![](https://live.staticflickr.com/1811/43845050972_172b3d8dfc_c.jpg)
I only use the 2nd bottle under the DT on the hottest summer days. So it only gets dusty. I drink the upper "clean bottle" first. Then I touch the dirty bottle once, take off the lid and pour the contents into the clean bottle. That minimizes any "dirty" issues. In wet conditions when the lower bottle would actually get filthy I don't need a 2nd bottle.
If something touches my 2nd bottle \[rock/log\] I'd crash because it would smash my DT next well above my cranks. I've ridden that setup for years with no issues despites lots of rocks/logs to get over.
I get lots of folks asking me if I am hitting that TT "straddle" bag \[top photo\] on my bike because the just assume that wouldn't work. Obviously body shapes vary so I can only speak for myself, but I ride the steepest/hardest trails that I can cope with and it never gets in the way. I think I could do the double bottle setup, but I prefer the under the DT for the 2nd bottle if that's available. I'd probably put more water in soft bottles in the straddle back after that.
Every bike is different so I have a few cages/bottles/bags in a bin and I just try out all the combos on a new bike. Sometimes it's a matter of a few millimeters in terms of what works and what doesn't. Although I wouldn't buy a bike I could roughly see how I would get two bottles + tools on it in a satisfactory way. There are enough bike options it's never that slim pickings I would need to compromise.
July 21, 2022, 9:21 a.m. - Vik Banerjee
![](https://live.staticflickr.com/1811/43845050972_172b3d8dfc_c.jpg) I only use the 2nd bottle under the DT on the hottest summer days. So it only gets dusty. I drink the upper "clean bottle" first. Then I touch the dirty bottle once, take off the lid and pour the contents into the clean bottle. That minimizes any "dirty" issues. In wet conditions when the lower bottle would actually get filthy I don't need a 2nd bottle. If something touches my 2nd bottle \[rock/log\] I'd crash because it would smash my DT next well above my cranks. I've ridden that setup for years with no issues despites lots of rocks/logs to get over. I get lots of folks asking me if I am hitting that TT "straddle" bag \[top photo\] on my bike because the just assume that wouldn't work. Obviously body shapes vary so I can only speak for myself, but I ride the steepest/hardest trails that I can cope with and it never gets in the way. I think I could do the double bottle setup, but I prefer the under the DT for the 2nd bottle if that's available. I'd probably put more water in soft bottles in the straddle back after that. Every bike is different so I have a few cages/bottles/bags in a bin and I just try out all the combos on a new bike. Sometimes it's a matter of a few millimeters in terms of what works and what doesn't. Although I wouldn't buy a bike I could roughly see how I would get two bottles + tools on it in a satisfactory way. There are enough bike options it's never that slim pickings I would need to compromise.