Cheap water bottles

[jackthelad]

Anyone have any leads on cheap, wide top water bottles.
Bottles used to be given out free from every bike shop or health service or bike breakfast for decades.
Those days seem to be long gone,
just need a few 700ml bottles for freinds who i stay with , that need bottles and cages
I'm in perth,
Ebay or Aliexpress links welcome.

Thanks
John

[CmdrBiggles]

I am at a loss to remember when bike shops actually gave out free water bottles — that must have been before my time, and I didn't come down in the last shower! Maybe in the 1980s it might have been a thing, but now...places are too stingy to throw in a free bidon — even a Campagnolo Super Record bidon...

Cheap does not always equate to quality (and longevity) — bottles that split, mouthpieces that break off or squirt everywhere but into the mouth and too often an awful plastic-like taste. Go a little further an invest in a Camelbak podium insulated bottle (650ml). I bought three of these 12 years ago: they are still in use! No leaks. Self-closing valve and every single part can be disassembled, washed and ready to go. Best of all, definitely no yucky plastic taste! Two small el-cheapo, non-insulated bidons holding 250ml each generally cost the same as one large (650 to 700ml) Camelbak bidon.

Bidons have become a very expensive commodity over the last few years, as Campagnolo demonstrates, along with Camelbak (that was founded on back-mounted hydration systems, not bidons that are now more popular); some people get creative and just buy a bog-standard bottle of water from a supermarket and stuff that into their bidon cage(s). Whatever floats your boat.

Other choices worth looking at if Camelbak doesn't appeal:

https://www.bbbcycling.com.au/a/bike-bo ... gAQAvD_BwE

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16660533238 ... p_homepage

The choices outside of the speciality of bike shops is very narrow and unfulfilling, hence it will likely pay you dividends to stick to looking at what bike shops have, and consider features, non-tainted taste and durability ahead of cost. eBay might be cheap, but Australia has in the last few years become a dumping ground for uber-mass produced, generally poor quality products. As always, it is Buyer Beware.

[P!N20]

https://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/buy/cycl ... VZ-F14-002

[elantra]

Cheap water bottles are probably a false economy.

In my experience, the best water bottles either cost 15 dollars at the local bike shop or you get for free when you go to some bike-related event.

Probably the worst waterbottle evah was the one that I got for a few dollars from Aldi.
Not knocking Aldi, some of their bike stuff is pretty good, but this waterbottle wasn’t

One of the reasons for having a waterbottle is so that you can use it to squirt things, such as a muddy bicycle frame, or a pesky dog that is closing in on you.
The Aldi bottle ruptured when I squeezed it and squirted me, not the dog.

The water bottle that I got for free at the TDU was worth its weight in gold and lasted for years.
It was “People’s Choice Credit Union” branded and made by BOA - Bottles of Australia.

My current one is Zefal - a French brand.
It is incredibly easy to fill up and has a lovely soft, easy to use mouthpiece.
And doesn’t self-destruct when you try to squirt something.
Highly recommended if you can spare 15 dollars via a local bike store that stocks them.

[warthog1]

^^ Agreed.
Given up on a multitude of cheap bottles over the years. Have a few camelbak podiums now, all I use. They work and they last.

[hunch]

Cheap does not always equate to quality (and longevity) — bottles that split, mouthpieces that break off or squirt everywhere but into the mouth and too often an awful plastic-like taste.

Read some time last year PFAS was more likely in polyethylene bottles.....and I see one has been linked here.

Had a container made of it a while back, which had become amazingly brittle over just a few years. Possibly the sorbolene inside had interacted somehow, might expect with UV exposure that might happen, but not in a medicine cabinet.

[MichaelB]

^^ Agreed.
Given up on a multitude of cheap bottles over the years. Have a few camelbak podiums now, all I use. They work and they last.

Amen to that

[caneye]

I've noticed that my kids get a lot of freebie water bottles from school activities and the like. they are all "sports bottles" that could easily double up as a bidon.

[Mr Purple]

I tried a bunch of the cheap ones before biting the bullet on a friend's advice and just getting Camelbak Podium.

You might find other bottles at a quarter of the price, but they'll last less than a quarter long.

Plus they have added bonus features like 'falling out of your bottle cage' and my favourite where they let water out when you don't want them to, and then don't let water out when you want them to. Or literally smashing to pieces when you hit a bump due to cheap UV degradable plastics.

[CmdrBiggles]

Camelbak has very recently entered the fray of insulated stainless steel bidons for cyclists, albeit in a rather dull colour selection of camo green or black... and not exactly lightweight.

Anecdotal feedback suggests there is a bit of work to do with these new kids on the block: these stainless steel lookers tend to rattle around in the cages and facilitate loosening of the cage bolts. One workaround is to cover the bottle with a woolly sock, of a thin casual sock (in a matching colour to the frrame, but of course!). Some carbon cages might object to being prised apart so far with a thick woolly sock over the bidon, but decades ago this was the approved means of keeping water cool on hot days by drenching the woolly covering with water and riding off! Blissful cool water was a given with this simple fix.

@warthog1 the above woolly sock technique was very common riding from Bendigo to Melville Caves and Maryborough to St Arnaud during infernally hot conditions in the 1980s (around 40°c). We also used it travelling through Bung Bong immediately after the devastating Maryborough bushfires of 1985. A small number of the "old guard" from those distant days continue with this approach to keeping water etc. cool rather than "upgrade" to the very effective Camelbak Podium bidons.

[warthog1]

@warthog1 the above woolly sock technique was very common riding from Bendigo to Melville Caves and Maryborough to St Arnaud during infernally hot conditions in the 1980s (around 40°c). We also used it travelling through Bung Bong immediately after the devastating Maryborough bushfires of 1985. A small number of the "old guard" from those distant days continue with this approach to keeping water etc. cool rather than "upgrade" to the very effective Camelbak Podium bidons.

I use the regular camelbak podiums. Not the chill.
Started cycling again in Mildura. I'm fine with warm weather. I drink more and refill anyway.
I'll pass on stuffing around with a manky wet sock thanks