Beaker Concepts Hydro Tail
Reviewed by Coach Matt Russ
Hydration systems are a real conundrum for cyclists. Nothing will degrade athletic performance like dehydration but fluids are heavy, bulky, and must be readily accessible. A traditional water bottle cage works well, but placing a round water bottle on top of the shaped tubes of a tri or TT bike significantly degrades the aerodynamics of the form. One solution is an aero bottle that is attached between the tri bars. This system encourages drinking more often but even a long straw can cause a fair amount of drag. Another idea is to mount the water bottles behind the seat presumably out of the aerodynamic slipstream. These can be used to refill the aero bottle on long rides. The problem with this system is that the mounts are usually fairly heavy and the bottles are actually still in the slipstream if they rise above the lower back.
The Beaker Concepts Hydro Tail attempts to address some of these issues. It is positioned lower than traditional seat mounts presumably blocked by the cyclist�s rear end and out of the aerodynamic slipstream; giving a claimed 1-2 minutes per hour advantage. Although that remains to be seen, it does seem like the most logical place for a water bottle. At a purported 50 grams it is definitely the lightest product out there and 1-3 cages can be mounted to the bracket. This allows a very fast single bottle option for shorter distance triathletes and time trialists.
The design is simplistic in the extreme. It is just a single piece of molded carbon fiber with holes drilled in it. If you are not particularly mechanically inclined I would leave mounting up to your bike shop. Although it fit well on my seat I could see where trimming the carbon fiber may be necessary for some saddles. It is actually a surprisingly solid design, even more so than some systems with multiple mounting points that may come loose. I recommend mounting the bottle cages before putting the bracket on the seat rails or you will have a tough time getting to the bolts. The mounting blocks that attach the unit to your seat rails are threaded plastic and easy to strip. After I removed it once for travel, the plastic thread holes began to strip and I lost a bolt during a ride.
The reach takes a bit of getting used to but it is accessible. One way to improve the product would be to slightly elongate the lower cage mounting hole for the rearmost bottle bracket. This would allow a slight ergonomic tilt and easier access for left or right handed cyclists using a single bottle mount. There is a bit of room for a tube / tire / CO2 cartridge in the center of the bracket but I did not attempt to affix a flat kit. If you can fit a tube or tire in the center of the bracket it may block aerodynamic drag on these items as well.
At $99 it is one of the more (if not most) expensive systems out there. I can�t imagine the production costs being too much, and I would expect similar systems from other manufacturers to follow shortly. Once you are all in with 3 carbon cages you could be looking at over $250, but if you dropped more than 5k on a full carbon wonder bike this may be the hydration system for you. www.beakerconcepts.com
Available locally at Roswell Bicycles
Matt Russ has coached and trained elite athletes from around the country and internationally for over ten years. He currently holds expert licenses from
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