I'd highly recommend just getting a couple of cheap bottle cages and a package of zipties and playing around with them on your bars. Personally I use this xlab setup which is the same idea but with a computer mount in a smart position but a couple of zipties would work just as well. I also have a bottle cage ziptied behind/under my seat which is probably the most aero position for an extra bottle when kept tight to the saddle. While straw solution can work well for some people, standard cages should (with a little practice) work well for everyone.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Hey there and welcome to the triathlon world :)

If you are just starting out, I would recommend looking at the BTA front systems first, especially with the distance you are doing. The aero bottles are good, but generally not used for your main source of hydration. Once you get up to the 70.3 distance you could consider adding an aero bottle and/or a 1-bottle system at the back.

In regards to the Delta 425 reviews - there is reasoning for both :) Bottles flying out - this could very well be bottle choice. It is important to have a deep neck groove for the cage to hold onto. If you have this, it won't launch. Uncomfortable to take bottles - we did have this problem on the 1st batch of these - we had the Gorilla XT cage on there which has our highest grip. It was way too much, so we switched it to the standard Gorilla. Some can still experience uncomfortability if they have back problems or not use to reaching back, but with practice this becomes easier. Also for rear systems I wouldn't use this as your primary source for hydration. It is much easier to drink from a bottle on the front then keep reaching back. Use a rear bottle to refill your front bottle, replace your front bottle, or as a nutritional/electrolyte mix bottle. For your seat, for future note - the Delta 425 is the model that is compatible with your saddle.


Going back to the front systems - Let me know if you have any XLAB-specific questions on our front systems. We do have a few models and it can be overwhelming at first! We have 3 BTA systems with straws, 1 Vertical system with a straw, and then 2 models for standard water bottle usage. Really it comes down to how you would prefer to drink and your budget. For me - I started at the Sprint level and was not very good grabbing bottles, so I went with a straw system. The straw also helped remind me to keep drinking :)

Don't want to sway you from others on the market, so just wanted to say hi and that I am on here every day and happy to help if needed :)

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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 prompt and comprensive response Candice, even if you are clearly biased working for XLAB I think your post makes a lot of sense.
So something like the hydroblade or Torpedo Kompact 125 or Torpedo System 50+ will do?

Particulary interested in the hydroblade which I can get a really low price in the UK

Cheers!

The more I look online the more though I read bad reviews of the blade, I am also not sure where to put my wahoo elemnt, it seems like the XLAB Torpedo Kompact 125 can also get an additional computer mount for Wahoo...


Wow, it was easier to choose the bike!

The Kompact 125 is a great all-in-one system that comes with the bottle and a place for your computer, the Hydroblade is just the drinking system so you would have to buy a computer mount separately. The later models of the Kompact 125 (from the start of this year) are Wahoo compatible. You can tell by the computer insert on top - it should say GW on it. If you do end up getting this and it doesn't have the GW - reach out and I can swap out for one that is compatible.

When you look deeper into what is involved in hydration systems, the reason we have the selection we do is because of the different bike configurations we see and the various wants of athletes.

We don't want to make one item and hope that it fits most things out there. When you do that the item may not be as reliable or as rigid as it should be, it could very well not look very clean on the bike, or purely not work. There are deciding factors like compatibility that you have to play with. Aerobars have 2 dimension variables - width of the extensions and length of the extensions. So a Torpedo Versa might not fit on the shortest of aerobars, so you would then choose the Hydroblade. There are people who want a straw vs people who want just a bottle. Then you have different budgets, so we make one affordable that say may weigh more, and then a super lightweight carbon fiber version.

For every category of storage accessory that we make, we have a comparison guide, like for Front Systems. Unfortunately I think it gets missed where it is on the website. We do try our best to make it not so overwhelming, but at the same time ensuring we have a great product for athlete's needs and wants!

We are always available though to help whether it is through these forums or directly!

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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