I’m not a huge fan of the bite valve that comes with the SHIV fuelselage system. Is it possible to use a Camelbak bite valve in its place? Wasn’t sure if the hoses were the same diameter. Anybody have any other tricks with perfected the fuelselage system?
I’m not a huge fan of the bite valve that comes with the SHIV fuelselage system. Is it possible to use a Camelbak bite valve in its place? Wasn’t sure if the hoses were the same diameter. Anybody have any other tricks with perfected the fuelselage system?
Yes. Camelback bite valve will fit the Specialized hose. The hose is a bit too large. You’ll need to muscle the valve onto it. It’s fine. Valve is made of soft material and will expand easily.
The original bite valve just plain doesn’t work. Very little water comes out, and even then only if you bite it just so. Or no water comes out at all.
Which camelbak valve do you recommend? I’d like to try it out.
Would this one work?
I put the camelbak valve on my Shiv and it works much better. I actually put the insulated tube with tube director in replacement of the original Shiv tube also. It makes putting in the fuelselage much easier and i can stick the bite valve straight up through my aerobars so that I only have to lean my head down to drink. Now if I could just figure out why the Shiv bladder will not hold as much water as its supposed to. I am about to start a new thread on that.
“I actually put the insulated tube with tube director in replacement of the original Shiv tube also.”
Did it fit right onto the bladder with out any problems or adapters? I didn’t figure it would mate with the bladder since its a different size.
I have used the Shiv bite valve, a Camelback and the Shiv angled valve with no “bite”. The best option by far IMO is the Shiv angled valve. Water easily flows from the valve and doesn’t really leak at all. I’ve also tried the Camelback hose insulator and that was pretty lame. If it’s hot outside, the water in the bladder is baking inside the frame and the insulator becomes useless.
Before buying a Camleback valve, try the angled Shiv attachment and see what you think. There is a ST page and video of how Jordan Rapp has his set up and it is a pretty good setup. You can see it HERE
Thats the tube and insulator I used…I did not use that valve though…I switched the antidote valve(with the yellow flip valve) onto my old camelbak and used a regular straight bite valve on my shiv. There is no actual yellow valve on my shiv…I felt that was unnecessary. I slid the whole tube director and insulator through the guidance channel of the bladder…then muscled the hose onto the connector at the bottom of the bladder…then screwed it down. No problems since. Other than I have never been able to fully fill up the shiv bladder since I have had the Shiv. That is very dissapointing and I just started a new thread on that a few minutes ago. I was wondering about putting a large bladder into a small frame shiv.
I have used the Shiv bite valve, a Camelback and the Shiv angled valve with no “bite”. The best option by far IMO is the Shiv angled valve. Water easily flows from the valve and doesn’t really leak at all. I’ve also tried the Camelback hose insulator and that was pretty lame. If it’s hot outside, the water in the bladder is baking inside the frame and the insulator becomes useless.
Before buying a Camleback valve, try the angled Shiv attachment and see what you think. There is a ST page and video of how Jordan Rapp has his set up and it is a pretty good setup. You can see it HERE
Where do you get the angled Shiv attachment?
It was included in the Fuelselage kit when I purchased the bike. I bought mine last March. Maybe they no longer offer this option?
If it wasn’t included I would ask your dealer. It’s easily the best choice as there’s no flow restriction whatsoever.
I tried the angle valve but without a tip there wasnt anything to keep water up in the straw. I bought a camelback replacement bite valve for their standard water bottle and it slides right on the straight adapter. Much easier to use. There are also a lot of ideas in the Shiv thread but hard to find with 45 pages or more.
Do you mind posting a picture of your setup? I put the angled valve on this morning, haven’t tried it out yet. It does seem like the water could easily come out.
Here’s a few shots of the bike and cockpit. I am using a Camelback hose because I cut my original Specialized valve too short. A couple of notes:
First, I’ve tried to add another cage to my aerobars but it didn’t work out for me. I now use the Xlab on the back for long course training rides.Re-filling the fuelselage on the fly is easy. I can normally load a 24 oz bottle riding through the aid station and dump the hand-up by the time I hit the end of it. One thing I did do was to actually poke a hole in the fuelselage mount and then actually screwed the bladder into the frame. Now it won’t pull loose when you open the cap.I saw another post from someone that didn’t like the angle valve because the fluid would release back into the bladder. While this is true, I think the angle valve more than makes up for that issue because there is no flow restriction and you can draw the fluid much easier than through a bite valve.If you are racing any short course you don’t even need a cage on the frame, just use the fuelselage.I use water in the fuelselage and other nutrition in my bottles for long course races. I hope this helps!
http://i45.tinypic.com/4kfe43.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/2n8sn78.jpg
Thanks for the pictures. My hose is currently setup very similarly. I put the angled hose on during lunch today and will try it out soon. I do hate when you hit a bump, the hose falls off the magnet, and dangles underneath the areo. I guess there isn’t a cure for that. I might try another magnet halfway down the hose to see if that helps.
Which camelbak valve do you recommend? I’d like to try it out.
Would this one work?http://www.amazon.com/…=camelbak+bite+valve
That looks just like it, but I’m not sure if the dimensions are the same. Probably are. I bought a “camelback bite valve” at Sports Authority. Don’t remember it having a special name.