Aerobar hydration
I am considering the Speedfil A2 or the xlab torpedo. What are the pros and cons of either of them?
Are either of these materially better than a bottle in an aerobar-mounted cage (yes, they have a straw, I guess so...)?
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I am considering the Speedfil A2 or the xlab torpedo. What are the pros and cons of either of them?
Are either of these materially better than a bottle in an aerobar-mounted cage (yes, they have a straw, I guess so...)?
Comments
Before I had the Speedfil A4 I was using an aerobar mounted cage (Gorilla cage) with a normal bottle. I've found that I simply drink more/better when I pull the bottle out and use it as normal. I don't need to get out of aero position to do so, and so whatever efficiency I lose by moving my arm in that position for a few second every 15 minutes is worth it to me. I loved this system and my Gorilla cages held onto bottles like no other- even the flimsy ones they hand you during the race.
My main reason for switching to the A4 was that I had no where to put the computer where I could see it and the A4 was a perfect solution. I tried it with the Z2 bottle, again hated the sipping and returned to a normal bottle solution. The down side is the Speedfill cage doesn't hold those flimsy bottles nearly as well as my trusty Gorilla.
If you already have a place to put your computer, and don't care to use the straw/refill reservoir, there is very little reason to get one (in my opinion). Favorite cage zipp tied to your aeros and you are golden.
However, if you want to be able to sip from a straw and refill the reservoir on the go, then the Z2 or Torpedo serve that purpose.
Hi Matt,
I can't give you a specific answer to your question, since I haven't used the XLAB Torpedo, but I can give you my experience on hydration systems in general -- between aero and tube mounted.
For Aero, I've used both the Speedfil A2, and Torhans. Both mounted easily and remained secure during rides. I found that both were somewhat difficult (for me) to drink from. Especially the Torhans, whose short straw tube was lined up with my upper torso while extended in aero. I had to get into a yoga-esqe pose to be able to drink from Torhans. The Speedfil is somewhat better as it has a flexible and longer tube, but still was a bit awkward in that the tube had a lot of movement in front of my face, which was a bit of an annoyance. Best solution there was to bend the tube in half, which then required some hand work to straighten it out to drink. Not a deal breaker, just took a little extra effort. Also when filled to capacity, both are prone to splash into your face and glasses, while you are aero. Best answer there is to fill only about 3/4 or so, full.
The product that I'm using now, is the Speedfil Standard (cage mounted on downtube). It has a high capacity, and when it splashes, it is more likely to hit your feet or miss entirely. The capacity works for me in that I load up the 40oz to start and this easily gets me to the first or even second aid station. It does add a few pounds out of T1. Then I just use a concentrate mix (Infinit) that I keep in a measured bottle on the rear cage -- squeeze that in and add water at the aid stations. The downside to the Speedfil Std are (1) your bike may not accommodate; (2) the weight of the extra capacity; and primarily (3) long drinking tube length and routing is kind of a puzzle that you have to solve and use things like velcro strips on your bars to hold the tube into a good drinking position. Another positive for the tube mount (or standard seat mount bottles for that matter) is that it keeps your aero bar cockpit free to view your bike computer and have line of sight on your power numbers.
All this said -- it really comes down to your current setup and personal riding preference, you might have to try a couple to see which works best for you.
Nemo --
To mount your bike computer just on the outside of the aerobars, mount this on your left side aero bar --
http://www.acecosportgroup.com/k-edge-computer-mounts/garmin-computer-mounts/k-edge-tt-computer-mount/garmin-tt-mount.html
I used it in that orientation while trying out the aero drink systems. Switched it back to the right side, "inside the bars" orientation now that I'm using a tube mount drink system.
Nicely made adapter. No bend or flex whatsoever.
Regarding the various options, I use the XLab Torpedo bottle. I started with the whole system, but recently took the XLab mount off my bars and now use this mount: http://www.trisports.com/trisports-torpedo-bta-mount-150.html. The XLab mount, which was held on the aerobrs with velcro, bounced and rattled around, and made reading the Garmin more difficult. The TriSports mount above is rock solid and includes the Garmin mount. Although you can buy the Torpedo bottle with the TriSports mount, I use the Torpedo bottle that came with my original Torpedo system. Some may mention the problem with the Torpedo bottle leaking, and I had that problem at first also. But, after talking with the XLab customer service people, it became apparent I had one of the original bottles without the upgraded plugs. XLab sent me a couple of new plugs all is good.
Since I now use the TriSports mount, I have the extra Torpedo mount. You can try it if you want, although you will have to buy the bottle.
I've used one of those (and other similar options) before but the computer ends up in a place I can't see it. I've got VERY limited real estate on my tiny bike- especially in the cockpit
http://www.trisports.com/trisports-torpedo-bta-mount-150.html
I normally don't bother using it for most training rides except as just a little reminder on how it feels, etc., because it's a little bit more of a hassle than normal bike bottles. The biggest one is just keeping them clean (washing the tube is a bit of a pain) and making sure the seals are all seated right so there's no leakage. Leakage is only a trivial problem...until the time that you find out that it's leaking a little because you didn't screw it together right and you get sports drink all over your legs....
