The High Cost of Water Bottles

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

Just wanted to point out those are recyclable H2O bottles, there is very little that is disposable and biodegradable about them, they are going to be with us for a long time!

I do however applaud you more than one time use!

oh, i agree with your logic. i pretty much live with my stainless hydroflask water bottle, and am happy to say that the tap water here in the NYC area is generally excellent. i pretty much never buy bottled water, unless i really have to.

to that point though, those smart water bottles are made really, really well for what is expected to be one time use bottles. they easily fill in for daily use for a long time.

[donevwil]

I haven't purchased a water bottle in probably 20 years or more (bike-to-work-day & other event giveaways) until a week ago, bought three at Bruce Gordon's retirement sale. Specialized Purist (my fav) for $2/ea. Didn't need them, but....

Specialized and Camelback bottles last forever, so who buys a bottle for any reason other than the trendy logo or matchy color anyway, ultimately that's what you pay for.

If one doesn't care about logos or adverts Camelbaks are free in these parts, unfortunately I prefer the Spec'd bottles.

[buddybikes]

Hang around a bike race and grab the ones cat 4/5 riders toss out because they are too heavy to get up the hill

[choke]

Originally Posted by jemoryl

Ten years ago I bought a bunch of Specialized bottles from a bike shop in my hometown because their logo wasn't too ugly and they sold them for $2.99. Now it is hard to find the basic Spesh bottle for less than $8, even with some lousy crap advertising which will get all scratched up in short order. I really don't get it when you can buy a drink in a bottle containing just about as much material for under $2.

These are Specialized bottles though the color may not work for some....https://www.sierranevadagiftshop.com...er-bottle.html

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

oh, i agree with your logic. i pretty much live with my stainless hydroflask water bottle, and am happy to say that the tap water here in the NYC area is generally excellent. i pretty much never buy bottled water, unless i really have to.

[beeatnik]

Better to buy a Raphas water bottle than to have to ride with others who use Raphas (water bottles).

[AngryScientist]

pdmtong is the swag master.

[Andy sti]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

Better to buy a Raphas water bottle than to have to ride with others who use Raphas (water bottles).

[m_sasso]

Originally Posted by donevwil

I haven't purchased a water bottle in probably 20 years or more (bike-to-work-day & other event giveaways) until a week ago, bought three at Bruce Gordon's retirement sale. Specialized Purist (my fav) for $2/ea. Didn't need them, but....

Specialized and Camelback bottles last forever, so who buys a bottle for any reason other than the trendy logo or matchy color anyway, ultimately that's what you pay for.

If one doesn't care about logos or adverts Camelbaks are free in these parts, unfortunately I prefer the Spec'd bottles.

There really are justifiable reasons for changing or purchasing new H2O bottles besides their trendy logo or matchy colour.

I use most of my plastic H2O bottles multiple seasons however once they begin to visibly break down I recycle them and move to new or recycled bottles in good condition.

Issues like DEHA, BPA exposure, Phthalate leaching, endocrine-disrupting chemicals…….ect are enough to motivate me to move on.

After repeated use and as a consequence of the cleaning process the internal bottle surface exposed to H2O dramatically increases over time and use.

The internal surface of cycling H2O bottles actually degrades and becomes microscopically fuzzy over time and I am not thinking about the decomposition of fluid the bottle once held and was never cleaned out.

Some of us further ride in climates with high levels of sun light exposure and high temperatures, further increasing the rate of degradation of H2O bottles over time.

[Andy340]

Agree with OP - as a previous Rapha hater, I was converted when I picked up their lightweight bibs on sale. It is really good kit (pricey but easy enough to get on sale) so now I am all in.

A few extra $ for a matching water bottle is a small price to pay for something to cheer me up on a winter ride.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

...am happy to say that the tap water here in the NYC area is generally excellent.

Interesting. I've heard other people say this. I've even heard people say that the water is the reason that the dough in New York pizza is so good.

I wonder why that is?

Of course, in Valencia I heard people say that the water is the reason the paella is so good, and in Montreal I heard that the water is the reason that the bagels are so good.

Maybe the water in Shenzhen is the reason that the plastic is so good...

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Interesting. I've heard other people say this. I've even heard people say that the water is the reason that the dough in New York pizza is so good.

I wonder why that is?

Last time I heard it explained, NYC gets its water directly from the Catskills Mountains, which are managed more strictly than national parks or almost any other nature preserve. The language in the NY State law is that they're to be "forever wild", and a lot of people take that quite seriously. NYC doesn't treat their water because it's so pure coming out of the Catskills; they like to say that they filter at the source, not at the tap. EPA allows this because NYC tap water (at least going into the municipal system) is cleaner than EPA standards.

[pdmtong]

Life to date I have had only one bottle crack (original specialized) and one ejected (reynolds carbon cage).

otherwise I don't lose them and I can't kill them.

the original first gen camelbak bottle was hard to squeeze. the second gen had a more pliable plastic. my original four are re purposed elsewhere.

love the purist tops...especially the super soft top end one. never have had an issue with the camelbak top getting filled with dried hydration drink or dirt.

have a few rapha bottles since the look is really clean. and, if I cant be fast at least the bike looks together with a neutral (not overly matchy-matchy) bottle set.

if you need bottles, get them on sale. or free from an event...

as for the PtE hydroflask...yup Norcal gotta represent. I don't see smutty nose hydroflasks out there...

[makoti]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

Just wanted to point out those are recyclable H2O bottles, there is very little that is disposable and biodegradable about them, they are going to be with us for a long time!

I do however applaud you more than one time use!

Hear Hear!

[makoti]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

There really are justifiable reasons for changing or purchasing new H2O bottles besides their trendy logo or matchy colour.

I use most of my plastic H2O bottles multiple seasons however once they begin to visibly break down I recycle them and move to new or recycled bottles in good condition.

Issues like DEHA, BPA exposure, Phthalate leaching, endocrine-disrupting chemicals…….ect are enough to motivate me to move on.

After repeated use and as a consequence of the cleaning process the internal bottle surface exposed to H2O dramatically increases over time and use.

The internal surface of cycling H2O bottles actually degrades and becomes microscopically fuzzy over time and I am not thinking about the decomposition of fluid the bottle once held and was never cleaned out.

Some of us further ride in climates with high levels of sun light exposure and high temperatures, further increasing the rate of degradation of H2O bottles over time.

Do our bottles have an actual expiration date? Two seasons? Three? You can clean them up, but like you say - they start to degrade inside.