What products have people tried for top tube storage for gels/tools? I don’t have bolts there so I cant buy a true bento box.
I have a velcro one, but it doesnt fit on my frame well, and also scrapes my knees because of my position on the bike which is very distracting in a race (and has led to bleeding on training rides…)
What kind of strap mount pack do you have? The width and shape of the bento pack is super important to avoid knee rubbing etc. That is something we took into account with our designs.
What kind of strap mount pack do you have? The width and shape of the bento pack is super important to avoid knee rubbing etc. That is something we took into account with our designs.
Greg @ dsw
+1 on the DSW Speedpack 483! I got one, Greg was a great help and the pack fits my bike well.
Some options… Xlab stealth pocket, Darkspeed Works 483, Louis Garneau Aero XT. They have velcro attachments, but some are more narrow than others and might not cause you issues.
What kind of strap mount pack do you have? The width and shape of the bento pack is super important to avoid knee rubbing etc. That is something we took into account with our designs.
Greg @ dsw
What works best for a New P3? I just need to hold a gel flask. I had a 480 on my classic P2 and would get some knee rub but I think that was because I cinched down the velcro to keep it from moving.
Greg, Thanks for your input. I have a Felt B12 and the top tube is quite narrow. What do you think?
Thanks,
SJ
Hi Sergio, this is what we typically recommend for most Felts with integrated cockpits and top tube entry cabling, including the Felt B12. The Speedpack 483, as pictured mounted below, is very narrow with a lot of taper near the tail, plus we use a very special low profile strap system that we developed that has ZERO slip. Zero.
So I think it will work well for you:
I mounted a PD ATTK hard sided bento box on a QR CD01. No bosses and a slightly rounded top tube led me to some customization. I put clear duct tape on that portion of the top tube. Then heavy duty double sided tape to hold the box to the duct tape. There were some gaps along the sides between the box and the side of the top tube. I injected some flex seal rubber and molded it with a plastic knife to fill the gaps.
I’m not worried about it falling off. I can lift the whole bike up by the bento box. Nothing but the clear duct tape is actually touching the bike. Everything else is stuck to the tape (not the bike). So, I should be able to pull the tape off and remove everything.
Gels go in a flask that is velcro’d to a holder that’s ziptied to my stem, right behind my BTA bottle.
I’ve been wanting to do something like what you have described… I use a Hammer Flask for gels but haven’t seen a holder I like. Could you please share what you have, or pictures or a description if it’s something you fabricated? Thanks.
Edit: Never mind, I just saw the “recommend a better BTA setup” thread w/ pics of your setup. Thanks.
Great solution. Thanks for posting description and pics. I’m hoping to do something similar to my Gen 1 Speed Concept and it’s great to see how people tackle the details like gaps between the box and the tube.
I mounted a PD ATTK hard sided bento box on a QR CD01. No bosses and a slightly rounded top tube led me to some customization. I put clear duct tape on that portion of the top tube. Then heavy duty double sided tape to hold the box to the duct tape. There were some gaps along the sides between the box and the side of the top tube. I injected some flex seal rubber and molded it with a plastic knife to fill the gaps.
I’m not worried about it falling off. I can lift the whole bike up by the bento box. Nothing but the clear duct tape is actually touching the bike. Everything else is stuck to the tape (not the bike). So, I should be able to pull the tape off and remove everything.
There were some gaps along the sides between the box and the side of the top tube. I injected some flex seal rubber and molded it with a plastic knife to fill the gaps.
Well done, a darn good job.
Questions: what kind of ‘clear duct tape’ did you use, was it gorilla clear tape, or ? Then, how did you ‘inject’ the flex seal rubber to get it deep and nice and flush in the crevice? What method or tool did you use? Did you lay on the bike on its side when doing each side with the flex seal? After applying the flex seal, how much time do you have typically before it dries fully?
I am currently using a Torhans Bento X and fastened it to my top tube using 3M dual lock strips. I have only ridden outside twice with it so I can’t say with 100% certainty that it could never fall off, but it feels plenty sturdy to me and has a much cleaner look than velcro straps.
Was also wondering this, hopefully he jumps back on to the thread.
Also how did you make it so the flex seal is not on the frame? is the tape below that as well?
I have a specialized transition to which I added top tube bosses. But the top tube is so narrow that most of the boxes I have tried look a little odd. I think the top tube is somewhere around 25mm wide, and most bags/boxes measure 40 or 50mm at their base. So I would like to do something to smooth the lip out both for aesthetics as well as it seems like it would hurt if I hit my knee on it.
I previously had the Profile Design Attack and it just doesn’t hold enough food for me. I now use the Scott Plasma storage on my P5 and it fits four Bonk Breakers and a gel.