In another thread Curtis said:[My wife] thinks [water bottles] should be washed
after every ride, or at least every week or so.
My wife began using clear 'disposable' plastic bottles
of water - the .75L or 24-ounce size, bought from
Sam's Club, usually - several years ago. They fit fine
in most standard water bottle cages, and she rarely
drinks while rolling. I like the caps without pop-up
nipples. Actually the bottles can be reused several
times before they're ready for recycling, especially
if they're refilled with purified or deionized water
(which we get from roadside kiosks). They seal well
enough to be tossed into trunk bags or panniers.
We also use them with sports drinks, which I prefer
watered down to about one-fourth their standard
packaged strength. Trying to clean and sterilize a
standard soft plastic bottle that's been used with
goopy drinks is NOT one of my favorite pastimes! It's
nice just to toss one in the bin instead.
On longer rides I often carry one or two bottles like
that, along with the underseat hydration pack that I
normally use for straight water. For tadpoles with
mesh seats, a Camelbak Unbottle with buckled straps
works great. We have Vagabond Source bags, which have
a slightly better interface for the straps.
If you've had problems with water bottles popping
out of horizontally mounted cages, or getting in the
way of calves - a common occurence on tadpoles with
boom-mounted bottles - you may want to try the Zefal
S-Cage. It's cheap, but works as well as anything
I've tried.
Regards,
Wayne