I have a newer Cervelo P2 and I am close to completing the bike to be race ready for my main distance IM( I have an adamo ISM race sattle). I have the Torhan Aero 30 for the front hydration bottle now I am looking for:
Bento box options:
I see the: Darkspeed works Speedpack 480 (pros: looks cool/aero; cons: $34, not sure how much it holds)
Xlab Rocket Pocket(pros: only $20/looks aero, cons: kinda dorky looking)
Rear Hydration Setup:
I see the: Xlab mini wing kit (Pros: can store 1 bottle which with Cervelo’s testing was most aero/can hold my flat kit (I have clinchers/inexpensive)
Just a single cage zip tied to back of saddle
Bento box options:
I see the: Darkspeed works Speedpack 480 (pros: looks cool/aero; cons: $34, not sure how much it holds)
Xlab Rocket Pocket(pros: only $20/looks aero, cons: kinda dorky looking)
I will let others chime in on the rear hydration. About the Speedpack, to help you decide, you could try this: order a US-made Speedpack from us and a made-in-Asia xlab bento from wherever those are sold. Put them side by side and examine them closely. Compare how much they will hold and what kind of items they will hold (our Speedpack is one of the longest bentos available). Compare their sophistication (or lack thereof) of their shapes. Compare how securely they fit on your P2. Then pick the one you like best and return the loser. We’re pretty confident that all of these athletes are on to something.
Forget the rear hydration. You’ve got the downtube and front hydration, you don’t need to camelize the bike. There’s plenty of support on the course.
John
John-
Thanks for the input. I thought the most aero hydration set up was a torpedo bottle in front (I know I am using a aero bottle) and 1 bottle behind the seat? (Cervelo wind tunnel testing)
If you went 1 bottle behind the seat instead of the downtube, Chris Lieto style, that would be faster. That can be tricky, so it is up to you, grams of drag vs convenience.
You can also just go with a torpedo up front and thats it! Even simpler. That can be risky on crowded races though, if you miss a handup.
Thanks for the input. I thought the most aero hydration set up was a torpedo bottle in front (I know I am using a aero bottle) and 1 bottle behind the seat? (Cervelo wind tunnel testing)
Bento box options:
I see the: Darkspeed works Speedpack 480 (pros: looks cool/aero; cons: $34, not sure how much it holds)
Xlab Rocket Pocket(pros: only $20/looks aero, cons: kinda dorky looking)
I will let others chime in on the rear hydration. About the Speedpack, to help you decide, you could try this: order a US-made Speedpack from us and a made-in-Asia xlab bento from wherever those are sold. Put them side by side and examine them closely. Compare how much they will hold and what kind of items they will hold (our Speedpack is one of the longest bentos available). Compare their sophistication (or lack thereof) of their shapes. Compare how securely they fit on your P2. Then pick the one you like best and return the loser. We’re pretty confident that all of these athletes are on to something.
Darkspeed- Thanks for chiming in! I knew you would be around; I do have 1 question for you. You say that the Speedpack is one of the longest; now I saw a thread where people said that the Speedpack was too long and it rubbed their legs when peddling? Have you received this feedback often? Thanks
Thanks for chiming in! I knew you would be around; I do have 1 question for you. You say that the Speedpack is one of the longest; now I saw a thread where people said that the Speedpack was too long and it rubbed their legs when peddling? Have you received this feedback often? Thanks.
No, we have not received this feedback often, but a few people have mentioned that they had a little rubbing with one leg or the other. This is only an issue if you pedal with your legs super close to the top tube, so that, even with no Speedpack, your knees typically brush the top tube. But if you pedal with your knees not brushing the top tube, you’ll be OK. To minimize this becoming an issue, you need to trim the velcro straps as we suggest here (the straps are cut long to accommodate a wide range of bikes). You can also bend the removable insert so the walls of the insert are more vertical. Also, fill the Speedpack but don’t stuff it to the gills. But, in the end, test out the fit on your bike and if it doesn’t work for you, within 30 days or receipt, we accept returns of Speedpacks (in new condition) for any reason or for no reason. We trust your judgment, you know what will work best for you.
Cage torpedo-style between bars – long-course, I use this at bottle exchanges. Short-course & training, this is where my primary hydration bottle is.
Cage on downtube – long-course, this is my fuel bottle. Short-course, I leave this cage empty or remove it. Training, this is where a second hydration bottle goes. I’ve gone back & forth about this cage being a regular one or using an aero bottle on my downtube – I use a regular cage/bottle simply for flexibility’s sake.
Cage Lieto-style zip-tied tight up behind saddle – this bottle contains my spare kit all the time. I use a bottle to keep things easy - I have no patience for taping an ad-hoc kit up back there for races, and a bottle works better than a seat bag because I can get a can of PittStop or a pocket pump in there. Bottle makes it easy to swap around and use kit contents.
When I race on my tubulars, my spare tubie (Tufo S3 lite) is strapped low & tight to the top of my stem, right behind my torpedo cage.
No bento box for me. If I feel like I need a gel flask that day for some reason, that goes in my jersey pocket. Phone, cash, and ID go in jersey pocket during training rides.
Interesting points by some others on here. To address the Rocket Pocket question. We recommend checking it out and seeing for yourself. The bag is narrower and has a low skin friction material so it won’t rub your legs. We designed the bag with a 72 degree front to fit tight against the stem. The Rocket Pocket is insulated, washable and has a grey interior so you can see your items better. It also has a mesh interior pocket to keep your smaller items secure. The interior of the bag is fabric so there is no noisy rattling. It comes with an easy glide zipper with a non slip rubber pull. It is offered in two sizes and comes in red or black. Pete Jacobs used it in Kona, as well as other elite pros and age groupers.
