I love a good coffee stop. Here in the Cotswolds, I’m blessed with some of the finest cafés known to humanity, but now that winter has cast its gloomy shadow over these picture-postcard limestone hills, many close early or shut up shop altogether until spring.

Ever resourceful, I’ve resorted to what promises to be the next best thing, a flaskful of Java, or, more accurately, an Elite Deboyo Race stainless-steel thermal bidon filled from my humble Nespresso machine.

I bought the Deboyo Race primarily for winter rides, but I’m hoping it’ll help me weather the hottest rides of next summer, too. Provided that we have a summer, which is never a certainty in this part of the UK. Whichever way the cookie crumbles, I'll put the Deboyo Race to good use.

Construction

The Deboyo Race has a double-walled, vacuum-insulated stainless-steel construction, just like all the other metal thermal flasks you’ll be familiar with from brands such as Stanley, Yeti and Thermos. The difference is that the Deboyo Race has been specifically designed for cyclists. It will fit into a standard bottle cage and is easy to drink from while pedalling. Elite supplies the bottle with two tops, a screw-on touring cap and a soft, high-flow rate, push-pull nozzle complete with protective dust cover - identical to the one you'll find on its plastic bottles.

Capacity is 550ml, just like a standard bidon, although the Deboyo Race is considerably taller. For comparison, a 550ml Elite Fly bottle is 185mm tall, whereas the Deboyo Race is 210mm with touring cap, and 240mm with nozzle and dust cover. Unsurprisingly, the stainless-steel bottle is also considerably heavier at 273g (with nozzle) versus just 50g for the Fly.

The Deboyo Race is made from AISI 304 (18/8) stainless steel, the gold standard for durable, corrosion-resistant, and food-safe applications. It’s BPA-free and won't corrode from contact with high-acidity drinks such as orange juice. The brand boldly claims the bottle will keep drinks hot for up to 12 hours and cold for up to 24 hours.

The ride

With its straight sides and square shoulders, the Deboyo Race is one handsome bottle. Its bright, brushed steel finish catches the light, and Elite’s graphics are tastefully applied. To my eyes, at least, it is a thing of beauty.

Regrettably, it quickly picks up scratches from bottle cage rub, and if you drop it, it’s likely to dent. I prefer to keep things looking shiny and new for as long as possible, but if you’re into the rugged, road-worn, gravel look, you’ll probably be delighted that it will age prematurely.

Both tops – the touring cap and nozzle – use an O-ring to prevent leaks. The O-ring in my touring cap was poorly seated from the factory, so I spent a minute or two fiddling with it to achieve a good seal. Once correctly positioned, it was fine and has been easy to care for since, but I do wonder if the O-rings will withstand years of repeated use. Elite recommends hand-washing the bottle, so it's probably wise to clean the O-rings separately, and check for wear and tear. I found that either cap can be easily and securely screwed onto the top of the bottle.

When filling with coffee, I default to the touring cap. I like to stop for my coffee breaks, using the DeBoyo Race as a mug to drink from – somehow sucking coffee from a nozzle feels wrong, but maybe that’s just me. With the touring cap removed, the neck is 55mm wide and beautifully rounded, making it easy to fill and very comfortable to sip from. There’s more than enough room to dunk a mini digestive biscuit, provided you’ve had the foresight to bring some.

For rehydrating with cold drinks from the saddle, the nozzle clearly makes more sense. Unlike a regular plastic bottle, it’s impossible to squeeze the steel DeBoyo Race, but the nozzle’s flow rate is more than adequate for drinking. Squirting cold liquid onto your body to keep cool, however, is out of the question.

One of the key qualities of stainless steel is that it does not taint drinks with odour or a ‘plasticky’ aftertaste. Elite doesn’t claim any environmental credentials for the DeBoyo Race, but steel is infinitely recyclable, whereas plastic can only be downcycled. However, the initial production of a stainless-steel bottle is likely to use considerably more energy, so it's no silver bullet.

When I first filled my bottle with coffee, I was alarmed by how warm the exterior felt – not a great sign of thermal retention. However, four hours later, my coffee was still piping hot, an experience I’ve been able to repeat again and again in British winter conditions of approx. 6°C. Can the DeBoyo Race keep liquids ‘hot’ for 12 hours, as claimed? I tested this with boiling water, and it remained warm, if not hot, for the duration.

