The High Cost of Water Bottles

[cderalow]

Originally Posted by pasadena

bidons, tubes and tires are the equivalent of candy bars at a grocery store checkout; some use it as an opportunity to make a few extra dollars profit.

Rapha has higher profit margins on their entire line, and may just see these items as advertising, not as profit making items. They are not in the bidon and innertube business.

Then again, Rapha's repair kit (tube, patches and levers) is $70 and they also sell a $220 allen key set...

I agree with AngryScientist, there are excellent options at various pricepoints so there is no reason to complain.

Rapha's bidons are made by Camelbak

To be fair, their repair kit comes in a nice neat little wallet, and the Allen key set is a collectible and not really supposed to be used as a real Allen key set.

Originally Posted by makoti

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.

I consider them equivalent to a hard hat. OSHA says you’re supposed to replace those every 3-5 years.

[donevwil]

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.

My point was, unless motivated by logo or color necessitating a purchase, high quality water bottles can be had for free or next to free. I recycle bottles after a few years as well.

[pasadena]

Originally Posted by cderalow

To be fair, their repair kit comes in a nice neat little wallet, and the Allen key set is a collectible and not really supposed to be used as a real Allen key set.

LOL
Did you just read what you wrote?

[bironi]

first world problem

[Louis]

I read somewhere that it's best if you replace all the air in your tires at least once every 3 rides, otherwise it gets stale and causes your tubes (butyl or latex) to break down much faster than they would otherwise.

[Mr. Pink]

A few years ago I went riding on a route right after a triathlon came through that morning. I saw about five or six brand new bottles that were just flung off to the side, race style. So, keep an eye out for that someday.

[Kontact]

I was shocked to find out just now that Nashbar wants $4 for a water bottle. On sale.

[R3awak3n]

Bidons....

If you could pick #1 cycling most snoby sounding word.

[shovelhd]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Bidons....

If you could pick #1 cycling most snoby sounding word.

My vote goes to gilet.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Bidons....

If you could pick #1 cycling most snoby sounding word.

souplesse

Close second(tied for 1st?).

As a bike shop owner I knew I had 'arrived' when I started seeing my bottles on the side of the road...

[AngryScientist]

i have only lost one water bottle that i can remember. d2r2 a number of years ago, before i had the common sense to use king cages bent in for max tightness for offroad duty.

this year though, i threw a bunch in the recycling bin. once they get to a certain age, they just wont come clean anymore, and the roughness of the inside seems to hold "mung" better. they just dont last forever, especially in frequent use with fluid other than water in them.

[Birddog]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Bidons....

If you could pick #1 cycling most snoby sounding word.

"Colourway" has to rank up there as well and don't forget "snoby".

[fignon's barber]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Bidons....

If you could pick #1 cycling most snoby sounding word.

Yeah, really. Why would they name something after a former US vice president.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by Birddog

"Colourway" has to rank up there as well and don't forget "snoby".

That doesnt bother me but what do I know.

Also snobby not snoby, my bad with the spelling. 2nd language

[Luwabra]

rapha = pretentious

but thats just me.