Standard bottle on the downtube, ~30-40 grams of drag. Standard bottle on the seat tube, 50-120 grams of drag. Aero bottle on seat or downtube, -10-30 grams of drag.
This is all very dependent on bike and of course yaw angles. The high yaw angles produced the 120 grams of drag on the seat tube of a ‘super bike.’ It would probably not be as exaggerated on a standard round tube bike.
If you can keep the frame as clean as possible, TorHans up front, Dark Speed Works for your nutrition, and an aero bottle for nutrition, or special hydration, I am beyond confident that will save you 5+ watts. This is how Andi Boecherer raced Kona. 22oz up front and our 20oz frame bottle, nothing else.
Forget the rear hydration. You’ve got the downtube and front hydration, you don’t need to camelize the bike. There’s plenty of support on the course.
John
John-
Thanks for the input. I thought the most aero hydration set up was a torpedo bottle in front (I know I am using a aero bottle) and 1 bottle behind the seat? (Cervelo wind tunnel testing)
Are you at the pointy end of the stick where that 3-4 minutes (if that) will matter?
I used the rear hydration for a bit, and I mostly found it to be a pain to grab and replace, and have to worry about launches, etc. Much more convenient to reach down.
Standard bottle on the downtube, ~30-40 grams of drag. Standard bottle on the seat tube, 50-120 grams of drag. Aero bottle on seat or downtube, -10-30 grams of drag.
This is all very dependent on bike and of course yaw angles. The high yaw angles produced the 120 grams of drag on the seat tube of a ‘super bike.’ It would probably not be as exaggerated on a standard round tube bike.
If you can keep the frame as clean as possible, TorHans up front, Dark Speed Works for your nutrition, and an aero bottle for nutrition, or special hydration, I am beyond confident that will save you 5+ watts. This is how Andi Boecherer raced Kona. 22oz up front and our 20oz frame bottle, nothing else.
Thanks Ted. I think I will go with the 30oz TorHans up front 1 bottle behind the saddle ziptied…(hope I can make that work) then either the Dark Speed Nutrition or a gel flask bottle in jersey. Probably the Dark Speed nutrition because I like to eat 2 bars during an IM.
Forget the rear hydration. You’ve got the downtube and front hydration, you don’t need to camelize the bike. There’s plenty of support on the course.
John
John-
Thanks for the input. I thought the most aero hydration set up was a torpedo bottle in front (I know I am using a aero bottle) and 1 bottle behind the seat? (Cervelo wind tunnel testing)
Are you at the pointy end of the stick where that 3-4 minutes (if that) will matter?
I used the rear hydration for a bit, and I mostly found it to be a pain to grab and replace, and have to worry about launches, etc. Much more convenient to reach down.
John
John on my old bike I had 2 rear hydration set ups so 1 wont be an issue for me to grab/race with.
Standard bottle on the downtube, ~30-40 grams of drag. Standard bottle on the seat tube, 50-120 grams of drag. Aero bottle on seat or downtube, -10-30 grams of drag.
This is all very dependent on bike and of course yaw angles. The high yaw angles produced the 120 grams of drag on the seat tube of a ‘super bike.’ It would probably not be as exaggerated on a standard round tube bike.
If you can keep the frame as clean as possible, TorHans up front, Dark Speed Works for your nutrition, and an aero bottle for nutrition, or special hydration, I am beyond confident that will save you 5+ watts. This is how Andi Boecherer raced Kona. 22oz up front and our 20oz frame bottle, nothing else.
Thanks Ted. I think I will go with the 30oz TorHans up front 1 bottle behind the saddle ziptied…(hope I can make that work) then either the Dark Speed Nutrition or a gel flask bottle in jersey. Probably the Dark Speed nutrition because I like to eat 2 bars during an IM.
Hey Daman, no problem. In Kona the Blue guys rigged up Dirk’s bike with a bottle behind the saddle. They put grip tape around the diameter of the cage to make sure it did not eject. I thought that was a great and simple solution.
So when you add in the spare tubular into the equation and assume a bottle between the bars and a second on the down tube where is the best spot to put it, on the stem like Chris advises or is there a better place? Assuming no rear hydration option, taped under the seat? In a bottle on the seat tube?
So when you add in the spare tubular into the equation and assume a bottle between the bars and a second on the down tube where is the best spot to put it, on the stem like Chris advises or is there a better place? Assuming no rear hydration option, taped under the seat? In a bottle on the seat tube?
Thx mike
The darn spare tubie is always the fly in the ointment… Lots of options for where to put it, none very ideal. A spare tubie that rolls up tight is a good starting point - Tufo S3 Lites are a popular choice as a spare for this reason. If you don’t have anything already attached to or under your seat, wrapping/taping it up under there is probably your best bet. Search old threads here for some good ideas and pictures.
At my last IM, I used a tubular bag like this, and though it worked well and it was nice to put ALL of my spare-kit stuff in one bag, I was determined to find a slightly less bulky solution.
My setup as descibed above is what I started using late this past season, and so far so good. Admittedly, it’s forever a work in progress…
FWIW, I have been using the Rocket Pocket for the last year. It’s awesome! Holds a ton of stuff. (I typically fill with 4 pkg of Powerbar blasts) The side pocket inside is perfect for keeping your salt tablets separate so they are easy to find. Also, the zipper is super-easy to work with one hand while racing at high speeds.
Thx Chris. I have used a similar bag from x-lab and it works fine. It does hold spare plus pit stop and a couple of air cartridges and other stuff. It just seems so big and ruins the look of the bike I think. Probably not a big aero drag but I keep hoping to find something more elegant or less in your face. Even something a little smaller would be better, something between the two x-lab bags sizes.