BPA (short for “bisphenol A”) is in the news once again, with more and more studies showing the possible side effects of BPA consumption, which happens when BPA leaches out of a plastic water bottle and into your drinking water.

I haven’t been too worried about BPA, but now that most water bottle makers have been pressured into producing new bottles, and Canada has placed a ban on plastic baby bottles that contain BPA (with the USA proposing something similar,) it might be time to switch to BPA-free bottles.

Typical on-bike water bottles aren’t affected, but the heavy-duty polycarbonate bottles from makers such as Nalgene are getting hit hard with negative publicity because they do contain traces of BPA.

To adapt, companies are reformulating their plastic water bottles to use BPA-free plastics. Nalgene plans to focus on these new bottles and filter out the existing bottles that contain BPA, and CamelBak has also launched a new line of BPA-free bottles.

With this being a “Water Bottle Wednesday” I think we should take a look at these new bottles!

First, the Nalgene Everyday Bottles. If you are a current Nalgene user, these bottles will look familiar - they are tough, translucent plastic bottles that look just like their polycarbonate cousins.

However, the Nalgene “Everyday” line is made of Eastman Tritan copolyester, so the bottles are completely BPA-free! It is still super tough and dishwasher safe, too, as copolyester is very similar to polycarbonate, except that it does not contain BPA.

The 22 oz bottle is said to be sleek and slender so it will even fit into bicycle bottle cages. That doesn’t mean it will be easy to drink from while riding, but at least they’re keeping cyclists in mind!

These bottles can be found at REI, in stores and online:

Nalgene Everyday OTG Tritan Bottle - 22 oz.

Nalgene Everyday Grip-N-Gulp Tritan Water Bottle - Kids 12 oz.

Next, the CamelBak Better Bottles. The “Better Bottle” lineup is CamelBak’s entrance into the BPA-free water bottle market, and it uses the same Eastman Tritan copolyester plastic as the new Nalgene bottles, so it should be just as tough.

What sets CamelBak apart is that they offer not only the classic cap, a typical screw-on cap, but also the neat bite-valve cap, which makes it like drinking from a CamelBak hydration pack.

These bottles can be found at REI, in stores and online:

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle with Classic Cap - 32 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle with Classic Cap - 25 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle with Classic Cap - 16 oz.

Now check out the Better Bottle with a CamelBak bite valve style cap:

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle - 32 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle - 25 oz.

CamelBak Tritan Better Bottle - 16 oz.

Want to do some more shopping? Then check REI, because they offer a wide variety of bottles for hiking, bicycling, and everyday use, and they have separated all the BPA-free bottles into their own category!

More shopping links: www.REI.com or go direct to the REI BPA-Free Water Bottles Category

This edition of Water Bottle Wednesday brings us a funky hydration system that just barely qualifies as a simple “water bottle.” But there is water and a bottle, so here we go…

What you are looking at is called the
NeverReach, which is more than a giant water bottle - it’s actually a “frame mounted hydration system.”

It consists of a large water tank that fits behind your saddle, with a tube that runs from the bottle to your handlebars, ending with a bite valve. That means you can carry a lot of water and drink it easily, not having to fumble with normal water bottles.

If you’re an elite triathlete, it makes perfect sense. It’s aerodynamic, which is great for cutting down your time, and it’s easy to use because the straw goes right up between the aerobars. That saves the time it would take to reach for bottles, plus it saves time by keeping you in an aero position during the drinking process.

Test results indicate a 35 second performance increase in a 40-kilometer time trial by just having NeverReach mounted!!

That’s pretty cool, because that time savings alone translates to something like three minutes in an Ironman bike section. Add in the time savings from switching fewer bottles and breaking the aero position less often, you could save five minutes without effort.

So if you’re skinny, in great shape, and riding a top-notch bike, this will help shave off even more time. I don’t know how well it works, but it’s something neat to look at, and could very well be worth the price.

I was tempted to get one myself so I could carry a lot of water on long endurance rides, but $99 is still a lot of coin for a water bottle! I’ll stick with my 32oz bottles until I’m an elite triathlete!

Official website: www.NeverReach.com

(Also see their FAQ page if you have questions.)

Picture and statistics quoted from the NeverReach website.

Today’s edition of Water Bottle Wednesday features one of my most beloved water bottles, this green giant from Gatorade.

This baby holds 32 ounces of precious water, and it still fits in a normal bottle cage!

Here’s why I love it - Carrying two of these lets me carry 64oz of water, which is equivalent to carrying three normal size bottles! (And carrying three, 20oz bottles is a pain in the butt!)

