I’m trying to choose my hidration system but I’m stuck right now on what to pick up.
I really love the FC design, but I read some pretty bad comments about it the leaks and the adjusts.
Xlab Versa 200, does have some pretty good reviews, but the design is kinda… ok.
I wanted to have a second opinion right here in the forums.
If I choose the FC, can I assembly it, in a lower form, not it above my aerobars, but it kinda below them.
I say this because I like to ride with the “frodo hands” mode, with the aero extensions more closer, and I’m thinking that the FC is bigger than the angle that my extension makes.
Just got the fc35 and love it. However i didn’t have “expectations” or specific needs. I hated their previous version and used it twice many years ago.
With that said, the mounting depends on the width spread of your aerobars. It’s possible to mount it somewhat under the aerobars but not by much. I can send you close up pics of need be or try to post them here.
I would go PD FC25/35 or Vision. Anything with anti-splash rubber fill port instead of a lid you have to open that let’s water splash out while you’re filling it. Also nice to fold down the straw instead of letting it hit the wind. I use the FC and love it. An upside compared to Vision is the food storage behind the bottle. It holds 4 gels and that’s a tie-breaker for me because with that and top-tube storage I can skip special needs without packing my pockets
as bike fitter and coach I recommend the FC35 quite frequently. From a fit perspective, there are aerodynamic benefits of a properly mounted FC35, and from a coaching and long course triathlon perspective there’s tons of benefit to having 35 ounces up front vs. only 20 or 24.
To me, the combined benefit more than overcomes any issues with splashing or mess.
Sure thing, sending some pics how you manage to assembly it, I’ll try to post some pics from my integrated basebar.
I’m thinking to assembly it below and not above, to be more stealth, not that kind of huge thing being in the front of you.
This should help you with mount visualization on the FC35/25. It’s basically the center piece which includes hydration bottle, along with “wings” on the left and right side. You can orient the wings down, but it might not go as down as you’d like?
My P3 aerobars are close enough together that those wings on the FC35 made it stick up a LOT. I couldn’t under-mount it, because the bottle would not fit between the bars that way. One day a light bulb went off, and I measured the bracket width and my aerobar width, and realized I could zip-tie the bracket directly to my bars. After you take the screw out of each side, that holds those wings, you have a nice channel for small zip-ties to go through. I used two on each side (going opposite directions around the bars). My Garmin now sits about 1.5cm lower, and almost all the bounce and noise are gone.
a lot of people don’t know this, heck a lot of dealers don’t know this, but the FC35 comes with bracket extenders in the package. Many shops have dozens of extras lying around if they sell a lot of them.
These can be used to mount the FC35 upside down (which is the correct way to mount it) on most any bike, the P5-6 being a notable exception.
My P3 aerobars are close enough together that those wings on the FC35 made it stick up a LOT. I couldn’t under-mount it, because the bottle would not fit between the bars that way. One day a light bulb went off, and I measured the bracket width and my aerobar width, and realized I could zip-tie the bracket directly to my bars. After you take the screw out of each side, that holds those wings, you have a nice channel for small zip-ties to go through. I used two on each side (going opposite directions around the bars). My Garmin now sits about 1.5cm lower, and almost all the bounce and noise are gone.
For the poster who posted pictures, that is actually probably an aero penalty versus the aero gain.
Profile Design actually switched the mount from the one that can be mounted upside down to the new one. That being said, you can still mount the bracket/mount from the underside of the bars (versus on top), this does require one to sand down some of the plastic parts (NOT the bottle).
I’ve been happy with my Versa 200. It definitely doesn’t feel like a super high quality product, but I also haven’t had any issues with mine. I only have it on the bike for races and a few training rides leading up to races though, so it doesn’t see a ton of use. It is nice that you can mount a standard bottle in it if you needed to.
Did PD update the FC35? When I looked at it on Amazon, it got bad reviews. Many racers complained of fluid splashing out. Has this been fixed or is it a situation of operator error?
Did PD update the FC35? When I looked at it on Amazon, it got bad reviews. Many racers complained of fluid splashing out. Has this been fixed or is it a situation of operator error?
Never had that issue and I don’t see how it’s possible with the way it’s designed
I’ve had mine since it came out, I’ve never had a problem with the splashing. If the rider overfills it, there will be splash. There is a simple solution DON’T OVERFILL THE BOTTLE.
I’m bumping this thread again - would you mind sending images on how you put the zip ties in place to achieve this please? Thanks
Cross-referencing for others in the future, as the PD FC-25/35 still seem to be a popular option. Here’s an ST thread I found with a very nice pic of the zip-tie approach (see dehavilland’s first post) - pic included here in my post too. I believe it’s with the PD Subsonic Race 35a, which I also have, and the sleeve that holds the extensions is larger than 22.2mm so the stock brackets don’t fit that part of the 35a.
