge and you don't want to bonk hard without any drinkable water nearby. As you get more comfortable with longer rides and get better at gauging water consumption (and also identify bottle refill spots!) you might consider sticking with two water bottles + a seatbag + jersey pockets.

Nice bike. I am sure you will love it. Take good care of it and it will last very long.

I am not a fan of backpacks. I always ride with jerseys with pockets & do not carry anything other than my cellphone & some sugar/carbs to boost me up mid-rides. I don't carry tubes neither. Two weeks ago I had my first flat tire in a year that didn't seal up by itself. Girlfriend came to rescue. It's a risk I take, but I am never really far from home. If you carry tubes, make sure to have tire levers (hard plastic ones) & a small pump. If you don't, there are good chances that cyclists riding close-by will, but I would not rely on that. If you can't find jerseys with pockets, an alternative is to buy a seat bag & fit everything in there. It's compact and looks good.
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Also keep in mind that the more you will ride, the fitter you will get and the less water your body will require. For instance, I use to consume 2 full bottles of water during my favorite ride (50kms (30 miles) & 700m (2400ft) total ascent) and I am now down to 1 or even 3/4 sometimes. I see you have 2 cages installed and it's a good thing. 2 bottles should be enough.

I do a lot of unsupported endurance and ultra endurance rides. With the pandemic, and I'm treating every ride as unsupported. For an unsupported ride over 2 hours, I'll use a CamelBak Lobo (3l) - this isn't 'cool' with the roads ... but I say "you do you!"

For the record, I did ride with bottles only for many years - until I was in the middle of nowhere and out of water on a 90+F day in the middle of an 140 mile race. That lead to my only DNF.

I've completed the DAMn twice with this CamelBak, so it's comfortable for me for long rides. Here's me leading* the way into check point 2 (mile 120) on the DAMn last year.

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photo credit - Lisa, my outstanding support crew

*Edit - leading the way for this group .... We are hours behind the race leaders at this point in the ride.

Congratulations on your new road bike. I don't have anything near as sleek, as my Salsa Casserol is more of a light touring bike, but this is what I do. Spare tube, multitool, and extra food in a seatbag. Frame pump mounted on the bike. Two 22 to 24 oz bottles of water in bottle cages. Cellphone, keys, and money/credit card/id in my jersey pockets. I am 5'9" and 252 lbs. I used to be over 300 lbs. Get yourself a jersey. A couple of recommendations. Bontrager Solstice in XL or XXL. Primal in 3 XL. Twin Six in 3 XL. Pearl Izumi in XXL. Plenty of other options out there. Bike jerseys are a little bit snug. Not loose like an oversized T shirt. You will get used to it.

Completely unrelated to the bike... you might consider buying and installing a few inches of 3M chip guard on your car's trunk to protect the paint from damage caused by the rack straps. The blue painter's tape won't do much if a strap comes loose and starts vibrating while you're driving. The 3M stuff is incredibly tough and well worth the couple of bucks.

Nice looking bike! As others have said, Camelbaks on the road have historically been viewed as unnecessary and mark one as a noob or "Fred." Not that there is anything wrong with that.... :lol: Anyway, with the virus folks may be less inclined to stop at a store for a refill. Two bottles on the bike and one in the pocket should do for 60 miles or less. Beyond that it may be time to rethink the pack. Get a seat bag for your tools and tire junk.

Wear a Camelback if that is what you want to do.

Personally, I"m not a fan of it. I find the Camelback heats up a lot at my back. (I have a 15 year old one, and I hear some of the newer ones do a better job creating separation between your back and the bag, allowing for some ventilation.)

yea I’ve been trying to find different methods of preventing the scratches. Had the rack for about a month now and I take it off and put it back on daily to prevent the scratches and someone on these forums said they use the painters tape so I figured it was a cheap method to prevent the scratches. Been working good so far however wouldn’t mind something stronger. Do you take the 3m tape off every time you put the rack or is it a permanent option

Appreciate all the replies everyone. Really helps!!!!

I think a lot depends on how much you sweat. If you sweat a lot you're going to need to replace those fluids. If I know I'm going to be going on a long ride I'll hydrate a lot before I go. I've found that carrying two bottles in cages will get me through a 40 mile ride without needing to stop. If I'm planning on riding more than 40 miles I'll use my camelback (3L). Get a seatbag for your tube and tools. Get a jersey or two. They're more comfortable and who cares what you look like. When I started riding a few years ago I weighed 280# at 5'10". I looked like a sausage but I didn't care. I felt good riding and I knew it would eventually payoff healthwise, and it did and continues to do so.

The tape I referenced is what they use to put "clear bras" on cars. Once installed, you leave it there and you won't even know it's there 'cause it's clear. They also use the same clear tape on bikes for areas where things like brake and shift cables might otherwise rub on the frame and wear the paint off over time.

ok gotcha. Thanks for the info

Love bike color
 

Great red almost burgundy but not. I prefer it to the brighter racing red.

Nice bike!

Wear what you want.

You being in their group will make their perception in public better. Not as many people will think of them as tool like tour de France wannabe's. 😉