Just hours before starting in my first mountain bike race since I was a teenager, I was stressing. I've been biking singletrack for 35 years and my Camelback has been attached to my body the whole time. But here at the Sea Otter Classic (California) I could see that almost none of the hundreds of racers wore them on course ~ everyone uses frame-mounted water bottles. Cheap bottles are handed out like candy at these events, but I didn't even have a cage on my frame, so I scrambled through the sea of bike equipment tents at the event. Someone strongly advised I visit the Fidlock tent, and I am so grateful.
The core of the Fidlock system is genius ~ multiple combinations of magnets and attachment mechanisms (multiple clip styles, as well as suction cups) which are unbelievably secure and fast, and completely novel. To appreciate it, understand that the magnet is NOT what is holding your bottle, pack, or phone. The magnet helps align the device and automatically activates the rock solid attachment clip or vacuum suction. It's brilliant, and a visit to their extended German-based website reveals how expansive the potential applications are.
I'll let the website explain in detail, but all you need to know is that in person it is shocking how well it works ~ and I consider myself an very discerning equipment shopper. Not only does the magnet do a great job of helping you align the bottle to re-attach it, but it gives a very satisfying 'click' to confirm it's secure. Further, the hidden clip mechanism locks the bottle in place so securely that you literally cannot pull it off unless you rotate it clockwise about 15 degrees or so ~ a very easy and natural movement for your right hand while riding.
Since I was giving up my entire Camelback bladder for the race, I committed to the largest Fidlock bottle (800). It has the signature Fidlock mechanism embedded in the backside, which is very rigid plastic, but the rest of the bottle is a super supple soft plastic that is easy to squeeze and drink from. The bottle comes with a flip-open dust cover for the valve, which makes sense, but since I haven't ridden with a water bottle in decades I was very worried I would be fumbling with it on the singletrack and drop the bottle. The Fidlock rep simply unsnapped it to reveal the valve, and that's how I rode.
Even better, the valve doesn't require a 'teeth pull' to open ~ it has a pressure valve on the inside, so a solid squeeze releases a flood of water. My only slight reservation about the valve is that it doesn't allow you to suck down the last ounce for some reason. I guess the valve requires some back pressure in addition to your squeeze. No biggie, given all the other incredible advantages of this system.
On the trail I found the bottle extremely easy to unclip. A simply, modest clockwise snap of the right wrist and it pops right off. It did take me a few minutes to build muscle memory to relocate the magnetic clip, but anyone who used this system ~ or for that matter already uses a cage water bottle ~ will have zero problem having it become automatic.
For those of you who already use water bottles, keep in mind that since the magnetic clip is on one side of the bottle, you must have the bottle clip facing the frame clip in order to re-attach. Even this only took me a few tries to become easy and obvious.
And the best and most important news is that this Fidlock system is absolutely locked. I admit that I kinda expected this bottle was going to break loose in the first mile of my race, and therefore without any hydration, I'd likely not even finish the race. But it didn't. Not even close. Even with the heaviest water volume (800). In fact, since I was new to the system, a couple times I grabbed for the bottle without twisting my wrist and it didn't budge even with a firm yank. I am so impressed and happy to report that as hard as I jammed through those 25 singletrack miles, and in all the trails I've ridden over the past couple months since then, this bottle has NEVER come off.
So not only did I finish my race, I finished with far less weight on my body and less heat on my back. And now that I'm back on my home trails, I'm looking at Fidlock's entire genius product lineup and thinking maybe I never use my beloved pack again!
Consider this: since the Fidlock frame mount is the same for their bottles and frame packs, you can have one or two Fidlock mount points and choose to configure your bike for two waters, or two packs, or one of each, or neither. If I choose to do a long ride with roadie / gravel friends, maybe I'll double down on the waters and leave my pack at home. If I do an epic backcountry singletrack ride, maybe I carry my water on my Camelbak and use the Fidlock frame mounts and underseat mount for tubes, repair kit, and bandaids.
I'm also a passionate backcountry iPhone photographer so I'll be looking into the phone mount next. I'll bet it's awesome!
Thanks so much, Fidlock,...