Looks great! Can't wait to see the results :D

That looks awesome, I am thinking about modeling my own to replace the useless storage area on my FC25. I think I would also bring it down to fill the gap between the bars and the extension. Unlike you I dont have access to that sort of software let alone a 3d printer, so it will be old school for me, make a part out of clay, make a female mold out of fiberglass and then make the part out of carbon fiber.

My ultimate goal will be to have it be a place for my salt pill dispenser to integrate into, my computer to mount, and to store my flat kit.

I am currently just starting work with carbon fiber on a much different, much smaller project, but once done, the draft box will be my next design, followed up by a pair of shoes. Heres to hoping it all goes well, I am confident since I am learning a lot from my small unrelated project (making a credit card sized beer bottle opener with an integrated cut out with blade in it for cutting thing open (think hot dog wrappers, marshmallow bags, etc for a campfire, now you have two important tools in one and the most important is the bottle opener)

Testing the box at A2.


I had an opportunity to join in the fun with Desert Dude’s March 2016 aero camp. I had 3 versions of the 2nd generation box completed to test. This version clamped to the stem instead of attaching to the bars like a BTA system.


The gen 1 box with the cool graphics (from earlier in the thread) deformed in the heat of my car 1 week before testing. (Good to know that PLA would have stability issues.) This forced me to hurry up with printing the 2nd gen boxes and did not give me enough time to sand and fill them so that the surface was completely smooth. As they were, I was still hoping that they would be aerodynamically neutral to slightly better. The data said otherwise.


The box shapes were a function of how much interior volume the box would have. Lg /Black, Med/Blue, SM/White. We also tested the bike without the box/or stem attachment.











CDA 0 deg, 5 deg, 10 deg
Lg/Black .075, .073, .065
Med/Blue .075, .073, .064
SM/White .074, .072, .063
None .072, .072, .063


The long and the short of it was the boxes were slower than not having them on the bike. The cost was 2 watts for the larger boxes and 1 watt for a very small box that could not hold much. The surface finish of the boxes was ok but could have been improved.


After testing the boxes, we moved on to my position. The biggest improvements for me was going full mantis and changing my helmet to the Catlike. It is my understanding that both of these changes are not typical, but do seem to help some individuals. In my case, the changes should be with close to 5 min on a 70.3 bike leg. : )


With the switch to mantis and the increased drag for the boxes, I have stopped working on the box and moved on to figuring out how to mount my A2 on my bars. I am also working on some cupped elbow pads to further lock me in.

Almost forgot to add...

My bike tested faster with my Dark Speed Works bento box than without. Great news since I need it for my 70.3s and now know that I should just leave it on all of the time.

Trying to add photos again...

Good to know! I wonder if it would still be faster on bikes with top tube cabling like the "superbikes". I have the 483 but have been using a rear bottle holder for my flat kit but might change it up and see about putting it back on some of this season!

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Good for you for experimenting though. Bummer it didn't work out.

darn ... I really wanted the medium to work out - I thought that was a great design. Thanks very much for posting throughout your r & d.

I wonder if the bottom of the triangle is still the best option for storage. Could you do a 3D printer storage device for there instead. Maybe the good old bento box is still the best.

Not for the older P2. Very narrow in the frame near the BB and tapered to a narrow trailing edge. A speed concept or other bike with a Kama (sp?) tail frame would be easier. Any box there could be used to store gram crackers but a flat kit would be unlikely with out a penalty. To me it looks like the penalty free space is behind a stem that is higher than the top tube or behind the saddle. Both show up as low pressure/turbulent areas on just about all of the testing/modeling I have seen.

So basically run a bento box for food and saddle bag for spares. Sometimes the old stuff is the best options.

Interesting that the box increased drag. Ero Sports found the similar Profile Design FC35 was slight drag increase to a decrease in drag depending on installation: http://ero-sports.com/...setup-can-be-crucial.

Maybe a higher/lower position might have helped! I'm not sure how the FC35 design really differs from yours. I have the FC35 and it works well functionally, just a PITA to remove & rattles too much. I was hoping it saved me some Watts, too.

What model is that DSW bento box? I have an Xlab that sits up too high above the stem, the DSW appears to be faster given your testing.

I have the 480 Speedpack. It fills in the space behind my head tube nicely.