Not just me then. 
Phew
1 Like
I put one bottle on down tube and 1 behind the seat (with a tool tub as there was no rescue due to Covid) for BDCA 100 then just got a bottle passed up at the turns at 50 and 75 miles binning the empty bottle just before then to collect after the event.
Slightly easier to do if it is your club organising admittedly.
:The area behind the rider has the greatest potential for drag reduction." Aerodynamics
I find it hard to understand how one cannot reach behind the saddle?
For me personally, I am long and low…it is literally impossible for me to reach behind my saddle when I am in my aero position. See below pic…I have to sit up and reach behind me. I have tried multiple times…used a BTS setup on the trainer to “practice”. Just can’t be done for me.
2 Likes
I must have gorilla arms 
im long and low as well and can reach the BTS bottle while still in aerobars, take a drink and replace without having to come up. Mind you i also practiced doing in on the trainer. Interestingly the two bottle BTS setup is loads easier to reach than single bottle
2 Likes
Hard to believe with those arms…Shoulder flexibility bad? Oh well, whatever works.
Well, I am a crap swimmer too, so perhaps that is the root cause!!
2 Likes
Damn, talk about a flat back- that’s an impressive position! What distance tris do you do? I could see being able to hold that through an olympic, but my body cringes at the thought of being that folder over for 2+ hours and having to run a half or longer off of it.
1 Like
You can reach – of course. That is not the issue. But at what cost while drinking and reaching and faffing around to replace the bottle in the cage correctly.
I see plenty of analysis that says – behind is better. I have never ever seen anything that says, (for instance) “actually it took 30 seconds in total sat up retrieving the bottle and trying to get it back in the cage behind me securely…." compared with, say, “5 seconds in a lower position to retiieve it from the downtube drink and replace.”
It is never considered as a part of the equation which is silly really - if you carry a bottle it is for drinking from. Take the losses while drinking into account.
I do all tri’s in that position…from Sprints to full IM. I can hold that position for hours with no problem. In fact, it is probably my most comfortable position of any of my bikes.
And I am not flexible at all…I can’t touch my toes if I bend over. It is all about hip rotation.
If it takes you a long time to drink from the BTS, thats a problem. If it takes you a while to sit up and reach for the bottle, thats a problem. What I do is have a BTA setup and just grab fluids from behind and throw it into the BTA (unless your near an aid station, in which case you do a quick swap out). If you are going to grab nutrition (I assume you are talking tris), you will be sitting up anyways, so the loss is null. When you get down into aero, you try to stay in aero. For me, thats like 5-10 seconds of reaching back while still in aero. I usually reach back on hill climbs anyways and refuel then, as you likely get out of aero anyways so the drag reduction is minimal (again its a wash because you were going to sit up anyways).
Be tactical on how you do your setup, on how you reach back, and when you reach back. I seem to have a very good CdA for my races as my times vs w/kg and power numbers are lower than guys i am beating.
Re; drag reduction, lets say you have the best setup for downtube (I am using Cervelo P5x/P3x/Px series as the case), which was designed for a downtube bottle. Drag reduction was 2 watts as per their information, assuming you use a round bottle on the downtube. I can only assume other bikes are not 2watts… likely much, much higher. If you do seat tube, its likely upwards of 5-7. You have to extrapolate this over the ENTIRE ride. Yes, getting out of aero will likely negate a decent chunk of a differential (hence why you should avoid it at all costs), but at the end of the day, the “getting out of aero” is avoidable while the downtube bottle is a consistent loss of watts. What does this mean? You can reduce your losses by staying in aero longer and only getting out of aero in tactical situations, assuming you have a good position. You basically guarantee loss watts from downtube bottles. Thats not to even consider what happens when you reach down to drink, which will negate this even more (frontal surface area is going to be large when you reach down depending on how you grab it)
IMO the best setup is a ziptie cage to the BTS and a BTA setup. If you must carry 3 bottles, do a 2x bts. If you can get integrated fluids, thats likely the best, assuming you can work with it effectively. Downtube is the second worst place, seat tube is the worst place. Also work on your bottle and hydration plan, its literally free watts.
1 Like
My old Planet X Stealth. Don’t have it anymore because I don’t do any TTs but was nice considering how cheap I built it up.
6 Likes
Always was fond of the PX Stealth. Not cutting-edge nowadays but non-integrated parts makes it a great starter TT bike in terms of adjustability and serviceability IMO. That said, geometry is undeniably low by today’s standards!
Yeah it’s a good few years old now but lots of options for changing stems/handlebars, arm rest height etc
It was indeed low and low but seemed to suit my position once I’d made some arm rest risers. PS please dont roast my position…I liked it at least
2 Likes
Well said. It seems most pros don’t have any issues reaching their behind bottles while staying aero.
Wattshop Anemoi
It worked well enough as Cadel Evans’s rig of choice (in disguise) for a while…
2 Likes
Ah cool. Sorry was asking a bit more specifically about TR, i.e. which plans, which workouts? Or is it more you prescribe it to other people?
Disc wheel is but the bike isn’t. Not old either thou has seen few races.
I tend to make my own plans up based on these workouts. But every time there is a plateau I change depending how I or my clients feel. The TR workouts are solid, but require more volume to get to 5+wkg. or, I have to do more volume. not to say someone else cant get to 5wkg on these plans.
1 Like