Dark Speed Works bento as flat kit?

Triathlon Forum
1

Does anyone here use the Dark Speed Works aero bento as a flat kit? If so, what are you able to fit inside w/o affecting the aero profile by overstuffing it?

I found the following particularly interesting in the Cervelo bottle placement article…

“One final nugget is that we found that a Bento Box behind the stem was a solution that had no drag penalty. However, this may depend on stem & spacer details and how many gels and bars you stuff into it.”

…and figured this would probably be an even better option that a (very small) saddle bag for carrying my flat kit in longer races.

I haven’t seen a DSW in person. But, from what I’ve gathered, they are a bit more rigid in shape than a typical mesh-top bento box. Correct?

Money well-spent? Is their website the only/best/cheapest place to buy? Do they offer a ST discount?

Thanks.

2

i don’t think my pit stop fits in it. so for a clincher kit, it’d work fine. there’s a hard(er) plastic form that’s in it, you could take it out but i don’t think it’d offer any more space.

3

Steve, I do.

Training - one tube, one tire lever, one patch kit, one mini pump and one mini tool.

Racing - one tube, one tire lever, one patch kit, two Co2 cartridges and one inflator head.

I could fit more if I needed but I do not need any more.

4

i run the dark speed bento as a clincher flat kit. here what fits:
2 tire levers2 16g CO2 cartridges 1 inflater head1 silca crackpipe (disc cover)1 mini tool
with the above items, the dark speed is pretty tight, but not deformed.

5

Yes,

Tube (rolled long)
2 levers,
inflater head (the kind that will work with my disk),
speed patches,
4/5 mm hex wrenches,
2 threaded cartridges
1 gu on top

Tight but not deformed, Love the quality of the pack too.

6

Steve, I do.

Training - one tube, one tire lever, one patch kit, one mini pump and one mini tool.

Racing - one tube, one tire lever, one patch kit, two Co2 cartridges and one inflator head.

I could fit more if I needed but I do not need any more.

You can fit a mini pump in yours? What pump (and does it actually work being that small)?

7

adding on: Can a hutchinson fast air with hose fit in it?

8

I have a vittoria pit stop and a co2 inflator in mine. And a twenty if those fail. It’s a very tight fit but it works.

9

yes i have
2 co2
2 tire lever
multi-tool
1 inner tube

gels

this is the exact reason i purchased it bc now i have nothing behind the saddle

also if u go to the original listing about the bento bike there is a bike of my kestrel and what i placed in the bento box fyi
.

10

this is the exact reason i purchased it bc now i have nothing behind the saddle

Which now according to Cervelo is actually where you want to put stuff…

11

only if you place stuff directly behind your behind.

12

That depends on what your other options are and how you place that “stuff” behind the saddle.

Which now according to Cervelo is actually where you want to put stuff…

13

So we should never see a thread about bottle placement again I hope. Bottle mounted on the aerobars horizontally and the Dark speed Works Bento for your other stuff and done. So glad that I will never see another thread about bottle placement.

14

Yep. Fit a spare tube, inflator, two cartidges, and two tire levers in mine.

15

So we should never see a thread about bottle placement again I hope. Bottle mounted on the aerobars horizontally and the Dark speed Works Bento for your other stuff and done. So glad that I will never see another thread about bottle placement.

Good luck with that.

Did you miss my questions regarding the pump?

16

http://ecom1.planetbike.com/planetbike/media/1033-34.jpgmini version
.

17

Hi Steve,

To answer your questions, yes, you can fit quite a few things into our Speedpacks. They have a good capacity (approx 480cc), but they’re not very tall (about 2.75"). However, our packs are long, longer than any other bento packs on the market. Since they do have a nice semi-rigid (but removable) internal stiffener, within reason, you can load up your Speedpack with quite a few things without harming its streamlined aero shape. We have some set up suggestions here about that. Money well-spent? Well, we hope so. We’ve put a lot of development time into our packs to get the mix of features and streamlined shape just right. Many of the athletes using our packs seem to agree with that. Right now, unless you are in the Chicago area, the best place to get a Speedpack is via our website. We are trying to get more dealers in other parts of the country, but we won’t have them on board until well into next year.

18

I put this in there:
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1035387_-1_1581502_1580500_400234

I also put some quick patches and a CO2 and CO2 nozzle.
I have a small, under seat bag that holds a tube and regular patches and a small multitool.

19

I keep tire levers(3), 2 Co2, 1 co2 head, small multitool. Tube is velcro’d behind the seat

20

I have tried to like the Speedpack, and it is MUCH better than any of the other bento options out there. But have come to the conclusion I really can’t have ANYTHING other than perhaps a gel flak on the top tube of my P3C. My knees tend to brush pretty much anything else. But that is just my anatomy.