Thoughts on the Neverreach drink system for my new P3c? Or, should I stick with the old standby Profile aero bottle system?
You go out and get a brand new P3C, and you want to fugly it up with a bolt-on hornet’s ass?
Tibbs is crying right now…
I know…I agree completely! That’s my dilemma…feel my pain? 
Thoughts on the Neverreach drink system for my new P3c? Or, should I stick with the old standby Profile aero bottle system?
The real advantage of the NR as I see it is one is never again restricted to the drink provided on course. The NR holds enough for a 1/2 IM and you could put a refill of whatever you wanted in your special needs bag although a short stop would be required for refill (this is more than made up for the need to never slow down to take a drink at an aid station). You can race how you train. What a novel idea. The aerodynamic benefits (shape, location, and never needing to come out of the aero position to take a drink) are icing on the cake.
I wish they had multiple sizes. One smaller than that might be less offensive to the eye. I think they’d sell more…
“…Tibbs is crying right now…”
How would you ever know? He whines or looks for other’s approval incessantly.
I have one I would be willing to sell for cheapo. I never really liked it for my p2K. It just seemed like I was dragging around a lot of weight I didn’t need to.
Mark
Is there any preference for the Jetstream over the Profile or viceversa?
You beat me to it! I also have one that I would be willing to sell cheap. It works great, but the fugly factor finally got to me. There’s just something terribly wrong with a P3 with Renn disk, trispoke… and the NR.
i like mine. i use it when it is called for.
short/long course events and 30m or under rides call for the Jetstream i’ve had for 8 or 9 years or whatever.
longer stuff i bolt on the NR. there have been a few times where i’ve used both.
so who cares what it looks like? i don’t carry a mirror. the NR carries lotsa oz, and works mighty nice. what more do you really need? i’ve never had a balance or weight distribution issue at all. compared to running a bottle bazooka…well for me there is no comparison. i’d rather have someone point and say, “…hey that looks funny…”, to the fading agonizing sounds of someone who just went down after I just launched a bottle.
I agree.
People spend a small fortune buying the super light bikes then slap an anchor like this on it. The idea is great in theory, but in practice it just does not seem to make much sense. The acid tests for me with these sorts of things are always - Is the guy winning the race using one? Are the top professionals using them? The answer in this case and in most instances, is No and No. Race day is the one day that the best and smartest athletes want their bike at it’s absolute lightest - train heavy race light! That’s the reason you will see most of the pros with only 2 bottles on the bike to start and then down to one out on the course. Most good races have suffcient aid stations that you do not need to leave T1 looking like you are heading out for a week long bike tour!
At IM Florida last year I wondered around the transition zone after the swim start( had an hour to kill), I lost count of the number of 17 pound rockets that were loaded down like chuck-wagons! Some bikes I could barely even pick up!! Strange, because the first-aid station was less than 10 miles down the road.
Fleck
Have it. Love it. I discovered in training that I drink far more frequently and it just works more effectively. I stay areo longer, can’t drop a bottle, and the aero benefit is just icing on the cake. Form follows function and this unit functions
What about this study by John Cobb in 2003 showing that a bottle on the downtube and the Profile aero bottle is best? http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/waterbottles.html
Some time back, one of the triathlon magazines reported an analysis that was done on the various drink systems and their effect from an aero standpoint. They looked at bottles on cages, rear bottle holders, front drink systems, and the never reach. The final analysis was various amounts of lost time with the addition of the other drink systems (the worst being the rear bottle holders) on the bike.
However, the neverreach system actually made the bike more aero.
LOL. Amen to this. I’ve done the same thing in transition-checking out bikes. Some guy has $5000 worth of bike sitting there with Bento Box, computer, water bottle holders full, Profile bottle up front, Power Bars stuck on the top tube, etc. Pick the thing up and you might as well be driving a beach bike.
No thanks. I’m taking one water bottle on LP and will grab something at each aid station.
-Robert
good points…
LOL. Amen to this. I’ve done the same thing in transition-checking out bikes. Some guy has $5000 worth of bike sitting there with Bento Box, computer, water bottle holders full, Profile bottle up front, Power Bars stuck on the top tube, etc. Pick the thing up and you might as well be driving a beach bike.
No thanks. I’m taking one water bottle on LP and will grab something at each aid station.
-Robert
You are saying this as if the weight of the bike actually makes a difference regarding speed. Saving a full two pounds on a bike rider combination of 200 lbs could only make a maximum difference of 1%, and then if the hill were straight up (something that never occurs under race conditions I believe). On the flat, the weight of the bike has almost no effect on speed and on the downhills, a heavier bike will actually go faster.
What makes the bike go fast is the engine. All of those things mentioned mounted to the bike are there to help the engine perform well. Some of you folks who pretend you are “racing” but worry about a few (or many) grams or what the bike looks like when in an IM race slay me.
Frank
I appreciate your insight, Frank.
i had one and used it for one race. the thing weighs a ton, even when it’s empty and also created a lot of sticky spillage over the rear of my bike. it’s also hard to see how much you have consumed which is very important in an IM.
for 1/2 and full i am now a 1 seat bube and 1 aero bottle man refilling at aid stations and special needs… a much better way to manage both weight and intake.