Love the bentoo for training rides, keep my cell phone, ID/Insurance card, and car keys in there.
THIS. All my necessities for a training ride go there quite nicely.
The hate for the Bento is now just established ST lore, so widely accepted it goes without further thought. Mostly it just comes down to individual insecurity manifest as an unhealthy pre-occupation with what everyone else is doing. Don’t like the Bento? Don’t use one.
I embrace the dorkiness of it. Besides, it acts as a fairing.
For races, I go with just the bento for the spare kit and a front aerodrink. The other bottle cages I take off.
“The only time it’s good to yell ‘I’ve got diarrhea!’ is during Scrabble.”
-Zach Galifianakis
I think the haters have all been beat by someone using a bento box.
I put mine away for a few years, but brought it back out and hooked it up to my soloist for a 100 mile road race with only one food hand up that consisted of bananas. I put 2 bags of cliff blocks in there and just ate whenever I felt the urge. It worked like a charm. I did the same thing for a stage race a few weeks later and won.
As for hitting your knees on the box: take out the cardboard sides and then cinch it with some zip ties or the appropriate length rubber band.
I do agree that they are pointless for a sprint, and I wouldn’t use one for Olympic, but that’s just my opinion.
I wish I had a camera with me at all times on my bike. I once saw some guy in town training with aerobars on a road bike complete with (no joke):
At that point, I think you’re better off just hiring a pizza delivery guy and a Culligan man to drive behind you, pumping a slurry of their wares via IV straight into your femoral artery.
See, if you had a Bento box you could carry your camera…
Zing!!!
we need an airfoil shaped bento box!
I embrace the dorkiness of it. Besides, it acts as a fairing.
For races, I go with just the bento for the spare kit and a front aerodrink. The other bottle cages I take off.
“The only time it’s good to yell ‘I’ve got diarrhea!’ is during Scrabble.”
-Zach Galifianakis
“Bentos are really helpful if I have a sprint race later in the day. I keep my fried chicken right next to the potato salad and I tape a fork to the top tube. Works like a charm! Plus I use a plastic fork so I can just throw it down when I’m through eating.”
A Bento Box might be fine for a sprint but for anything longer try a Bento Bucket from KFC.
While your reply seemed to be in jest the MIT guys found the bento to be an aero benefit. You should be able to find the write ups. The hate for the bento stems from the old swimfans blasting fatties rather than anything else. The bento box is likely a better aero solution for carrying flat stuff than behind the seat, certainly no worse.
As for the back pocket people, what a waste of time in a race. Are you really loading a tube and inflator in your race singlet in T1 and taking it out in T2? Really?
For races the under the seat bag come off my bike and the tube, inflator, levers go in the bento along with some emergency tums and salt. Hope to never use anything that it in there while racing. If your knees hit the bento you have bigger problems.
Love the bentoo for training rides, keep my cell phone, ID/Insurance card, and car keys in there.
Yep. x2.
im not in jest, id really be interested in an airfoil bento box.
norma bento might be an aero benefit in some cases, but i bet not on my bike (airfoil shaped stem clamp)
and no, I don’t put tubes and inflators in my back pocket
just food =)
While your reply seemed to be in jest the MIT guys found the bento to be an aero benefit. You should be able to find the write ups. The hate for the bento stems from the old swimfans blasting fatties rather than anything else. The bento box is likely a better aero solution for carrying flat stuff than behind the seat, certainly no worse.
As for the back pocket people, what a waste of time in a race. Are you really loading a tube and inflator in your race singlet in T1 and taking it out in T2? Really?
For races the under the seat bag come off my bike and the tube, inflator, levers go in the bento along with some emergency tums and salt. Hope to never use anything that it in there while racing. If your knees hit the bento you have bigger problems.
Could be that the person was doing their “long” training ride for the IM which is supposed to use your full get up used in the race. The fanny pack would have the “special needs” bag stuff. Think outside the slowtwitch box!
The ST Trend Police (myself included) look down upon them mostly because it’s symbolic of the insane obsession some people have with carrying an entire four-course buffet meal and eight bottles of water with them on even the shortest of rides.
I wish I had a camera with me at all times on my bike. I once saw some guy in town training with aerobars on a road bike complete with (no joke):
http://m.flickr.com/photos/32418786@N02/3658174232/
Fuel Belt makes a aero bento already. On iPhone so hard to get pic to auto show 
While your reply seemed to be in jest the MIT guys found the bento to be an aero benefit. You should be able to find the write ups. The hate for the bento stems from the old swimfans blasting fatties rather than anything else. The bento box is likely a better aero solution for carrying flat stuff than behind the seat, certainly no worse.
As for the back pocket people, what a waste of time in a race. Are you really loading a tube and inflator in your race singlet in T1 and taking it out in T2? Really?
For races the under the seat bag come off my bike and the tube, inflator, levers go in the bento along with some emergency tums and salt. Hope to never use anything that it in there while racing. If your knees hit the bento you have bigger problems.
