Cockpit

I've finally sorted out the cockpit of my tri bike. The thing about the Giant Trinity Advanced is that it has a very complicated nose cone arrangement which supposedly shaves vital seconds off an Ironman bike leg (assuming that you are actually pedalling fast enough for it to have any effect, which is probably not my case). Well, it looks cool and it would therefore be a shame to screw up those carefully calibrated aerodynamics by sticking a water bottle in the wrong place - in fact the frame doesn't even have anywhere to attach a bottle holder. I've got the Xlab Carbon Wing attachment for the saddle which allows me to hold two bottles (except that I use this to hold a spare tubular tyre and associated tools when I am training) but it really isn't very convenient to have to reach back every time you want a sip of water. The end result is that you just don't drink as much, which is bad - especially in competition.

I got one of those aerobar supports, also made by Xlab, which allows me to cradle the bottle horizontally between my forearms, effectively not contributing in any way to the profile presented to the oncoming air. I can even hide the Garmin 310XT behind the bottle (which, of course, cannot easily be attached anywhere else on the bike). This is great from an aerodynamical point of view, but suffers from much the same problem as the behind the saddle arrangement: in the end I drink far less than I should (and to do so requires breaking out of the aerodynamic tuck). Finally my prayers have been answered in the form of the A2 Speedfil bottle, which is essentially nothing more than a bottle with a straw sticking out of it. What makes it special, however, is that it has a little flap you can open allowing you to quickly refill the bottle by squeezing the contents of another into it. Of course, the ideal solution would be to have a bladder hidden inside the frame of the bike like the Specialized Shiv boasts. The Trek Speed Concept solves the problem of where to store your energy gels and cereal bars by providing a special aerodynamic box which slots in behind the seat post. But I love my Giant...