I noticed that during a time trial interval that my waterbottle, located on the downtube of my ABICI TIME MACHINE was causing a lot of turbulence (which I felt on my tights as my legs went by the bottle). Does anyone run their bottle on the seat tube or alternate location?
I know that John Cobb had some opinions on this, but I don’t think it was ever sorted out.
I run mine on the seat tube of my Time Machine, even on 10m TTs
Hydration is important, Cobb says it is also more aero with a bottle on the down or seat tube
Gary,
Did he not recently state on his site forum that the front mounted bottle is more aero? A reversal of what he thought previously. Not to mention the time lost fumbling for a bottle on the seat/down tubes.
i just skimmed through his forum and did not find anything on bottle positioning. His article about the downtub bottle is still in the tech section.
I run a bottle on the down tube for anything under about 50k. Over that and I go to a seat tube bottle as well.
Reaching behind is such an ass grabbing pain.
Dumb question, anybody ever try mounting a bottle horizontally on the top of the top tube? Only drawback I can see is possible bottle leakage. You could solve that with a better bottle, and because the stem would be right there I would think the aerodynamics would be ok.
I have a water bottle with my repair kit, etc., on the seat-tube. Have a Never-Reach system behind the seat. Might add a front-handle-bar mounted system for an Ironman this fall…I’ll have to scout out the locations of the aid stations to determine that. Oh, for those of you with drink systems that use tubing, I found a 22 caliber rifle cleaning rod does wonders to help clean the inside of the tube.
Gary,
Yes, hydration is important, but I’m pretty sure he said that the bottle on the down tube is more aero, the seat tube is not. But then, I’m not winning anything anytime soon, so I don’t think it makes that much of a difference. I use a front mounted aero bottle and a downtube bottle.
yes, but that is a tri thing
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anybody ever try mounting a bottle horizontally on the top of the top tube?
Not a dumb question, but I don’t think it would work since your knees would probably hit the bottle on each pedal stroke. That could be kind of annoying.
I remember the downtube location being the better one, too. It makes sense since the bottle is less upright than it is on the seat tube. However, a seat tube mount is the only one available on a lot of aero frames that don’t have downtube bottle braze-ons. A seat tube mounted bottle also has the possible advantage (or disadvantage?) of breaking up the air that hits the rear wheel.
A top tube mounted bottle might work, but the bottle would probably interfere with your pedaling stroke, i.e. knees would hit it. Visiontech used to make a horizontal bottle holder for their aerobars which probably works a bit better.
The neverreach looks like a good idea, but I think the price is a bit of a rip. Also, rifle cleaning tools notwithstanding, it’s a pain to clean long drinking tubes (think hydropaks). I have never had an issue with the Profile aero bottle, other than the whistling noise it creates. And no cap for the opening - I laid my bike down once, forgetting the aerobottle, and lost most of my water.
Here’s the article by John Cobb
A top tube mounted bottle might work, but the bottle would probably interfere with your pedaling stroke, i.e. knees would hit it.
I have been playing with the idea, and i think if I mount it so the bottom is almost against the seat post I will be ok. I have an atypical fit, really short torso, long legs, I am 5’8" on a 48 frame so lots of room between top of seat and top bar.
One good thing about the NeverReach, if you use the sealed cap, drill a small hole just under the cap on the derailleur side. It lets air in so you can drink easier, plus, if you have to lay your bike down on the ground, your water stays in the reservoir.
It does cost about 100 dollars for the system, so it’s not cheap. But, you aren’t buying brackets and bottles, and it’s hands-free to use except for filling it…I forget how much it holds, but it’s more than two big water bottles.
The newer Neverreach’s come with the hole you describe, and a one-way valve to prevent leakage. When I bought mine they didn’t have it, but I received a new reservoir in the mail several months later with the new design. I think they hold 64 oz.
I remember reading that the most aero of all is no water bottle - but to use a camelback.
Seems like the camelback would win out in terms of rolling resistance too, because I think I read that it’s better to have 5 extra pounds of body weight than it is bike weight.
I’ve been using one for a few years now…and I prefer it over water bottles.
I am starting the season with a camelback and a forword aero bottle. Water in the camelback, fuel in the front. Only problem with the camelback is if you have an exteremly aggressive position the water might flow toward your head. Not a problem for me. I was thinking of the top tube mount for shorter races.
jkat wrote: The newer Neverreach’s come with the hole you describe…
Well, I guess I don’t need to call them to recommend it…darn, there goes my best contribution to triathlon…