Staying hydrated is critical to having a good day on the bike, particularly if you’re working hard or riding in the heat of summer. But when you’re focused on the road ahead, a no-brainer plan like “drink when you’re thirsty” can completely fall apart with even the tiniest barrier to fluid intake—like a leaky bottle valve, a hard-to-open mouthpiece, or a gross plastic taste to your water. The best water bottles solve those problems and make staying hydrated a little easier, so you don’t have to think about it.
Cyclists have to consider fluid capacity, bottle placement with cage mounts, and valve types when choosing a water bottle, and often we like to ride with more than one type. This can change based on conditions (do you need an insulated bottle, or will a single-wall bottle suffice?), and necessary capacity. If you know you’ll have a chance to fill up along the route, you might not need to have multiple bottles on your bike. Valve types are another important choice. From a one-way squirt valve to push-pull to covered caps, there are options for all preferences and conditions.
From adding high-flow valves that deliver more water at once, to inner silica coatings to fight odors and weird aftertastes, water bottle design has come a long way in recent years. Here are our current favorite water bottles for cycling—all of which will fit into a standard bottle cage.
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The Best Cycling Water Bottles
What to Consider
Fluid Capacity
Depending on how long you’ll be riding for, you probably want a bottle with between 21-26 ounces of capacity. Most athletic-oriented cycling water bottles fall into this range, and are easy to fit into standard water bottle cages. For shorter commutes or in-town riding, a smaller capacity will work just fine, but be aware of your full water capacity for extended rides, and consider carrying multiple bottles if you think water access will be an issue.
Valve Type
Most cycling water bottles have either a one-way squirt valve or a push-pull valve. A one-way squirt valve can be used by squeezing the water bottle and forcing the water out of the valve. A push-pull valve is a soft rubber valve that can be opened and closed with your teeth by pulling up on the valve to open, and pushing it back down to close.
Insulation
This is a matter of preference. If you’ll be riding in extreme conditions—either hot or cold—you might prefer a double-wall insulated water bottle. These will keep your water cooler for longer on hot days, and help keep water from freezing during cold rides. They are harder to squeeze and heavier though, so if you don’t need the insulation, a soft plastic single-wall bottle will do the trick. These can be easier to squeeze and drink from while riding, and are often lighter weight.
How We Evaluated
Every water bottle on this list has been evaluated and vetted by our experienced team of test editors. We research the market, survey user reviews, and use our own experience to determine the best options. It’s safe to say that we’ve each ridden thousands of miles with every type of water bottle under the sun caged to our frames, and over the years a few standouts have emerged based on performance, value, ease of use, price, and sometimes even aesthetics. Here’s what we recommend.
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BEST OVERALL
SPECIALIZED BIG MOUTH
Pros
- Easy to find for cheap
- Durable
- High-flow valve
Cons
- Not insulated
Key Specs
| Capacity | Up to 26 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | Various |
| Insulation | Single-wall |
While it’s nowhere near new, the Specialized Big Mouth bottle is one of our Gear of the Year winners this year because it’s still so hard to top. Our senior test editor Matt Phillips says “It’s one of the few perfect cycling products,” thanks to a leakproof seal and valve that provides great flow, plus a wide mouth that’s easy to fill with ice cubes. It’s also inexpensive, easy to clean, easy to squeeze, and doesn’t make your water taste funny. What else could you want?
BEST FOR GERMOPHOBES
CAMELBAK PODIUM DIRT SERIES
Pros
- Has mud cap to protect mouthpiece
- Jet-insulated valve
Cons
- Holds only 21 ounces
- Cap adds an extra step to drinking
Key Specs
| Capacity | 21 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | Black, lime, white |
| Insulation | Double-wall |
Getting a little gravel in your mouth builds character. But some trails are so finely crushed and silty that it’s hard to take a drink without feeling like you just chugged from a bucket of giardia-infested sand. (And let’s not even talk about trails that see a lot of horse traffic.) This 21-ounce bottle has everything we love about the CamelBak Podium, like its leak-free, self-sealing jet valve, plus an added mud cap to keep all the trail muck off the mouthpiece and out of your intestinal tract. The bottle is made of BPA-free TruTaste material, so your water won’t have that weird plastic taste to it.
SALSA GRAVEL STORIES PURIST WATER BOTTLE
Pros
- Stylish design
Cons
- Need to be careful with “Purist” coating
Key Specs
| Capacity | 26 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | White-patterned |
| Insulation | Single-wall |
Bottles listed as using Specialized’s “Purist” design have a silica coating inside to prevent odor, stains, and mold from setting in. This translates to far less plasticy-tasting water and a bottle that’s easy to clean in a dishwasher or by hand with dish soap, warm water, and zero scrubbing (in fact, Specialized recommends you don’t scrub). You can get Purist bottles directly from Specialized or in lots of variations from other brands, like this 26-ounce gravel-specific bottle from Salsa.
My favorite aspect of the bottle is the MoFlo cap, which delivers high volume, never leaks, and is easy to open and close. The sides of the bottle are easy to squeeze for even faster chugging on hot days.
PDW LUCKY CAT PURIST WATER BOTTLE
Portland Design Works Lucky Cat Purist Water Bottle
Pros
- PDW sells a matching Lucky Cat bottle cage
Cons
- Not insulated
Key Specs
| Capacity | 26 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | Various fun graphics and patterns |
| Insulation | Single-wall |
We already know that Purist water bottles are good water bottles. Like we said above, they have a silica coating on the inside that helps prevent stains, funk, and mold. It also means your water tastes like water, not the plastic bottle it’s stored in. If you search the internet, you’ll find Purist bottles in all sorts of patterns and colors.
