Fidlock Water Bottle
Bottle bounce-out is a thing of the past with Fidlock water bottles and mounting system. The Fidlock water bottles securely locks to the mount and provides worry free riding even on the bumpiest of roads or
trails.
If you are looking for marginal gains, upgrading your water bottle system could give you an edge on the competition. A lost bottle will lead to an unexpected pit stop and lost time in your race event.
I was recently introduced to Fidlock on Instagram when they partnered with the Belgian Waffle Ride (BWR) on a bottle combo giveaway. Unfortunately, I didn’t win that one.
I continued to follow them, keeping an eye on this new mounting system (I did win their following giveaway, the bottles in this review). I checked out their website and was really intrigued on their take of mounting water bottles to a bike frame.
Fidlock is a German company that makes a variety of mounting solutions for phones, water bottles, and bags. Hopefully, I can get my hands on some of their other products soon and go into full details on those. In the meantime, this review will focus on the fidlock water bottles and base system and explore the wide variety of options offered by Fidlock.
Don’t fret. Fidlock has base and bottle solution for most bike setups.
The Bottle and Base System has three main components: The Base, the Bottle Connector, and the Bottle. All three parts work together to make strong and secure system that is going to keep your bottle perfectly held in place.
Base (The Mount)
The part that attaches to the frame of your bicycle and essentially replaces your bottle case is called the Base. The Base has two knobs with a magnet embedded inside each one. The Base is the first piece of this
innovative design and serves as the foundation to the whole system.
The Base is sort of a universal piece that can be used on a
variety of Fidlock’s products (see below). The same Base can be used to mount
Cargo bags as well.
Installing the Base is quite simple.
- Remove the existing cage or bolts if they are installed.
- Install the base to the frame making sure that the arrow is pointing upwards. Use the bolts provided with the base and apply some grease to the bolts before screwing them into the frame.
- Torque the bolts down to frame manufactures specifications.
Now you can attach the bottle.
The Base has an arrow to indicate the mounting direction. This is done because the magnets in each post are oriented to have reverse polarity. This way you cannot attach your bottle upside down.
Also, when reaching down to attach the bottle to the Base, the bottom magnet of the Bottle Connector will not attach to the top post magnet of the Base. Quite a clever idea that is quite inconspicuous.
The Bottle Connector
The Bottle Connector is the intermediate piece that attaches to the water bottle and is how the water bottle connects to the Base. To attach/remove the connector to/from the bottle, use a 5 mm Allen key. Insert the Allen key and turn 90°. Then just pull the connector off and the reverse to install.
Having the Bottle Connector as a separate piece from the bottle probably simplifies the constructability process of the bottle, but it also allows you to replace it if it breaks.
When comparing a standard bottle cage (the ones pictured are plastic bottle cages from Specialized), the Base alone is a bit lighter than the standard cage. But if you include the weight of the Bottle Connector and Base, they are heavier. The weight difference is very small and someone that is really worried about shaving grams off their bike would probably be using other exotic expensive materials and probably not using either of these products.
For the average cyclist like myself, a few grams here or there isn’t a bother. I’m usually loaded down with frame bags and flat repair gear that the marginal weight of this system over the other isn’t even a thought.
To me, this system is akin to the Speedplay pedal and cleat systems. The pedals are very light, but when you consider the extra material required in the cleats, they are on par with other pedal and cleat systems. Comparing pedal weights alone doesn’t really tell the whole story, same as with Fidlock water bottles and Base Systems.
The Fidlock Water Bottles
The essential part of the system!
The water bottle is your lifeline to staying hydrated on your rides and losing a bottle isn’t an option. With Fidlock Bottle and Base Systems losing your bottles is a thing of the past.
Fidlock has various bottle sizes available: 450 mL, 590 mL, 600 mL, and 800 mL.
