Spun on the new Ventum for the first time tonight - looks an feels good! I am curious though, any tips on filling the tank on the fly before riding past the trash bin coming out of the aid table? My first effort led to spilling water all over the floor. Seems like most have 1 bottle behind the seat instead of a BTA... seems like a small margin of error compared to my old bike (had a downtime bottle, a BTA, and capacity for 2 behind the seat).
I experimented a bit. For Steelhead 70.3 I ran : Torhans 30 BTA with GE, Integrated Hydration with GE, and single BTS bottle with GE. All liquid nutrition. This is what I ran for my training rides as well, although I'd have Clif bars in my cycling jersey for those.
What I didn't like was that GE in the Torhans would splatter as I used the 'quick fill' top and my bike would get all sticky. So for Kona I ran : Water with NUUN in the Torhans, GE in the hydration bladder and BTS. I rigged an XLab 500 on top of the integrated hydration for solid nutrition. For IM distance you'll need on course support regardless. I would make sure the cap opens to the rear so it doesn't flop close, and as I approached I would flip it open and squeeze the GE bottle in. I didn't have a problem with spilling, but sometimes the twist cap would close itself and I would have to reopen.
I'm also playing with a 3D printer to design a more functional bento that integrates with the Ventum hydration mounts. Once that is ready I'll share with anyone interested.
Would also love to see pictures of you Kona set up!!! (My new VENTUM arriving next week!!!)
Juan - see below. This gives a pretty good view of the Torhans 30, the Xlab 500 on top of the Ventum hydration, and the XLab Aero BTS bottle cage. When I would open the integrated bladder to refill it would rest on the Xlab bento which made it easy to close. The gap between the head tube and Tohans is about an inch, which is more than I'd like but is the best I could do with my Tririg Alpha cockpit. I may try to design a fairing that closes that gap.
Met Rachel at the Ventum booth here at IMFL ...I'm spectating this year. There was a small frame bike on display with an xlab bento screwed on like you would a Cervelo p5 frame. She said new hydration bottle options are coming. One with compartments for less fluid and bento storage, one with like the x-lab version I saw bolted to the bottle and a smaller bottle. She didn't give me a time line, but things are in the works! Hoping by next year when racing season starts up options are ready to rock!
Tks Jeremy. Just one doubt: why would you have the Torhans 30 on top of the Ventum hydration? I guess, you want to have an option to whatever is on the course. In the IM case GE plus NUUN and/or pure water?
Some data shows it's more aero than nothing at all (when gap between bottle and head tube is < 1"
It gives me the option to have multiple liquid nutrition options. I don't want to drink pure GE as it's too sweet so opted for Nuun for electrolytes and hydration to compliment the GE in my Ventum hydration.
It gives me less reliance upon aid stations which proved to have fewer nutrition options than advertised.
To the earlier question....I don't even notice the wide top tube. Doesn't impact anything in my pedal stroke.
so, i just paid for my Ventum One with Ultegra Di2 and Pioneer power meter. I have about 3 weeks to figure out how to break the news to my partner... Any suggestions on saying, "honey, i just bought a new bike... No nothing was wrong with my old one... but look, this has electronic shifters. Fancy, right?"
Yup, i have a feeling i am going to be sleeping in the guest room or on the couch in the basement (i will be closer to the bike then).
Yay Jonathon! I spoke to Rachel about you! So, my suggestion (how it went down in my house) he ended up with an equal amount of dough to spend on what ever he'd like...video games, gambling, fine wine. Things I generally have no interest in. We are retired and this was a big fiscal donation to my "hobby". We found a little pot of $ we'd forgotten about, or this would not have happened!
Buy him something he wouldn't buy himself and be prepared to let him spend a wee bit on his passions!
@Trish - I like the idea. However, we do not share bank accounts. We do not share investment accounts. We have one account to pay the house bills but that is it. So me buying the bike does not hurt, help, and do anything to his bank account. :-) So me just buying him a gift would be like a "im sorry i just spend tons of money". Also we did just get back from a nice trip to London that i paid for. So i guess that kind of helps!?!?!?! Maybe
Finally made it outdoors with my "BLACK-V". Obviously feels different than my P5 but i felt great!!!! Need to get my engine up to speed to be able to compare (that ball is in my court!!).
