SAvan wrote:
Hi (old?) P5 owners
I was thinking about my flat kit for an upcoming race, and was wondering about using the internal Di2 battery compartment for flat repair storage. I have Etap so that compartment is empty.
My thinking is I could use this to keep a spare tube / CO2 completely internally. I usually have a flat kit strapped to my saddle / rear bottle, but I don't think its entirely hidden from an aero perspective.
Yes, I realize that would add some time having to remove the rear wheel and unscrew the compartment door to access my kit, but I figure that if I flat (i) there's like a 70% chance that it will be the rear wheel and I will be removing it anyway; and (ii) If I'm losing 5 min changing a flat, losing an extra 30s or so unscrewing the door to access my flat kit isn't going to kill my race (and I could possibly gain some of that time back with having the kit hidden from the wind?).
At this stage it's just a thought and I'm not even sure I can fit a tube + CO2 in there...
Anyone tried this, thoughts?
1) If you are not winning the race, going to this microscopic level of accessory "aero" tweaking is so low priority. I mean this seriously. A well strapped together flat kit placed appropriately in between the saddle and rear hydro carrier or under the saddle is of negligible loss, aerodynamically.
2) I can never, ever imagine wanting to go to the trouble of removing (potentially) both wheels to access the tiny little compartment with the tiny allen bolt holding the door on to get any sort of repair item. You are virtually guaranteed to either lose that bolt or strip its head at some point.
3) You say "
If I'm losing 5 min changing a flat, losing an extra 30s or so unscrewing the door to access my flat kit isn't going to kill my race (and I could possibly gain some of that time back with having the kit hidden from the wind?). "
Which is supremely ironic. You are fine with throwing away 30s in this scenario but you don't want your flat kit "in the wind" otherwise. First, it will take you much longer than 30s to account for removing Di2 battery door, removing flat kit, re-installing di2 battery door. Second, as mentioned in #1, a well put together kit will be completely neutral, aerodynamically.
In short, this kinda crap is not worth your time, effort, and mental energy.