I agree with you. I haven’t found any detriment at least to the bento in my aero field testing. And I’ve decided that, even if I am essentially out of the race anyway in a sprint or Olympic if I flat, I would still rather be able to fix it and not have to walk back.
Rik
Yeah. Love the assumption that anyone with that much stuff on the bike is just overprepared for short rides, and not going long. Buying a bottle of water or Gatorade at a convenience store on every 4-plus-hour ride gets costly. Might as well bring along what you need.
see now I am sold, I am going to see if I can fit my spare tire crap in an aero bento
and rock that everywhere I go!
Yeah…I love the bento for training rides. It fits my phone/ID plus depending on the length of the ride perhaps a gu flask. I typically do liquid only but I want to make sure my gut can tolerate other stuff just in case.
Plus I try to handicap myself as much as possible. Even for shorter rides I will have full water bottles on both tubes plus an aero bottle and the bento. That way come race day when I only carry a single bottle (depending on the length) I feel faster.
I think that comes from my swimming days. I always wear a drag suit in practice. Always have. Maybe it’s just a psychological difference…but I’ll take anything I can get. I shaved my head for swimming too…and that doesn’t do a damn thing.
For races, I go with just the bento for the spare kit and a front aerodrink. The other bottle cages I take off.
Exactly. As Chris G mentioned the MIT folks found it to be an aero improvement over no bento box…and far better than a behind the seat bag. Don’t even get me started on the guys with $10,000 aero bikes and 2 anti-aero tubulars taped behind the seat flapping in the breeze. I might have to look up that Fuel Belt bag because my bento is pretty nasty now after a couple of years dripping sweat on it!
But seriously, the Bento fits a spare tube, patch kit, $10 bill for emergencies, ID, 2 CO2s, 2 levers and a small bag with a couple of allen wrenches. Why be 10 miles out on a sprint tri and flat…do you really want to walk home 10 miles in your bike shoes? I gotta agree though, the people with fuel belts on in a sprint are just too funny!
Yeah, you certainly see a lot of newbies loaded for bear. Solid foods are difficult to digest if you’re pushing the pace. The closer it is to liquid the easier it’ll go down and stay down. I have a problem with judging people during a training ride however. You really can’t judge what the other guy has planned or has been through. For example, last summer I had a passive aggressive hipster race with me because I cruised by him on my tri bike with race setup. I had an aero bottle, two bottles on the frame and one in my jersey–all empty at the time. My jersey was stuffed with wrappers and empty Gu packs. He was on a fixie probably commuting to work and I was just cooling down from a 125 mile ride. Who knows–maybe he was just finishing a commute from Milwaukee to Chicago with his ironic summer beard, Chrome messenger bag, and skinny jeans?
Regarding the Bento Box–I use it in long distance races to hold electrolyte tabs and Gu packets (cell phone and keys, too, during training rides). I could care less what it looks like as long as it doesn’t interfere with the pedal stroke. Once taped Gu to the top tube during the DeSoto TTT. With 10,000+ ft of climbing, ended up with hundreds of razor blade like cuts on my legs by the end of the weekend.
Because the fast guys know that solid food has no place in a race 
I’m all liquid, all the time, even for an IM.
But you do train, right?
Long rides on my bike:
Bento full of nut rolls- because I think eating gels when you don’t have to is stupid.
Frame pump - because I think using C02 when you don’t have to is stupid
2 bottles on frame
2 bottles on hydrotail
A small tool bag with tube/ patch kit/ multitool/$20 - stashed uder seat / in front of hydrotail
maybe an aerodrink - just to piss you off
velcro on white front light & flashing red light on the rear of my helmet - because sometime the sun sets
a bottle in my center pocket - maybe I’ll fill it with cement if I’m not thirsty
route map in a ziplock in my right pocket - because I like to explore and I’m right handed
trash in my left pocket, perhaps some backup food - because the people who ride with me rarely have enough nutrition
I’m sure if someone from the forum saw me as I rode out of town they’d make fun.
Hi,
I’m new to the forum and thought I’d stick my oar in and let you guys know, that I have just discovered the beauty of a Bento Box. Having before been too embarrased to use one in the past, I am training for an Ironman and found trying to grab something out of my back pocket whilst cycling quite hard, hence the introduction of the Bento Box in to my training. I can fit in quite a few bits n bobs in which is a blessing. However I do think they should ban “Fanny Packs” or as us English call them “Bum Bags”. They are the worst thing to ever be invented or maybe not there is always illuminous leg warmers…
Besides I can fit a generous portion of fish and nercs in my Bento Box.
Ironbaby x
Because the fast guys know that solid food has no place in a race
I’m all liquid, all the time, even for an IM.
But you do train, right?
Maybe it’s the military background, but as they say… “as you train, so shall you fight”. I advocate training all liquid too, hence no need for a Bento (getting back to the OT, haha)