No place for a water bottle on your electric bike?

A common problem with electric bikes is that there is no way to carry your water bottle with you. This is a serious problem because, contrary to popular belief, it’s possible to get a lot of exercise on an ebike – which means you need to have a lot of water.

Related: How many calories can you can burn on an electric bike?

When I got my first ebike, I was disappionted to find that there was no way to mount a water bottle cage on it.

Beautiful bike - but where am I going to put a water bottle? This is my Haibike Xduro Pro. You can read a full review of this awesome electric commuting bike here
Beautiful bike – but where am I going to put a water bottle? This is my Haibike Xduro Pro. You can read a full review of this awesome electric commuting bike here

With a bike commute of well over an hour, there was no way I could manage without a water bottle. In fact, I usually need a drink of water within the first ten minutes. I tried carrying a water bottle in my pannier, but this was just way too much hassle. Who wants to stop and dismount every time you need a drink of water.

This water bottle problem is caused by the unique geometry of electric bikes. The need to accommodate a motor and a battery often means that there is no space left on the frame for a water bottle cage.

The need to accommodate a motor and a battery often means that there is no space left on the frame of an electric bike for a water bottle cage
The need to accommodate a motor and a battery often means that there is no space left on the frame of an electric bike for a water bottle cage

Carry a water bottle on your electric bike with an SKS Topcage water bottle cage

The SKS system is a solution that has worked really well for Mrs. Average Joe Cyclist, and for me. We both have electric bikes that don’t have space for a water bottle cage. Hers is the Emotion Street 650 and mine is the Haibike XDuro Trekking Pro (which I reviewed here).

We both find the SKS Topcage water bottle cage plus SKS water bottle work perfectly. The adjustable strap on the adapter means that it can fit almost any electric bike. You can swivel the bottle to a comfortable position so that you don’t bump it with your knees, or knock it off when you dismount. The whole system is very simple and installs in seconds, and you can take it off just as quickly. This of course means that you can use it on more than one bike.

Once on, it’s totally secure. It’s really a very clever, elegant, and cheap solution to the problem of how to carry a water bottle on your electric bike. You do have to buy three parts – adaptor, bottle cage and bottle – but seeing as the total cost is about $25, it’s really a cheap solution.

The SKS Bottle Cage fits perfectly on the Haibike Xduro Trekking Pro. Notice the adapter on the left with the orange-striped strap and then the orange dot, then the black SKS bottle cage, and then the SKS bottle with its distinctive black and orange top. It’s an elegant three-part solution that stands up to wear and tear over time extremely well. I bought this system as an after-thought with my first electric bike, and have used it with every ebike I have owned since.

The SKS Bottle Cage fits perfectly on the Haibike Xduro Trekking Pro
The SKS Bottle Cage fits perfectly on the Haibike Xduro Trekking Pro
The SKS Bottle Cage fits perfectly on the Emotion Street 650 as well
The SKS Bottle Cage fits perfectly on the Emotion Street 650 as well

How the SKS Water Bottle System Works

There are three parts to this system: the adapter, the bottle cage, and the bottle. You can get all three parts quite cheaply on Amazon.

Part 1: First, you need an SKS adapter mount that you attach to the head tube of your bike.

Part 2: Next, you need to mount the SKS Bottle Cage on the SKS adapter mount:

Part 3: Finally, you also need the SKS Cycling Sports Water Bottle. This bottle fits perfectly into the SKS Bottle Cage. The three parts together provide an ideal solution for carrying water on this and other electric bikes. Note that regular water bottles are a bit too thin for this bottle cage. You can use them, but they will rattle around a bit.

If you look closely, you will notice an SKS bottle cage on most of my photos of my electric bikes - such as on this BH Easy Motion Neo City, which I reviewed here
If you look closely, you will notice an SKS bottle cage on most of my photos of my electric bikes – such as on this BH Easy Motion Neo City, which I reviewed here
Here is Maggie with her new electric bike, a Cube Elly Ride Hybrid 400. We tried putting a bottle cage on the down tube, but because of the compact women specific design of the bike, it got in the way in the worst way. So ... once again, an SKS bottle cage was required! In this photo, you can spot it just below her left hand
Here is Maggie with her new electric bike, a Cube Elly Ride Hybrid 400. We tried putting a bottle cage on the down tube, but because of the compact women specific design of the bike, it got in the way in the worst way. So … once again, an SKS bottle cage was required! In this photo, you can spot the bottle and cage just below her left hand
This photo shows the SKS bottle cage and adapter more clearly
This photo shows the SKS bottle cage and adapter more clearly

Related Post: All Garmin Edge Bike Computers Compared, with Comparison Chart and Videos

CamelBak Solution

If the SKS solution does not appeal to you, you could try getting a good CamelBak to carry on your back. Just do not get one that requires two hands to release the valve and actually drink from it. These are useless for cyclists (except those rare, talented cyclists who can cycle with no hands). I made this mistake, and the cheap CamelBak I ordered was useless.

Bottom line on how to carry a water bottle on your electric bike

Obviously, I  recommend the SKS system, which works perfectly for me and for Maggie. It’s a very rugged system that does not wear out with time and use. The second best solution, to my mind, is to find a CamelBak that works for you. The drawback is that I don’t personally find it very comfortable to carry your water on your back. Of course, millions of camels would disagree with me!

Good luck with sorting out your water supply on an e-bike situation!

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