Hello everybody!
I was looking for information about when it is time to replace a water bottle. I couldn’t find a direct answer, but our friendly overlord ChatGPT says that the recommended timeframe is about 6-12 months. What is your experience? Thanks!
I never realized people replaced water bottles. I’m using plastic bottles from the Obama administration.
You’ll probably taste it when it’s time
Also, you can buy replacement lids for the Camelbak bottles. I replaced my lids when get they got disgusting or the nozzles broke rather than replacing the whole bottles.
I think it’s one of those “if you have to ask, it’s time” scenarios. Get a Bivo, and don’t look back!
Friendly overload ChatGPT is clearly manipulated by water bottle manufacturers. Replace them when you feel they’re worn. They’re plastic. They can survive anything short of a nuclear winter (maybe even that). Just wash ‘em
The main place of concern, especially if you use them off road, is inside the nozzle bit, where crud and mildew can accumulate. With a bit of finagling they will separate for cleaning. To avoid having to do that, a soak in sterilising fluid on a regular basis will keep them clean.
Always wash them out right away after a ride (especially if you use any energy drinks) and leave the lid off and the nozzle open to dry.
Probably get 5-8 years before they crack. Some bite valves fail in a year or two
Get a truckload of Elite Fly, change as soon as you can see black patch developping.
That said, as long as you wash your bottles after the ride, you shouldn’t have too much problems.
Completely agree, bought a few of them and replaced all my metal cages (works better that way), not looking back
If they’re specialized bottles, they’ll usually throw you some extra bottle tops if you ask nicely. I’ve had some of my bottles for > 10 years. They only get tossed when they are broken or can;t be cleaned properly.
When washing, as the final step, I fill the bottles with hot water and then squeeze out all the water. This really helped delay mould development. But I should replace my bottles more often than I do.
Mine are from George Sr. Administration.
I’ve gone Bivo now. Stainless steel and you can disassemble everything to clean out the black growth from your energy drink.
What bottles are you using now? If you have never completely taken apart the nozzle for cleaning and you have been using hydration mix in them, the answer is probably a couple of months. Based on my experience using bottles of various designs over the years - Specialized Purist, Polar Breakaway (now under HydraPak), Tacx, and Elite - the nozzle on the Elite bottles are the easiest to take apart to clean repeatedly without damaging it because the design is really simple. Because of that reason alone, I have switched all of my bottles to Elite and I also make sure I don’t pick a dark color for the nozzles that tends to hide the mold/mildew really well.
Have you taken apart the nozzles of those 10-year Specialized bottles and looked inside?
For long rides I use Nuum electrolyte tabs in my bottles and my Specialized Purist bottles will definitely grow mold. I just bought a couple of new Purist bottles that are clear, and I’m not going to put anything in them besides water 
I have three cages on my Bingham and I’ll carry the two clear bottles with water, and a third that gets the Nuun, and add the water to the Nuun bottle as it needs re-filling.
For long MTB rides I use a Camelback, and I’ve had it for many years. I never put anything but water in it, and between rides it lives in the freezer, so not a speck of mold ever.
I’ve used Specialized and Elite Fly bottles. I’ve broken a bunch of the Specialized nozzles trying to get them out to clean and actually didn’t know you could remove the Elite’s but just tested and it is pretty easy and durable. On top of that I find that after a while they start growing bacteria in them (it’s red, forgot the name) and even after scrubbing the crap out of them it seems to come back quicker every time. I always wash right after rides and make sure they are dry before storing (not to mention I use them about every day).
I just replaced them with the Hydrapak’s (literally showed up 5 minutes ago) and it seems like they’re easier to clean. Also got a softer bottle brush in the hopes that the bacteria regrowth has something to do with the old bristle one scratching them.
Just realized I talked about cleaning vs replacing them but to answer that question this season I’ve been using some Elite Fly’s from the feed that I’ve had since this spring so I guess about 4 months of frequent use…
The HydraPak Breakaway used to be known as Polar Breakaway. The nozzle is easier to remove from the cap than Specialized Purist but it will eventually get moldy if you don’t take the nozzle apart. The nozzle consists of three parts: the mouth piece, a soft silicone and a hard plastic that holds the silicone piece in place. As careful as I was disassembling the nozzle, I still broke a few of them by tearing the silicone piece. I rarely use the Breakaway bottles now after acquiring Elite Fly of various sizes because the latter is so much easier to thoroughly clean.
Excellent responses from everyone. It’s very entertaining to see that each person has a different technique and approach to cleaning bottles. After reading this, I have another question: What happens to the bottles after cleaning them? Will it be like plastic cutting boards, which are not recommended because it’s impossible to fully remove bacteria over time? Or will the amount of microplastics increase as they age?
Why wouldn’t you just clean the black stuff out?