Ultimately, much depends on the ambient temperature and your definition of ‘hot’. In real-world riding conditions, most of us will have downed the contents of our bottles within three or four hours anyway, rendering claims about long-term thermal efficiency academic.

Winter isn't the ideal season to test how well this bottle keeps drinks cool, but it is likely to perform significantly better than plastic thermal bottles. From my experience, these typically only work for about an hour at best in temperatures above 30°c.

Coincidentally, my winter bike is fitted with Elite Custom Race cages that hold the DeBoyo Race securely. However, a 3T Strada Italia I have on loan features a 3T cage, which keeps the bottle secure enough but causes it to rattle slightly. So, if you’re easily triggered by mild metallic clatter, invest in some genuinely compatible cages.

Value and conclusions

The DeBoyo Race has made my winter riding so much more civilised, elevating any humble bench in the Cotswolds to a makeshift café. My Nespresso machine is no La Marzocco, but coffee snobbery aside, taking a steel flask is a versatile tactic that opens up new routes and undiscovered country views. Sitting, watching the River Coln wind its way through Cassey Compton, while I savour one slow sip at a time, is a near-spiritual encounter, an infinitely more enjoyable experience than a stiflingly hot, crowded café in winter.

At £29.99/$39, the DeBoyo Race isn’t cheap as chips, but with cafés around here now charging almost £5 for a flat white, my initial investment will probably end up saving me money.

It’s not a unique product. CamelBak makes a similar thermal bottle, the Podium, which retails for a little more at £35/$39. It's shaped more like a traditional bidon than the DeBoyo Race and doesn’t feature a touring cap. Bivo makes a slightly smaller insulated steel bottle, the 17 oz capacity (500 ml) Trio, which costs £44.99/$44.

Not only is the DeBoyo Race a little cheaper than these competitors, but it’s also a touch more versatile. With its touring cap in place, it convincingly resembles a thermal mug, which can be used for off-bike activities such as hiking, too.

Although they definitely wouldn’t fit into a standard water bottle cage, the uber-popular Stanley thermoses are hard to miss at your local café or mid-ride watering hole, cradled in the hands of casual coffee shop-goers who are willing to shell out  nearly $50 for one.

Cyclists are known to spend a hefty dollar on riding gear, though, so maybe we shouldn’t judge. 

What we should judge is the fact that Stanley is now involved in a class-action lawsuit regarding the presence of lead in its famous tumblers. 

According to the Stanley brand, lead is one chemical used in the vacuum-sealed insulation at the base of the tumblers. However, “once sealed, this area is covered with a durable stainless steel layer, making it inaccessible to consumers. Rest assured that no lead is present on the surface of any Stanley product that comes into contact with the consumer nor the contents of the product.”

Still, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Stanley for claiming their products are safe while knowingly including lead in the tumblers. 

The Mayo Clinic says that lead poisoning can happen over months or years, and results in symptoms such as irritability, sluggishness, vomiting, constipation, hearing loss and seizures.

The Stanley situation has resulted in athletes questioning what chemicals are hiding in their water bottles, and if there is cause for concern about traces of lead or other dangers in what we drink out of on long rides.

We did the research on popular water bottle brands frequently found in cyclists’ water bottle cages so you don’t have to. 

