Hi Candice,
Does the cage function without the Garmin mount bit or is it all needed? I'm wanting to run this with a Torpedo bottle (I like the smaller design than the Versa) But the Garmin mount would get in the way of the bottles Dolphin tail.

I presume if it doesn't work then I can just use another cage.

Hi,

The cage doesn't need the Garmin mount to function, however if you want to run the Torpedo bottle you will need a different cage. The bottom tab on the Kompact cage is wider than the groove on the Torpedo bottle. We haven't tested the Torpedo bottle on the Kompact plate yet, but technically speaking it will work with say the Torpedo cage or Chimp cage.

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

I had to put an update on my blog review this morning because of my experience on a few rides. For the most part I really like the mount, but the bottles are so extremely tight that pulling it out at higher speeds seems really unsafe. I had to really work to get the Specialized Purist bottle out that I would almost lose control of the bike. Later in the training ride I would slow down a little and make sure I was clear of traffic before trying to get a drink.

I hope the Xlab folk will just take this as something to look at and improve. The Z4 cage is a breeze to pull out and a BTA does not need to be near as tight as behind the saddle for fear of ejection. I am now seriously considering putting the Z4 back on the bike. :(

I have the Kompact....I honestly took it off, and switched to a normal bottle carge (Gorilla cage) mounted backwards (with my aero bars it is easier to come out back, and easier to get out IMO when in aero), and a BarFly TT Mount in front for my computer.

I did notice that any bottle with a 'lip' around on it, is damn near impossible to get out in aero. One that is definitely not easy to use is the CamelBak Podium bottles---and by easy, I mean, you may as well not use it.

I do like the mount, and have considering just putting my Gorilla cage on it, but zip ties work perfectly for me, and much cleaner looking.

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IG: NCGregory8778

To update my rig, I did this too ^ and gave the kompact away. Love the bottle though.

My issue was that I could not get the new mount back enough over my traditional stem. I use slanted bars so it needs to fit a bit back on my bars.

I had a Xlab Chimp cage that I tried last week and it turned out worse. That was with the bottle facing forward. Today I rotated the Kompact mount and cage for a backward pull and it was easier, but still too tough IMO. I may leave it like that for a few more rides.

I had to use the Z4 backward because the tips of my shifters are turned inward. I may just have to settle for that even though my mechanic hates that the bottle valve is right over the headset and he is saying it causing some issues.

How is the fit with a Gatorade bottle? That is usually what I have up front for races and they are a little smaller and also softer.

I currently have the older xlab BTA set-up. The one with 4 straps and no Garmin mount. I finally bought a Garmin and I'm trying to figure out the best set-up. How do you guys like the bottle turned backward? Seems like it might leak, maybe onto a bento?

Or I could buy the Kompact. Or I could buy the Vuka Alumina set-up since those are the bars I have, but that's really expensive.

We really appreciate this feedback!

We have a Specialized Purist bottle and tested it out a while back. It is very hard to pull and this is because the real grip source on the Kompact, is the computer mount arms. The Specialize Purist bottles and some Camelbak bottles have a larger circumference than the XLAB Aqua Shot or our Cool Shot insulated bottle.

Some helpful tips:
- Flip the cage & computer mount 180 degrees and pull towards you vs pulling away.

- If you are able to use a smaller circumference bottle, there is a Camelbak bottle that worked (need to find the exact model), the Aqua Shot, Cool Shot - that will of course be best.

The Torpedo Kompact does take standard cages, so you are able to use another non-XLAB cage however as I mentioned the real grip source is the Kompact computer mount itself.

We are looking at compatibility with these larger diameter bottles that we keep finding. If there are any that I have not listed that anyone finds hard to pull out, let me know so we can get it in and test it out.

Thanks again everyone!

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

Thanks for the feedback. As I mentioned in my previous post, I will keep a list of the bottles that are difficult to pull and we will work on a solution. What size Podium bottle did you try?

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

I have the xlab torpedo and just got the A2 from speed fill. Works great.

Using it on a Shiv with the stock carbon aero bars.

I got the Kompact yesterday and I have to say I'm not impressed. I had a simple profile design bracket previously with a torpedo cage that would take any standard bottle. I don't have any free space up front so the Kompact seemed like the perfect solution to mount a Garmin. You can mount the Garmin but using the bottle is not safe, it's just too tight. I tried other cages but the problem is the Garmin bracket is providing extra bottle grip which is simply not needed in this location. I cut the tab off the front of the Garmin mount but it's the rear section that's causing the problem. The aluminium plate is nice but that's about it. Trying to get the computer mount arms involved in holding the bottle is just not necessary, a regular torpedo cage works just fine.

Hi Sheene,

Appreciate your feedback and I am sorry it didn't meet your expectations. I have shared your feedback with our engineering team for their insight. I have saved your username to a list I am keeping so if I have any news to share, I will reach out personally.

