Fidlock Water Bottle Assessment – BIKEPACKING.com

compose Miles Arbour
time Jan 4, 2023
remark 9

I used to be first launched to Fidlock water bottles and their magnetic system whereas reviewing Excessive Above’s Enterprise hip pack. The Enterprise is provided with Fidlock’s magnetic base on the waist strap, permitting the usage of a bottle whereas using. Whereas I don’t normally want additional water strapped onto my physique, my accomplice Emily discovered the system fairly helpful for day rides and longer journeys as a result of lack of water-carrying capability on her small/medium-sized body.

The Fidlock water bottle system relies round two items that may be blended and matched relying in your wants. The bottom is the “male” finish of the system, which holds the bottle in place. There are a number of variations, together with the bolt-on Bike Base, strap-on Uni Base, an adapter base to shift the place of your bottle, and even a base designed to strap instantly onto backpack shoulder straps. Fidlock affords plenty of bottle sizes and types, and even common techniques to transform non-Fidlock bottles into magnetic ones. All parts can be found on their very own or as full kits with a base and bottle, relying in your wants.

The Fidlock Flip system makes use of each a magnetic and mechanical attachment to maintain the bottle in place. Two robust magnets entice, middle, and latch the bottle whereas mechanical locking “jaws” safe the bottle in place. The Twist bottle is eliminated with a clockwise movement, making it ideally suited for tight areas, equivalent to the primary triangle of a full-suspension mountain bike.

Whereas the system is kind of versatile, there are some limitations. The strap-on Uni Base could be mounted to any of the primary triangle tubes with a 27-80mm diameter, however they don’t advocate securing it to the fork or seat stays. The Bike Base could be mounted to any customary bottle cage mounts on the body, although Fidlock solely appears to say the seat tube and down tube of their guide. That mentioned, it appears some of us are getting artistic with their Fidlock positions, and after I requested Fidlock about any limitations, they mentioned of us they encourage of us to attempt attention-grabbing mounting options.

Fidlock Uni Base

I used to be most within the Fidlock Uni Base as a approach so as to add an additional bottle on a body with out braze-ons. The magnetic base has two rubber zip-strap fashion straps that attaches it securely to any 28-62mm vast primary triangle tubes. The bottom is backed with a grippy rubber pad to assist create a safe attachment and defend the body, and when put in appropriately, it does a fairly good job at staying put. The complete mount is simply 88mm lengthy, so it takes up minimal room on the body, permitting it to sneak between body bag straps, as you may see in among the pictures on this overview.

The straps function two locking tabs that guarantee they don’t slip. After some fairly aggressive tugging and stretching throughout my testing, they appear to be pretty sturdy too. My solely actual criticism is that the surplus tail of the strap has nowhere to reside, so it both dangles beside the body or should be tucked in beneath itself. I additionally discovered the straps wanted a stable pull to make sure the bottom is stored in place, in any other case successful from a leg or hip would shift the bottom/bottle out of place.

The twist-to-release design works nice regardless of the place the Fidlock water bottle is positioned. It requires minimal effort and after a number of tries, changing the bottle turns into nearly second nature. With that mentioned, relying on the placement, I discovered I’d typically by chance hit the bottle proper off my bike when getting again on. I believe the Fidlock bottles are finest stored away from your legs, both towards the entrance of the highest tube or inside the primary triangle.

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• Mannequin examined: Fidlock water bottle Uni Base
• Materials: Plastic, Neodymium Magnets
• Weight: 41 grams
• Place of Manufacture: China
• Worth: $24.99 at Jenson Worldwide
• Producer’s Particulars: Fidlock-Bike

Fidlock water bottle Bike Base

The Fidlock Bike Base is a bolt-on model of the Uni Base. It has slotted mounting holes that present some place adjustment, and comes with two low-profile bolts that should be used to be able to not intervene with the bottle. It’s not stunning that the Bike Base is safer and stable feeling in comparison with the Uni Base, and it additionally occurs to take a seat nearer to the body as effectively, which may very well be essential with restricted clearance.

We bolted the Bike Base on to Emily’s dimension medium Ibis Ripley AF, since a typical bottle cage setup required an adapter and was awkward to get out and in of the body. For full-suspension mountain bikes, the Fidlock Twist system brings a variety of worth and should even open up the opportunity of operating multiple bottle on sure frames. Similar to the opposite Fidlock bases, the bottle is launched with a fast 45° clockwise flip, much like a side-release bottle cage, and reconnects to the bottom simply with one hand. Each Emily and I agree that the magnets are robust sufficient to rapidly align the bottle whereas using, making an incredible one-handed system for consuming on the go.

• Mannequin examined: Fidlock water bottle Bike Base
• Materials: Plastic, Neodymium Magnets
• Weight: 23 grams (with bolts)
• Place of Manufacture: China
• Worth: $11.99 USD at Jenson Worldwide
• Producer’s Particulars: Fidlock-Bike

Fidlock Twist Bottles

The Fidlock Twist bottles themselves are designed particularly with one-handed operation in thoughts. The physique is contoured to supply a lip to seize onto whereas grabbing the bottle, and the flip cap is outsized with a small lip to make flipping it open with a thumb or finger that a lot simpler. The mouth piece is at all times open, so you may merely squeeze or drink from the bottle after opening the lid.

The one different apparent downfall of the Fidlock water bottle system is that for those who lose or neglect your Twist bottle at residence, you’re not going to have a lot luck discovering a alternative. On a number of rides this yr, Emily would seize a typical bottle out of behavior, solely to understand she had nowhere to stash it. On longer bikepacking journeys, shedding a bottle mid-ride might have some severe implications when water turns into scarce. I believe with some correct testing and a stable setup, the Fidlock water bottle Twist system may very well be nice, however I’d advocate experimenting with totally different positions, terrain, and situations the place you would possibly eject a bottle.

• Mannequin examined: Fidlock Twist
• Materials: Plastic, Neodymium Magnets
• Weight: 106g (450ml), 117g (590ml), 125g (800ml)
• Place of Manufacture: China
• Worth: $13.99-$35.99 at Jenson Worldwide
• Producer’s Particulars: Fidlock-Bike

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