This one is from Portland Design Works, which also makes other fun and funky stuff, like bar tape covered in donuts or tacos, a bamboo deck for your rear rack, and a rose-patterned tool keg that stores CO2 and tire levers. This Lucky Cat bottle and the Very Good Dog bottle are available on PDW’s site with matching bottle cages (for $30). But if it’s only the bottle you want, you can buy that here.
CAMELBAK PODIUM CHILL
Pros
- Available in various colors and paterns
- Valve twists to lock and unlock
Cons
- Valve is hard to clean
Key Specs
| Capacity | 24 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | Over 16 patterns and colors |
| Insulation | Double-wall |
CamelBak’s genius Podium bottle has a self-sealing jet valve design that lets you suck water straight from the bottle without having to pull the valve open or push it shut with your teeth. It delivers a fast flow of water, never leaks, and is easy enough to drink from that my toddler always steals mine.
You can also twist the cap to seal it off for easy transport inside a bag. The 24-ounce bottle itself is BPA-, BPS-, and BPF-free, and made with TruTaste material, so your water will actually taste like water and never like the walls of the bottle. The only drawback is that it’s a bit harder to clean the valve than it is with a more standard mouthpiece.
POLAR BOTTLE BREAKAWAY INSULATED WATER BOTTLE
Pros
- Cold drinks stay cold longer
- Keeps water from freezing in cold weather
- Good size for longer rides
Cons
- Can be hard to clean
Key Specs
| Capacity | 24 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | Gray, white, blue, yellow, various ombre patterns |
| Insulation | Triple-wall |
Polar Bottle’s 24-ounce bottle has a triple wall of insulation that’s designed to keep your water cold twice as long. I’ve tested this claim many times over the course of a Texas summer, and while I think “twice” is a bold assertion, the bottle does keep my ice intact longer in dystopian 100-degree heat than any of my regular bottles.
I haven’t tested whether the opposite is true on chilly rides (because, again, I live in Texas and 50 degrees Fahrenheit is balaclava weather here), but I’ve heard you can also get an extra couple hours of Arctic-temperature pedaling before your hydration completely freezes. The bottle is also BPA- and phthalate-free, and easy to wash in the dishwasher.
ELITE FLY BOTTLE
Pros
- Ultralight
- Inexpensive
- Easy to squeeze
Cons
- Small
- Mouthpiece isn’t as comfortable as some
Elite makes race-ready water bottles that are ridiculously lightweight. Someone like me—who rides a steel frame road bike with a saddlebag full of snacks, tools, and random roadside treasures—has no real need for a bottle that weighs only 54 grams, about 30 less than a traditional bottle. But for those of you looking to shave grams wherever grams are available to shave, the Fly Bottle is pretty cool.
It’s made from a very thin, BPA-free plastic that’s easier to squeeze than most bottles, even with frozen fingers. It has an oversized silicone spout that’s quick to open and shut and doesn’t leak. And it’s also a killer bargain. At 18.6 ounces, the bottle is smaller than most other water bottles but does the job in a race or if you’re not riding long.
COLORAL WATER BOTTLE
Pros
- Stylish
- Vacuum-insulated
- Can be used with hot liquids
Cons
- Cork top can be difficult to open while riding
Key Specs
| Capacity | 14 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | Chrome |
| Insulation | Vacuum-insulated |
If you’re the type to call a water bottle a “bidon”—and if you value timeless quality and style over, say, ease of mid-ride drinking—the Coloral water bottle is the bidon for you. Reintroduced in 2018, the Coloral is a cult classic that harkens back to the golden age of bike racing, before plastic began to dominate the cycling world’s bottle cages. It’s made of toxin-free and non-leaching stainless steel that’s been vacuum-insulated, so you can also fill it with hot coffee or cold brew.
The bottle is lightweight and fits in modern bike cages, where it looks absolutely gorgeous resting against your vintage frame outside the coffee shop. The only potential downside is that it has a cork top, so you’ll have to work on your no-handed-riding skills if you want to take it on longer rides.
MSW Water Bottle and Cage Kit
Pros
- Kid-specific design
Cons
- Need to soak cap to clean
Key Specs
| Capacity | 14 ounces |
|---|---|
| Colors | Space kitty, giraffe |
| Insulation | Single-wall |
This kid-friendly water bottle makes staying hydrated fun. This pint-size single-wall water bottle is easy to grasp and squeeze, with fun characters for kids to choose from, whether they want to ride with a kitty, a giraffe, or a cloud.
This model comes as a set that includes both the bottle and cage, and mounts to 22.2mm handlebars with the combined clamp system. This bottle itself is easy to clean, though we recommend soaking the cap in a cleaning solution, as it doesn’t come apart to clean.
Maggie Slepian is a full-time freelance writer in the outdoor industry and has tested gear professionally for almost ten years—she is an avid backpacker, trail runner, bikepacker, and horseback rider and has thru-hiked thousands of miles on the Appalachian, Colorado, and Ouachita trails, along with backcountry travel on terrain including coastal trails, the desert, and high alpine peaks. Maggie has written for New York Magazine, Huffington Post, REI, and Outside. She is a columnist with Backpacker Magazine and is the co-founder of BackpackingRoutes.com. Contact her at MaggieSlepian.com.
