Choosing the best bike water bottle can help make your rides more comfortable and enjoyable. It may be tempting just to buy a plastic bottle from the shops each time you go out for a ride. However, it is more expensive in the long term and an incredible waste of plastic.
When looking for the right bike water bottle for you, you need to consider the material, if you need insulation, ease of use (screw tops are not suitable on the bike for obvious reasons), the capacity and of course, make sure the color goes with your bike and jersey.
All the bottles on this list are the perfect size for the average water bottle cage.
Best Bike Water Bottle
- CamelBak Podium Ice Bike Water Bottle – Best for insulation
- Dirt Series Podium Water Bottle – Best for mountain bikers
- SPURCYCLE Water Bottle – Best design
- LifeLine Water Bottle – Best on a budget
- KOM Cycling Water Bottle 2 Pack – Best water bottle for added inspiration
CamelBak Podium Ice Bike Water Bottle – 21oz
Best for insulation
Source: amazon.com
Camelbak is a well-established brand in the water bottle market. Thanks to their reliable high flow and self-sealing caps, they are trendy among cyclists.
This bottle is engineered to fit in a variety of bottle cages. The aerogel insulation technology on this bottle is incredible at keeping your drink cooler (or warmer if you want to carry coffee on your ride) for longer. There is nothing worse than reaching for your water bottle on a warm summer ride only to discover the water is tepid and no longer refreshing.
There is no magic temperature that water must be to keep you hydrated, but from experience, you are more likely to take regular sips if the water in your bottle is refreshing and chilled.
Chuck a few ice cubes in the bottle before setting off and enjoy chilled and refreshing hydration throughout your ride.
Pros
- Excellent insulation (keeps water cold 4 x longer than other bottles)
- Camelbaks fast flow and self-sealing cap is one of the best on the market (it is also easy to dismantle to allow for thorough cleaning)
Cons
- It is quite expensive for a water bottle
CamelBak Dirt Series Podium Water Bottle – 21oz
Best for mountain bikers
I did warn you that CamelBak is all over the water bottle market.
This bottle is perfect for off-road cyclists. CamelBaks’ incredible self-sealing high flow valve is wide, which helps you to get more water down your throat quickly, but it also means that it can easily capture dirt and grit if you are offroading. This bottle comes with a cap to help protect the valve and keep it clean.
The cap is secure and seals out the elements, but still easy enough to flip off with one hand or by using your teeth, so it does not prevent you from keeping hydrated while still moving.
Of course, it comes with CamelBaks BPA-free TruTaste polypropylene, which doesn’t affect your drink’s flavor no matter how often you use it.
Pros
- Camelbaks fast flow and self-sealing cap. With the addition of a protective cover that seals the cap from the elements
- Cool mountain bike / off-road color schemes
- Locking system that prevents accidental leakage when left in a bag etc
Cons
- If you are a roadie and unlikely to ride in the mud, there is no real benefit from having a cover for the cap of your bottle. It is just an obstacle you need clear to take a swig of your water
SPURCYCLE Water Bottle – 22oz
Best design
These eye-catching water bottles are sure to give you a smile as well as deliver you the hydration you need.
If not for the design, these would be a bog-standard water bottle. BPA free, MoFlo cap and generous 22oz capacity. They are designed based on common condiments and sauces, the likes of which will probably be used to compliment the big burger you have worked so hard to be able to eat guilt-free, post-ride.
Ketchup (red) – Catch up
Mustard (yellow) – Must Go Hard
Relish (green) – Relish your ride!
Although the play on words seems gimmicky, the quality of the bottles and reliability of the MoFlo cap make these some of the best bike water bottles available. The addition of the quirky colors and interesting list of ingredients just adds to the fun!
Pros
- Reliable cap with easy flow
- Fun and eye-catching designs
Cons
- The writing will wear off with regular use (but you are left with a reliable – albeit brightly colored – water bottle)
LifeLine Water Bottle – 28oz
Best on a budget
If you are just looking for a standard BPA-free water bottle with a large capacity and will fit snuggly in most bottle cages, then the LifeLine water bottle will do the job.
This bottle offers nothing fancy but will hold all the water you need for your ride, time and again. It has an old school up down rubber cap, which is easy enough to pull up with your teeth to take a swig mid-ride.
For the fashion-conscious out there, it comes in 7 different color designs.
