Best way to carry coffee on a CaBi?

[Justin Antos]

I’ve faced a similar conundrum. Sometimes ya just need Dunkies. It’d be great if someone could invent a cup holder that fit into the CaBi basket somehow!

[kbockl]

Here’s what you need for your personal bike. I don’t think we can expect CaBi to install them on all the shared bicycles, though.

http://www.chubbyscruisers.com/shop/ravx-coffee-ring-cupholder-p-754.html

[KS1G]

I’m unfamiliar with exactly what CaBi has for carrying stuff; but I have tried a bunch of coffee-carrying approaches. The one that works for me is a Thermos Nissan 24oz (other sizes available) insulated steel thermos. With a little bending of the cage, it fits in the typical metal bike bottle cage and keeps a jumbo portion of (brewed @ home for me) caffinated goodness at a drinkable temperature all day. It will survive repeated instances of falling of the bike at speed; I have (thankfully!) not tested how it survives getting run over by a car! My thermos is approaching 2 years old, and while it is 100% functional, it’s collected many cosmetic dings & scrapes and I am considering requesting a new one from my family for the upcoming $WINTER_HOLIDAY_GIFT_EXCHANGE. Checking amazon, it looks like the current models are a little larger (26 oz) and they’ve added several insulated hydration bottles that may fit a bottle cage better and should work as well for hot beverages as for cold.

[Joe Chapline]

I have this travel tumbler, and it fits fine in a water-bottle cage: http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Nissan-14-Ounce-Stainless-Steel-Insulated/dp/B00004S1CR/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_bCoffee sellers will fill this up, and sometimes give a discount for saving a disposable cup. I don’t know if CaBi has a cage. I also have a steel hydration bottle, and mine had instructions that said it’s not for hot beverages. Possibly because it hs soft plastic parts.

[fairfaxeph]

Unfortunately, CaBi bikes have no water bottle cage — supposedly “unnecessary” because most rides are 30 minutes or less (in reality, in the summer heat, a CamelBak or water bottle tucked into a messenger bag was pretty much required if you were going more than ten blocks). But I can’t figure out a backpack coffee

They also have only a minimalist basket (designed to be self-cleaning and not accumulate trash). Here are links to a couple of photos:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UP4rVS7Y_Z4/TJpSriJ9MMI/AAAAAAAACyY/uRt5jITB8v8/s1600/P1050268.JPG
http://images.tbd.com/commute/capital-bikeshare-frozen_606.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36871124@N04/5038549601/

PPs, do you think your tumbler is secure enough to remain leak-free inside a messenger bag?

[Joe Chapline]

@fairfaxeph 8273 wrote:

PPs, do you think your tumbler is secure enough to remain leak-free inside a messenger bag?

Negative. It’s pretty splash-proof when it’s right side up, but definitely not leak-proof inside a bag.

[Dirt]

Even with non-cabi bikes I have this issue. My solution is two-fold: 1) I pre-caffeinate my rides, so that the coffee is actually transported in my tummy. This takes a little more time, but I never have to worry about spilling. Side benefit: I get serious husband points for waking my wife up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. And 2) I post caffeinate rides because I’ve usually have forgotten that I had the first cup of coffee because (duh!) I wasn’t entirely awake when I had the coffee. If there isn’t visible evidence of the coffee haven been consumed (cup in the sink), it didn’t actually happen. Since my coffee cup is in the sink at home, then I can’t see it and that cup of coffee doesn’t actually count.

They do make good quality thermal mugs that fully seal and can bounce around in the basket. Most places will also fill your super trendy stainless steel thermos with coffee. If you’re not super cool, they will also fill that old-school Stanley thermos from the 1970s. The green anodizing is a bit scratched and dented, but it still holds a seal perfectly and will continue to do so for most of eternity.

[jrenaut]

You could try a water bottle holster like this one. However, you’d be riding the fine line between “awesome” and “seriously?”. You might have the presence to pull off the look – I probably don’t.

[WillStewart]

[Justin Antos]

I was thinking something like this, only easily removable and custom-fit to work with a CaBi and a Dunkie’s medium regulah.

[fairfaxeph]

@Justin – good find… I might give that a try. The cup would have to point inward because of the brake lever, but if the mount can be adjusted to barely slide over the end of the CaBi handlebar, it could then be tightened just enough to work.

[paytonc]

I have a Thermos Urban Elements flip-top vessel that doesn’t leak even if tipped over inside a bag. It’ll fit within a bottle cage with some rattling, provided it’s secured with a rubber band. (Why are these things always narrower than water bottles?) I’ve done plenty of CaBi trips with the cup inside a bag inside the rack, but never tried securing just it to the rack.

Most of the time, though, it’s not possible to chug hot coffee on the go — I just fill an insulated water bottle with warm tea and chug that instead.

[KLizotte]

Came across this by accident tonight while at Hudson Trail Outfitters:

Topeak’s Java Cage

http://www.topeak.com/products/Bottle-Cages/modulajavacage

It won’t help you on the Cabi bikes but it’s an option for the caffeine addicted on their own bikes.

[fairfaxeph]

The CaBi is really optimized for carrying bags, and for now I found a messenger bag (similar to this one, with a mesh pocket on the side that is the perfect size to hold a coffee cup. So I buy the coffee, strap the bag securely into the CaBi basket, then insert my coffee cup into the mesh pocket. It’s held pretty securely and stays as level as the bike, as long as the bag is adequately strapped in. Since accessibility while riding isn’t the point for me, this seems to work.

[Justin Antos]

Here’s another idea. Not necessarily for CaBi specifically though might work. http://t.co/bdmDh5yv

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