First off, what are you guys using for behind the seat bottle holders?
Second, i’ve never had a bike with carbon fibre fork and the P2K/P3 forks are pretty slim, i’ve got a fork mount roof rack and i’m a little nervous to throw the new bike up there. Somebody ease my fears and tell me that you put your P2K/P3 up there and go 4 wheeling in the mountains and have never had a problem. Or just tell me that i’m an idiot and the fork is designed to handle a lot more load than a fork mount and that i should just throw the bike up there and stop being a puss.
The fork is exposed to far more stress when you are riding it than when it is sitting on your roof. That is not to say that having it exposed to rocks and rain (headset bearings, etc.) at 60+mph is a good thing. I wouldn’t do it with my P2K.
I use a Minoura holder mounted on an Azoto saddle. Easy to install, and no problems with launched bottles so far.
I have a P2K, but I just throw it inside my SUV, so can’t quite help you with the second question. Personally, I wouldn’t want to put a sweet bike like the P2K/P3 on the roof.
The fork is exposed to far more stress when you are riding it than when it is sitting on your roof -
you sure about that? riding a bike at 25mph with a tire that absorbs things and so on is kind of different from having the fork locked in a position where it can’t move and is subjected to 60mph winds… no way I’d ever consider putting a bike on a roof rack (or a rack in general, would be too afraid of being rear-ended), bike always goes inside for me!
I use an X-Lab - but after St. Anthony’s 2002 (where I lost my water bottles on the cobbles) I switched to using the wrap-around bottle holders and the Nike bottles with the soft, grippy plastic sides.
I have never had a problem. Races all over Indiana, Michigan and Illinois and still rides the same. Just remember it is up there before you try and hit a drive thru for some post race gluttony.
I’ve had launches with Minoura, pinched them holders so tight I have to fight to get the bottles back in (dangerous and slows me down), and had to add a little bungee cord for security–cumbersome. ALso, my experience with Nike bottles is that they are hard drawing–you have to work for a drink. My 2cents.
It’s a bike, not a kitten. I say unless it’s pouring down rain it’ll be fine on the roof with one of those lycra covers to keep the bugs and rocks off. My first choice is also to put it in the car, but when we’re travelling to a race with the wife and two kids the bike’s on the roof out of necessity. Never had a problem with that. I did have to pull the bottom bracket and headset after Wildflower last year to drain all the water out of the frame, but no permanent damage from that.