Greetings. I am coordinating a bike ride for 150 people and am looking for a great water bottle that I can custom design. My ideal is that the plastic is made with recycled material and that the mouthpeice is softish. Nonetheless, I am very interested to know which brands/companies y'all prefer.
Many thanks,
Sabrina
I like to be able to open & (especially) close the bottle with some fairly Neanderthal actions: smacking it against my teeth, or sternum, or hip. The less I have to think about getting the bottle open or closed, the less I have to redirect my concentration away from traffic & safety, so the action tends to be all primitive instinct and reptilian hindbrain. The mouthpiece has to be robust enough to withstand repeated abuse of that nature; I'm just not sure abuse-resistant and soft aren't mutually exclusive.
Plus anything that even remotely suggests a baby bottle skeeves me.
This is a bit off thread but it is related to water bottles though not as discussed so far.
Question: what is the point of closing the water bottle if you're only going to have to open it again the next time you want a drink? How much can really get in that small opening while you're riding?
In the cold weather maybe it makes sense. I find a few drops stay in the opening and then freeze and then - no water. But under normal conditions I've never understood the logic of continually closing and opening one's water bottle while riding.
Tom, the answer can be found on one's downtube. It doesn't take much spilled sport drink to make a sticky, dirt-attracting mess.
I find that partly closing the valve between drinks takes care of most of that problem.
I've never found that to be a problem. I end up spilling water/sports drink when I'm actually drinking but I've never noticed anything leaking onto the downtube. My top tube is usually the recipient of my misspent Accelerade - nasty! And how does water/sports drink leak out of the bottle when it's upright in the cage anyway? Seems like you'd have to be going over an incredibly rough road for that to happen and if that were the case, a sticky downtube might be the least of your problems.
I am assuming that you will have to work through a promotional house for custom bottles.
The company below offers several choices. I would recommend the 24 ounce water bottle for biking (JXBEJ-BEYHD). What is important is that the top stays on and doesn't leak when the bottle is squeezed for drinking water.
http://www.abetteridea.com/promotional_water_bottles.htm
Good luck,
I have participated in many events which provided water bottles as part of the race packet. My favorite is the Specialized Little Big Mouth. Go to this link for a description:
"The Specialized Big Mouth is one of those products that makes you think, ""Why does anyone else even make bottles anymore?"""
"Hi,
Beg to differ--I've been using ""Sure Grip"" plastic water bottles made by In Zone:
http://www.inzonebrands.com/2/h2goadults.asp?scheme=blue
It has a one way water valve. No tabs to open or close. Water only comes out when you squeeze. It sort of works like a presta tube valve.
Surprisingly, it's not available at local or online bike shops. For the last two years, I've bought them for 5 bucks every summer at....Duane Reade!!!
The website mentions a custom option--you could design one to your specifications.
Alfredo
"
Where can you buy them in Manhattan? Paragon doesn't seem to carry them.
Thanks.
