Camelbacks and hydration. Why not?

I see Camelbak's at every race I do and I never get it (non mtn bike races)....unless the race is un-supported and long.  First off, they are hot.  Second, why would you carry around an extra 3 or 4 lbs of fluid?  I did Ironman with 2 bottles.  One fluid, one water and had no issues.  The only time I ever carry 3 bottles is during long training rides.  I just don't get turning yourself and your bike into a rolling convenience store. 

I use one on the century rides so I do not have to stop as often. In the summer I freeze it and let it keep me cool then drink it.

In the Tri world for normal peps I think it would be ok...

It would (if developed correctly) streamline the riders back but the gain compared to the time to put it on may be a wash.

You would also have to refill it (neither aerodynamic nor easy) or carry it empty which would not be cool...

Off the top of my head:

Time to put it on/take it off

Uncomfortable

Hot

Not aerodynamic

Heavy

Yeah totally not cool man, why would you want to be excluded from the tribe?

But seriously I have seen a few people riding around with them during races. As mentioned before I think it depends on your position as far as your age group racing goes and your personal goals. A good in between for a lot of people is having one of those aero bottles that sits in between your aero bars and has the straw the comes up towards your face. Not sure what the exact time savings would be of camelbak vs aero bottle, but it offers a similar convenience of not having to reach down and pull your bottle out of the cage then replace it.

Just my two bits, in the end just do what you're comfortable with and keeps you hydrated effectively.

I've seen them at longer races, but never fully understood the need considering water stops are usually plentiful. 

I use one on training all the time.  I realized there is an aero penalty, but it reduces the # of times you have to stop at a convenience store for resupply.

For the record, I don't own a camelback. 

Now off to give my roadie socks and jerseys with sleeves to charity and then a quick manscaping sesh... 

I use one all the time for training. It holds a lot of water well and I can use my aero position just fine with it.

I don't use it for racing for a number of reasons. I don't need that much water at once for a race. Aero helmet doesn't fit right. I don't think it's very aero, especially considering I have a very aggressive position. It's hotter since it doesn't allow air movement on my back. It also uses more energy since I'm carrying it on myself instead of the bike holding up the weight.

camelbacks as they are now are NOT aero. They are covered in straps and zippers and loops. They stick up off your back and then drop off suddenly which would create a big pocket of turbulence. I supposed theoretically you could design one that is aero, but it would be very impractical.

I sweat A LOT so I use one on any 60+ rides as I mostly do these out in the middle of nowhere and I'd rather be carrying too much water than run out.  

I definitely wouldn't want to mess around with it in a race though.  Most races worth doing have adequate nutrition on the course and can keep you hydrated and fueled without the need to hoard a gallon of water on your back. 

Have you seen this:

http://shop.camelbak.com/mens-racebak/d/1016_c_112_cl_183

Good enough for Garmin-Cervelo Time Trials.

That is AWESOME!! Although, I can imagine your body heat would warm up the fluid, no?

I'm one of those who sweat gallons of water during any workout, so I have def thought about Camelbacks. I used to use one when I was into mountain biking. I DO remember that I would sweat even more on my back due to that trapping in more heat.

I know people that use them for TTs.  Good luck getting that thing on in T1 though.  And then getting it off in T2.

ETA: Just noticed it's full zip (I think), so it might not be that bad.  Still an extra step I wouldn't bother with...especially for $100.

For one, they are against the rules!

Rule #32: Humps are for camels; no hydration packs

Hydration packs are never to be seen on a road racer's body. No argument will be entered into this. For MTB, they are cool.

Those are cyclist rules.  Are you a cyclist or triathlete?

I use one during the summer for all training rides > around 50 miles.  It's the only way I can carry enough fluids without having to stop.

x2 to what the others said about not needing it in a race.  I used one in my first HIM because I didn't understand the bottle hand-up process and didn't want to be caught unprepared.  It's really not necessary to have that much water with you when you can get a new bottle every 15-20 miles.

They are just funny and well written. I am in current violation of several.

Seems that I break the "rules", as I use a Camelbak for my road rides and for the bike portion of tris here in AZ.  Okay, I don't have a tri bike or have aero-bars on my road bike, but I am mostly in the drops position and I have no problems.  It may make me slower due to drag, but I'm MOP anyway.  But I do have easy access to the water tube at all times and it's important to me to stay hydrated, especially on days when it's 100-120°F.  Hydration is STUPIDLY important here in the summer in AZ and it's pretty common to see people on road bikes with Camelbaks.  I half fill one, freeze it, fill up the rest with cold water, invert it to get the bubbles out (water sloshing around annoys me and makes me constantly want to pee!), and I'm ready to go.  I also carry two large water bottles on my frame as back up and to dowse my head and legs with water to get that wonderful evaporative cooling-effect-thing going.  I also use my Camelbak for running training as I hate carrying around water bottles.  I've got the Octane XCT model, which is body molded and has a high stomach strap to stop it moving around.  Good meshing on this model, so I don't notice it making me hotter than usual - well it's all relative when it's 100-120°F outside, so what do I know

Yeah, but can you do flip-turns in it?

The problem I have with bladder type products (like Camelbak) here in Miami is that the inside of the bladder / tubing / bite thingy all require lots of cleaning after every use.  It is hard enough to get a good scrubbing inside my Profile Design Aero Lite.