Hydration Setup

Mark Roberts

For next year I'm looking to clean up my hydration setup and ditch the 2 bottle carrier behind the seat.  I'm considering a bottle between the arms and one bottle under the seat so as to still be able to carry 2 bottles.  What is the best torpedo style front bottle? I'm looking at the X-lab 100/400 that has a special refillable bottle and has a straw for drinking. Has anyone used this particular product? Is it much better than just a standard bottle cage mounted between the aerobars?

Thanks.

harrast

A couple of thoughts: the XLab Torpedo looks like a great unit, and I am guessing that you would be happy with it. Most people would. I currently use the "old school" Speedfil A2 mounted on a stem mount. Some might use the XLab torpedo mount, but the stem works best for me. What I like about the A2 is I can use a 32 oz. bottle (like the ones Gatorade makes) and there's plenty of room for fluids even if the bottle isn't level or there's a little fluid left from the last fill up. The XLab Torpedo is 26oz and will be more likely to overflow and give you a little sugar water shower. Not a big deal, but it's likely to happen. The downside of the Speedfil A2 is the plastic lip that seals against the bottle can fail and the bottle will drip like a leaky faucet. This did happen to me, but I contacted Speedfil and they sent me a new unit no questions asked. Also, the Speedfil has quite a few parts that have to be cleaned after a ride. I just rinse them in the sink, but you have to make sure nothing gets misplaced or the unit will leak. I should also mention that I don't use the bite valve because it's like drinking through a coffee stirrer. Overall, I am fine with the Speedfil, but if I were in the market today, the XLab Torpedo would probably be the one because it looks a little more aero and clean.

Woody Freese

You will find different responses re; this subject. This spring, I purchased the Profile Aero HC System and I love it! My aero bars are too narrow to accommodate the stock bracket that came with the bottle, so I put the cage on a Profile HC Mount - works like a champ!

Just my .02 cents

Al Truscott

If your bike has a standard stem - the kind that slides down over the steering tube, and is covered by a round cap held in place by a center bolt - then the King Cage for about $10 is hands down the cleanest, cheapest solution. Just attach the bottle cage of your choice. No dealing with extra hardware like zip ties or straps, and the bottle sits farther back, so attaching a power meter head unit to the aerobars in a forward position (safer to view) is easy to do.

http://www.kingcage.com/products-waterbottle-cages.html  ("Top Cap Cage Mount")

rbogle

I like the a2 / stem mount setup. The straw sits just by my mouth when I'm in aero and makes drinking mindless. I still use a double mount on e seat to holster 2 refills in the race and for the long training rides I use the down tube/ seattube to carry 5,bottles total.

Al Truscott

Addendum - if you *have* to have a straw, SpeedFil sells a cap for any standard (Specialized-type) water bottle which both has a straw, and allows refilling while on the fly.

Me, I drink every 10-15 minutes, and use that time to sit up and pedal easier for maybe 20-30 seconds, sorta like talking a walk thru the aid stations while running. So I just use a standard water bottle up front.

ezellrh

Is it much better than just a standard bottle cage mounted between the aerobars?

To this point, if you're not a straw person, it's extremely hard to beat a 'stock' aluminum water cage and two zip ties, IMO. Fits almost any size bottle, can roll empty if not needed, and pretty darn cheap. YMMV.

Wolf Gottschalk

Hey Mark, just to echo Woody's comment, I too am using the Profile Aero HC system and it has been great! It has a mount for my Garmin 910 on the back of it so the thing is right in my line of sight. My aero bars were too narrow just like Woody, so I used an X-Lab torpedo mount and put the setup on that. I also changed out the straw that came with it. I cut up a Camelbak tube with the bite valve on it and then went to Home Depot and got two small rubber gaskets to put around the tube where it sticks out of the Aero bottle. This put the straw right where I needed it to drink (same as Rian's post), the bite valve made sure the fluid didn't spill or jettison out of the bottle when hitting a bump or when I'm taking a drink, and the gaskets ensured a tight fit. I've kept my two rear X-Lab cages and I've got a down tube option as well. For IMAZ, I put water in the aero bottle and had 3 x 2hr Infinit concentrate bottles with me. Six hours of riding, only needing to stop to quickly dump water into the aero bottle. For shorter rides or training, I'll put the Infinit or Perform into the rear bottles and take the aero system off the front bars.

robin sarner

I have just about all the set ups mentioned. But probable going back to plain bottle and cage between arms. I drink 10 oz every 10 minutes for hot races. So if that goes into my mouth directly i save time upright. Otherwise i am constantly filling up the thing between my arms. So i reduce the upright time and have scheduled brief upright time, like Al said.

Mark Roberts

Thanks for all the info. I'm done reaching behind the seat, worrying about launching bottles etc. Also just trying to make my race setup as clean as possible and get the most out of my QR Lucero's aerodynamics.

rwsmith96

Posted By Wolf Gottschalk on 27 Nov 2013 02:35 PM


My aero bars were too narrow just like Woody, so I used an X-Lab torpedo mount and put the [Aero HC] setup on that. 

I did this too.  I also have a Speedfil 40oz on the downtube and a 2 bottle xlab mount on the back.  100 oz total!  Heavy bike!  That setup worked ok for my old, pre-EN nutrition plan (water + endurolyte powder and concentrated perpetuem) but that old nutrition plan didn't work very well.  Now that I am following Haus nutrition rules (IM Perform and GU gels) I am debating ditching the speedfil completely, maybe having an empty cage down there for aid station pickups.

Good discussion on this thread.  Does anyone have a strong point of view on how much is too much to carry?  I am a big guy with a history of cramping but I think I've carried way too much water on prior races.