Friday, February 24, 2012

Triathlon Aero Flat Kit + Bottle Holder

Previously I detailed how I carry hydration on the bike in this post. I've added a new component to my behind-the-saddle system with my 2-in-1 Topeak pump and thought it was worth posting.



In short, I ordered a Minoura behind-the-saddle single bottle holder through Speedy Reedy and flipped it such that it mounted and held the bottle as shown in the angle below rather than parallel to and directly behind the seatpost. I've now added a Topeak Two-Timer pump to the Minoura mount for my upcoming races. It allows me to have a fast change with CO2, while also giving me the backup option of a hand pump should the CO2 malfunction or misfire.  I haven't had occasion to use it yet, so I can't provide any insight to it's function. One downside is that Topeak made it to only fit Topeak-brand CO2 cartridges, which I think is, basically, stupid. But a penny will compensate for the disparity in size and allow one to run standard CO2 according to one yahoo user's review of the product (who was told the trick by Topeak customer service). Here are some more photos:




 Here's a zoomed-in shot of the frontal profile. You can see the bottom of the bottle as the obvious white circle behind the seatpost, while the head of the pump is visible beneath the right side of the saddle (your left as you view the image). That will be nicely blocked by my right leg, however, so overall I am very pleased. I'm uncertain yet as to where I'll place my spare butyl tube (note: I'll run latex tubes on race day but bring a butyl spare as latex tubes poorly retain CO2).

2 comments:

  1. What water cage and bottle do you have there?

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  2. Hi Yan, I have a simple plastic cage that I picked up from my LBS (Speedy Reedy in Seattle. They're amazing and are starting up online sales). The XLAB Gorilla cage is very expensive at ~$45 but is consistently highly-recommended by people I talk to and on the Slowtwitch forum. Apparently it helps block the propensity for behind-the-saddle water bottle mounts to become "bottle launchers." I also just noticed that Craig Alexander has one mounted behind his saddle right now on his Specialized Shiv (although I think he may be partly sponsored by XLAB).

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