FlowerBlossom

I am looking for a way to transport a bottle of wine and/or Belgian beer on my frame during my trip this fall Belgium and France...it could come in handy. Does anyone have any experience with this and could recommend something?

I have seen a photo of a wine bottle on a frame...was it here on the BF? A repeat of that photo would be appreciated; I used the search tool and there are still too many hits to be able to find it.

Thanks in advance.

supcom

Put it in a rack trunk. Or a large saddlebag like a Carradice. Wrap some padding around it first.

I don't want to be around when you open up a bottle of beer that has been bounced around on the bike.

avatarworf

I'm intrigued by this idea too! I will ask the Phred touring list if they have any ideas.

avatarworf

What about the Bike Buddy?

https://www.bikebuddy.co.uk/index.html

mmerner

found this on google:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/olebra/37912370/

stokell

I've been transporting wine, beer and spirits on bikes for years but I've always carried them in the panniers. There are several good reasons to do it this way including security and preserving the quality of the product. I keep my beer with refrigerated or frozen items recently purchased. This keeps them cool. Most Belgian beers are not served ice cold. I find these items if packed in the pannier remain cool for about a day. I try to restock potables daily, when purchasing fresh items such as cheese and meats.

crazygreenbiker

Stokell, didn't you mean most Belgian ALES don't require much refrigeration? Stella however should be served at the same temp as Bud.

I find showing alcohol attracts unwanted attention. Everything from cops and temperance people, to vagrants who want samples and outright thieves.

Keep it out of sight in your panniers.

nm+

I agree with those who say to keep it covered up. Light is bad for both, even if the bottles are colored. Temperature varation is also bad, esp with wine.
Also, this isn't an issue for immedate consumption, but if you bough wine to talk home with you vibration and movinga round is bad for it.
/Wine and beer snob

stokell

How true! I forgot about Stella. With such great variety of beers including Trappist,Witbier, Gueuze and Lambic you could easily forget about Stella. Check this.

Cheers to better beers!

Travelinguyrt

Good wine is best transported in the stomach

nm+

Stella is Bud with a fancy label and a price tag. Hell, its not even always belgian. All the stuff in the UK's domestic, wouldn't be shocked if that was the case after it caught on here too.

valygrl

I just about blew the stella I'm drinking out my nose when I read this.... you are SO RIGHT! My sister's boyfriend left it in the fridge, and I'm outta PBR.

gerv 

I'd be tempted to use a hydration pack.

FlowerBlossom

Thanks to all of you who suggested concealed transportation. I had seen a photo (somewhere online), thought it was clever use of a structure for transportation of a fragile item, and didn't go further than the technical benefits. I'm still of the opinion that they will bounce more in panniers than on the frame (you have some elasticity in the panniers, adding to the total number bounces a bottle experiences). Anyhoo, I would NEVER carry alcohol on my bike frame in the US for the very reasons many of you cited above.

I'll carry them in the panniers, or stop biking earlier in the day, so to consume these treasures.

FlowerBlossom

Great site stokell; off for more studying!

Camel

Through France and Spain I carried wine in 1L or 1.5L mineral water bottles which I had allready finished the water from. The 1.5L bottles fit my cages perfectly, and will not bounce out if I use a velcroe strap (like a pants leg strap or the like). My under downtube cage is a bit high, so I can only carry a 500ml Nalgene in it. This set up let me carry 2L of water, and up to 1.5L of wine on my frame at a time.

I'm aware that it's a bit of a no-no to re-bottle wine in plastic, and that the vibrations cause flavour alterations as well. I'm also not a wine drinker/expert by any means, but the re-bottled wine tasted simply excellent to me and my friends with lunch and/or dinner depending on when we enjoyed it. Other cyclists we meet also started to use this method as well.

The biggest problem we had was transporting cheese and charizo (?sp-that dandy Spanish sausage) on the hot days, which we resolved by packing in plastic tupperware knock offs. The plastic bins were then stuffed in/under clothes in panniers. This method keapt the cheese from melting/oiling to an extent, same for the charizo.

Bekologist

padded crampon bag (the tool bag?) from Black diamond, or adding foam to a sturdy crampon bag, or side pocket for a backpack, should work. then just strap to the appropriate place. Outdoor research and black diamond make two, very suitable crampon pockets- the tool bag is almost 'ready made' to carry a bottle of wine....

if you are serious about transporting glass bottled bevrerages, you can make an ethofoam lined, PVC tube that is the right diameter for your beverage of choice, and simple hose clamp this to the appropriate carrying spot. if you are handy you can make it gimballed......


you could also a) buy boxed wine, much better in Europe, generally, or get b) one of the metal, enamel lined SIGG bottle for your wine, or the older French pop-top metal liquid carriers, and decant into these well made, designed for wine and etc bevs, bottles........

wine is sold in bulk in many places as well, the smaller bistros and 'country stores' often sell wine off the spigot, by the liter, into the container you provide....

Lolly Pop

glug, glug

jhnmrk

for inside the pannier, these are padded, insulated, and lightweight.
https://www.builtny.com/
I have the 6-pack and the single wine bottle and they do the trick.

FlowerBlossom

-If I were to transfer the wine, it would be to a Platypus bag; the material in a Platypus (supposedly) doesn't react with acids (like juice, wine, etc), unlike Nalgene. When you have dranken all the wine, you can roll or flatten the bag for storage. I tested this on a backpacking trip a couple weeks ago; it worked great! My friends were pleased as well. Plus, I won't store the wine for a long period of time, thus, probably not affecting the taste of the wine enough for me to tell if any changes had occured as a result of transfering the wine to a plastic container. BTW, I use Platypus bags now as my water 'bottle'. They come in liter-sized bags, and bike-bottle-spouts are available for purchase separately (the 1L bottle has a screw-cap as standard).

-You were close...the Spanish sausage you ate is spelled "chorizo".