Well, that’s my opinion anyway. There has been a lot of discussion lately about the various benefits and drawbacks of seat mounted bottle cages. I’ve never used them, and never really saw the point of them, but also never really thought much, positive or negative, of them. Now I can proudly say that I think these things are just plain stupid. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I almost got nailed over the weekend while some guy was doing his best to ride one handed while searching for the cage and weaving all over the course. Or maybe it’s because of the endless numbers of people I saw who seemed unable to locate the damn thing while riding. At one point, I even gave directions to a guy to help to help “guide in” the bottle.
I’ve always liked the bar mounted systems like the Jetstream. They may not be as aero and I don’t really care. You can drink from them while maintaining your position, and you don’t have to play “Where’s Waldo” with your damn cages.
I use them also. I started mostly as a way of increasing the number of bottles available on long rides. Now I prefer them behind the seat as easier to get to in my case.
“Bottle rockets” can be avoided first by using the Profile cages as opposed to wire cages. Next, a rubber band or two in addition to the one on the cage practically guarantees that it will be speed-bump-proof.
OK, so I’m now 0 for 3 in trying to take out other riders with my rear-mounted missile launcher (aka Minoura w/ wire cages). I launched one last weekend and some poor soul behind me had to perform a heroic maneuver to avoid getting taken out. He was even nice enough to stop and retrieve my bottle for me. Yesterday I hit a nasty pothole and simultaneously fired both barrels out the back. Alas, both missed the riders behind me. This time I had to circle back and fetch my bottles out of the weeds. I give up. I’m ready to try something new.
My strategy for long rides had been to mount two bottles on the back, and one on the seat tube. I’d drink from the one on the seat tube, and rotate the empties to the Minoura to avoid a lot of fishing around in the back. So now I’m debating what to do… Profile aqua rack, Xlab , Neverreach? I can’t do a front-mounted bottle because I have two computers that take up that space. Decisions, decisions…
I use behind the seat bottles (Profile Aqua rack). After some learning I have no more problems iremoving and inserting the bottels from the rack. It is not more difficult than inserting a bottle on the down tube. Last year I lost a bottle in a triathlon when inserting the bottle in the down tube cage. But fingers were clamp from cold and rain).
For IM Switzerland (Pooks, thanks for your mail yesterday) I will use the aqua rack and a Jetstream Nxt.
Felix
I went through this whole debate last year. I tried the behind-the-seat Profiles with 3-4 extra rubber bands, etc. At Ralph’s 2001, I lost every single bottle of drink I put in those things. Must have launched 6 before I stopped putting them in there. Same experience at Big Rock. I finally gave up and went with the aero-bar mounted deal, with a single seat-tube conventional bottle holder for holding aid station pickups until I could pour it into the bar mounted bottle.
For whatever reason, I’ve never been able to get bottles to stay in behind the seat holders. I lost my 1000-calorie bottle of Extran while 30 miles from nowhere on a big pre-IM ride last summer. THAT was a bummer.
At Ralphs this past weekend, I not only saw tons of full water bottles strewn about the course - but did anyone else notice all the water bottle CAGES (specifically profile design) at the side of the road??? I counted at least 3 or 4 of them…
The Syntace Jetstream works perfectly with these bars. If you use the computer mount it can make it a bit difficult to squeeze the bottle in, but you can still do it. I used this setup at Ralph’s over the weekend and didn’t notice any handling problems, even with the high winds.
Yeah, I do use the computer mount. It sounds like this might be the way to go, eren if it is tight… Do you know of a good source? Thanks Pooks!
Tripoet.
I use Profile’s bar-mounted bottle. I can’t keep the fluid in it. The mesh “plug” just doesn’t cut it. My ride buddies mostly use Jetstreams on their Syntaces, and that seems to be much more successful.
Hmmm…am I the only one who has never launched anything from the minoura 2 bottle holder w/ wire cages? I used the bottles that have a “groove” in them, where the back edge of the cage will fit if you bend it a little bit to make sure it fits tightly into said groove. What kind of bottles are you guys using with the wire cages?
Although, I haven’t hit any MAJOR potholes with the new TT bike yet, so we’ll see what happens.
"What kind of bottles are you guys using with the wire cages? "
Good point. I can get my own bottles to stay by choosing carefully. But, on the courses, I really only care about getting Gatorade bottles to stay in, since that’s what I’m picking up.
There was an article in this month’s Triathlete indicating behind the seat bottles are actually the worst method in aerodynamically and as a result are slower than other methods. The placement of the bottles behind the seat causes more drag and that is compounded by the need to get out of the aero riding position to use the bottles.
Hey Pooks, I have to politely go the other way on this one. I like behind the seat bottle cage holders such as X-Lab X-Wing and Profile Aquarack. The Minoura double bottle cage holder is nice too. Although I sell a lot of them and customers like them I personally do not like Jetstreams. You guys made fun of me for saying this months ago but when that thing is full of water I swear the extra weight on the bars messes with my bike handling. Just my opinion…
Well Tom, I can quite comfortable and confidently say that your wrong. I realize I am certainly in the minority on this one. It seems that these holders are the equivalent of a I’m-a-triathlete patch. They’re everywhere in the transition area. I’ve heard the handling complaints about the Jetstream type bottles, but I’ve never experienced them. Maybe it gets more pronounced with longer stems. I dunno. I do know that more often than not, when I see someone trying to use one of these no-look-behind-the-back-I’m-so-cool-bottle-holders, it’s obviously more of a distraction than a convenience. I’m all for minimizing distractions, not introducing them. Maybe I’m just uncool. (Tell me, did you mount your car stereo in your back seat too??) I’m sure some people can use them with no problem, but I RARELY come across them. I’m sure I’m just overreacting, but it did piss me off that some moron almost drove me off the road this weekend 'cause he couldn’t control his bike and put away a water bottle.
No no no!!! Let’s not make this about skill and training.
The gear is to blame. It’s always about the gear.
Seriously, I’m sure you’re right, but I still see no advantage to these bottle cages with the sole exception of if you have a frame that cannot/does not have standard bottle cage bosses.
One definite advantage is that they make it easy to hang your bike on the rack (at least the Minoura)
I use a Minoura behind the seat carrier and a Jetstream up front. This means that I only put a bottle behind the seat as my “emergency” fluid in case I miss the bottle swap during the race. Otherwise I just grab a bottle and dump it in the jetstream. This means that I rarely need to reach behind to grab a bottle so I won’t run you off the road In training they make it easy to carry lots of extra fluids on long rides and they also provide a handy place to attach your spare tire/tube/CO2 when racing.
The only time I’ve ever launched a bottle from mine was when I went over a really nasty railway track at a stupid rate of speed.
I realize I am certainly in the minority on this one. It seems that these holders are the equivalent of a I’m-a-triathlete patch. They’re everywhere in the transition area. I’ve heard the handling complaints about the Jetstream type bottles, but I’ve never experienced them. Maybe it gets more pronounced with longer stems. I dunno. I do know that more often than not, when I see someone trying to use one of these no-look-behind-the-back-I’m-so-cool-bottle-holders, it’s obviously more of a distraction than a convenience. I’m all for minimizing distractions, not introducing them. Maybe I’m just uncool. (Tell me, did you mount your car stereo in your back seat too??) I’m sure some people can use them with no problem, but I RARELY come across them. I’m sure I’m just overreacting, but it did piss me off that some moron almost drove me off the road this weekend 'cause he couldn’t control his bike and put away a water bottle.