I have run just one bottle in every race I've done from sprint to Ironman. I don't see the need for more. Either it was a slurry mix of Infinit, or Gatorade/Perform handups, or just water.

---

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'm fat and slow, but here's my two cents on my lowly Ironman. I did IMMT last year, went with one bottle BTA and another on my downtube. Never touched the one on my downtube just switched out at ever aid station. But I kept it there just in cast as I've heard warnings about onsite bottles not being screwed on all the way in aid stations. I actually checked every bottle and I think a few were loose. Next time I do an IM it will likely be the same set-up. Unless you're in the running to make Kona I don't think the weight penalty will matter. Plus with the climbing and if there's any unexpected heat then you'll have a second bottle to sip from between aid stations.

---

I still lapped everyone on the couch!

Typically you shouldn't need more than a bottle per aid station as long as you can refill. I Typically still have 2/3 or a half bottle left over when I get to the aid station.

If you're really worried about it you could always go with one of the larger between the arms setups, like a Torhans aero 30, which is about a bottle and a half. Other manufacturers make similarly sized setups.

Totally depends on how hot the race is and your sweat rate. I can sweat around 2 to even 2.5 liters per hour. There are definitely some people that need to grab 2 bottles in an aid station under certain conditions (me at IM Texas), but I've also done cold races where I don't need much water at all. Just do what's right for the day. An empty bottle cage hardly weighs anything and is there for you in case you need it.

---

----------------------------------------------------------
Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

NO. If you miss an aid station you would be hosed big time. Early in my Ironman race career I'd carry FOUR (2 behind the seat and 2 on the seat/downtube). That was pre-BTA. I've used Bike Stream / Piggy Back by Profile, even eventually the Profile Aerodrink. To sum it up, I'll use the LARGE water bottles now, a BTA & one one the downtube. Each time I dropped a bottle off my set up my times got slightly faster.

I think this is for obvious reasons of weight & energy cost to move yourself throughout 112 miles. My bottles weight about 2 lbs when I've got them full. So I've effectively dropped 4 lbs in bottles alone off my early set up. Then subtrace the aero savings by less *crap* strapped to my bike, as well as the weight of the accessories such as the Piggy Back (which was made of metal)...or the XLAB versions or the Beaker Concept BTS setups I had.

TWO is a good number. Time is so your home brew of drink is almost done before an aid stations, but you should have one in reserve in case you jack up a bottle exchange. You can always stop of course. On a good hydration day I have to pull over for a pee anyhow (yes I know--but I'd rather be comfortable and not in pain from a full bladder...and I'm not about to go on the bike). So I'd stick with two bottles.

I'm not that fast but I agree with the sentiment that you don't want to be hosed if you miss an exchange. I have the aero pouch behind my seat and a cage between the arms. In order to reduce weight, my back bottle starts half full or less, just enough to hold me over should I miss an exchange, or should I need to rinse off the pee. I also keep a note of where the aid stations are and whether I can dump water before a climb if there is an aid station at or right after the top.

---

808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

I run a single BTA bottle for all races. There are aid stations plenty close enough together to catch a gatorade bottle at each one. Solid fuel goes in an aero bento on my top tube. I can carry all I need this way.

Other than two IM's I did all of the other 29 with one bottle set up. At WTC races between aid stations and special needs, there is no need to clutter the bike up with more stuff unless you are using an aero downtube bottle as your first one and want to leave it in there for the aero gains and have a second one between the aerobars or behind the saddle.

No problem going "1x" bottle set up

Like someone else, I have done every race from Sprint to Full with only one bottle. I grab one at each aid station, only time I have missed, I have just grabbed one further down the line. Announce what you want, look the person in the eye prior to hand off to acknowledge they know you are coming and make a solid grab. At hot races, there is enough time to grab a Gatorade and water bottle to squirt yourself down and toss thst one before the end of the line. I slow down, but not too much, the zones at IM races in particular are quite lengthy.

16 Ironmans (8 of them Kona)--all WTC races so always well stocked aid stations. In all races, I relied solely on 1 bottle of my own concoction (which I would consume before I hit special needs), 1 replacement bottle of the same concoction picked up at special needs, and everything else I got from the aid stations (from which would fill my BTA set up). If I missed the special needs replacement bottle (never happened, but in theory it could have) I would have just doubled down on aid station-provided. Not sure if this is what you mean by a 1 bottle set up, because it was really a BTA drink system PLUS a bottle.
But when in doubt (like, with your super hilly course), I would probably do a BTA and have holders suitable for 2 bottles (either a double BTS set up, or a down tube carrier plus a single BTS). That way, you could pick up an extra bottle if needed and carry it on the flats and downhills, and then get rid of it before the climbs if the weight concerns you. That just gives you more options, and the aero penalty is probably pretty small out of the time.

2 bottle cages. 1 bottle.
Grab a new bottle every 1-2 aid stations, put it in the empty bottle cage, then drop the other bottle.
If you drop a bottle, you HAVE to pick it up.. but I've never had an issues in 10 years of racing like this.

Great topic i have been wondering about this as well. Would you say it also depends on race conditions? I feel like if you end up having no bottle (because you loose it or whatever) in Kona it is a lot worse in a northern hemisphere race where you have to bike for another 30 minutes before you can get a bottle (plenty of aid stations on IM courses).
When you say 1 bottle setup is that on TOP of the BTA? Or really only 1.

