AeroGeeks has a picture of one, but not a very good one. Anyone have more information on this new set up? I was able to find a link to a German write-up showing different variations of it as far as volume, however they drawings and not actual pictures of it and my German is a little rusty as far as reading the information.
Thanks. Much better pics.
It looks pretty cool. The FC35 is similar but has more volume.
I wish the garmin mount was more integrated into the bottle. It seems unnecessarily “out in the air”. Why not put it at least closer to the bottle?
Damn! Won’t work on the new Speed Concept.
I don’t suppose anyone has tested one of these yet have they?
Anybody heard when these might start selling?
I’ve been checking for these going on sale weekly since I saw this post and I’ve finally just placed my order - Amazon have them listed now, as well as a few independent shops - I rang one to make sure they actually have the stock and they do. It should arrive for me in the next few days and assuming I can get a test ride in I’ll be racing it in a local sprint on April 6th. Will post pics/initial feedback when I have it.
The word from the good folks at Profile Design is that the dealers that preordered them are getting theirs, and now dealers will be able to start ordering more as soon as tomorrow.
I now have this product fitted to my bike, and raced a sprint tri with it on Monday. Here’s my 2 cents for anyone else considering it:
Pros:
I’m a fan of the aerodrink bracket - the whole unit feels more secured to the bike than the zip tie solution I was previously using.The straw seemed well positioned to drink from when down on the bars compared to a speedfil I used before which was never at quite the right angle.The clip for the straw is easy to release fromThe rear storage doesn’t get in the way, and is a nice touchSomeone in this thread commented that the computer mount was ‘on its own out the front’, but in practice I like this positioning - it’s easy to keep an eye on whilst also looking ahead at the road and when viewing the bike front on it doesn’t appear to add much frontal area to the wind compared to any other solution where a computer is mounted above a bottle.I’ve not used the refill mechanism in a race situation but tried it whilst on the turbo and think it works really well - I’ve experienced no splashback when riding over bumpy terrain.
Cons:
Whilst racing with it my Garmin almost fell off at a couple of points (the course included some speed bumps). This is because the Garmin is strapped to the bar at the front as opposed to actually mounted to the unit. It didn’t feel particularly secure at any point and was rattling all over the place.Whilst exiting T1 and running with my bike the gel I kept in the storage container went flying - thinking about it, this could have potentially caused me to DQ because of littering. The rear cage is a nice touch, but there’s no lid to it, only some rubber band straps that sit across the top. I certainly wouldn’t store anything valuable or vital to your race in there.The storage container also isn’t very big - I can fit 2 gels in it.Whilst on the storage container - I’ve noticed that when on the turbo my sweat has a tendency to pool in it. It does have a small drainage hole but this doesn’t stop it entirely, and also just means you get a concentrated stream of sweat pouring over your frame.Getting the straw back in the clip whilst riding is a bit of a fiddle so I didn’t bother putting it back in once the race was underway - not a huge problem for me as I drink regularly anyway.The straw rose up out of the bottle about half an inch whilst I was racing causing me to think the container was empty, turns out I had about a third of my fluid left when I finished the bike.If you have short aerobars I think it’s possible that the computer mount might get in the way of your hands on the shiftersAttaching the bottle to the bracket is a bit fiddly with a velcro strap passing through a very small hole - this is done pre-ride though so not a huge issue.
Despite its flaws this is still the best BTA system I’ve tried. The storage solution isn’t perfect, but at least it has one, and other niggles are negligible. The main issue for me moving forward is ensuring I’m comfortable with my Garmin remaining on my bike - if I can figure out a solution to this then it’s a big thumbs up.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I should get my FC35 next week so I’ll report back.
For the Garmin, I’m wondering if you can use a couple of small pieces of velcro between the mounts to keep it stable.
That’s a good idea and would probably work - I was contemplating superglue! Will give that a try soon.
I ordered mine through a site in Italy. It arrived today and it’s just the bottle…grrr!
I’ll be getting one of these soon, primarily for the up front computer mount and overall improvements compared to the HC model, so I appreciate your review and will add my thoughts/ideas when I get it.
I have the older Aero HC and this newer one the FC25. I can see why some people might like this newer one, but in a way, I think it’s just slightly more complicated to use then the Aero HC, which I think is perfect!! I think cleaning the newer FC25 is way more work than the Aero HC, as there are more things to take apart and put back together. The Aero HC is essentially just a bottle with an aero cap. Not sure what was wrong with the lid on the Aero HC, as it was easy to work with and made for a totally slash free solution (when closed). The FC35 seems to be going back to the world of the aerodrink but a bit cooler and more aero. Finally, do we really need to tuck the straw away?? I don’t like the idea of having to use my hands to get the straw upward/downward again. I just want to bend my head and drink…easy!!
Overall, it’s a cool product, but really, I just don’t know what was wrong it’s predecessor, the Aero HC. Still a fan!
One thing I did not like about the HC is the rear mount for the computer.
One thing I did not like about the HC is the rear mount for the computer.this is so true. I’ve got mine mounted backwards so my Garmin can be viewed.
There’s a post on here from a guy at Profile Design saying they were coming up with a new mount that would go on the front. I’ve replied to him asking about it but with no answer. Perhaps because of the new bottle??
One thing I did not like about the HC is the rear mount for the computer.this is so true. I’ve got mine mounted backwards so my Garmin can be viewed.
There’s a post on here from a guy at Profile Design saying they were coming up with a new mount that would go on the front. I’ve replied to him asking about it but with no answer. Perhaps because of the new bottle??
What they should do is integrate the Garmin mount into the bottle cap of the HC
Could you superglue a Garmin mount to the top-front and then have your bike computer more flush with the bottle… and more aero?