Incremental performance improvements

[G3CWI]

I have been considering buying carbon fibre bottle holders for my bike. However, despite asking at the shop and searching on the internet, I can find no objective information to show how much I could expect them to improve my performance. At the moment I have very cheap plastic holders. I feel sure that they must be slowing me down quite a bit. Help!

 

[Crackle]

I'm fairly sure I've seen a study about this and it's worth a 2% performance increase plus 1% psychological advantage and is going to have a 2% negative effect on anyone you ride with who only has alloy or plastic cages. That's a net gain of 5%.

 

[ColinJ]

The weight of the spare cash you carry around with you is slowing you down, as well as the weight of your bottle cages, so if you buy the cf cages then you will achieve a double performance boost. I reckon you should be able to do a typical 25 mile ride at least 0.01 seconds faster with an empty wallet and cf bottle cages!

(You might find spending the money on better tyres and tubes to be more effective though.)

 

[threebikesmcginty]

You're better off making sure you've been to the loo before you go out.

 

[Beebo]

and dont put any water in the bottle.

 

[Fnaar]

The guilt of knowing that you have carbon bottle holders, while knowing that other cyclists have to make do with plastic or metal, negates any weight advantage, it has been scientifically proven*. Therefore, I'd get lead ones if I were you

*probably

 

[shouldbeinbed]

I have been considering buying carbon fibre bottle holders for my bike. However, despite asking at the shop and searching on the internet, I can find no objective information to show how much I could expect them to improve my performance. At the moment I have very cheap plastic holders. I feel sure that they must be slowing me down quite a bit. Help!

maybe not as much as a home enema kit and a job lot of fairy liquid

 

[Fnaar]

Or GT85 in place of the fairy liquid

 

[shouldbeinbed]

You could make a little aero helmet for your water bottle too, all of that flat surface battering against the air, it's amazing you don't go backwards on blowy rides

 

[Licramite]

remove bottle holders completely and bottle as it will increase drag - which is a drag.
buy a reyhdration pack - or backpack with internal water bladder as I call them.

but of course water weigh's 10ld a gallon , so don't carry any and be that much lighter, get your water from pubs along the way.

 

[snailracer]

and dont put any water in the bottle.

And pump all the air out of it with a vacuum pump.

 

[Fnaar]

Or fill the bottles with helium

 

[PaulB]

Do away with bottle cages. Calculate all the liquid you require for the entire effort, drink it before-hand and fit yourself with one of those indwelling catheters, the tip of which which will protrude from your bib-shorts and provide you with much-needed cooling during the event. Don't mention it.

 

[pplpilot]

Pft! Carbon fibre is soooooo 2012, you need cages made from wood pulp extract -

http://www.gizmag.com/cellulose-nanocrystals-stronger-carbon-fiber-kevlar/23959/

 

[Arsen Gere]

Drag figures are on Sheldon's site http://sheldonbrown.com/rinard/aero/aerodynamics.htm