Hi. Does anyone have experience with bottles that don’t leak? I have tried some many but all leak when they lay horizontal… spesialized is the best bottles some far but still not thigh enough
Thx
Simple Tacx Shiva is super fine. I have few and any of them leaks when horizontal.
The Specialized Omni cap has been very leak-proof for me. Same with the Elite Fly bottles. Oddly enough my Tacx bottles leak like crazy after running them through the dishwasher once. The nipple opens up with the smallest amount of force. I’d consider them among the worst.
You could try plumbers tape or Teflon tape. It’s used to keep connections between pipes from leaking. You can get a roll at a big box for under $1.
+1 on the Elite Fly. I have one mounted horizontal on my BTA and no leaks. It’s a superlite bottle, so I think the key is that the part you bite is external (so it doesn’t leak when that gets worn).
In contrast, I have this bottle and it leaks like crazy now that the light blue nipple part is worn.
Hey have you heard of SCREWING THE LID ON?
I have the same problem, bottles over a year old leak like crazy. Drives me insane getting sugar and salt (electrolytes) all over my bike
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I find these things weird. Like how hard is it to make a bottle that doesn’t have all these fuck ups? Planned obsolescence is no good
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Most bottles just don’t appear to be designed to be mounted horizontally. The liquid sloshing around inside pushes against the valve (or whatever the thing you drink through is called) every time you brake. Put it on the frame and it’s all fine (or fine-ish).
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Also helps if you use tap/spring water, not mineral one. Even if you use still water, minerals might generate some pressure during the ride.
I got tired of my camelbak bottles leaking on me and also not being able to get about 1oz out the bottom. The elitefly are great for both issues but are so light they get damaged over time by my cages. I also got hydropak bottles which seem to be better than the camelbak but not perfect, sometimes I am unable to close the valve if there has been too much sticky nutrition gone through it.
I also currently use the Elite Fly and they are very good as far as being leak proof… BUT the shell of the bottle itself is too flimsy - especially on a hotter day and when the bottle level goes down, the whole bottle crumbles in high grip cages (like the X LAB gorilla cages). Sometimes they stay deformed afterwards too.
Wish they made the same bottle with a slightly ticker wall.
The Elite Jet has a similar cap. The plastic is thicker; I’m just not sure how the biodegradable aspect impacts durability in the long term.
Be sure that it’s not your arms rubbing the btw bottle and gradually unscrewing it on bumps etc. I had the same problem for awhile and didn’t matter what bottle I used but I changed the bta setup for no rubbing and now every bottle works.
The Elite Jet are pretty near perfect for me, no leaks, and have held up for at least the year since I’ve switched over to them.
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Elite bottles are strong performers in the no-leak category. Oddly, color seems to matter in terms of their cap performance. All-black is best. White is okay-ish but can collapse under too light of down-force (infuriating) and red and white are worse yet. I haven’t tried blue, yellow, or other colors, but I’m skeptical they’ll be consistent between colors. Since I’m not a materials science guy, I have no explanation. I just know that it’s been somewhat reliable within colors. Makes me (and a peer of mine) feel like we’re losing our minds.
Specialized moflo v1 are a constant leaking nuisance. v2 are much better though not perfect.
The best performer in the no-leaks category that I’ve ever seen are the old SIS bottles. No longer the same cap or valve though. We have only one left and it’s my wife’s go-to first bottle for fuel every day.
Trek Voda bottle lids are also virtually leak-proof in my experience.
Polar are also quite leak-proof, but I can’t get over how hard of a plastic is used for the mouthpiece so I’d never use them. Looks like hydrapak is using Polar lids. I’d assume they’re just as leak-proof when the valve is closed.
The most hilariously non-leak-proof option is the diaphragm-only-valve option by Soma. Projectile squirts are the norm when shaken or if bottle faces forward on bike and you brake. They make a push-pull valve now, too, but I haven’t tested it.
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I believe Precision Fuel & Hydration still uses that style of older SiS bottle. I have a few of the 1L versions for summer riding and they’re pretty good.
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Yeah I found it impossible to refill my bta through a quick fill port because the cap would just close against the pressure of pushing against the port hole
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