I don’t know what to use. Bought a flat wing but the thing looks awful and heavy. Minoura seems like a good option but where to store inner tubes and co2 is the question?
Any insights would be appreciated
i use a saddle wing, much slimmer than the flat wing and keeps the bottles lower. haven’t used the minoura but have read comments in the past that it is not very sturdy? go with the saddle wing as it is smaller and lighter and covers all of the other storage issues. i have mine on a fizik arione, the inside 2 bolts are a little tough to get at but not that bad.
when you say saddle wing you are refering to xlab’s?
That’s what I’d recommend.
The flatwing is a poor design. The xlab Saddlewing is a much better product. (Plus, it comes in multiple colors to match your bike.)
correct.
For my half IM this weekend, I’m using a single water bottle (containing about 900 kCal) on the seat tube, and a Jetstream in front (water only, to be replenished twice on the course). I have a smallish saddle bag (which barely attaches with the saddle rammed forward!) in which I will have a spare tube, tire lever, a couple of CO2 cartridges, and anything else that might fit and be useful.
Completely concur with the Saddlewing vs.the flatwing…I tried one of those for a while and it was a piece of crap…put the saddlewing on and its been rock solid.
Spot
I’m perfectly happy with my flatwing. Weighs less than the saddlewing and has a nut that you can attach co2 cartridges to. Plus it has multiple mounting holes so you can adjust the angle it sits at.
having a blonde moment today, i have the flatwing and agree with PeterP, it is lighter and the bottles sit lower out of the air coming off your back. i have had it for about 2 years and have no issues with it all. sorry for the inital confusion.
I have the Minuora. Spare tube/tubie + CO2 etc fits very nicely either in a small bag (Jandd - what I do for training) or taped (what I do for races) to the horizontal rails of the Minoura sort of under/behind the saddle and in front of the bottles. Hope this makes sense…it works very very well.
Oh, and mine is very sturdy…I’ve had the same one for 5 years with no problems.
Good Luck,
which bag is this?
thx
This one:
Did the picture work? If not, see http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/maint/flatkit-lg.jpg
the flat wing works fine. It weighs less than the saddlewing if that sort of thing matters to you. it holds the bottle low and is solid if you install it correctly. you can get cages where the mounting bosses are separate from the cage so you can slide the cages down even farther. you can also strap a small bag like the jandd bag vertically in back of the cages. get wire cages so you can keep them snug on the bottles.
i’ve tried both the saddlewing and flatwing. I didn’t like the saddlewing just because I could fell it on my ass the whole time I was riding. I got annoyed with the flatwing because it launched water bottles and the xstrap lost a couple of tubes on a rainy day.
Now I just stick my spare and repair stuff in a bento box or in my jersey pocket.
how many ounces does your water bottle hold? seems like the thing would be half filled with powder before you added any water if it’s a 20-24 ounce bottle. I was thinking of doing that for the eagleman this weekend, that way I could carry all (or most) of my calories in 1 water bottle, and pick up some regular H2O along the way.
how many ounces does your water bottle hold? seems like the thing would be half filled with powder before you added any water if it’s a 20-24 ounce bottle. I was thinking of doing that for the eagleman this weekend, that way I could carry all (or most) of my calories in 1 water bottle, and pick up some regular H2O along the way.
It’s a Polar, so it holds about 20-22 oz. I put some water in it, then add some powder, shake vigorously, repeat. As they say, don’t try something new the day of the race. I did two 56 mile rides with this, so I know that my digestive system can deal with it (although I didn’t try it at race pace), and I know the dosage frequency (every 15-20 minutes) works, too.
good to know I can fit it all in 1 bottle. I probably won’t do it this weekend…but I’ll certainly try it out in the future.
Generally I’ve been using 1 bottle for 2-2 1/2 hour rides…but I’m usually a little more light than I probably should be at the end of it. I don’t think I could get away with it if I had to follow it up with a long run.
It was probably operator error, but I had serious issues with my flatwing and trying to get keep the water bottle holders tightened onto it (I think…its been awhile). Plus it was a lot more painful trying to mount on the seat. I do agree, though, that it was superior to the saddlewing in terms of having the bottles lower…that I’m not too thrilled with.
Spot
The velcro xstraps are a waste of $, and there’s no good place to mount them. Just tape your tubes atop the horizontal section with some electrical tape.