Profile Design Aqua Rack 2-bottle Aero Bottle Holder Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this product somewhat on a lark after riding a century with horrific headwinds. With two bottles on the frame and my pump sticking out to the side of the downtube cage I felt like I was pulling a parachute. In combination with a Fi:zik seat with integrated rear light, a hard-shell(flaccid shell ?) Topeak seat bag, a Topeak pump and a custom mounting system (described in my review of the Topeak medium seat bag) I can carry up to 96 oz of Polar-protected fluids, my pump, light and seat bag with nothing on my back, shoulders, or wrists. Since all of this is in the wind-shadow of my body, it is very aerodynamic. It is somewhat redundant because the bottles are behind your torso and legs, but the bottles are also laid back in an aero position.
A very cool benefit of having the weight of your water on the seat post is it damps vibration noticeably. This seems to be true even if the mount is butted right against the seat post tightening collar. A couple of other benefits not immediately obvious are moving the center of gravity backward on your bike - very nice when braking hard going downhill - and the cages that come with the system have a hi & low mount so you can stagger the bottles if you wish. My left cage bottom is within 1/4" of my brake cable, but I could move the right one down if I wanted to. It might help in some circumstances to accommodate a large seat bag. Oh, and the cages hold the bottles with a death-grip. No way those bottles are coming out. I have ridden stuff as bad as cobblestone and they didn't budge. Finally, when the cages are populated, if you lean your bike against a wall, the bottles will touch before your seat does, so no more scuffed up seats.USES:
If I know I am going to be facing a stiff headwind, and have adequate hydration support, I will put one small bottle on the downtube and two small or large bottles on the AquaRack. If you pick the bottle cage on the seat tube to be aerodynamic when empty (not by weight), this will get you a nice aero profile with lots of water ready at hand. You CAN reach back on the go and get bottles out and into the AquaRack, but I still prefer a bottle within easy reach on the downtube.
The AquaRack opens up a whole new world of hydration management. For example, I recently did some serious mountain climbing with poor hydration support, and also wanted to bring lots of Gatorade but didn't want to fool with the powder as it can make a total mess of your bike - sticky and dirty too. I filled one of 3 bottles with a 4x concentrate of Gatorade and water which will make a gallon of Gatorade at normal strength. Using the other two bottles I mixed up 1x Gatorade at each hydration stop and sometimes left one bottle straight water. Gatorade, juice, water, concentrate. Water, Gatorade, CytoMax, concentrate. Use your imagination, but you can't do this with a CamelPac.
CAVEATS:
1.) This could be made lighter IMHO. It is over-speced in the metal work near the bottles I think, but I do find myself slid back against the bottles on high-speed descents on occasion, so maybe the strength is needed. I do know there are MUCH lighter systems available for Cervelo's seat tube mount system so I think a CF version would save some serious weight. In any case, it is still a fraction of the weight of a CamelBac.
2.) You have to pull the seat post up out of the seat tube to R&R this. A system that hinged on the front side of the seat post would eliminate this. Just look at how your front dérailleur attaches around your seat tube. The same design would work here. The problem with the current system is the seat post clamps on CF frames don't like to be worked a lot, and this works them a lot if you take it off and put it on all the time. If it weighed less this would be a non-issue, but as it is, it kind of is an issue.
3.) It would be so easy to integrate a real pump holder into this design. Please, please, please.
4.) At very high speeds (50mph for me) I noticed that changes in leg position can lead to some side to side movement. If you anticipate it, its not bad, but there isn't much margin for error when descending at these speeds so keep it in mind.
5.) When climbing out of the saddle the weight of the system, especially when full of water, will tend to rock the bike side to side a bit more.
(see attached pics above)
Topeak Aero Wedge Pack DX Bicycle Seat Pack with Fixer (Medium)

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Timex Ironman Midsize Race Trainer Heart Rate Monitor with Data Xchanger Watch, Black/Grey, Mid Size Review

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(More customer reviews)I had been using a Timex for several years, and was very happy with it until it started malfunctioning. I went looking for a new one, comparing Polar, Suunto, and then later Timex. My two primary concerns were quality, a diffuse set of factors, and the ability to work with an Apple running Mac OS X. Only some of Polar's and Suunto's watches work with a Mac, and then only with external software. I was surprised when I found Timex's Ironman Trainer packages also worked with Apple.
Provisos:
- A sleek light watch, that fits my wrists - I have proportionately slender wrists, although I'm fairly large - but might be unusable on men with large wrists.
- Data management is done on a website, requiring registrationPros:
- Looks great
- Easy to use, although it has many features
- Reliable (assumed from my long-term experience with other Timex watches)
- Inexpensive (the cost was $50 less than advertised elsewhere, and much less than comparable Polar/Suunto watches)
- User-exchangeable battery (some Polar/Suunto models require shipping for battery replacement)
- Works nicely with PC's and Mac with a free account with Training Peaks, an effortless installation and upload to the third-party site.
Cons:
- There are some desktop packages, they are a bit pricey for my needs, $130 per year, a recreational fitness buff. The basic online statistics are good, but I would love to be able to slice-and-dice my performance numbers in more detail.


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The Race Trainer digital heart rate monitor includes a linked interval timer with training zones that acts like a personal coach. INCLUDES Data Xchanger USB that allows this 10-workout memory HRM to download wirelessly to a Timex on-line training log powered by TrainingPeaks . Made for 2-way wireless communication between your watch and computer to download performance data and watch settings. Look for the ANT+Sport logo on the watch.

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Mens Polar FA20 Fitness Computer Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, so I've been using this for over a month now and feel it's now time to review it.
What I like about it:
1) It's a nice watch which also has a nice feel to it, not like my Polar S725X Pro Team Tour de France Edition Heart Rate Monitor Watch with Free Cadence Sensor which is huge and bulky.
2) The watch is intentionally not sensitive to movements. I've discovered that I need to be walking for at least 20 seconds before it even registers that I'm walking. I think this is a smart thing because if you're at work and you get up and go to the printer or to the restroom (which for me is less than 50 feet away) then that's really not considered sustained walking. Also, you have to be walking for at least one full minute before the watch will even log it as one minute of walking.
3) This watch is very conservative with the calories. The calorie count is less than when I use my heart rate monitor. I rank this as a plus because often we don't burn as many calories as we think while walking based on our intensity, etc.
4) This watch tracks walking and jogging fairly well. It knew when I was doing both.
What I don't like about it:
1) Referencing the sensitivity of the watch, I've also noticed that when I come to a complete stop, the watch still thinks I'm walking and will show the walking animation for about 20 seconds. I think the 20 seconds is the key to its sensitivity. The watch is sensitive enough to realize when I stand up though.
2) When I have it track a specific activity, like walking, the miles displayed are very inaccurate. It consistently came in at 0.2 miles less than what my actual miles covered. I don't think that's a good thing at all, especially if you need to walk a certain distance every day. What I don't understand is why Polar doesn't let you adjust the length of your stride, which is what you can do with its other watches that work with the footpods.
3) Price! This is a really expensive watch! $100+ for basically what amounts to a fancy pedometer.
I'll continue using mine because I think that benefits definitely outweigh the cost, but I'd recommend waiting until the price drops down to something more reasonable. I paid way too much for mine so I'm going to get as much use out of it as possible.

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