• Bivo water bottles, which were designed by a NASA engineer and are fully-recyclable, released a statement last month sharing that their bottles contain no lead, BPA, phthalates, heavy metals or PFAS (forever chemicals). 
• Hydro Flask discovered in 2012 that the industry-standard for vacuum sealing involved lead, and the company created an alternative sealing process for vacuum insulated bottles. Today, Hydro Flask bottles are lead-free. 
• Polar Bottle, which both sources its materials and manufactures its products in the U.S., shared with Cycling Weekly that its products are indeed lead-free. Its bottles are also BPA- and phthalate-free, with the insulated inner and outer layers and cap constructed out of low-density polyethylene (a lead-free plastic) and the valve out of TPU, another type of lead-free plastic.
• Purist by Specialized water bottles are incredibly popular and frequently handed out at events as a free keepsake - you likely have a Purist bottle in your cupboard, even if you don’t realize it. Purist products are lead- and BPA-free and made from 100% FDA food-grade materials. They're  printed with a UV-cured non-solvent base and CPSC-approved ink and materials. CPSC-approved means that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a government organization, has tested the materials for lead and approved them for sale to consumers.  
• Tacx, another popular bottle manufacturer, makes its eco bottles from 100% BPA-free biodegradable polypropylene and will, with the correct conditions, fully decompose in 1-5 years. 
• Elite lists its bottles’ components in its Code of Ethics and says that it makes its bottles using “bioplastics from sugar cane, which includes no component of [carbon or petroleum].” Its bottles’ raw materials come from “vegetable origin.” There is no outright statement on lead from the company, however. 
• CamelBak says that “no CamelBak-manufactured bottles have lead components that would come into contact with a liquid, or with a product user. Some bottles have a solder point on an exterior wall and that solder does contain lead, but the solder is enclosed under a protective cover and is inaccessible by design.” The brand says that the “only way” this solder would become accessible would be if a product user intentionally destructed the product. CamelBak notes that it has gone through “rigorous testing” and its steel vessel, paint and plastic cap - the parts of their products that come into contact with customers - show no signs of lead detection. 

CamelBak appears to be the only brand on this list that admits to the use of lead in its products, albeit in a way that should not come into contact with customers or liquids. Contact your favorite bottle company’s customer service or help site is the best way to receive up-to-date information about the materials used in their bottle manufacturing. 

When we were getting ready to move into our new home in 2021, I could easily fill two Medium size moving boxes with water bottles. Sure, some have sentimental value, and others needed to be tossed out, but it's pretty shocking how many bottles you amass, and worse, throw away, in any given year. On the pro side, that number is staggering. To give you an idea, the EF Education – EasyPost men's team and EF Education – TIBCO – SVB women's team alone used 34,000 bottles in a single year. 

While many go to eager fans on the sidelines, plastic water bottles are incredibly wasteful. While biodegradable water bottles are possible —Cannondale, for one, equips all its teams with 100% compostable bottles— but they're not commonplace. 

Enter, Bivo, a company that's attempting to reinvent the cycling bottle as we know it in order to move the industry away from our dependence on semi-disposable plastic bottles..

With the help of a former NASA engineer, founders Carina Hamel and Robby Ringer produced a more sustainable water bottle with a better flow rate to boot. 

"We realized from the beginning of creating the first Bivo bottle that it had to perform as well or better than traditional plastic cycling bottles. Why? As a product that was going to be focused on health and sustainability, we were confident that without nailing performance too, it would flop," the founders explain.

The problem, though, is that they were producing a stainless steel bottle. This metal is free of toxins, durable, easy to clean and won't rust. But, it is not pliable. Meaning you couldn't squeeze it like you a regular water bottle. 

"We simply couldn't think of a cyclist who would use a nifty stainless bottle only to have to convince their cycling friend to pull over while they unscrewed the lid to drink. No, our bottle had to perform as well or better than plastic in multiple areas to ensure it would be adopted," says Bivo. 

It took some 18 months of brainstorming, 3D printing, testing prototypes, but the team behind Bivo ultimately landed on what they call the Gravity Flow lid. This system relies on a lid with two openings. One serves as the nozzle you drink from. A second, smaller port has a removable straw attached to it, which extends to the bottom of the bottle. The secondary port's job is to pull air back into the bottle via the straw at the same rate as the air and water escape from the main nozzle. Unlike a regular bottle requiring a squeeze to change the volume and physically force water out of the single nozzle, the secondary port negates the need for a squeeze and creates a constant airflow, generating a smooth flow of water. 

Like a regular bottle, you can open or close the system by pulling on the main nozzle. The parts that aren't steel, the lid and straw, are made of BPA-free polypropylene and food-grade silicone components.

Bivo launched its revolutionary water bottle in late 2020. Two years in, there are three models — the signature Bivo One, the Bivo Duo and the Trio insulated bottle. The bottles come in either a raw finish or with a silicone anti-slip exterior.

