As the liquids are not under pressure or the bottle located higher than the drinking valve (or more or less at the same level), I guess one has to suck the valve like hell to get liquids to one's mouth .

My first impression was that it was for urinating...
It looks like a bedpan !

On a more serious note: There is a limit to how high you can lift a liquid trough a straw, and in this case it looks like the suction lift required might make the rider lightheaded.
I have not seen or tried this one, but it looks like it woluld not be something to use in a race where you are already close to oxygen debt. Just think about how even drinking and swallowing from a normal bottle interrupts your oxygen exchange.

Isn't that limit 32 feet?
It says it's a bite valve so you don't have to suck liquid all the way through the straw every time.

32 feet is the limit for how high a fire engine can draft. Your mouth has a little less power...

No good for us people that only have one bottle on the seat tube so they are limiting their target customer to only people with mounts on the down tube. Talk about Niche marketing.

I would like to see just how wide this bottle is as well. It might play havoc with frame aerodynamics which by looking at it, it does.

Gentlemen -

The speedfil is not under pressure and requires the use of a bite valve similar to a camelback system. The valve holds the liquid at the ready and requires very little effort to suck up the fluid. Some other stats:

Speedfil Hydration System:

40oz. Capacity
only 2 inches wide
Tunnel tested at the San Diego Low speed Tunnel - Found to be more aero than handlebar and downtube mounted systems.
Currently works on down tube mount only but we will have a seat tube bracket soon!
Refillable on the fly

We made it because we did not like other systems on the market.

Cheers!

Speedfil

You should have more than enough suction to overcome the static head (not a physicist so maybe that's the wrong physics term) required to get fluid from your down tube to your mouth while in an aero position, especially if the system is fairly airtight and the straw goes down to the bottom of the reservoir. However, the whole purpose of the bite valve idea is to keep suction on the fluid so it doesn't flow back down the tube to the bottle, like when you put your finger on the top of a straw and can lift the straw out of your drink without spilling the liquid inside. So, when you bite down and suck at the same time, you don't have to overcome the entire amount of static head.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

It looks like an open system - the refill valve looks like it vents, and you can just pour extra bottles in. Even with a full straw, you still have to move water trough the whole straw each time.

There is a reason 2' straws are not popular. Gravity.

"It looks like an open system - the refill valve looks like it vents, and you can just pour extra bottles in. Even with a full straw, you still have to move water trough the whole straw each time."

If the straw end is underneath the top of the fluid level, and the bite valve closes off the top, then you don't need to suck through the whole straw each time.

Try it with a glass. Fill it part way up, the stick a straw in, close off the top with your finger, lift the straw out, and you'll see the liquid in the straw stays in the straw. The top of the glass doesn't have to be closed off for it to work.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

Nice experiment, but we are not looking to keep the water in the straw, but to move it.

When you drink, you have to overcome the force of the water in the straw wanting to empty, plus you have to move water trough the whole staw.

looks interesting

what is the top of the bottle like? I'm trying to understand how easy it is to fill while riding. Can you jam the top of a gatorade bottle into it to fill?

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http://www.mountainmettle.com

The speedfil top has three parts to it:

1.) Interior removable funnel (first line splash defense)
2.) Perforated splash gasket (second line splash defense)
3.) Screw on cap to hold both in place

The sytem is open and allows for insetion of just about any type of water bottle to reload the system. A couple of squeezes is all it takes! Also, to drink takes very little effort to take in the fluid. Since the fluid is at the bit valve when taking a drink it is better than aerobar mounted systems because you do not swallow any air!

I just used it at Buffalo springs in the nasty 40-50mph winds on the bike and it worked beautifully! Very aero and I was able to keep my hands on the bars with the exception of reloading the system.

We will be putting up th ewind tunnel data on our website for everyone to see!

Thanks!

Speedfil Guy!

True you do need to move the fluid but since it is already at the bit valve (once primed) it seems no different than drinking from a aerobar mounted system. However, you get the benefit of no air just fluid! Limited or no gastric distress from injesting air like with other systems.

