It has been hard work finding an aero water bottle. My first one kept falling out, which makes it no good. I’ve recently bought an X-Lab Aero TT bottle, which hopefully will stay put, and save the odd couple of watts.
Specialized S-Works Aero Water Bottle
This was a very cheap way to improve aerodynamics. Only £14.99 for bottle and cage. It’s quite thin and fits on to frame nicely. The capacity is 600ml, which is fine for most time trials. Though on longer ones like 100 mile time trial, you may prefer 800ml which will reduce the need to pick up bottles.
It was easy and intuitive to pick out of bottle cage and just as easy to put back in. It felt fairly solid, but then on two occasions, it jumped out on a bumpy descent. As I often race on bumpy roads (which UK roads are not bumpy?) I couldn’t trust this bottle. Also, on one occasion when jumping out, it got smashed. I think I ended up buying a second one, but this one jumped out too, so I’ve completely given up on this bottle.
- Specialized S-Works at Evans – only £10.99
‘X-Lab Aero TT’
I bought this X-Lab Aero TT because it had good reviews for staying in place. You can definitely understand why it stays in place – it is actually hard to pull the bottle out of its cage. The first time, I thought this is pretty difficult. However, there is a good trick for getting the bottle out, you have to lift the black cap at the top of the bottle, and then it comes out OK. Putting the bottle back in, also, requires practice. You have to put the end in first and then push it down. I’m confident of its ability to stay in place, I’m less confident of my ability to seamlessly get the bottle out during the pressure of a race (when racing, taking a drink is often really hard work). It is made in the US and comes with those outdated US imperial measurements of 20 oz (or as we say in the rest of the world 585ml.)
X-Lab Aero TT
Other points
- Weight of bottle and cage 90 grams
- Taste free. BPA Free Polyethylene
- There is an easy-grip groove to help withdraw from Hi-grip cage. I didn’t find this useful though, the best way to get it out is to pull by the neck.
- Looks relatively good
- Cap is strong and solid. Easy to fill with powder/liquid.
Fitting bottle
The cage is longer than your typical water bottle cage. Fortunately, it comes with quite a degree of flexibility where you place it on the down tube (or seat tube)
I needed this flexibility when putting on two bottles.
X-Lab Aero water bottle £40.49 (RRP – £44.99( at Chain Reaction cycles
Elite Crono CX
Another bottle I looked at was the Elite Crono CX. The non-carbon fibre version is quite reasonable at £24.99. It has go faster dimples. I can’t remember why I didn’t get this. Reviews are generally positive.
- Elite Crono CX at Evans Cycles
How much does an aero water bottle save?
I’m not sure how much an aero bottle save. Manufacturers are keen to throw out figures, such as saving 20 watts compared to a standard water bottle. X-Lab claim their bottle can save 20 seconds in a 25 mile TT. I tend to be somewhat suspicious of this kind of claim, because if I added up all the claimed aero savings of manufacturers, I would be tackling the World Hour Record this weekend.
Tests by Cervelo suggest that a water bottle was of significance. Removing a water bottle saved 2.8% at 250watts, removing an aero bottle saved 1.6%. 1% of 250 watts, is roughly 2.5 watts, which sounds feasible.
UCI Regulations
I didn’t bother with an aero water bottle last season, because I reasoned professional cyclists never seemed to bother either – just using standard water bottles. However, a very quick inspection reveals that UCI regulations have actually banned aero water bottles.
I believe the UCI regulation is question is that – ‘bottles themselves must not exceed maximum cross-section dimensions of 10cm or less than 4cm.’
So there you go.
Related
- Ways to improve aerodynamics in time trials
- X-Lab Aero water bottle £40.49 (RRP – £44.99) at Chain Reaction cycles
I’m sure I’ve read that putting a standard bottle between your tribars actually reduces drag by filling up the gap between your arms. If an aero bottle still adds drag (as per the figures from Cervelo), is there any reason you don’t mount one on the bars?
I’ve heard that too, though there is conflicting reports. SOme say they can actually increase drag – it depends no how mounted. I’ve bought one so will be reviewing soon.
Uci regulations got verry strict after cervelo integrated their bottles into their frames.
Regulations:
Bottle must be placed INSIDE frame (traditional places).
Bottle behind seatpost or on handlebar is not allowed.
400 – 800ml
Cross section between 4 and 10 cm
Credit card must fit between bottle cage holder and frame (same as wheel) so the bottle cant seemless connect to the frame.
I do use the shiv bottle, as it fits perfectly in my tt frame, and actually makes it more aerodynamic.
I barely drink diring time trials. However it is an illegal case, several dutch riders started with it on national championship. And only in a belgian prologue it was forbidden, i had to remove the bottle before start. (for me, a belgian rider was allowed to start with same cage)
If you do not race in elite or higher, i would not worry too much about uci rules. However there are some uci legal aero bottles out there
If you see someone with an aero bottle in a lower category race, would you say it’s not worth mentioning?
Elite Crono bottle is a smart product but rattles like hell in its cage, especially when empty(ish).
Maddening.
I read this article because I’m now looking for an aero bottle that doesn’t rattle.
The Elite Crono with CF cage doesn’t seem to rattle.
On AliExpress I also got knock-offs of the Elite Crono with slip-in magnetic mounts rather than Elite’s style cage. These can also take a 750-800ml round bottle but those mounts can be brittle when torquing bolts.
I’m still looking for 800ml UCI legal aero bottles to allow legal Gran Fondo racing whilst starting with 1.6litres onboard to eliminate stopping in World Championship events.
UCI also allows carrying 500ml ‘Camel-bak style’, and Castelli now makes cycling tops that can hold a 1.5l bladder for gravel racing. Voila?
Elite Crono bottle are very noisy when empty, very low capacity and fall out of the holder, I bought two what a waste of money, got fed up with stopping to pick them up even added an elastic band to help but this made it hard to remove and replace. One got damaged on a decent beyond using again and when the second on fell out I just rode on and switched back to normal bottles and holders when I got home.
X-Lab Aero TT. I love this one because of the shape. I will have a try later.