Bivo One Details:

• Material: stainless steel body, lid and straw made of BPA-free polypropylene and food-grade silicone components.
• 21-ounce capacity
• Raw or silicone finish
• fits standard bottle cages
• 100 percent recyclable
• Upwards of 165grams per bottle
• MSRP: $34 raw, $39 with a color, silicone finish

Bivo One - Ride Test:

Straight out of the packaging, the Bivo bottles feel like a premium product. I received a set of the 1% For the Planet bottles, which is a collaboration with the apparel brand, Velocio, and come in a raw steel finish with a neat, laser-etched design.  

The bottles have some heft to them. At upwards of 165 grams per bottle, they're easily double the weight of a conventional plastic bottle. 

The bottles fit in a regular cage, and while I have heard others complain about rattling, I encountered no rattling in the new Enve cages or the Elite cages. 

The flow rate on this bottle is genuinely impressive and noticeably better than a regular water bottle. With the Gravity Flow system open and the bottle upside down, the bottle will drain itself remarkably quickly. No squeezing. No sucking on a straw. It just works and it's a pleasant experience. 

On the bike —or any time, really, as I've started using these bottles all day long— this means consuming more water every time you reach for it. 

And the stainless steel vessel produces a nice, clean taste — even on the hottest days when conventional bottles tend to produce a plastic-y taste. Cleaning the bottles is easy. The nozzle and straw can be popped off the lid and go straight into the dishwasher along with the vessel. But the Bivo recommends that you wash the lid by hand. To give the nozzle and straw a good scrub down, the bottles ship with a cleaning brush. The bottle is mold-resistant, but regular cleaning is still recommended. 

In terms of durability, the bottles can take a beating but it is going to show. After regular use, my Bivo bottles have scratch marks from the cages and a dent from when I accidentally dropped a bottle. It doesn't impact the bottles' function by any means, but I do wonder if the silicone finish would prevent some of the superficial damage. Even scratched and dented, however, I think these bottles are going to last me a very long time. 

Bivo One - Value and Conclusion:

Durable, toxin-free, easy to clean, great taste and an excellent flow rate — the Bivo bottles have a lot to be excited about. The reinvented water bottle isn't perfect — the bottles scratch and dent— but I'd happily trade in my cupboards full of plastic water bottle for a handful of these reusable, metal water vessels. 

However, durability comes at a cost. Ranging between $34 and $39 per bottle, the price is significantly more than a convention bottle, made by Purist or Elite, that only costs around $12 on average. Eighty bucks for a set of bottles isn't insignificant, but these bottles will outlast any plastic ones and, therefore, likely keep several sets of bottles from ending up in landfill. 

I should note that these bottles aren't great for traditional road racing. They're probably too heavy and expensive to toss willy-nilly into the feed zone. Plus, they'd likely dent upon the impact. And, given how robust they are, a wheel isn't going to squish the vessel, which poses a bit of a crash risk for you or your fellow racers should you drop one.

But for everyday riding and general, everyday use, they're excellent. 

Finding a bottle cage that works well with a variety of bottle shapes can be difficult. Although in theory all cages and bottles should have the same diameter, in practice some bottle/bottle cage combinations give a more secure fit than others.

This isn’t such a problem on smooth roads, but on bumpy tarmac and particularly off-road a poor match between cage and bottle can result in the bottle jumping out.

>>> Best cycling water bottles

We’ve recently tested the new Kinesis Tripster AT. It came equipped with three Lezyne Flow cages, including one under the down tube. Testing the bike over a variety of increasingly rough surfaces, the Lezyne Flow cages held a variety of different bottles securely without any of them working loose.

This is probably down to the Lezyne Flow cage’s design: there's an inward bend to the top on either side. The standard designs only have one catch at the top – or none at all. The Flow's design balances the forces holding the bottle in place but still lets you get your bottle out swiftly and easily.

The Lezyne Flow cage is made of fibre-reinforced plastic, so it should be durable. At 48 grams it’s a bit heavier than some other cages, but a pair still won’t unduly encumber your lightweight bicycle.

There’s also an HP version of the Lezyne Flow with different graphics and a side mount for fixing a high-pressure pump using the supplied Velcro straps. If you have a small frame which makes fitting a bottle difficult, Lezyne also sells a side-access SL version in left or right bottle access variants. Lezyne currently offers the Flow cage in white or black, although for 2018 there will be additional colour options.

