My 2 cents. I use the Minoura and love it! I have never lost a bottle. It is great for racking the bike and speeds up transitions. Let me know if there is anything of interest that I haven't covered.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Go with the minoura. Lower than any other out there so this may help in aerodynamics;) Use profile cages. You can put extra rubber bands around them to cinch the bottles tight. And while riding always check your bottles. After some bumps they can ride up and be on the brink of launching.

As for the Azoto, I altered the mounting plate by shaving off 1/4 inch of the ends and bent the arms downward so the bottles were straight up rather than pointing towrad your ass.

What about the Never Reach? I have less problems mounting the bike with it; although it sticks out further, it isn't as high. I launched bottles with the other system, unless I had them rubber-banded in. That's fine for shorter races, but a bit of a pain to change out in the longer races...actually, it's not hard to change out, you just don't re-band them...and then you can start your launch countdown. Seems like so many of the places I ride have railroad tracks or speed bumps that did the launch-pad trick to me. It's bad enough to lose your water source, it's worse to make it hazardous for your fellow riders.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

The new Tacx Tao cages are very good. I use the saddle wing with them. But I also use Tacx bottles so I don't know if that's the trick. I've been thinking about getting the Minoura after everything bad that's being said about the saddle wing. Know where I can get them?

Kim

I drove 300 miles last weekend before I noticed that I had 2 full bottles in my minoura mounted on my azoto saddle. This was in the back of a pickup driving at high speeds down bumpy country roads. If that didn't make a bottle launch, then I don't want to be riding on a road that will launch a bottle.

I think the Aqua Rack is one of those behind-the-seat dual-bottle racks - I'm not sure about "Saddle Wing" or Minoura - but I read a recent article in Triathlete Mag that says those type of systems actually are less aero than standard water bottles on the down tube/seat tube. Their presence disturbs the airflow after it leaves your aeroo-tucked body. And, that is before even factoring in that you have to reach around for a drink - which disturbs your aerodynamics even more. The article also talks about the Never Reach being more aero, because it acts like a spoiler on a car. I haven't tried the Never reach, because I'd like to see one before I buy it. Also, I guess the behind-the-seat carriers may be good for very long rides - when you need water, aero doens't matter as much!

I used the NeverReach at WF, and was very happy with it. I filled it with Accelerade, and had 1 bottle of water on the downtube for drinking with gels and bars. This gave me enough fluids that I didn't have to stop at any of the aid stations. The only issue that I can see with it is that if you only have the black rubber cap on that allows you to dump a bottle in to refill and you have to lay the bike down to fix a flat during a race all your drink comes pouring out. I stopped by the NeverReach booth at WF and met Linda. She gave me one of the new blue caps that seal the top, so this would solve this problem. All in all, I would definitely recommend the NR, though I'll probably only use it for races since it's more involved to set up on the bike and then take off and wash afterwards.

Thanks everyone for some great advice on a (somewhat) baffling topic. I think I'm going with the Minoura (I found one at all3sports.com for under 15 bucks). I do have a worry though: if I'm not doing a long ride and one bottle will do, it seems that the contraption is too difficult to take off for simply doing a short ride, which is why the Aqua Rack seat post mounted sytem looked so appealing st first (easy on/easy off).

Oh golly. At least this has taken my mind off how expensive it's going to be for a room near the Mighty Montauk Oly Tri site on June 7th.