Mounting a water bottle on an e-bike can be challenging. Many e-bikes mount their battery on or inside of the down tube making it impossible to mount a water bottle there, as is the case with my wife’s Trek e-bike. Instead, Trek placed the water bottle mount under the top tube making it awkward to remove and replace a water bottle in a standard cage. Fortunately my Cannondale e-bike has a water bottle mount on the down tube on top of the battery and another on the seat tube. However, if a water bottle cage is mounted on the seat tube, there isn’t sufficient room to remove the battery. I guess Trek and Cannondale don’t use their bikes or they would have recognized these shortcomings.
Struggling to find a solutions for our water bottle dilemma, I found the Fidlock water bottle system. While it seemed insanely expensive, it looked liked the perfect solution to your problem. So I paid the premium price for the system and one purchase one for each of our e-bikes. about $80. Boy did I make a mistake!
The Fidlock water bottle system is an example of creative innovation that failed upon implementation.
The Fidlock water bottle will only release from one side, so when it’s mounted on the down tube it is righthanded and releases with a twist to the right. When it’s mounted under the top tube or on the seat post it’s lefthanded and releases with a twist to the left, as pictured on their website. Since I am righthanded, it is unnatural for me to reach down with my left hand and twist a bottle to the left to remove it from my seat tube. Compounding the problem for me is drinking from a bottle in my left hand and returning it to the holder with my left hand. Cycling is dangerous enough, without trying to become ambidextrous while grappling with a water bottle on my bicycle.
Bottom line: I cannot recommend the Fidlock Water Bottle.
Ken Whittaker