My issues / questions:
- Water bottle: I was having trouble zipping. Very hard!!! Until I figured out the bootle needs to "breath" (opened the lid). Does that mean I need to open a little hole on the lid??? How best to do so to avoid spilling??
- Crank: I'm used to riding compact (50/34) and did not realize the standard VENTUM package would be 57/32. I guess I'll have to get used to it!!! Not a big issue for flat races, hope an 11/32 cassette saves me.
- Arm pads: narrower than what I'm used to. Will see how it feels in the next ride before testing others.
@Juan: 57/32??? U mean 52/37?? Very weird gearing, never heard of 37...not compact crank usually run 53/39 or 52/42. If it's anything lower than 39, chances are u have a 110bcd so u can run a compact with those crank
Juan - great that your first impression is so positive. On the crankset....the beauty of DA9000 is that the compact and standard use the same bolt configuration. What I did, and would highly recommend you do, is to buy a 36 tooth inner ring. I think i got one brand new for $28, and replace the 39 tooth that comes on it. This gives you more gearing for climbs but retains the 53 tooth big ring for the flats. With this setup, and an extra cassette or two, you can dial things in for pretty much any course. This is the setup I rode in Kona.
- Water bottle: I was having trouble zipping. Very hard!!! Until I figured out the bootle needs to "breath" (opened the lid). Does that mean I need to open a little hole on the lid??? How best to do so to avoid spilling??
The rubber cap on the bladder has a small perforation on it if I recall correctly. Also, make sure the slit on the bite valve is nice and opened....I had to play with mine a bit to get the flow where I wanted. You shouldn't have to open or cut anything.
Anybody else running into seat problems? At IMAZ my seat kept tilting. Ventum sent me new parts, I installed them today and again having the same problem on my first ride (a FTP test). I am really torquing the bolt. I am 190lbs. Seat tilts both backward and forward when my weight is applied.
I've been playing with a 3D printed bento box for the Ventum. I have two designs that can be used together or independently. One goes on top of the integrated hydration and the second goes between the hydration and the stem. I am reprinting an update of the first (pics to come later) but the second is ready for initial input. I think the design is creative to allow for storage while despite the rear brake cable and shifter cables that protrude from the top tube. It mounts using the two exising bolts that hold the inegrated hydration bracket. This is a proof of concept...not pretty and needs polish to get the angles right, etc but looking for initial beta input. I'm thinking it will have tabs on each side that can be used to string a rubber band across to keep items from popping out. It's in an area that is shielded from the wind so didn't give much thought/concern to aerodynamics.
I am meeting Rachel from Ventum on Wednesday for a test ride - we are going to go on a 3 hour ride together out into the micosukee Indian reservation in the Everglades
I am thinking about upgrading from my 2011 entry level trek speed concept and getting di2 and enve 7.8
Good ride today - power transmission was excellent and bike felt fast and seemed to hold speed very well once we were going 21/22+ mph and loved the di2
front end was too low for me to breathe well and too much of my weight was on my elbows
This was Rachel's bike, I don't know it's size - but I think I fit a 51
put my light on back of jersey as no seat stays
Rachel said she likes the Edco wheels and that they handle crosswinds very well
Comments
I experimented a bit. For Steelhead 70.3 I ran : Torhans 30 BTA with GE, Integrated Hydration with GE, and single BTS bottle with GE. All liquid nutrition. This is what I ran for my training rides as well, although I'd have Clif bars in my cycling jersey for those.
What I didn't like was that GE in the Torhans would splatter as I used the 'quick fill' top and my bike would get all sticky. So for Kona I ran : Water with NUUN in the Torhans, GE in the hydration bladder and BTS. I rigged an XLab 500 on top of the integrated hydration for solid nutrition. For IM distance you'll need on course support regardless. I would make sure the cap opens to the rear so it doesn't flop close, and as I approached I would flip it open and squeeze the GE bottle in. I didn't have a problem with spilling, but sometimes the twist cap would close itself and I would have to reopen.
I'm also playing with a 3D printer to design a more functional bento that integrates with the Ventum hydration mounts. Once that is ready I'll share with anyone interested.
