Specialized Reserve Rack - Reviews, Opinions and Options?

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m thinking about trying out one of the Specialized Reserve Racks for behind-the-seat bottle storage. I’m running a Specialized Power saddle with the integrated mount holes so I have the option of the integrated bolt-on option, or the saddle-rail-clamp option but have a few questions:

(1) Does anyone have any experience of either of these options? At a glance it looks as though the bolt-on option would be more stable when fully-laden with 1+kg of water.

(2) Does anyone have any side-on pics of this setup on their bike? It seems like the bolt-on design will sit way down below the seat (and possibly very draggy) whereas the clamp-on design angles more up-and-behind your backside.

(3) Do either of these still leave enough space for a small saddle bag? I’m currently carrying a small repair kit in a Lezyne Road Caddy that straps onto the saddle rails and would like to keep it as is if I can, because I regularly switch it between bikes.

Thanks for any help!

2

I tried both the reserve rack 1 and 2 clamped to my Cobb saddle. I didn’t like the angle of the bottles. They were to hard for me to reach. I went back to using my XLab carbon wing.

3

I have the swat compatible mount at this moment on my roadie and it works flawlessly!!! I am using it to carry my specialized barrel for tire repair kit and once I started using a gorilla XT cage I stopped losing or launching bottles when racing.

I have the saddle mount on my trek and it is a pain in the ass right now because it keeps moving and becoming lose after using locktite… going to try to safety wire it first then retighten with locktite to see if it stays put where I need because my gorilla XT cages are getting messed rapidly by hitting my saddle when the mount get loose.

if you can utilize the swat compatible then I’d go that route instead!!!

4

I’m thinking about trying out one of the Specialized Reserve Racks for behind-the-seat bottle storage. I’m running a Specialized Power saddle with the integrated mount holes so I have the option of the integrated bolt-on option, or the saddle-rail-clamp option but have a few questions:

(1) Does anyone have any experience of either of these options? At a glance it looks as though the bolt-on option would be more stable when fully-laden with 1+kg of water.

(2) Does anyone have any side-on pics of this setup on their bike? It seems like the bolt-on design will sit way down below the seat (and possibly very draggy) whereas the clamp-on design angles more up-and-behind your backside.

(3) Do either of these still leave enough space for a small saddle bag? I’m currently carrying a small repair kit in a Lezyne Road Caddy that straps onto the saddle rails and would like to keep it as is if I can, because I regularly switch it between bikes.

Thanks for any help!

(1) Does anyone have any experience of either of these options?
I have experience with both. My wife rides a Sitero saddle and she uses the Bolt-on. See pic.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2a631c8.jpg

I have an Adamo road saddle and use the clamp. See pic.
http://i67.tinypic.com/e7nuhu.jpg

I would not say that the Bolt-on is more stable. After some tinkering, I used some bar-tape to wrap my saddle rails and then covered with electrical tape. Now, I clamp down on my “padded” rails and the thing really “bites”. It’s rock-solid and I would not hesitate to load 2 bottles on it, if needed.

*(2) Does anyone have any side-on pics of this setup on their bike? It seems like the bolt-on design will sit way down below the seat (and possibly very draggy) whereas the clamp-on design angles more up-and-behind your backside. *
I’m not exactly sure what you mean by this. On my bike (the clamp on), the bottle definitely sits more close to horizontal with the ground. The “bolt on” sits more upright.

(3) Do either of these still leave enough space for a small saddle bag?

Not really. On my bike (the white Shiv), I have a spare tube crammed up under the seat. I’m not sure you can see it in the picture, but it’s wrapped tightly in a plastic bag and all taped up. It’s completely hidden away. The rest of my flat kit is in my Fuel Cell. The reserve rack butts up directly against the bottom of my seat.

Also, we both use the basic Specialized rib cages as bottle holders and they work perfectly. I’ve never ever launched a bottle.