As long as bicycle racing events have been occurring, riders have been using a number of containers to hold water or other liquid nutrients on their bikes. Aluminum canteens, glass bottles, plastic bottles and more recently hydration backpacks, worn on the rider, have been used. Bottles have been mounted or carried on the handlebars, down tube, seat tube, behind the seat or in a jersey pocket.
Hydration backpacks have been worn on the back or as a fanny pack, but usually mounted to the body with the liquid being delivered to the rider’s mouth using a tube. Now the Portland, Oregon company, Shower Pass, is looking to merge the bike mounted bottle with the convenience of the hydration pack delivery system into one unique system. (Video after the jump)
The VelEau 42, available July 2011, is a saddle bag style water container utilizing a long tube to deliver the liquid from the bladder behind the seat to the stem area of the bike where the rider can easily grab the tube to take a drink. As the name indicates, the VelEau 42 holds 42 ounces of liquid, the equivalent of two small water bottles, behind the seat in what could pass easily as a very large saddle bag if it was not for the wide mouth cap on the top. The tube is routed along the top tube of the bike and attached using a series of clips, magnets and retractable reels, similar to those that you might use to hold your ID at work. There also is enough room left in the VelEau 42 to also hold some tools should you need them when you are riding.
As stated on Shower Pass’s website, this system was born out of necessity by Frank Bretl, an engineer, who was racing in the Cascade Creampuff 100 mountain bike race, but did not want to wear, what he considered a sweat generating hydration pack, on his back. He still wanted the convenience of being able to reach down, grab the bite valve, bring it to his mount and drink. So the VelEau 42 was born. Will the VelEau 42 become a classic like the Specialized water bottle and the CamelBak? There are some obvious shortcomings of this system, but without being able to test one in person, we can not say for sure that this one will last.
Pre-sales are occurring now with an expected in-store date of July 2011. The VelEau 42 retails for $79.99.