Good Article from Cervelo on Hydration solutions

Great article - also interesting comment about the Bento box having no drag penalty.  The one thing I keep wondering about is the benefit of the torpedo style bottle vs traditional aero bottle.  Yes, it is much more aero (even making you faster according to the article if you position it correctly), but how much of a penalty or how much of the benfefit is reduced when you move out of the sero position to take a drink? 

Since you ride with one - do you find you move that much to take a drink, or are you able to stay aero while drinking?

That was very interesting.  Thanks for posting. These were the things I took away (and surprised me).

• A torpedo mount (if its between your arms) is more aero than not having one
• Behind the seat hydration is better than a aero bottle in front (I always thought that was the 2nd best choice).
• A bento box has no aero penalty (I always remove mine for sprints - guess I dont need to).

I wish they would also talk about where is the best place to mount a computer, especially if you are using a torpedo mount or vertically mounted aero bottle between the bars.  I use the x-lab stem mount for my 705, but its hard to read sometimes and gets wet/sticky from splashing.  I use a vertically mounted aero bottle because I like the ease of being able to take a drink, especially if I am pushing hard uphill.  But will try torpedo mount next year.

As far as the moving goes I look at it like this... I'm probably going to be getting out of aero at least "Some" during a bike leg long enough for me to need hydration (that is, olympic or up)  - at Augusta last week I sat up on most "climbs" and sometimes when I was passing somebody who looking a bit uneasy holding their line - During those times I made a mental note to also get a drink. Also, since I carry my "food" in my frame virtue bottle, I am basically forced to sit up to "eat" (it's very difficult to reach and drink from it and get it replaced in aero) so I also used that opportunity to also grab a drink.

I've spent some time practicing removing/drinking in aero as well, so on long stretches when I feel thirsty I can remove one arm, grab the bottle, drink, and replace it... which doesn't actually break the aero position (although my right arm is out moving in the wind)

I think it all boils down to being pretty smart about it. No, you shouldn't sit around drinking upright on downhills / straightaways, but at 13-15mph grinding up a hill, I don't think you are losing a ton by sitting up and having a drink / stretch.

I think the key to the behind the saddle setup was when they mentioned it not sticking out to the sides (like most store bought versions)

It also looked like they only tried a single bottle... although that could just be the way the pictures are taken. If I were going to run one behind me (again) I think it would still be Lieto style.

So, here's a question in regards to this article for longer races (HIM and IM).

Is it more advantageous to carry more hydration - let's say a front system on the areobars, one on the downtube, and two behind the seat - and slow down less frequently at aid stations, or only have two bottles - one on the aerobars and one on the downtube - and slow down at each aid station to pick up more hydration?

I guess it boils down to personal preference.

I thought it was interesting that Cervelo didn't mention their cable routing behind the stem -- i.e. bento boxes won't push flush with the stem unless you cut them up to run the cables through the box.

I'm hoping to rectify this issue in my next race (and I have done another race where I got hydration and didn't end up on the ground ). Like you Bryan, I'm leaning towards the two bottle route and picking up hydration along the way. For a training ride I 'bottle up,' but on race day the lighter the better.

Bento fits flush (mostly) on the P2.

Who makes a rear mounted single-bottle carrier? I like the idea of using that to provide a handy place for repair kit storage. Right now, I remove the xlab double-bottle carrier for races and tape a repair kit under the seat.

I think the older P2s routes cables into the downtube.  The newer P2s and the P3/P4 (see photos on Cervelo's site) - route into the top tube directly behind the stem.

For IM I used a xlab wing, but with the cage dead center on the back. Then a small bag in the middle with all the flat stuff. Gut said it would be out of the air and the cervelo tests seem to bear it out.

????  I think only the rear brake routes into the top tube.  Pretty sure only the P4 has that configuration.

Yep my bad - I stand corrected.

Awesome article. Makes me reconsider a few things.

1. I may run an empty bottle between my arm for TT's.

2. Get rid of the frame bottle for TT's

3. I had no idea a rear hydration system worked well...I always thought it acted like a parachute. I also still like Lieto's set up for rear hydration as Bryan mentioned.

4. I have no stem to mount a Bento to

5. Knowing now a rear hydration unit works fairly well, I may start carrying a spare kit behind the seat for all races...

Great article.

I guess no more ridiculing folks for the behind the seat mounts.  

I don't carry hydration since I just do sprints but I guess I'll add a between the bar mount.  Also, I wish they had done the seat tube test on the SC with the bontrager aero bottle.  

Thanks.

Regarding the top mounted bottle, I noticed the rider's hands were together and elbows out a little, so there was a gap for the bottle to fill in.  I'm curious if I should adapt to this as I'll ride with my forearms pretty straight forward.  The bottle actually adds to frontal area in my setup whereas it fills  in a gap for the example.

It'd be interesting to see how detrimental a two bottle rear setup actually is, when compared to the one bottle they used.  I would guess that it depends on how narrow that it could be set up and yaw would have to stay lower, more so than the 1 bottle.  I don't use one now because I'm not training for Full IM's.  In training, I don't care and will throw on a Camelbak for the really long rides which can hold way more than two bottles will.