Underneath the cap is a membrane valve. It’s not a feature unique to Elite – Camelbak’s bottles have had one for years. But it’s useful as it prevents liquid escaping when the bottle is in its cage, coating your frame with sticky corrosive liquid.

>>> Hot weather cycling: five tips to help you keep your cool

One feature of Elite’s older bottles is their two part cap, designed to split apart if the bottle is dropped, reducing the danger of riding into a heavy, full bottle. This safety cap is continued in the Crystal Ombra’s design, but in a smarter, more streamlined version. It’s easy to snap back together if it does come apart.

The standard Crystal Ombra bottle has a capacity of 555ml and there’s a 750ml version too. With its clear plastic sides, it’s easy to see how much liquid you have left in the bottle as you ride and there are helpful gradations up the bottle’s side.

>>> Elite Fly water bottle review

Elite makes the bottle with five different cap colour options, so you can match your frame if you want. But the clear plastic is quite rigid, so squeezing the bottle isn’t as easy as with softer plastics. It’s also prone to scuffing from the bottle cage.

The bottle meshes well with Elite’s cages. I did find it was prone to work loose in the classic Custom Race cage over the usual UK potholes and bumps. This wasn’t a problem in the new Vico carbon cage though.

>>> Best cycling water bottles and bidons 2017

The Cyrstal Ombra is dishwasher safe, so you can give it a really good clean when needed. There are some deeper ridges around the top of the bottle though, that you may need to tackle with a brush to clean up fully. The plastic is antibacterial too, which should help keep it hygienic.

>>> How many bacteria live on your water bottle?

As well as the Crystal Ombra, Elite makes the opaque plastic Ombra in 550ml, 750ml and 950ml versions and a Cervélo option too, all with the new cap design.

Cero might not be a household name, especially in the bottle cage market, but we haven't seen the UK-based company put a foot wrong in terms of quality so far.

>>> Elite’s new Fly Bottle will save you 40g

And that continues with the Cero Helium Carbon bottle cage that weights in at a very svelte 22g per cage – something for those looking to save that crucial gram here and there.

Only available in black, the carbon bottle cages look understated with just a Cero logo on the side. These come with bottle cage bolts too. It means that the Cero Helium bottle cage will go with most, if not all frames and will not look out of place.

>>> Video of a Giant-Alpecin rider flicking a bottle away with his wheel

At £18.99 and coming in at such a light weight you might be fooled into thinking there is a catch, but there isn't. Bottles from a range of brands fit in well, in both 500 and 750ml sizes and remain in place enough over rough road – cobbles included!

Yes, many plastic alternatives are cheaper than the Cero bottle cage, and many carbon cages are far more expensive. You'll be hard pressed to find better. A nice offering from Cero.

At only 23 grams, the Cube HPC bottle cage is a real weight weenie’s delight. It’s also got a satisfyingly minimalist design, with no spine connecting the two bottle boss bolt holes, which gives your bike an ultra-clean look. The two arms which hold the bottle in place are very thin too and joined at their base to make sure that the bottle can’t escape in that direction.

Watch: what to eat for your next sportive

The Cube HPC bottle cage is available in high gloss black and white as well as a matt black finish, to blend in with your frame. Attachment is made a bit more fiddly by the lack of connection between the two fixing points and the degree of flex which this allows, but it’s a one-time job and easily enough accomplished.

>>> How to make your own energy and recovery drinks

More of a problem is the lack of security of the hold on the water bottle. Because the Cube HPC bottle cage is so light and the top retainer is quite low profile, I found that bottles tended to work their way loose over typically bumpy UK back roads. I noticed them rubbing against my legs and was able to push them back in before I lost them, but this recurred a few times on each ride.

>>> Review: Elite Nanogelite thermal bottle

It was never dangerous and I’m not sure you could easily lose a bottle completely, but it did get a little irritating over time. A couple of bits of insulating tape over the top retainers reduced the problem. I’m not sure I’d want to use this cage if I were riding Paris-Roubaix though.

For more details visit the Cube website.

