TenSpeedV2

What saddle is that?

jacobversus

It's a cheap-ish San Marco Era. I wanted something racier than my brooks

TenSpeedV2

I have a San Marco Ponza and I like it.

sammerammer

I've decided that this is just where this is going to sit until I finish it. That way it can mock me repeatedly until it's done.

jacobversus

@TenSpeedV2

Yeah I found it for $20 at my lbs, he said he pulled it off a new Bianchi and just threw it in the bin. So far so good.

jacobversus

@sammerammer

I've done the same thing with my Raleigh Sprite conversion.

It's sitting on my wall. Frameset, fork and wheels. Just debating wether or not I want to continue working on it, or just selling it and spend time on something a little better.

50voltphantom

That's a great looking bike, but why the butt rockets instead of cages? Is there a practical reason?

TejanoTrackie 

Like maybe that frame doesn't have water bottle cage mounts ?

TenSpeedV2

It does. You can see them in the second photo.

TejanoTrackie 

Yeah, I had to enlarge the photo on my iPad Mini to see them. A lot of my track frames don't have bottle cage mounts, especially on the aluminum frames, so I had to use a strap-on cage with them.

TenSpeedV2

My Sonik, TK3 and TK2 didn't have them, so I tried the old ass rocket mount. So many fitment issues depending on the saddle/position. I gave up and just throw a bottle in my bag.

jacobversus

@50voltphantom

Thanks! As others have pointed out, I do have a cage mount, but aesthetically I like the saddle mount one better. To me it's cleaner looking.

TejanoTrackie 

Sounds like you're a form > function sort of guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

jacobversus

Haha this conversation reminds me of my car tuning days. The same applies with bikes! I like form and function (if it's even possible). Yes a downtube cage would be more functional, but the saddle mount looks much better, and still functions pretty well. Ha. On the other hand though, if the so-called form takes away vital function to the bike, say the front brake, for example. I hate the way it looks. But I love having the brake when I need it, (like when I almost got hit by a car the other day). I know the brake isn't the most compelling example, I'm just too lazy to type other examples on my phone.

TL;DR: I like form and function. At the same damn time

Unkle Rico

Well, you can't just do that

velofinds

Aside from looking comical, are butt rockets really so bad, function-wise? I ask never having used them myself.

I totally get where @jacobversus is coming from - clean frame should be clean - but personally, I've come around to frame-mount cages in a huge way. No reason why a frame couldn't have a cage and still look good.

jacobversus

Functionally its actually fine. Took a day of getting used to where to put it. I will admit though, it is easier on a frame mounted cage.

If I could be really cool, and not have to drink water at all, and have no cage/bottle, that would be ideal. But alas, I am not a camel.

It really all started from wanting to have 2 bottles with me at the same time (for longer rides), without putting one in my jersey. My frame only has one cage mount. So i bought the profile design double bottle system that mounts to the seatpost. It worked great when i used it. Did exactly what I wanted. I liked the way it looked having off the downtube. So I bought the minoura mount. Once my water bottle rockets out of the cage where its mounted now, maybe ill switch back to the frame mounted cage. But until then, the butt rocket will add at least 10 hp.

Unkle Rico

My Pista doesn't have cage mounting holes -- I usually just put a bottle in my jersey. I would do a seat mount mount if I were to get one though!

EnzoRWD

If only there was some sort of system to turn your back into a camel's back.

Mumonkan

i used a double ass rocket pod on my track bike because there were no bosses, i only lost a bottle once and that was because i was going over railroad tracks and one of the bottles werent clicked in all the way. few miles later i doubled back and found it, nbd.

i thought they kinda make the bike look faster which was a bonus, and they werent any harder to access than fishing into your jersey pocket for some food

TejanoTrackie 

I just use one of these >>> https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=44338

Looks totally uncool, but then I'm not a very cool guy anyway.

SquidPuppet

Butt rockets are all wrong. In the world of racing, design engineers go to great lengths to centralize mass for improved handling. The bottles should always be within the frames. Neat, tidy, compact, precise, and balanced. Having those bottles up so high and aft ruins the CoG and destroys the handling of the machine. Additionally, they create significant drag and turbulence as air flows off the riders back and rumbles violently across the inefficiently angled bottles.

In short, they drain your energy, make you slow, and make the bike handle dangerously.

These are not random opinions. These are accurate findings from a study I conducted going up and down my driveway many times. Many. And my driveway is long. And sloped.

jacobversus

A camelback on not a MTB is social suicide.

jacobversus

Butt rockets add downforce, and the purpose of downforce is to allow a bike to travel faster through a corner by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip. The formula for downforce of a saddle mounted Butt Rocket is given by


Duh.

This was not copy and pasted from wikipedia.

EnzoRWD

In addition to looking silly and tri-ish (my dumb opinion), I have seen many bottles get launched on group rides from those seat holsters. I will not ride near anyone with them anymore. I'm sure not all are created equal, but the one's my friends have are rubbish.