Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with fluids

Help carrying water on a step through bicycle frame

misskaz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:46:18 -0800

I have a bicycle with a step through frame, and am looking for solutions for carrying fluids and keeping hydrated on long (30 - 100 mile) bike rides. C'mon, bike-friendly problem-solving MeFites, help a girl out! I have this bicycle, and for the most part love it. I ride it to/from work every day (17 miles round trip) and do longer rides with my husband on weekends, usually at least 30 miles. We are planning on a 100 km (62 mile) brevet in August. Because it's a randonneuring (DIY) event, there will not be any rest stops and other support you see in supported rides. We are also planning on a 100-mile supported ride in September and possibly another DIY century with some friends.

My problem is that the step through frame, combined with my height (or lack thereof - I'm 5'1") and other circumstances limit my options for attaching water bottles. There is one set of attach points on the frame, which only fits a regular sized water bottle. This location is virtually impossible to get the bottle in/out while riding because the top and bottom bars are so close together, so I have to come to a stop to access this water. I also would like to be able to carry more than just 16oz. of water/gatorade with me on rides.

The constraints:

1. Due to my height, the seat post is too short to use any of the seat post water bottle holders I've seen.

2. I have a rear bike rack installed, and combined with the low height of the seat, I think this makes the behind-the-seat water bottle holders that I've seen also incompatible. (They need to hang lower behind the seat than there is clearance for on my setup. I am also not without booty and am not sure how that would interfere, if at all.)

3. I really don't want to have to carry something on my body, because to me it seems like it would be hot and sweaty and irritating on my back, but I'll listen if you have a positive experience with a Camelback-type thing on long road rides.

4. I found a handlebar mount that was supposed to hold a regular bottle cage in front of my handlebars, but the brake and gear cables are in the way. I think it's intended for drop handlebars rather than the MTB style ones I have.

5. I'd be open to solutions that take advantage of the rear rack - I just haven't found any. For the longer rides I will be carrying a pannier or two.

6. I'd love to hear about DIY options along with existing products. If you got some hose clamps from Home Depot and turned them a holder for a bottle cage, tell me how! I think I have room on my top bar and/or my handlebar post, I just need to figure out how to attach them.

Someday I'll get a new bike and when I do, I'll avoid the step through frames like the plague (it causes problems in other areas as well) but for now I've got to work with what I have. I just got this bike in April and can't justify or afford a second bicycle this year.

Sorry so long; thanks in advance for your help!

How would you assign numbers to the different types of human effluvia?

Mapes — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:51:32 -0800

How would you assign numbers to the different types of human effluvia? We all know what "number one" and "number two" stand for. There is some precedent for referring to semen as "number three." What are some smart, memorable ways of numbering our other discharges: tears, sweat, earwax, saliva, breast milk, etc.?

Assume that the numbers might be used as a shorthand or code for privacy or obfuscation ("Cleanup number five on aisle seven").

The best answers will be suitable as mnemonics and be clever enough to seem obvious in retrospect. Example: #8 = vomit, because it's what you "ate." Creativity and memorability win here.

Pluggin' up the leaky bits! Which bits are the leaky bits?

Cat Pie Hurts — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:22:25 -0800

Car. Clutch. Mystery fluid. Leaking. Help! A few weeks ago, my foot started slipping off my clutch pedal. I just assumed that my feet were wet, thus causing the slippery-ness.

It's not water. It's some oily fluid that appears to be leaking in somewhere around the root of the clutch pedal. I can't find any leaks under the hood, and I highly doubt that it's water, dirty as it may be.

The liquid appears to be fairly odorless and colorless (it COULD be grayish green. I've wiped the leaky area with a white cloth, but all I get is gray-green muck - it's pretty dirty down there). It's also very oily/slippery.

Any ideas?

What's Your Lunch/Dinner Beverage That Isn't Soda?

unsupervised — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 08:58:46 -0800

What do you drink with your lunch/dinner? I'm trying to cut Pepsi out of my life (again) and serving dinner with water seems too bland.