I understand your point, and I agree with the purposes of a tri bike; all I’m saying is that if you look at the bike as a whole, I wouldn’t say no to buying a bike simply because of top mounting bosses. Besides, we are looking at the low-low/mid prices tri bikes; if you’re that serious about wanting every bell and whistle you should really consider stepping up to a higher level of bike.
Well I’m currently looking at either one of the B series bikes or the new IA14. The IA 14 has better mounting options than the IA FRD which is about the highest end of tri bikes. The IA 14 frame has mounting bosses provided on the down and seat tubes (including the back of the seat tube) however as mentioned previously the integrated bento box, which initially looked ideal, was unexpectedly restrictive when I saw it in person, and doesn’t appear to be easily modifiable. In case you think it’s good enough for the pros and therefore should be good enough for me - Felt did a custom modification to Mirinda Carfrae’s bento box, so clearly I’m not the only one who thinks it’s too small (and my IM bike leg will take longer than hers!). I can do some fabrication myself so I even considered replacing the provided cavity liner with a DIY version but then discovered Felt have bonded it to the frame and any modification will therefore be more difficult, probably irreversible and will void the warranty.
I’m not looking for every bell and whistle. I’m suggesting that manufacturers are obsessed with certain bells and whistles (e.g. cockpit integration) and neglect some of the basics with storage being the most obvious by far. I’m not so naïve as to think this is just because manufacturers are fools. I assume they’re building what they think people want. But I think a lot of people are less obsessed with miniscule improvements in aero data for a bare bike and more interested in the practicalities (which can have a far more significant impact on the real world aero performance, as well as comfort, convenience and aesthetics) than they might think. Or maybe it’s just me…