With 64oz of water securely attached to my bike, I can venture out into the remote, desolate back roads without fear of running out of clean water - and I can do it without carrying a bulky hydration pack!

Another cool feature on this bottle is the clear view strip along the side (not pictured.) This allows you to see the current water level, even though the rest of the bottle is green.

I have encountered a few problems along the way, though. Since the bottle is much taller than normal, it might not fit all frames, especially funky mountain bike frames. It’s also a bit harder to maneuver into and out of the cages, because even when it does fit in the frame, it’s a close fit.

[It fits both cages on my road bike and my hardtail MTB, but it is kind of hard to fit it in the MTB's seat tube cage.]

Since it’s hard to maneuver, it’s not a great bottle to carry during races. You would probably drop it or at least take way too long to pull it out of the cage and replace it. (But the bottle’s benefits don’t really apply to races, so I don’t actually consider this a downside.)

Some people might not like this, but the mouth piece is hard plastic. There’s no “give” like there is on most cycling-specific bottles, but it hasn’t hurt my mouth any. The benefit is that it closes easily and securely.

The real problem… is that I need another one!

I bought two of these bottles about four years ago for something like $1.88 at a Wal-Mart in the Boston suburbs. Once I realized how sweet these were, I went back for more, but never saw them again!

Even worse, I broke one of the two I had! (See story box for the details…)

You know how you freeze some water inside a water bottle so you don’t have to use normal ice cubes? Well I did that with one of these bottles… Oh, it worked fine, until I dropped it!

I was using the bottle for a road trip, and while taking a sip at a rest stop, I dropped the bottle right down on the cement. It looked fine then, so I picked it up and put it back in my cup holder.

So I packed up and was driving along, grabbed the bottle, and noticed it was dripping onto my pants… Then I glanced at my cup holder and saw it was full of water!

What had happened was the ice at the bottom of the bottle was so hard that the bottom cracked when it hit the cement. But since it was ice at the time, there was no leak. Until it started to warm up!

So I was cruising down the highway with about 30oz of water leaking out into my car! At my next stop I simply had to throw the bottle in the trash can due to the large gash on the bottom…

But hey, one is better than none

How to Get a Similar Gatorade Bottle

The good news is that Gatorade still makes some water bottles. They have discontinued my beloved 32oz bottle, but they have a new 32oz bottle out there. They have it at Amazon.com, so if I don’t see it in the stores, I’ll get one next time I order from Amazon…

But this new bottle has some ridges, and the nozzle is new… So we’ll see… [Yes, I'll review it in an upcoming edition of Water Bottle Wednesday.]

We’ll start off the Water Bottle Wednesday series by looking at this nice water bottle from Trek Bikes.

This is a quality water bottle that looks and feels good. The color and design make it more apt to a beach cruiser, as I don’t know of many racing bikes in the baby blue and navy blue color scheme!

But it works. It’s actually on par with the Specialized brand water bottles, so I wouldn’t hesitate to use it in a race situation.

What’s cooler, though, is how I got it. It was actually a door prize (which I rarely win) at the 2007 Shannock Valley Community Festival MTB race (which I’ve done about five times now.) It might be my only door prize though!

Thanks goes out to Trailz End Multisport Bicycle Shop of Indiana, PA for donating it. I’ve used it over 6 months now and it still looks good!

What’s the most important part of your bike ride? A sweet carbon frame? Supple tires? Your helmet?

The jury is out on the most important part, but one of the most important accessories for almost all cyclists is the water bottle. It allows us to carry water and therefore, stay hydrated.

It’s so simple and convenient yet often ignored.

I’ll admit, I take my water bottles for granted sometimes. But when I drop one on the road or if one shakes out on a rough section of singletrack without me knowing, I sure miss it!

That’s why every Wednesday (starting next week) I’ll have a post dedicated to a certain water bottle or story involving the glorious “water bottle.”

Also, since I might not have enough water bottles and stories to fill the spot every single week, I’m inviting submissions. If you have a water bottle you love or a great story behind one, send in the story along with a pic of the bottle if possible, and I just might publish it!

If you are a company looking for promotion of your specialty water bottle or just a regular water bottle with your logo on it, send it in, too. I’ll feature it in this column, and hey, I can never have too many water bottles!

Stay tuned!

Water Bottle Wednesday Archives:

• #1 Trek Bottle from Trailz End
• #2 Gatorade 32oz Water Bottle
• #3 Never Reach, the $99 Water Bottle
• #4 Announcing the New BPA-free Water Bottles
• #5 coming soon