There is mixed opinion out there about how bad an aero penalty there is for having the straw up. In isolation, it's obviously horrible. But since it's right in front of your body, I'm not sure that's true in the real world. I would like to see real data on that some day.
If you don't have the straw up, there is still that little extra movement that you have to do to unlatch the straw to drink and then tuck it away again when done. You're very disciplined, so I doubt this is an issue, but that little extra required work may or may not overcome that story about drinking more because the straw is always up...because the straw isn't up all the time.
BTW, I go very low-tech on the straw-tucking. I wrap a rubber band around the bottle and just tuck the straw into the rubber band when not drinking.
The biggest reason I use the A2 for racing is actually the horrible water bottles that you usually get at the races. So many of them are super flimsy or shaped wrong. We get a lot of grocery store water bottles or not-quite-right sports drink bottles. I know you're training for Wisconsin this year, and you really can't fake the hydration like you can in a HIM. The bottles at WI have been notoriously bad, and there are some very rough spots in the road. By using an A2 or its equivalent, you can be pretty darn sure that you will never lose the water on a train track or other bumps. When you strap the bottle in and you're just refilling it, it won't ever fly away. I think this is worth all the little practice or whatever it will take to ensure that you always have water and aren't a hazard for dropping one or trying to go back to get it.
http://www.trisports.com/profile-design-aero-hc-system.html?gclid=CNPp3MS34MUCFQYXHwod84AAWA
Works like a champion: computer mount included. I replaced the velcro straps w/ 2 zip ties on each side.
LOVE IT!
The problem I had at first was the thumbscrew on the cage kept coming out from vibration on the bumpy roads. I replaced it with a zip tie.
All that said, I came to this forum because I think there has to be something better and I can't seem to build my Ftp much more so if I'm going to get any more speed, I'll probably have to buy it.
To your question, Matt, I would go so far as to wager they would be aerodynamical worse, to aerodynamically much worse, provided the BTA bottle is set up correctly. (see Johnnyo's ST posts for correct setup, but essentially, the BTA Best Practice is low placement, with the bottle filling the horizontal space between the forearms, and no spaces between forearms and bottle. If you were to look at a profile of the rider, you should not be able to see the bottle).
The straw versus bottle-alone thing is a matter of personal preference, but on the BTA cons side, I'm never really swayed by naysayers ... the cost of staying aero, moving a hand form the drops to grab the bottle, and lifting the bottle to drink is a once-every-15-minutes interruption is about 5-7 seconds. In other words, nothin'.
In favour of BTA is the simplicity. This is not to be underestimated. In fact, until this year, my race cockpit hydration was resting the bottle (whether a regular bike bottle during training, or a on-course gatorade/water bottle during races) on the aero extensions, and securing it with a thick elastic band (ironically, I used the elastic band that is used to secure the profile aerodrink!), So, a total weight cost of 7-10 grams, bottles gets slipped in and out with no fuss, never dropped fluids in training or racing, and no excess stuff.
Best option, though, is the Torhans 30, assuming you can get it an inch or two from the head tube. Even better if you have a bayonet-style head tube. This actually saves watts over having no bottle!
Computer is an after thought because there are so many options, but the primary goal is putting it where you can see while riding without having to look down or away from the road. I would imagine something horizontal, that falls in the shadow of your hands when they are in the aero extensions would be preferable, and could probably be achieved with any one of the minimal garmin mounts. I don't like the integrated systems that put the computers up in front of (or on top of) the fluid system - it just looks like one more thing that's catching air.
I use and like the the A2 speedfill with my 910XT sitting right there where I can see it mounted on top of the bottle which is sitting right between my arms......Like Tallo is describing below.............
SS
what dave said.
though coach P difers on the grabbing the bottle from between the arm thing every 15 minutes versus using straw bottle. see his comments regarding my recent race.
i have between the arms cage setup. i also use the same cage to hold the A2. i now have a headset bolted cage for the bottle or A2 that with a Gorilla XT is rock solid.
my hand position is fairly high (different than my current picture with ski bends tilted up) so i assume it does not matter what kind of bottle i use as the between the arms bottle sees no wind.
No reason you can't put an A2 or its equivalent really low (i.e., between the arms). Just use the same kind of zip-tie mounting that you would for a normal BTA system. Thats exactly how mine is. It's totally interchangeable whether to use a normal bike bottle there or an A2, which is just a slightly longer bike bottle with a straw coming out. The mistake here is using some fancy $75 carbon widget that raises the bottle too high instead of a few zip ties and a simple bottle caage.
Simplicity is indeed why I don't bother with it mostly except for racing. That said, losing flimsy water bottles is by far a worse fate than having to fuss a bit with the straw in my opinion.
Appreciate thoughts.
Dawn