Most water bottles seem to have awkward lips and ledges to their designs, which are hard to get to. If you’re like me you probably give your bottles a quick rinse after a ride and leave them to dry. I occasionally put my bottles through the dishwasher, but not all are dishwasher-safe and they tend to develop a dishwasher tablet taste afterwards.

>>> How to clean your bike

Here's how to keep your clothing clean too

When I do give them a more thorough clean, I quite often find there’s a layer of brown gunk which has accumulated around those curvy bits which I haven’t cleaned properly – not nice.

>>> How to clean your bike in seven minutes

Enter Wiggle’s own-brand Lifeline accessories range, with its bottle cleaning brush. The blue spongy end bit gets up a good lather and you can push it into the crevasses at the bottom of the bottle and in the inside of the lid. Meanwhile the white bristles will scour the sides of the bottle and those corners and remove whatever it is which is accumulating there. They’re quite soft though, so they won’t scratch up the plastic and provide even more nooks for the brown stuff to breed in. The handle is easy to grip and the brush is nice and long, so you can really have a vigorous scrub.

Of course the other option is to throw out your old bottles regularly and start again with new ones – there’s no shortage if you are an avid sportiviste. But this somehow goes against my natural parsimoniousness and preference for brands of bottle which don’t seem to be given away so frequently, so a deep clean is a more attractive option.

>>> Check out this bacteria-resistant water bottle from ABLOC

All-in-all the Lifeline brush is a useful, cheap solution to a problem which you probably didn’t know – or want to know – that you had.

Getting a drink at the right temperature is a difficult task when you are out riding. On a hot summer day it can be a bit unpleasant drinking tepid energy drink, while during the winter it’s a definite shock to the system to take a slug of freezing liquid – or slush. So the Elite Nanogelite water bottle is potentially a godsend, as it has an insulating layer of “nanogel” between the outer bottle and its inner container, which is claimed to be the lightest solid insulation in the world. It’s also soft enough to be able to squeeze the bottle to get the liquid out faster.

Watch our guide to nutrition for a sportive ride 

I’ve tested the Nanogelite’s cold weather performance over the last few months and it definitely helps keep the contents above ambient temperature for several hours. I have been filling it up with tepid water from the kettle before setting out – it can’t take temperatures above 40 degrees. Taking a small swig from it every hour, the contents were still warm after an hour and still above ambient after three hours. By four hours they were pretty much down to the outside temperature.

>>> Five ultimate foods for cyclists

It helps to have a fullish bottle though, as the larger volume will take longer to cool down and will not slosh around as much as you travel, reducing mixing and cooling. Taking less measured slurps during rides resulted in much quicker cooling. So if you’re going to set off with two bottles, this would be a good option to save until you’ve finished the first, to make keeping your fluid levels up in the latter part of a ride a bit more comfortable.

>>> How to fuel for winter cycling

Of course, with the insulation layer the volume of the bottle is reduced. So although the Elite Nanogelite water bottle is the same size as a 750ml uninsulated bottle it only has a capacity of 500ml. There’s an even larger version available too, with a capacity of 650ml. The two parts are sealed together so there’s no risk of getting fluid between them or of the insulation escaping. The bottle comes with a secondary cap, which I like during the winter as it keeps you from having to drink through a layer of road muck.

>>> Five tips for hot weather cycling

I’ve not had the chance to test the bottle’s insulating properties in hot weather yet though – roll on July!

CamelBak was founded on its hydration packs, but its standard water bottles are by no means run of the mill.

The Podium is available in eight different colour schemes and is used by UCI World Tour team Cannondale-Garmin. Being only 610ml the Podium is definitely race focused, but it could also be used during the colder months when you might not need quite as much fluid to stay hydrated (there is also a 710ml option available for £9.99).

Watch November's Tech of the Month

The bottle's wide mouth makes pouring or shoveling in powder easy, and relatively mess free- no one wants energy powder going everywhere.

The Podium comes with Camelbak’s patented spill-proof Jet Valve- which is claimed to remove the need to fiddle around with a nozzle or cap before gulping down your drink. This is a good design and once you’ve mastered not squeezing the bottle too hard, which can lead to a large amount of liquid rushing into your mouth/throat, it works brilliantly. In addition, you can also use the lockout switch to remove the risk of leakage in transit when off the bike.

>>> How much water should you drink during exercise?