Try this experiment:

Take a camelback or similar tube with a bit valve and insert it into a full glass of water. Place the glass on the floor and extend the tube and valve to its fullest extent. Suck the fluid into the tube and into your mouth. If the valve works correctly (ours does) the fluid should be held in place at the bite valve. Try taking another sip and see how easy it is to move the fluids.

We would not have made this product if it did not deliver easy speed and fluids!

It works!

"When you drink, you have to overcome the force of the water in the straw wanting to empty, plus you have to move water trough the whole staw."

Understood, but with the bite valve, you only have to deal with the suction head the first time you suck. After that, you don't have all that air in the way, and you get fluid right away. Of course, fluid keeps coming up from the bottle, so it does have to cover the distance in between, but you're not overcoming the suction head each time.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

I saw them at the SDIT, it wasn't as wide as i had expected. probably about the width of a normal bike bottle.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

Actually the width of the speedfil is exactly 2 inches. About half of a normal bike bottle. The aero aspects were significant when we set out to design the structure and shape of the bottle. From a frontal view it is hardly noticeable!

Welcome to Slowtwitch!

Despite some of the naysayers above, your product looks like a pretty sweet design to me. (Unfortunately, it probably won't work on the the curved downtube on my Titanflex. But nevertheless, congratulations on a nice looking product.)

However, the photo of a guy smiling in a windtunnel and your "tunnel tested" statement above won't pass muster with the aero experts here. Can you share some (much) more detailed information about your testing protocol and results?

EDIT: Just saw you comments above about aero data coming soon. Please let us know when it's up on your site. And, anything you'd care to share here would be much appreciated. ;)

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

Thanks for the kudos!

True the aero pic is not enough for credibility but we should have all the data and graphs up later this week for people to view. www.speedfil.com We will show the testing protocols we conducted as: equipment only tests and Rider + equipment tests each at 0, 5, 10, 15 degree angles:

1.) Bare bike frame (Kestrel Airfoil Pro)
2.) Bike with downtube standard bottle and aero bottle in handlebars
3.) Speedfil bottle only

We will be heading back to the tunnel later this year to to further testing on alternative designs.

The product was conceived, designed and produce by triathletes for triathletes!

Thanks for the support!

Speedfil Guy

I "invented" something like this more than 20 years ago (I also invented" something just like the Profile aero bottle) before there was much available in drinking systems for tris.

It worked fine. The 'suction' question is a non-issue, as long as you have an effective valve. There is no appreciable effort to suck the fluid, the only requirement is to have the fluid at the valve head, so that you don't just suck air each time. Ultimate Directions used to have a tiny valve situated inside their drinking tubes - I used one of those, and still prefer it to bite valves.

The real problem with this product is that it fills from the right, so is only suitable to those of you who ride on the wrong side of the road.

It is canted to the right for two purposes:

Aerodynamics and since most triathlons are held with aid stations on the right side of the road the "hand-off" of bottles to athletes helps with the refilling of the speedfil bottle.

Suggestions are always welcomed and Thanks for the input!

Speedfil Guy

Hmm...

Just speculating here, but:

1. It seems plausible that it's more aero than a downtube bottle AND a handlebar aero bottle -- especially on the seatpost-less Kestrel where I bet a conventional, wide downtube bottle would suck.

2. How does it compare to the bare frame w/o any bottle?

3. How does it compare against just a handlebar aero bottle?

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

The speedfil posted numbers which bettered the bare frame in a crosswind of 10 degrees and was close on all other degree measures. We do have a test for a standard only bottle but not just a aero handlebar bottle. We looked at what most triathletes are using in races and tried to evaluate what we could with the limited time we had the tunnel for. Again, we are hoping to go back later this year to do further testing and also look at new products/designs.

Thanks for the feedback!

Speedfil Guy

Thanks!

Again, good luck with your new product. :)

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"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

interesting product. not very pretty in version 1.0, but it's got some potential.

ps. you may want to run a spell check on your website ...

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Where would you want to swim ?