1/2 gallon flexible water bottle?
 

Anyone here aware of a 1/2 gallon water bottle that is made from the same plastic as the Specialized water bottles?

No, but I'll bite - so why are you looking for a 1.9 liter bottle with those specifics - I assume it's a taste thing for you?

also, what shape, size are you looking for? When I have had to carry more water, I've used store bought 1.5 L bottles that I refill and keep in a pannier, the main advantage of this is how light the actual bottle is, so less weight when empty. Surprisingly tough also, I used one of these for weeks and weeks and weeks and it never had a leak.
I've also strapped a 1.5 L Nalgene onto a fork cage and that works fine also.
My fave though is one of those 2 L folding, collapsible bags, tough plastic and takes up so little space and weight when not in use. Can't recall brand but a good one.

Largest bottle I know of is the Zefal 164A @975L. Fits in a standard bottle cage.
Platypus - Multiple sizes up to 3L. I like em.

I have the adjustable Topeak Modula Cage XL with a 1,5 litre PET bottle (standard pop bottle in the EU) and a Topeak Modula Cage EX with a 0.7 litre water bottle on my frame. If I need more I'll buy 1.5L or 2L bottles of water and strap them onto my panniers. If that's not enough, I even have a 2L collapsible Platypus bottle which I use with a Sawyer Mini water filtre. Sawyer makes those bottles as well. I can carry 8 litres of water if need be… well, before stacking 5L bottles on top of everything else, but not often I’ve needed more than 8L.

I wouldn't want a Camelbak as I don't want anything on my back when riding.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e0d98e9382.jpg

Son in law works for a company that makes the molding machines that make plastic bottles, he says that the 1 and 2 liter bottles both use the same amount of plastic. So carrying 2 liters in one big bottle will be lighter than in two single liter bottles.

I have a Rockgeist Honey Pot stem bag. I put a Nalgene 48oz bottle in it at first. I put a 1.5 liter Smart Water bottle in it last night. I saw a video on Youtube and i'm going to add a tube with a bite valve to it. I also replaced my down tube and seat tube water bottle cages with the Velo Orange Mojave cages. The down tube cage has just enough room for the 48oz Nalgene and the seat tube cage has enough room for my Klean Canteen 40oz Classic water bottle. So with the underside down tube cage I have a Kleen Canteen 18oz water bottle. This gives me a total of around 156oz of fluid..

I have an older sea to summit 4L bladder. Not often for every day but useful in those cases where I am going through arid areas and need extra water. Crossing Russia my riding partner had a 10l bladder shown in the image below. Towards the end of each day, we would find our way to a village or other habitation and ask where we could fill on water. Sometimes it was a well, sometimes a pump house, sometimes they went into their house and came back with it full. After that with water bladder strapped on back, we would cycle perhaps another 10km and then find a place besides the road to camp. We would use the water for cooking, washing up and then filling bottles for the next day.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...84644f658b.jpg
When cycling around Australia I had some dry regions and my general guideline that worked for me was ~1 liter for each 20km and ~2 liters for an overnight. At maximum there was a gap of ~280km going to the Sandfire Roadhouse. This meant 16 liters split as follows: Camelbak (3l) + Camelbak 2nd bladder (3l) + bike bottles (2l) + sea to summit bladder (4l) + extra water bottles (2l) + spare bottles of water purchased (2l). As it turned out when I camped, there were people offering me water and also at least one that stopped along the road. So my 16l was more than enough but ok for just in case...

I think the Ultralight crew have left the chat 😆

In USA I buy the one liter Smartwater or Life WTR brand bottles, they fit in standard cages. In Canada the Life WTR is Life Water, I suspect in USA someone else got the copyright first. Those one liter bottles do not have a quick lid, I thread on different lids. I keep re-using the bottles until they are pretty shot.

That said most frames can't fit a bottle that big under the downtube, but it works on my heavy touring bike so I can carry three liters on the frame.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c1a96bfbb.jpg

It is a good idea to use a strap or something on the one under the downtube to make sure it stays in the cage.

I recently saw some photos of some of the bikes that were recently used in a major endurance off road race, I think it was in Arizona. A few bikes that had full frame bags that filled up the triangle had cages on the sides of the downtube with bottles sticking out the side. I think that is the first time I had seen that before. Here is an example of this.
https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/u...-1536x1024.jpg

Another example.
https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/u...-1536x1024.jpg

On a different forum, someone had a really big bottle, maybe two liters? And a giant very stiff cage. The bike fell over or maybe it was a crash, I do not recall which. The cage was stiff enough that the cage did not bend, but the metal in the downtube tubing deformed were the two bolts were that held the cage to the frame from that side impact. Lesson learned, use cages that are easier to bend than your frame material.