Pros
- Cheap
- Large capacity
Cons
- The rubber cap is difficult to clean
- Although functional, you do not get the same flow that you do with the CamelBak or MoFlo systems
KOM Cycling Water Bottle 2 Pack – 17oz each (34oz in total)
Best water bottle for added inspiration
The smaller KOM cycling water bottles are around the same price as one of the larger CamelBak bottles. If you have two bottle cages and prefer to have one filled with water and the other for your energy tabs, this is an excellent deal for two quality bottles.
Not only do you get BPA-free water bottles that come from the same factory that the pros use during the Tour de France, but you also get a little added inspiration each time you take a sip.
You can choose from “Eat, Sleep, Ride, Repeat!” “This is why I woke up” and “Get. After. It”. While I cannot guarantee that these messages will help you beat your PB, it makes a nice change to most bike water bottles’ dull colors and branding.
Pros
- Awesome inspirational quotes to keep you more than just hydrated
- Two smaller bottles with a larger combined capacity than large bottles alone
Cons
- The more you use them, the quicker the inspirational messages will rub off
Buyers Guide
Capacity – Keep hydrated with a bike water bottle
Staying hydrated on your ride is very important. It will help you stay stronger for longer in addition to allowing you to achieve your optimal performance.
While out on the bike, you should be aiming to take a sip of water every 10 – 15 minutes. Depending on the intensity you are riding and the heat. This will keep your body hydrated without having to stop for the toilet every 30 minutes.
Although maintaining optimal hydration is personal and depends heavily on your biology, how hard you are riding and how hot the day is. As a general rule of thumb, cyclists typically lose 17oz – 34oz of fluids per hour.
It is impossible to replenish all that water. However, you should aim to replace around 75% of lost fluids while exercising.
Therefore you should be gulping 12.75oz – 25.5oz of fluids per hour while on the bike. 22oz is the most popular size water bottle, as it is large enough to keep most people hydrated during an hour ride and it is not so big it becomes awkward to take out of the cage mid-ride.
Insulation
Getting an insulated water bottle is more to do with preference as opposed to performance. If you live in a warm part of the world or just prefer a cold refreshing drink while cycling, you should get an insulated bottle.
They also keep liquids warm but will not work as well as a vacuum insulation flask. So if you are thinking about taking a nice warm coffee to have for lunch, you are better off packing a thermos flask in your backpack.
BPA-free
All the bottles on this list are BPA-free. BPA stands for Bisphenol-A; it is an estrogen-imitating chemical often found in reusable plastic products. The problem with BPA is that it can breakdown and contaminate the contents of plastic bottles and pose a potential health risk.
Many sports water bottle manufacturers have cottoned onto the fact that for a water bottle intended to be reused and refilled regularly, using BPA is a bad idea. Even if just for advertising!
I do not know the severity of the health risks it poses. However, the best bike water bottles are BPA free and if it is a small step to help me riding for longer, I am in!
Tips for keeping your water bottle clean and fresh
Regularly cleaning your bottle will not only help the contents taste fresh and clean every time, but it can also prevent you from contracting some pretty nasty illnesses. Water bottles and caps are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, do not wait until you can see the slim or muck before washing your bike water bottle.
Here are a few tips to keep your bottle fresh:
- Empty your water bottle and leave it to dry after every use. If you only get out on the bike once a week, do not let half a bottle of water sit there festering away until you next go out.
- Let the water bottle and lid sit in hot water and washing up liquid for a minute. Thoroughly rinse and leave to dry
- If you have a CamelBak or similar cap design, you can dismantle it to clean it thoroughly. Although you do not have to do it every time you wash your bottle, you should do this “deep” clean now and again
You do not have to wash the bottle after every use. Once a week will usually suffice. However, if you have already left it too late and your bottle is kicking off a foul odor. You can try something like CamelBak Reservoir and Water Bottle Cleaning Tabs or just good old baking soda with water will do the job. Leave it in the bottle for 5-10 mins and your bottle should smell as good as new.
I’ve spent way more time in the bike trade than anyone should reasonably want to. In that time I’ve wanted to make cycling jargon and marketing easier to cut through to help people get the bike of their dreams.
When I’m not writing about bikes, I can be seen out bikepacking on single speed bikes or teaching kids how to ride.
