About Bottles on a Bicycle

Refueling

After I fractured the femoral neck in my right leg, my doctor suggested two friendly sports for my fracture: cycling and swimming to ease my leg during sports activities. Since I prefer warm showers and don't feel comfortable in wet environments, I chose cycling as my main sport.

Cycling is a smooth sport and, for me, a quite sweaty one. Naturally, it's important to refuel during a ride, and the more, the better. For convenience, some people opt for bottles of water, carbonated drinks, or the readily available sports beverages in Taiwan (500-600 cc), which literally can be purchased everywhere. While some riders carry these in backpacks or on racks, most cyclists use them in bottle cages in pairs to their bike frames. These cages hold the bottles or bidons (French for bottle), filled with their preferred drinks.

Dissolving Effervescent Tablets

On my bike, I always have two bottles: one filled with pure water, and the other with water in which I dissolve an effervescent tablet. These tablets are cost-effective, convenient, and available in a variety of flavors and compositions. While they are quite pricey In Taiwan, my daughter brought back three different types from her recent trip to Germany:

- Vitamin C (yellow cover) with Lemon flavor

- Calcium (blue cover) with Peach-Passion Fruit flavor

- Magnesium (green cover) with Orange-Grapefruit flavor

These in supermarket available tablets are quite handy, but they contain more sugar than I'd like. Numerous sports nutrition brands offer similar sugar-free dissolving tablets in individual packaging at a slightly higher price.

Keep in mind that purchasing an excessive number of these German-made tablets might raise concerns for President Trump, prompting him to see them as a 'security threat' and impose punitive tariffs, much like those on German automobiles!

About Bottles

Bicycle bottles are made from the main different materials: plastic, alloy, stainless steel, and titanium In general, you can use everything that holds liquid, but there are some long-term health argument against some materials.

Plastic:

It is the common material for drinking bottles - no professional rider in the ProTour or World Tour enters a race without them. They are so cheap and convenient that riders simply discard them as souvenirs by the roadside; lucky fans pick them up for their personal shrine at home. Other riders, like Mario Cipollini, use plastic bottles as projectiles towards race officials.

The organizers of races designate feeding areas. There, riders can receive bottles (sometimes with gel stuck on them) or musettes (small bags for carrying food and drinks) from their own teammates beside the road. Through additional domestiques (cyclists who support the top team members by carrying bottles), they have a continuous supply of fresh drinks. However, even for professionals, handling a musette during a race can be overwhelming.

As an amateur, I could not ask my wife to stand by the roadside at a specific point to give me much needed fuel, so I have to prepare myself before the ride.

Throughout my cycling experience, I've accumulated numerous plastic bottles featuring various brand names, to the extent that I don't even attempt to count them. Some were made from solid-colored plastic, some included a transparent window, and others were entirely clear, allowing me to see how much fluid is in the bottle.

A popular trend involves 'insulated' plastic water bottles, featuring insulation materials placed between the plastic bottle's inner and outer layers. The intention is to preserve the temperature of the contents, keeping them cooler (or warmer) for longer time.

As a regular cyclist, I caution against plastic for cycling bottles. This is not just because of harmful BPA (as mentioned below) but also on to its impact on the contents. Residing on the hot tropical island of Taiwan with its strong sunlight and a high UV index, I've observed that regardless of which the plastic bottles I choose, the contents eventually become dull or unappealing. Drinking neither tastes pleasant nor refreshing on longer rides.

A warning about BPA (Bisphenol A) in Plastic

BPA is a common building block in resins and some types of plastic. It's what's known as an endocrine-disrupting compound. In the body, these chemicals can act like hormones or disrupt normal hormone functions. Public pressure pushed companies to move to “BPA-free” products. But the FDA only officially bans the compound from use in baby bottles, sippy cups, and infant formula packaging.

- How to Identify BPA Products?

Consumers can also take steps to avoid BPA and BPA alternatives entirely, steering clear of plastics with the recycling numbers 3, 6, and 7, which all contain compounds of concern.

- How to treat Plastic in general?

Don’t put plastics in dishwashers or the microwave, which can damage them and cause them to leach more BPA or its alternatives. Don't use plastic bottles when they look aged or scratched.

(https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/09/news-BPA-free-plastic-safety-chemicals-health/)

All plastic cycling bottles should be BPA free!

Alloy or Aluminum

Alloy bottles without a proper inner coating pose a health risk! Although aluminum generally has a low level of toxicity to humans and is considered safe, concerns arise from overexposure, which is more likely in today's world. Research indicates that

• increased dietary aluminum can lead to skeletal problems in preterm or at-risk infants

• in higher doses, aluminum can cause neurotoxicity (a type of toxicity where a biological, chemical, or physical agent adversely affects the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system) of the blood-brain barrier.

Because of the dangers, manufacturers of alloy bottles apply a coating inside the aluminum bottles to prevent direct contact with the contents. I am not aware of the materials used in these coatings, but based on my experience, every coating eventually gets damaged and dissolves in the contents.

Personally, I avoid using alloy bottles not only on my bike but also in life. Our family has 'banned' all alloy products from our kitchen and replaced our cherished old rice cooker with its aluminum pot with a newer model that has one made of stainless steel. All professional kitchens and hospitals use stainless steel...

Stainless Steel 

In my opinion, stainless steel is the clear choice of material. It doesn't release any chemicals, resists corrosion, withstands extreme temperatures, is easy to clean, and is safe for food use.

On my training rides, I use a stainless steel bottle with a BPA-free plastic spout. Although I can't squeeze stainless steel like plastic, and taking a sip might take a few seconds longer, the fresher and 'safer' drink makes this extra time worthwhile.

For multi-day cycling tours, I bring along two stainless steel bottles:

- a single-wall bottle for cool beverages

- a double-wall (thermos) stainless bottle for both hot and cold drinks (primarily coffee) or for transferring liquids to the single-wall bottle. This thermos comes with a stainless steel screw cap and a rubber ring; I enjoy stopping for fresh coffee by the roadside to take in the view or chat with fellow cyclists...

Titanium

I didn't mention titanium because of its high cost. This material offers better properties than stainless steel, but it's just too pricey for most people. I've seen titanium bottles of similar sizes to stainless ones priced at four times as much!

Conclusion

If some riders doubt my experience regarding 'taste differences', I recommend using two different bottles on your next ride: one made of plastic and the other one of stainless steel. Fill both with the same liquid at the same temperature, and compare the taste beside the road. After riding for three hours in the sun, you will certainly notice a 'taste difference'.

The above observations apply to all types of liquid containers, not just to cycling bottles. My preference is clearly stainless steel.

The slightly heavier weight of stainless steel isn't essential for me, but my taste buds and health are.

My Summer Setup: One Stainless, One Stainless Thermos

I hope my bottle tips prove helpful for your upcoming bike ride or outdoor adventure. We frequently neglect the health and environmental impact of plastic bottles, and change should begin with each of us...

Ride safely, and your loved ones will feel more at ease!

Gerhard