In the meantime - may I ask which bottle you used? We designed the system for use with the Aqua Shot bottle which is included and you are also able to use the new XLAB Cool Shot insulated bottle. We have found certain bottles are larger in diameter and are therefore a tighter fit. We agree with the users on this thread that it helps turning the system around 180 degrees and pulling the bottle towards you.

The Kompact system is designed as an all-in-one hydration system with a squeeze & squirt bottle, not a standard pull, drink, push down bottle. The reason we did not include our Torpedo cage is because we wanted to keep it as a value-focused hydration system. Adding the Torpedo cage would have increased the price almost 2x what it is now.

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

I've been using the Kompact for a few weeks now and haven't noticed that the cage is tight. The bottle slides in and out without too much fuss. I'm slapping my 910 on the mount, it bounces around a good amount (Michigan roads are no bueno) but has yet to take a tumble. The cage and mount do the trick.

The aqua shot bottle, on the other hand, may be the worst bottle I have ever used. How a bottle can leak everywhere, yet still be near impossible to drink from is beyond me. It's as if the Xlab engineering department took a 10 year old Nathan bottle and said, "How could we make this design worse?"

So I like the cage, am okay with the mount and hate the bottle. I wouldn't recommend it but will continue to use it until the next time I feel like messing with my hydration set up.

Hey gbharris. Glad to hear it isn't too tight for you. As far as the bottle, sounds like you have a bad bottle. Could have bad threads, the anti-leak feature in the nozzle might be off. Certainly should not leak and we want to check the bottle out.

Shoot me an email with your address and I can help you out.

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

Is the bottle you include supposed to be leak-proof? I let mine sit filled and well-sealed on the Kompact for anoint an hour and it leaked A LOT! I probably won't use that bottle, I don't want my bike covered in even more sugar water.

I used the supplied bottle and it's much too tight for that location. The concept is good but as can be seen from the feedback here it just doesn't work in practice. Put a torpedo style cage on the metal bracket and make the Garmin mount section a bigger diameter so that it doesn't grip the bottle. Cost? I've essentially paid €40 for the mount bracket. I'll continue to tinker!

It should be leak-proof yes. Can you email me and I want to get some pictures and perhaps a video if you are able so I can find out where it is leaking and why. Agree, sugar water is not good on the rest of the bike!

On Monday we will do some more internal testing on the bottles.

Appreciate the feedback!

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

I used the mount with a backward pull yesterday with just a bit of a hard initial tug, but it was much better than having to pull forward toward the shifters. I noticed during the ride I was feeling a slight irritation on my arms touching some sharp edges on the computer mount ring.

Post ride when I got home I worked on the inside of the computer mount ring using a dremel with a very fine sanding bit then used a 220 grit sand paper to smooth it out the dremel work and then a 1000 grit wet sand paper with chain oil. I only sanded the upper portion of the computer ring since the bottle cage is on the lower portion. I also took off the slight sharp outer edges from production molding. The ultra fine sand paper was just to make the appearance better even though the ring is not easily picked up by eye.

I still need to give a road test, but post sanding the Specialized Purist bottle seems to be working like a charm or nearly.......

Well at least I will give a try for a while longer and I will try the forward pull again.

Edit: please note that I did not remove much material from the inside of the computer mount ring. I believe that the designer made it tight so as to eliminate vibration of the computer and give stability to the display. I know that some of my homemade mounts a few years ago had enough vibration that I couldn't read the numbers on rougher pavement. :-)

Thank you 3Aims- this is exactly the information I was looking for!

My experiences:

Camelbak bottles - don't bother
Specialized bottles - pretty tight fit
Trek bottles - perfect
xlab bottle - interesting design, no leakage so far

I've also found its much easier to pull the bottle out with a twisting motion as opposed to straight out.

It seems that zipp extensions are a tiny bit wider than others that were tested, the mount doesn't exactly snap cripsly into place.

The lack of pictures in this thread is disheartening.

Same feelings here. I found that the computer mount would rattle WAY too much which drove me crazy and even made it very difficult to read. I jury-rigged a zip-tie solution which helped a bit but I am doubtful I will keep this BTA setup. While the bottle grip is substantial, I did find it easier to push the bottom of the bottle forward an inch or so before grabbing it to drink. I think I will go back to the torpedo BTA w/ the garmin mounted on the stem. Its a bit harder to see the computer, but who needs to stare at the thing anyway.

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Use code "SHARE15" for 15% off your order!

my experience with it at IMTX. Gatorade bottles fit nice, but the water bottles were a little narrower and the garmin vibrated and made shitloads of noise the entire time. Disappointed.

I have tried Camelbak bottles and Specialized bottles as well with difficulty removing them. The aqua shot was snug, but the cap leaks. Will a Purist or Podium cap fit on the aqua shot bottle?