To promote hygiene the nozzle can be removed for specific cleaning. It works, but I have never really had a problem cleaning a bottle lid. The bottle is said to be free of harmful chemicals (such as BPA and BPS) and importantly when drinking you don't get a strong plastic taste- which unfortunately you do from some sports bottles.

Crucially for cycling, the bottle is easy to grasp when riding and easy to place back into the bottle cage. 

With the Grand Tour season nearly upon us, what better way to prepare for three-week stage races than kick back with a cup of your favourite coffee.

Cycling Souvenirs, the Staffordshire-based purveyors of bike-related collectibles and gifts, have produced a series of Grand Tour-inspired espresso cups and saucers, which they present as a set of four.

The small, white 80ml/3oz cups and saucers ooze quality, with thick walls and a neat design commemorating classification jerseys of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France with coloured bands that travel from the saucer up and over the top of each cup.

The four-cup set includes maillot jaune (yellow jersey - Tour de France general classification), maillot vert (green jersey - Tour de France points classification), maglia rosa (pink jersey - Giro d'Italia overall classification) and maillot à pois rouges (polka dot jersey - Tour de France King of the Mountains) versions.

The cups are hand-finished in Stoke-on-Trent, and kiln-glazed so that the glossy finish continues over the applied design. Thankfully, they are also dishwasher safe.

We found them to be an excellent vessel for our distinctly mediocre brew of coffee, nicely weighted and with a handle actually large enough to place a steadying finger through - unlike some designs. Fit of cup to saucer was also good, with no rattling when making the long journey from kitchen to sofa to watch a bit of racing.

Given that a set of good-quality espresso cups will set you back not far off £50, we think that they offer decent value.

A set of four, larger cappuccino Grand Tour cups and saucers featuring the same design is also available for £60, with four mugs also available for £42.

Cycling Souvenirs offers a range of other espresso cup designs, and we've reviewed its Classics and retro team sets in the past.

Are you a massive fan of Sir Chris Hoy? perhaps you own a Hoy bike and would like matching accessories? The Chris Hoy bottle cage is an attractive super light, matte carbon fibre design. The striped styling on both the cage and bottle is a nod to the lines on a velodrome track. At 25g this cage certainly won't weigh you down - but your wallet will be £34.99 lighter too.

>>> For a guide to hydration and sports drinks, click here.

So how well does the bottle cage perform? Well the first feature to note is the asymmetrical design. Whilst this may look attractive, it is not as ergonomically functional as a symmetrical cage. The reason for this is that the bottle can only be inserted from one side and this changes depending on whether the cage is mounted on the down tube or seat tube. Whilst you would no doubt get used to this over time, we found bottle entry more awkward than other cages.

 >>>Drink coffee, ride faster.

It should be noted that a cage where the bottle enters more from the side can be preferable for those riding smaller frames. On a small frame, inserting a bidon from directly above might be difficult.

For cobbled classics such as Paris Roubaix, mechanics often fit sturdier cages, as rough terrain can bounce and shake bottles loose. We wouldn't recommend the Hoy cage for such endeavours. Whilst it does hold a bottle, it isn't the sturdiest design we have ever used and we did notice bottles working loose on rough terrain.

Clear bottles are useful as they allow you to see how much liquid you have left. The bottle is available with three different coloured caps and the neutral styling will look smart on any bike. At £5.99 RRP, the price won't break the bank either. One negative – we found that nozzle dripped when upside down. We noticed this when mixing and shaking energy powders in the bottles.

For more information, head over to Evans Cycles .

If a bottle cage does its job well it becomes somewhat unremarkable and forgettable — in a good way, you understand.

And that’s exactly the case with the SL-Speed. With no foibles to fitting, or use, it holds a full 750ml bottle without difficulty or even noise, the bottle fit is snug but not too tight, and it does everything just as you’d want.

At under 20g it’s super-light, and without a bottle it’s nicely minimal so shouldn’t contribute to drag.

If keeping your water bottle in place is a key concern for you then this bottle cage from Pro will absolutely do the job, only the Elite version with a physical clamp is more secure.

For normal riding it's overkill and will actually slow you down - the bottle is that tight in the cage that you have to pause pedalling to concentrate on inserting or extracting it.