I don't have an issue with mine. I did notice Taylor Knibb had an open end to her straw during the KONA bike. Maybe that's an option for you.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

One thing I have done is to cut the internal end of the straw at a very acute angle so the opening is wider, that way I can drink when the bike is inclined.

This can happen if you use the solid fill cap. Should not be a problem with the quick fill cap. You need a way for air to get into the rigid plastic bottle to take the space of the fluid coming. There is a one-way valve that allows air in, but it's a bit small for my preferences and still takes "sucking hard" to get flow. I modified my older bottle that just came with a plug by drilling some holes in it.

Blowing into it before drinking should work too.

Edit to add: I drilled very small holes into the solid-fill cap...not the bottle. So small they are effectively closed, but allow some air in.

I cut the valve off and never looked back

Sorry was a bit busy this month to check Slowtwitch, but appreciate the people here providing some great ideas!

Drill a small hole in the solid cap - this would be my top recommended idea. We filled this hole as some athletes complained of leaking when the bike was racked, but will definitely help with flow if you drill it out.

You can cut off the bite valve - though you will take in more air with this method as the liquid will no longer be stored at the top.

Another input - there could be an issue with your actual breather valve. Whether that be a manufacturing defect or an in-house assembly issue. We are always more than willing to check system conditions and see if we can identify the problem so you don't have to struggle hydrating!

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

I cover the vent hole with a square of electrical tape to keep the torp from leaking when racked in T1 (the fluid level is low enough in T2 that it's a non-issue). Then just move the tape once you get going on the bike.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

My wife removed the bite valve from her torpedo and just uses the straw. My bike has a bladder system and it just has a straw with no bite valve. It has a much longer straw and I thought it would bother me but I don't even think about it.

Thanks for the reply. It seems the air flow issue was what was making it so hard to get fluid out. I change to the quick fill cap and that seems to have fixed the issue.

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Peak NA Cocktails for Recovery
WAE Clothing
Youtube

Sounds good and from what you have described - most likely is a breather valve issue. It is not opening up enough for you to get sufficient airflow.

The quick refill lid allows air to go into the bottle freely so you will (and already have!) seen a difference.

Glad it worked out in the end!

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike