I need a bike mounted hydration system other than my bottle cage for IM Wis. Not sure whether to go front mounted or rear, bottles of “tanks”. Opinions?
BW
Have tried all. Not convinced about anything yet, aside from I really like the Bontrager aero bottle on the seat tube.
I have a vision carbon mount for between my aero bars. I really like the bottle up there, but it keeps popping out on bumpy roads.
I need to look at it again to see what i can do differently, but may have to resort to a normal cage rigged between aero bars.
Having a bottle in front like that is nice. I think the Profile aerodrink is miserable. Might be great for a race, or if you have pristine roads, but on shitty chicago roads it was a noisy splashy disaster. i also just bought an xlab rear mount carbon wing, haven’t used it yet. but i like the idea of it, cuz it gives me 2 bottles back there plus storage room for c02’s etc…now i wont have to tape all my crap under the seat. if you go through the forum you’ll see many recommendations on what cages to buy for the rear mount to help avoid bottle-rockets.
oh, and clearly this adds up to about 10 gallons of hydration on my bike. i dont use it all at once.
i usually go with a normal bottle b/t aero & the aero bottle on seat tube. plenty for an olympic…probably even too much.
not sure yet how to work in the rear wing, or what it’ll replace.
I have an xlab superwing off the rear along with a profile aerodrink up front. I raced my HIM that way and liked the setup. It seemed to work pretty well. I practiced a bit before the race grabbing bottles and refilling my aerodrink on the go. I also like the wing for long training rides.
The aerodrink definitely has it’s pains with splashing and stuff but to me there’s no question I drink more when I have it right there under my mouth when in aero. I also measured out my nutrition in “number of aerodrinks” to help make sure I was taking the fluids I needed.
Any opinions on the Revolution or the Neverreach?
in my opinion the never reach is the most ridiculous looking spaceship i have ever seen
unless you are planning on peeing on your bike all the time, or riding 200 miles, i dont see how a never reach is needed.
i cant even imagine how a bike handles with all the behind your saddle/
there have been a decent amount of reviews on here for the speedfil. conflicting reviews mind you, but research worthy in any event.
I have used the Speedfil in 3 races so far. Two half irons and a full Ironman.
I really do like it. I like that it does not splash. I like that it keeps the water (and hence your bike’s center of gravity) low and near the center of the bike like regular bottle cages, instead of on front or the back. Much like water bottles, only (for me) more convenient. Some people I know prefer water bottles but I find that I drink more and more often when I have a tube right there so that’s why I went with the speedfil.
There were two things about it that I should caution you on.
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You really want to have one bottle cage somewhere on your bike in addition to the speedfil. That way, when you go through an aid station, you can just stow the bottle and then re-fill the speedfil at your leisure. Or you can stow one bottle and refill as much as you can from a second bottle before you get out of range of the station. My frame is not big enough to have the speedfil and a bottle cage. I didn’t want a rear cage and my experiments with a front cage were a disaster. So I had no extra cage. As a result, I had to grab the first bottle I could get at the aid station, refill and throw it away before I got out of range, so as to avoid a littering penalty. I was able to do this no problem every time except once (more on that below)
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The only inconvenient part about it for me was that when I refill it while moving, I had to learn to put my finger under the little bottle nipple to keep it from closing. Again, as I mentioned, I didn’t have a bottle cage so I had to refill it before I got out of range of the aid station. One time during my ironman I kept screwing this up. So I had to stop and fill it and then go again. Once I remembered to keep my finger in there to keep the thing from closing it was OK. But an extra bottle cage would have been better.
Overall I really like the Speedfil and plan to keep using it.
Thanks!! And you said, no spillage, not even on you frame?
Well I won’t say absolutely no spillage, but very little, only when completely full. Compared to the Profile Design bottle, it’s much better.
Well I won’t say absolutely no spillage, but very little, only when completely full. Compared to the Profile Design bottle, it’s much better.
Thank you so much!! Just got it for $76 on Nytro. Expensive, but needed.
