A client of mine made his own Overarm Hydration setup similar, if not identical, to the Revolver version used by Joe Skipper recently at IM Texas. We decided a quick aero test was in order and created a short Fast or Fiction video: https://youtu.be/nMaxivCo4K4
Just under a 3% (2.95%) drag reduction for this client at race pace. For him, that equaled a 6.2 watt savings.
A few notes:
The wind conditions made for a very low yaw environment at 2-2.5 degrees. I suspect we’d see a little more improvement somewhere between 4-7 degrees. Revolver claims “up to” 23 watts of drag savings, but give no other relevant information on what those watts are based on. Looking at their Instagram post, one of their test athletes had the bottles right up against his biceps with a fairly short reach. I’m guessing he’s the one who saw the bigger savings and it was at high yaw. I could be wrong, of course, but that’s my guess.Our athlete reported no issues with vision. Getting out of the position and to his brake levers wasn’t difficult, but a slightly different movement than usual. He noted when he had his head tucked, his helmet would touch the bottles and that would likely get annoying after awhile.Any questions? Chest bottle test video will be released this week. We tested 9 athletes with different size bottles and there were some very interesting results. I’ll post here when it’s released. Aero socks and calf guards are being tested now, again with multiple athletes. Look for that video in 2 weeks or so. Lot’s of other stuff in the que for the next few months. YouTube Shorts for quick tips. Longer videos when warranted.
What setup are you comparing the 3% savings to? Did the original setup have bottles in a different location, or is it just comparing a no-bottle setup to the overarm hydration setup?
I’m not surprised. I was doing some prosthetic development work for a para cyclist ahead of the Tokyo Paralympic Games and I had a design that had a similar profile. From what we could gather, filling that void helped air over the shoulder or helped manage the airflow around the torso. I say it might do either of these things as orientation of the leading edge is crucial to making this work.
For anyone considering doing the same as the skipper system, the bottle orientation is going to need to be tailored to the individual and if you get it wrong, it could make things hell of a lot worse. Test, test, test.
Funny you should mention that, my friend. That will be a YouTube Short this week as we actually tested it during the same session. Hint: getting rid of the hair yielded a larger drop in drag. Okay, I guess that’s not really a hint, but the answer.
I have been wondering if this set up could be in violation of this Ironman rule?
No tandems, fixed-gear bikes, recumbents, fairings, or any addon device designed exclusively to reduce resistance are allowed.
Any new, unusual, or prototype equipment will be subject to a
determination of legality by the event organizer and/or Head
Referee.
Are these aero bottles actually useful (as in they can hold water), or are they merely pretending to be a water bottle in lieu of a fairing?
Well, they are Elite aero bottles, and I guess you could, or would really need to, put some form of liquid in them for them to be legal. Whether or not they’d be used is a different story.
I’m not surprised. I was doing some prosthetic development work for a para cyclist ahead of the Tokyo Paralympic Games and I had a design that had a similar profile. From what we could gather, filling that void helped air over the shoulder or helped manage the airflow around the torso. I say it might do either of these things as orientation of the leading edge is crucial to making this work.
For anyone considering doing the same as the skipper system, the bottle orientation is going to need to be tailored to the individual and if you get it wrong, it could make things hell of a lot worse. Test, test, test.
Yeah, I absolutely agree. Something like this needs to be customized to each individual. It was a quick fun test, but I don’t think we’ll see wide adoption. Bottles down the front of the kit, on the other hand, that’s going to be more and more of a thing.
I have been wondering if this set up could be in violation of this Ironman rule?
No tandems, fixed-gear bikes, recumbents, fairings, or any addon device designed exclusively to reduce resistance are allowed.
Any new, unusual, or prototype equipment will be subject to a
determination of legality by the event organizer and/or Head
Referee.
I think because they’re useable water bottles, it’s not afoul of the rules just yet. I could see it being outlawed for safety reasons more than anything else even though our athlete had no problem with sight or getting to his brakes quickly. Still, I could see that being used as the excuse.
I don’t suppose you tested a water bladder as opposed to bottles? A bladder is actually very useful as you can have the bite valve tucked up above your Tri kit and it easy to drink off. Mine can carry 70oz when full, great for long course as you don’t need as many bottles on the frame and it’s surprisingly comfortable. It tested a bit faster for me.
I don’t suppose you tested a water bladder as opposed to bottles? A bladder is actually very useful as you can have the bite valve tucked up above your Tri kit and it easy to drink off. Mine can carry 70oz when full, great for long course as you don’t need as many bottles on the frame and it’s surprisingly comfortable. It tested a bit faster for me.