The feel of the Fidlock water bottles are a little bit different than that of a regular bottle. Since the Bottle Connector is attached to the bottle, the bottle is stiffer. I have only used the 450 mL bottle and can’t fully speak for the larger bottles, but when the fluid level is low it does make drinking from the bottle a little bit harder.
I would think with the larger bottles it not as much of an issue since they are a larger volume than the 450 mL, but the Bottle Connector will provide stiffness to the bottle and reduce the squeezability no matter which one you choose.
When the bottle is completely full there are no issues with drinkability.
The dust cover is a nice feature and when closed prevents the liquid from squirting out. Thus, the dust valve acts as a valve stop. Once the dust cover is popped open you can drink from the bottle. The dust cover can flop around and can be a little annoying at times.
After a few uses, you get use to using the Bottle with the dust cover.
For extremely muddy situations I would highly recommend it.
Otherwise, I could probably do without the dust cover. But Bottles without the dust cap do not have a flow preventer. So, you must be careful not to squeeze the bottle when transporting them.
Ride Performance
A few years back when I was doing a lot of crit racing, I lost a bottle on my first lap of a race. For this race, I decided to go light and only take a single bottle. This course had a section of road that was made of old brick pavers that was very bumpy from uneven settling.
Fidlock water bottles were not out at the time. But having this system then would have helped me out tremendously.
Now days my focus is on gravel racing. This type of riding and racing has many bumpy roads, potholes, washboard sections, and even single track and is usually self-supported with rest stops spaced far apart.
One lost bottle could possibly mean the end of your race.
After many hours and miles of gravel roads, I have not lost a bottle and riding on the bumpiest of gravel sections are worry free.
Fidlock Products
Fidlock has a few other mounting solutions too. From drybags for your phones and even suction cups to attach your phone to various places.
Fidlock also has adaptors to attach non-Fidlock water bottles to their Base. They also have a few cargo bags that mount to the Base too.
Final Thoughts
There is a slight learning curve with the Fidlock Bottle and Base. Various times, I would reach down and pull on the bottle instead of twisting it, forgetting it was not a standard bottle and cage. Attaching the bottle takes some practice and I felt a little uneasy when I first starting using the bottle, being that I was unsure if it was properly attached.
There is a slight clicking noise when you attach the bottle to the base mount, but if you are on rough or noisy terrain, you main not hear it. Initial use of this system will take some practice.
The Bottle Connector needs to be aimed closely to 90 degrees to the Base to properly attach it. Thus, it does take a little bit more precision when placing the Bottle back on compared to that of a standard bottle and cage system. This bottle system therefore might not be as fastest or easiest to place back onto the bike, but it is very secure.
Unfortunately, Fidlock only makes a clockwise twisting system. This is great for right-handed people and for the bottle on the downtube and left-handed people for the bottle on the seat tube. It feels a little awkward removing the seat tube bottle with my right hand since it requires twisting towards the non-drive side of the bike.
I may try practicing removing the seat tube bottle with my left hand.
I think Fidlock needs to create a second type of bottle connector that twists counterclockwise or develop a bottle connector that can twist out in both directions.
All in all, this is a great bottle system, and I would recommend it if you were on the fence. The initial price is a bit steep, but if you are regularly losing bottles, this system would pay for itself after a couple of lost bottles.
If you are wondering what bag I am using it is a Route Works Handlebar bag. Follow the link to check out my review.
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3 thoughts on “Fidlock Water Bottle + Bike Base The Ultimate Gravel System”
Thank you for this review. I’ve been looking for a good bottle, bottle connector and base. I love the dust flap idea. I always appreciate your candidness and trust that you’re giving me the best review to base my purchase on. Thanks again, Kathy
Kathy, Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments! The dust flap is a good idea, when you remember to open the cover lol. Stay tuned for more reviews soon.
JayLo
Jason,
this is Nick from Fidlock USA. Thank you so much for your review. Would love to chat sometime. Let me know how i can contact you.
Nick Lacaria
Director Marketing Fidlock US