I’d be curious to know if anyone has run the Speedfil WITH a Profile Aerobottle upfront. I know Brent McMahon has done that for 70.3 races with apparent success. I’d assume he does nutrition in the Speedfil and water in the Aerobottle… The Speedfil would probably be better aerodynamically than rear bottles, especially since you can drink in the aero position.
i can drink in the aero position with a normal bottle too.
sans one arm anyway
especially since you can drink in the aero position.
I can do that too, it’s just that it’s more work to do, and I have to take one arm off, neither of which I like.
I had a good ironman and half using the speedfil and a big part of that was the fact that I drank a ton. A big part of that was that it was so easy, safe, and simply convenient to drink. Plus having the tube right there in front of me was a good reminder. It’s easy to forget, I find.
So no NeverReach? The concept is interesting…
Back in the late 80’s early 90’s I had something like the NeverReach but it was a neoprene zippered bag with a rubber bladder in it…tube just like the NeverReach…you filled it up with like a giant syringe. The bag hung under your seat.
I know, plenty of looks by people and questions on why there was a “sack” under my seat. Heck, I was 13 and thought it was hilarious. The tube would go up to your aeros, just like NeverReach.
Other than it being impossible to refill on the go (unzip, refill, rezip), it was a good idea. Smaller than the 64oz NeverReach. The NeverReach should stop at 40oz or maybe 50…64 is WAAAY too big unless you’re riding RAAM.
Any opinions on the Revolution or the Neverreach?
I have one and I love the idea of the Neverreach although I don’t really race. Aerodynamic and it can hold as much or as little as you need for any given ride (within reason). There are some things I would change about it but that is pretty much the case with anything I touch, I can think of ways to improve it.
Do you know if the speedfill would be okay on the seat tube instead of the down tube? My bike doesn’t have the down tube screws, but I like the concept of the speed fill and the capacity. Anyone use it on the seat tube?
Do you know if the speedfill would be okay on the seat tube instead of the down tube? My bike doesn’t have the down tube screws, but I like the concept of the speed fill and the capacity. Anyone use it on the seat tube?
The bracket they give you will only work on the down tube. It clamps on to the bottle that way. Perhaps they make one for the seat tube. You’d have to contact them to find out
does it attach to the bottle cage holes or to the frame? I have the holes on the seat tube, not the down tube that’s why I ask, if it fits the holes on the down tube I just assumed it would fit on the seat tube. Thanks!!
For me, I have gone simple and easy.
I have one bottle cage on the down tube and two behind the seat on a Profile Design thingy that only holds two bottle cages (no CO2s, no tubes, no nothing). I use two Trek Bat Cages on it rather than the Profile ejectors it comes with.
I’ve found this nice and simple. I start with three bottles. After bottle one is empty, it gets tossed at an aid station. I can then rotate my nutrition with anything picked up on the course with ease. Everything fits and I don’t have to pour anything at anytime other than into my mouth.
don’t you have to come out of aero to refill it?
I can do that too, it’s just that it’s more work to do, and I have to take one arm off, neither of which I like.
I had a good ironman and half using the speedfil and a big part of that was the fact that I drank a ton. A big part of that was that it was so easy, safe, and simply convenient to drink. Plus having the tube right there in front of me was a good reminder. It’s easy to forget, I find.
don’t you have to come out of aero to refill it?
I can do that too, it’s just that it’s more work to do, and I have to take one arm off, neither of which I like.
I had a good ironman and half using the speedfil and a big part of that was the fact that I drank a ton. A big part of that was that it was so easy, safe, and simply convenient to drink. Plus having the tube right there in front of me was a good reminder. It’s easy to forget, I find.
Well technically no. No more than I would have to come out of aero to drink with a bottle. I can stay bent over and fill it up.
In practice, however I definitely do come out of aero. I want a hand on the brake when I’m refilling, not on the aero bar.
But that’s only at aid stations, not everytime I need to drink