Would also love to see pictures of you Kona set up!!! (My new VENTUM arriving next week!!!)
Juan - see below. This gives a pretty good view of the Torhans 30, the Xlab 500 on top of the Ventum hydration, and the XLab Aero BTS bottle cage. When I would open the integrated bladder to refill it would rest on the Xlab bento which made it easy to close. The gap between the head tube and Tohans is about an inch, which is more than I'd like but is the best I could do with my Tririg Alpha cockpit. I may try to design a fairing that closes that gap.
if I ever get a ventum, I was thinking I would convert the integrated fluid container to solid storage.
the ventum has quite a wide top tube/fluid container. doesn't this to keep your knees further apparent then you might want to ?
Tks Jeremy. Just one doubt: why would you have the Torhans 30 on top of the Ventum hydration? I guess, you want to have an option to whatever is on the course. In the IM case GE plus NUUN and/or pure water?
Juan - I use it for a few reasons:
To the earlier question....I don't even notice the wide top tube. Doesn't impact anything in my pedal stroke.
Yup, i have a feeling i am going to be sleeping in the guest room or on the couch in the basement (i will be closer to the bike then).
Yay Jonathon! I spoke to Rachel about you! So, my suggestion (how it went down in my house) he ended up with an equal amount of dough to spend on what ever he'd like...video games, gambling, fine wine. Things I generally have no interest in. We are retired and this was a big fiscal donation to my "hobby". We found a little pot of $ we'd forgotten about, or this would not have happened!
Buy him something he wouldn't buy himself and be prepared to let him spend a wee bit on his passions!
Obviously feels different than my P5 but i felt great!!!! Need to get my engine up to speed to be able to compare (that ball is in my court!!).
My issues / questions:
- Water bottle: I was having trouble zipping. Very hard!!! Until I figured out the bootle needs to "breath" (opened the lid). Does that mean I need to open a little hole on the lid??? How best to do so to avoid spilling??
- Crank: I'm used to riding compact (50/34) and did not realize the standard VENTUM package would be 57/32. I guess I'll have to get used to it!!! Not a big issue for flat races, hope an 11/32 cassette saves me.
- Arm pads: narrower than what I'm used to. Will see how it feels in the next ride before testing others.
Overall .... VERY HAPPY!!!
I meant 53/39 !!!!
Tks for the heads up David
Juan - great that your first impression is so positive. On the crankset....the beauty of DA9000 is that the compact and standard use the same bolt configuration. What I did, and would highly recommend you do, is to buy a 36 tooth inner ring. I think i got one brand new for $28, and replace the 39 tooth that comes on it. This gives you more gearing for climbs but retains the 53 tooth big ring for the flats. With this setup, and an extra cassette or two, you can dial things in for pretty much any course. This is the setup I rode in Kona.
The rubber cap on the bladder has a small perforation on it if I recall correctly. Also, make sure the slit on the bite valve is nice and opened....I had to play with mine a bit to get the flow where I wanted. You shouldn't have to open or cut anything.
Question: is the shifting up from 36 to 53 smooth??
I don't even notice a difference. I though there may be a FD adjustment needed, but I just swapped out the rings and it worked great.
I've been playing with a 3D printed bento box for the Ventum. I have two designs that can be used together or independently. One goes on top of the integrated hydration and the second goes between the hydration and the stem. I am reprinting an update of the first (pics to come later) but the second is ready for initial input. I think the design is creative to allow for storage while despite the rear brake cable and shifter cables that protrude from the top tube. It mounts using the two exising bolts that hold the inegrated hydration bracket. This is a proof of concept...not pretty and needs polish to get the angles right, etc but looking for initial beta input. I'm thinking it will have tabs on each side that can be used to string a rubber band across to keep items from popping out. It's in an area that is shielded from the wind so didn't give much thought/concern to aerodynamics.
So...what are your thoughts?
I am thinking about upgrading from my 2011 entry level trek speed concept and getting di2 and enve 7.8
any thoughts
front end was too low for me to breathe well and too much of my weight was on my elbows
This was Rachel's bike, I don't know it's size - but I think I fit a 51
put my light on back of jersey as no seat stays
Rachel said she likes the Edco wheels and that they handle crosswinds very well
rachel will work on fit and schedule another ride