My focus for this review is really using the smaller volume 450ml Fidlock bottle as a 2nd bottle on mountain bikes where space and bottle mounts are at a premium. That would include most modern full suspension bikes where getting 1 average sized bottle inside the frame is a win. Even modern hardtails rarely fit more than one bottle inside the main triangle due to dropper post considerations and low standover heights. So adding that 2nd bottle requires some creativity. One place almost everyone has space for a 2nd bottle is on the top tube behind the stem.
The Fidlock 450ml bottle is nice because it’s big enough to supplement your larger primary bottle extending your ride time a useful amount. It’s also small enough not to get in your way up on the top tube and since it’s a cageless bottle when you don’t need it you can leave the mounting base on the bike without it looking too F-ugly or being annoying. It’s also nice because the twisting motion required to remove the bottle means that if you were to tap it with your knee once in a while you won’t eject the bottle and have to stop to retrieve it.
We’ve got two different Fidlock base mounts in use on Sharon’s bikes. On her Guerrilla Gravity Smash she’s got the standard bolt on base attached to a Wolf Tooth B-Rad Base, which is then just electrical taped to the carbon frame. This works really well, is secure and looks pretty clean. It’s not quickly removable, but she uses it most rides so that mount stays on the bike 24/7/365. On her RSD Middle Child hardtail she uses the strap-on Fidlock base. It mounts in under 60 seconds and is quite secure. Since she rides that hardtail a lot in winter she doesn’t need the second bottle all the time so the removable mount makes more sense even though the install doesn’t look as clean as the one on the GG Smash.
For non-technical rides having that 2nd bottle up top makes no difference to how the bike performs at all. For technical mountain bike rides Sharon will drink the Fidlock bottle on the inevitable climbs to the top of the mountain so that it’s empty when she’s smashing her way down the trails and that way there is no noticeable extra weight up high on the bike.
The only downsides with this Fidlock bottle is 1) the volume is small and 2) they are expensive at ~$38USD. Fidlock does make larger volume bottles, but for this application they are too big to be mounted on top of the top tube. Given how well they work and the fact it’s super nice to only have the low profile base left on your top tube if you don’t use the bottle I think the cost is worth it. They are well made so you should enjoy the bottle for many years of use.
vikapproved MK2 