The Bottle Grab is designed to hand off water bottles and musettes to riders in a race. Bottles and musettes are suspended at a height suitable for hand off for riders of all heights. The bottle holders work for all standard diameter cycling bottles with a notched neck, or in other words for any bottle that fits in a bottle cage that has a notched neck. The bottle holders are designed to support any bottle length or weight. Simply slide the bottle neck into the arms of the bottle holder, and it’s ready for hand off. The bottle holders are currently 3D printed with a composite carbon fiber and ASA material designed for outdoor use and impact resistance, meaning they will hold up to UV exposure, rain, and wear and tear. Future iterations will most likely not require carbon fiber reinforcement but will use the same plastic ASA material for outdoor use and impact resistance. Future iterations of the bottle holder will also take into account optimal bottle angles for hand off where the bottle of the bottle is angled toward the rider, as described in both GCN’s and the UCI’s tips for handing off and receiving bottles.
The current design of the Bottle Grab best fits three bottles for subsequent hand-off, starting from the outer most bottle and working inward. It is able to support the weight of over 10 bottles, and future iterations of the Bottle Grab will hand off more than three bottles. Future iterations will feature tiered bottle locations where each bottle is able to be handed off independently, making it possible for teams to hand off specific bottles for multiple riders in the same race with one Bottle Grab. The weight capacity also lends the possibility for a reloading machine, possibly with bottles suspended on a rotating wheel or able to slide into hand off position with a pivoting mechanism.
Aluminum t-slotted framing makes the Bottle Grab’s post and arm stiff, lightweight, and modular. It does not rust and will hold up to rain, sun, and any other inclement weather encountered on race day. Future iterations of the post and arm will make the Bottle Grab packable and suited for travel. Users will be able to remove the arm from the top of the post and split the post in two before packing all of it down into an easily transportable container.
Markers at the top of the Bottle Grab will allow riders to pick out their stand and convey to other riders that the bottles are not for them. Dry erase signs at the top allow users to write their name or team name large enough to be seen from far away (as you can see in the end of the set up demo, dry erase doesn’t work well when it’s wet out, so mark the sign when it’s dry…maybe something to do with the “dry” in dry erase). Future iterations of the Bottle Grab will feature abilities to support a flag that can be seen from far away.
The Bottle Grab is designed such that tipping is impossible in a typical race situation, such as from wind, when a bottle is handed-off, or a light, moderate, or even heavy collision with the arm. The base is wide, has feet for adequate grip to the ground, and is weighted with a 30 lb sand bag while the top of the Bottle Grab is designed to be as light as possible while maintaining strength and stiffness. The weighted base and lightweight upper frame to the Bottle Grab result in a low center of mass, making it difficult to tip. As a safety measure, another 30 lb sand bag is chained to the top of the stand and placed to the side of the base opposite the direction of the course, preventing tipping into the road or the course.
Visit the Bottle Grab’s Product Safety page for more information about how the Bottle Grab is prepared for what can go wrong out on course.
While sand bags are recommended when using the Bottle Grab for local races, when traveling with the Bottle Grab, lugging around two sand bags isn’t exactly ideal and doesn’t make sense for air travel. Luckily, it is possible to use weighted water bags when traveling instead of sand bags. Simply pack down the empty water bags during travel and fill them up from a sink or hose before arriving on course. The weighted water bags are designed to hold onto the base and chain of the Bottle Grab in the same way the sand bags are.