I have never seen one of these actually used, but that may be an option for more capacity on the downtube. It might put the cage too close to your legs on a seat tube, but that is only a guess on my part.
https://www.amazon.com/M-Wave-Bike-B.../dp/B00CTPHQTW

Whatever the plastic used for the Specialized bottles it is tough stuff and I really like it. I have never worn one out. Has no aftertaste either. Was hoping to get a couple 1/2 gallon jugs/bottles made from the same stuff.

Twofish has Several sizes of water bottle cages and mounts that have velcro straps for holding cages in places were there are no brazons.

Tare included, a gallon of water weighs 8.5 pounds.

Why do you feel you need such bottles?

I have used one, but a velcro strap around a tube really does not hold a cage with a bottle in place very well. It worked well in my case because on my folding bike I could strap it to the seatpost extension, the bottom of the bottle sat on the frame. But I do not see that working very well on a seattube or down tube if the cage can rotate around the tube or slide down it.

The nearly vertical bottle in the photo is in one of those cages. I also used a bunge to strap the top of the bottle to the seat post extension so that the bottle did not move. It worked well in this case, but if I did not have the base of the bottle sitting on the frame, it would not have worked.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...508ef237fc.jpg

my worst memory of disgusting aftertaste was from my first trip in France, 92 I think. It was really hot, probably 35 or so, and my bike bottles were dark coloured, and a plastic that really gave a hot, disgusting taste to the water , but I had no choice, had to drink.
I just remember forcing myself to drink the stuff cuz I knew I had to drink, but boy oh boy not a pleasant taste.
I've ridden a fair amount since then in other hot conditions but those water bottles back then were the worst for having a plasticy taste in the body temp water.

djb, I know exactly what you experienced. I have a black water bottle my son brought back from the Netherlands and it has zero after taste, even when sitting inside a hot car during the summer. Plastics for this application have come a long way. I'm unable to determine what Specialized uses. It behaves like HDPE, but I'm not sure what it is. I know plastic milk bottles are made from HDPE, but drop one even half full and it has a good chance of cracking. Perhaps if those jugs were 3x thicker I'd be interested.

I mounted two of there large cages that hold the 64oz Kleen Canteen bottles on fork blades. I tightened the velcro straps with pliers. They don't ever move when you do this.

Ok, I had not thought of that.

My Rockgeist Honey Pot stem bag uses Three mounting points. After mounting the velcro to the stem and the velcro to the handlebar I couldn't get the strap that runs from the bottom of the bag to under the fork crown tight enough at first. Pulling all the slack and then some would not work because when I threaded the strap through the second part of the buckle the strap would loosen up. I then pulled the strap very tight and pinched the strap to the buckle with pliers while putting the strap through the second part of the buckle.. This allowed it to be tight enough. I can now pluck the strap and get some twang out of it.

Now and again I check and retighten the cage bolts. Loose bolts and tall, heavy bottles overstress the frame. At the top of my 1,5L I have an extra velcro strap to keep the bottle from moving

very good point to bring up, I would add the importance of using loctite on bolts for heavy water bottle cages.

But as you wisely brought up, regularly checking bolt tightness of all your bikes bolts anyway, that's the key thing.

On the other end of this, I have once stupidly overtightened a rack bolt and damaged the threads of the bolt insert thing in an aluminium frame.
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Yes, part of the morning lube ’n pump ritual :)

edit: good grief, I posted and read my post. I apologise, it wasn’t meant in any other way 😂
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Soma carries one that is 36 oz. They claim it's the largest available and for all my internet scouring, that appears to be true. Looks like I don't have enough posts to share the link, but if you search for 36 oz bike water bottle you can find it.


On my last long tour I took a pair of 26 oz bottles, held in feedbags on my bars. Then I had a pair of 48oz Nalgenes strapped to my fork. They also don't impart any weird tastes to the water. For any time I needed more water than that (this was on the GDMBR), I had a 1.5L Smart Water/Essentia type bottle smooshed and shoved into one of my bags and would fill that.

FWIW --

I carry 1x1L smartwater (lightweight, fairly durable - will last 1+ month - fits nicely in standard bottle cage) + 1x750 ml hydraflask insulated steel bottle (keeps water cool on super hot days, and coffee reasonably warm on colder days).

I also carry 2x2L Hydra pack flexible bladders. They fold small and disappear inside panniers when not needed. I use them when I need more than 1.7L (rare occurrence), but frequently at campsite to carry/filter water. Downside is that water will take an unpleasant taste if left in the bladder for more than a few hours.

I am considering the Cnoc bladders. Excellent reviews (no funny taste), available in 1L, 2L or 3L with 28mm (standard water bottle) or 42mm ("standard bladder") opening.

I prefer 2 smaller bladders to a large one. More flexible, easier to lash on panniers or on the rack.

Hey, one of these will get you across a desert:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...209ae18b22.png