Ask Levi: Can I Use A Hydration Pack For Road Cycling?

Posted by Levi on April 28, 2010 in Road Cycling Articles

Today’s question is about wearing a hydration pack (i.e. Camelbak or equivalent) while road cycling rather than mountain biking…

Levi,

What kind of hydrating packs do road cyclists use? I’m trying to buy a hydrating pack to wear on long rides on a road bike. I've only seen backpacks for mountain bikers, I’m not sure if there is a difference.

Thanks,
Hydrating Henry

Hi Henry,

The reason you’re seeing hydration packs designed for mountain bikers is because, in most cases, mountain bikers are the only ones wearing hydration packs. Most road cyclists simply use water bottles, but some do use hydration packs, and if you look hard enough, you can find a good hydration pack for use on the road.

Road and mountain bikers actually use the same packs. They’re just marketed to mountain bikers since wearing a hydration pack while road biking can be considered “dorky.” (Don’t worry, I’ve done it, it’s alright!)

So you don’t need to find a hydration pack that proclaims “for road bike use.” You’d just want to look for the sleekest, least bulky hydration pack you can find. Typically there are some packs that just hold water and don’t have a lot of extra pockets for gear (which you don’t need when road riding as opposed to mountain biking.)

Some hydration packs that are sleek and lightweight and good for road riding include:

* CamelBak Classic Hydration Pack
* CamelBak Hydrobak Hydration Pack
* CamelBak Fairfax Hydration Pack

To go even more low-profile, there is something new called the Camelbak RaceBak. It’s a small hydration pack built into an undershirt, so you can wear it under your jersey. It’s expensive, but great for road riding since it doesn’t stand out like a full hydration pack does!

I think you’d be happy with any of those hydration packs. But don’t forget, water bottles do work great for road riding. With two 32oz water bottles on your bike, you can carry enough water for about four hours of riding!