We did test a 3 liter Camelbak bladder on one athlete and we’ll mention it in the video. There was a decent gain but not as good as the bottles (28 oz and 1.5 liter). If I remember correctly, and I’m old so maybe not, it landed between the two…or it didn’t, I forget. But it was a gain, or drop…however you want to say it. Lol.
I don’t suppose you tested a water bladder as opposed to bottles? A bladder is actually very useful as you can have the bite valve tucked up above your Tri kit and it easy to drink off. Mine can carry 70oz when full, great for long course as you don’t need as many bottles on the frame and it’s surprisingly comfortable. It tested a bit faster for me.
We did test a 3 liter Camelbak bladder on one athlete and we’ll mention it in the video. There was a decent gain but not as good as the bottles (28 oz and 1.5 liter). If I remember correctly, and I’m old so maybe not, it landed between the two…or it didn’t, I forget. But it was a gain, or drop…however you want to say it. Lol.
A 1.5 liter bottle with a bite valve would work great as the drawback to the bladder is it reduces in size as you drink it. Look forward to seeing your next video!
I have been wondering if this set up could be in violation of this Ironman rule?
No tandems, fixed-gear bikes, recumbents, fairings, or any addon device designed exclusively to reduce resistance are allowed.
Any new, unusual, or prototype equipment will be subject to a
determination of legality by the event organizer and/or Head
Referee.
It doesn’t seem like IM actually cares about this rule. There’s been plenty of setups over the last few years that IMO directly violate this rule, but nothing has happened.
I have been wondering if this set up could be in violation of this Ironman rule?
No tandems, fixed-gear bikes, recumbents, fairings, or any addon device designed exclusively to reduce resistance are allowed.
Any new, unusual, or prototype equipment will be subject to a
determination of legality by the event organizer and/or Head
Referee.
I think because they’re useable water bottles, it’s not afoul of the rules just yet. I could see it being outlawed for safety reasons more than anything else even though our athlete had no problem with sight or getting to his brakes quickly. Still, I could see that being used as the excuse.
that seems to be the interpretation so far but really its rubbish. if the bottles don’t contain water then it should be a DSQ. should at least have to take the weight penalty, really should have to actually be used but that is hard to enforce.
still, lower priority than drafting and IM still don’t seem to be bothered about stopping that…
A 1.5 liter bottle with a bite valve would work great as the drawback to the bladder is it reduces in size as you drink it. Look forward to seeing your next video!
If you blow back in after taking a drink you can reinflate it each time.
I don’t suppose you tested a water bladder as opposed to bottles? A bladder is actually very useful as you can have the bite valve tucked up above your Tri kit and it easy to drink off. Mine can carry 70oz when full, great for long course as you don’t need as many bottles on the frame and it’s surprisingly comfortable. It tested a bit faster for me.
We did test a 3 liter Camelbak bladder on one athlete and we’ll mention it in the video. There was a decent gain but not as good as the bottles (28 oz and 1.5 liter). If I remember correctly, and I’m old so maybe not, it landed between the two…or it didn’t, I forget. But it was a gain, or drop…however you want to say it. Lol.
Very excited for this, just bought a 100oz camelbak I plan on stuffing down my front for a 70.3 next month. Plus the benefit of not having to use aid stations will put my mind at ease.
Also like the below posters suggestion of blowing back into it to ensure I look like a pufferfish the whole time.
I have been wondering if this set up could be in violation of this Ironman rule?
No tandems, fixed-gear bikes, recumbents, fairings, or any addon device designed exclusively to reduce resistance are allowed.
Any new, unusual, or prototype equipment will be subject to a
determination of legality by the event organizer and/or Head
Referee.
I think because they’re useable water bottles, it’s not afoul of the rules just yet. I could see it being outlawed for safety reasons more than anything else even though our athlete had no problem with sight or getting to his brakes quickly. Still, I could see that being used as the excuse.
that seems to be the interpretation so far but really its rubbish. if the bottles don’t contain water then it should be a DSQ. should at least have to take the weight penalty, really should have to actually be used but that is hard to enforce.
still, lower priority than drafting and IM still don’t seem to be bothered about stopping that…
We’ll be conducting a real world 12 and 20 meter test to identify the drag savings. Also, what happens when motorcycles are around. Should be interesting. We did something similar on the Velodrome about a decade ago, but outdoors will be more relevant.
