Get yourself a Vision DS1 bottle best BTA I've ever used. Straw is on a ratchet that holds position fold it down or old it up.

https://shop.visiontechusa.com/en/drinking-system-ds1

Let's say you are riding a HIM for 150minutes (2.5hours) = 9000 seconds

Let's say the straw causes 1w of drag, you lose say 1 watts for 9000 seconds, = 9000 joules.

If you drink every 10min you drink 15x, Let's say for 5 seconds you lose 20watts shifting around (CDA goes from 0.25 to 0.27), so 20watts for 75s (5sx15) or 1500 joules

You can plug in numbers you prefer.

I was lazy and used .001 CDA = 1 watt which is good at 30mph, but you get the idea

It's been my opinion for a long time that the drag of the straw when you can stay in position and barely move your head is far less than any aero bottle where you have to move you arm or reach around behind you to drink.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Wow thank you for the maths

Now sure when you say every time you drink. Are you saying if it is a regular water bottle and you take it out or the straw laid down on the bottle like a torpedo?

Just saw this

Not sure how accurate. Says up to 3.8 watts from exposed straw

https://www.aero-coach.co.uk/water-bottle-testing

Do you use the computer mount? Do you find the straw annoying to look around/through to see the computer when it is down? Also do you get any splashing out of the lid on rough/bumpy roads? I get splashed a lot from my xlab and find it very annoying :)

I just got a computer so don’t know yet lol

I have the solid clear cover so no splashing.

I tend to trust Aerocoach's testing. They do it so much that even without testing I think they have a good idea of how everything interacts. It's unsurprising that a straw could be such a penalty. Its a very un-aero shape and is quite thick relative to a lot of other things. Cables are kind of allowed to be un-aero because they're so thin but a straw is doing no favors sticking up into the wind. I think the fact that most aero bottles have a magnet or way to hold the straw down shows that these companies realize this as well.

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

I've started leaving my straw up on my speedfil. The effort to reattach it has become an annoyance honestly, and it hanging about is more convenient for when I need to take a sip.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I cut the straw really short, so I don't have to move my head at all. Every so often I pull out the straw, suck on water and put it back with my right hand.

They never take into consideration the movement of the rider to drink. With the straw exposed, that position doesn't have to change, but with any other hydration, at least the head and one arm have to leave aero every time you drink.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

I use a rubber band with one end looped around the end of my straw and the other end looped around the straw holder. This holds the straw down. When I want to drink, I drop my head slightly and grab the end of the straw with my mouth, sip, and then let go. The rubber band then pulls the straw back down out of the wind. Give it a try.

Genius

Thank you

I’ve been shitting around with Velcro

You are the BEST. Thank you

But now we are going to have to do a wind tunnel test to see how long and if the air stream reconnects to the head when it is bright back up lol

😞

There are times to drink & times to not drink & stay aero on every course. Don't be a dumb rider (triathlete) is the best way to summarize it.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

 
Exactly mate!! Who is staying aero for 180km in an Ironman or 90km in a half?
I
i've been to Kona and won a heap of AG races over sprint-70.3 and Ill tell you what, I sit up heaps in every race?

Just grab a drink when you are sitting up on a hill or giving the back a break during the race.

Ditch that aero straw system and just run a normal water bottle between the arms. A few zip ties to hold the cage on an you are away.

The comments above about making sure you keep in position are key, and we actually had a really interesting wind tunnel session the other day, where a rider had a very low position on the bike (Ironman triathlete), and used the straw to help locate where he needed to hold his head as it was close to his chin.

When we bent the straw downwards he lost this head location cue and his CdA went up as he ended up holding his head much higher - so the straw went back in and he didn’t need to worry about it! But in general when we test straws it’s 3-5w (5w absolute worst case for a massive flappy straw) at 45kph. Our recommendation is usually to get one you can bend down out the way.

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AeroCoach UK
http://www.aero-coach.co.uk

You win AG races whilst sitting up in races for long periods. Drafting?

I find your reply offensive, how about I call you a cheat on a forum with no proof? Anyways, you must have some issue to troll forums with comments that do not contribute to the discussion in anyway.

Sorry if you find it offensive. Just saying how I thought it came across.

Back to topic, I find folding a straw back down can't be done quickly and easily, so seems worth it every time I drink.

I'm with Gilliga, only I went a step further and eliminated the whole front end hydration mess. I've had a torpedo, and a Hydroblade, and spewed sticky drink all over my bike and brakes and wheel etc. I've had the straws up and down and whatever. I only had them because everyone else did, and I had to be a cool kid. Then I did my first IM branded event, and good lord there's hydration all over the place. I learned real quick that I don't need two BTS bottles and a front hydration system, when there is unlimited hydration every 10 miles. Instead of fiddling with refilling a front bottle, why not just take the darn drink. So this year I got rid of the front hydration stuff altogether. I haven't missed it at all, especially the mess. I have to wonder if the aero savings from getting rid of the hunk of plastic off the front of the bike, is about the same as just grabbing a BTS bottle and taking a drink when you need one.

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Athlinks / Strava

I thought BTA was sometimes faster if it fills the gap?

Very interesting, thanks! Have you ever tested if the aero straw housing on the Torhans Aero20/30 makes a difference? ie. if I were to have that on a straw vs just flapping around, does it make a difference in drag?

I do something similar with magnets that camelbak makes to snap the tip of hoses back to shoulder straps. First, I use softer straws from hose I bought at Lowe's. The weight of the magnet on the tip of the straw bends the straw down flat and out of the wind. If I want it to be firmly attached in the down position, a light tap will connect it to the magnet I glued to the top of my torpedo bottle.

Camelbak hose magnets here

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I’ve thought about using the tubing from Lowe’s but wonder about if they are food grade

Would want UV rays and iso drinks to degrade the plastic toxins