Being a person that used 6 h on a IM Bike leg and drinking 3½ bottle and still having to pee twice, i have really been thinking about only having 1 bottle (not aero bottle but BTA normal bottle), and just switching that those 2-3 times during the course of the race.

Really only one. I just use my BTA.

---

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I think I'm gonna try one BTA and one behind the seat this year. The last ironman i did 22.5mph and started with 5 bottles ditching them as i went because i wanted to drink my EFS pro. I had 1 BTA, 1 downtube, 2 in the back, and one in my back jersey. I flew passed all the stations. But this was a flat course. If i was doing a hilly course I wouldn't carry 5 to start. lol

1 bottle setup if:
-you don't use a concentrated bottle for fuel
-its not a hot race where you need extra water to drink or cool yourself off
-you don't drink A LOT, like 2 bottles/hr

On the climbs in Whistler, you are sheltered from the wind for the most part. It can get very warm with the sun beating down on you. It might be nice to have a little water to spray on your self. The idea of an In Case of Emergency cage is a nice idea.

Also, if they keep the stations at the same locations as they have been, they are at the bottom of climbs, so you could always wet your self down before the hill even starts.

---

Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Great advice!

For clarification I was referring to 1 bottle of gatorade behind the seat and no other fluids on the bike. No BTA or aerobar container. Gels would go in the bento box and in my pockets.
I feel like I'm leaning to a 1 bottle setup unless its a hot one. Pour water on myself and have a gulp at the aid stations then toss the water bottle immediately.


Followup question: I have 10 year old Zipp 404 clinchers on the bike but I could borrow a friend's HED rear disc for Whistler. Is a disc good on a course with lots of hills? I'm currently not sure about weights of each wheel for reference.

I do two bottles all the time. One between the aerobars and rear bottle. It works well but doesn't give you a lot of margin for error (bottles popping out etc).

---

---

Save: $50 on Speed Hound Recovery Boots | $20 on Air Relax| $100 on Normatec| 15% on Most Absorbable Magnesium

Blogs: Best CHEAP Zwift / Bike Trainer Desk | Theragun G3 vs $140 Bivi Percussive Massager | Normatec Pulse 2.0 vs Normatec Pulse | Speed Hound vs Normatec | Air Relax vs Normatec | Q1 2018 Blood Test Results | | Why HED JET+ Is The BEST value wheelset

That. Or what if you launch a bottle? 20 miles with no fluids?

I run minimum two, one aero drink one bottle. Or three.

I have tried this and dropped my only bottle. Scared of doing it again, I usually just have my aero bottle and one behind my seat as back up. Sometimes I leave it empty at the start and grab something depending on how I am feeling in the middle of the race. In my mind, always good to have that option.

---

2020 Team Zoot MTN

Small question in between:

What struck me is that everybody seems to take their gels with Gatorade.
I was once told, that you should take your gel with plain water, otherwise it becomes too much in a way.
That's why I always carry plain water.
But I also carry electrolyte (Gatorade for example) to drink when it is hot because only drinking plain water
makes you pee.

Disadvantage of course: I have to carry three bottles: one with gels, one with water and one with electrolytes.
Which I always conscientiously do. Does that make sense?

I always had space to store 2 bottles not because I was afraid that 1 bottle between aid stations wasn't enough (aid stations typically about 7-10 miles apart), but because in general I liked to avoid having to feed from as many aid stations as possible. Those are the areas (especially in WTC races) where I noticed crashes occur most often. People who can't handle their bike while feeding (weaving), who slow down unexpectedly, drop bottles, etc. Of course I would strategically select where I would and wouldn't take 2 bottles depending on the course profile. But as I was a MOP swimmer and faster biker, the first 15 miles of a HIM were always a cluster fuck at the first 2 aid stations and I avoided them like the plague.

If you're a FOP swimmer and cyclist, and doing a single loop bike then it's probably not so bad. I haven't done a dead flat course, but I would assume that it would be impossible to have an aid station near the top of a hill or roller that forces you to slow down anyway. So each time you take feed from an aid station means slowing down and accelerating back up to speed...and you would probably want to minimize that as much as possible assuming (big assumption) that your secondary storage option wasn't a significant aero penalty.

From a weight perspective, if you ever find yourself climbing with too much fluids, and know that an aid station is coming up, it's not hard to just grab a bottle and squirt out some of the contents to drop whatever fluid you feel necessary. Lots of times during hot races I'll grab two bottles from an aid station and use 1/3 to 1/2 of one bottle right off the bat to shoot myself down, so it's not like I'm taking on two full bottles of weight anyway.

Nate:

Started with three went down to two. One mix/Gatorade and one water. Gatorade with Gels became too sweet during hot full IM. Also, at two IM races the aid stations opened up the gel packets. Stuffed one in my bike jersey and as I went aero contents spewed out in back pocket. The gel turned to glue. Needed water to detach jersey from skin. Also, at another race the bottom brackets of a bottle holder broke and bottle shot right out the bottom onto the road. Glad I had the spare holder for the other bottle of fluids. Finally, water thru the helmet for cooling effect is much better than sports drink or personal mix. Unless pro, think redundant back-up instead of 100% efficiency.

As for the disc and climbing, you appreciate the handling of the 404's or any deep rim for descending over a disc.

Doug

http://www.palmtreesahead.com