Best cycling water bottles 2024: how to find the perfect bidon for you

The best cycling water bottles will help to keep liquid levels topped up, whether you are riding on the hottest, coldest, wettest or even just a regular day in a temperate climate.  

On the bases that 60 per cent of your body is composed of water, it's important to stay hydrated. With dehydration and carbohydrate depletion both leading to mental and physical fatigue, it's vital to ensure both are topped up on the bike year round.

But what you should you look for in a cycling water bottle? 

Based on our experience you'll want to make sure that the shape is a good fit for your bottle cages - a loose bottle is likely to become a lost bottle! You'll then want to look at the nozzle, with a locking mechanism a good choice to reduce leaks. Equally a sports cap might also be desirable for a hands-free operation. Other factors include the flow rate and the level of grip offered by the material.

You'll also notice in the below reviews that we mention bottles being BPA, BPS and BPF free. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that's found in many plastic products including some water bottles. It has weak estrogenic effects that can be harmful to human health. To eliminate the use of BPAs, replacements were created, most notably bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF), however recent testing has shown that these are just as harmful.

You can read on further down the page for advice on exactly how to pick your perfect cycling water bottle. Likewise if you're interested in how to best fuel for long rides or wondering whether you're fueling optimally, we have dedicated nutritional guides to help your training and racing.

But first, here's a few of our favorite water bottle for cycling...

Best cycling water bottles

If there's one do it all range of bottles, it's the CamelBak Podium series. There are around 13 to choose from, which can make narrowing down the choice pretty tricky.

We think it's hard to go wrong with starting out with the standard CamelBak Podium, as one of the best cycling water bottles on the market.

Features on even the most basic and smallest version include easy squeeze for quick bottle-to-mouth transfer on the move and a plastic free taste thanks to what CamelBak call Trutaste, which prevents odours and nasty tastes to keep your drink fresh.

But the best thing about the CamelBak Podium range is the anti-leak lids. From preventing sticky damp kit and bags, boots of cars or even just prevention of energy drink cascading over your white cycling shoes when descending altitude the twist lock cap does the best job we've come across.

All of the range is  BPA, BPS and BPF free, and there is a range of colours and sizes to choose from, even insulated, for warm or extra cold drinks and dust caps for off road rides. There's even an aftermarket lid available to buy, which is a good job as from experience these are one of the more tricky valves to keep clean, although CamelBak has now redesigned it so it can be fully disassembled, so finding that you're drinking through a layer of mould should be a thing of the past.

Camelbak says that the bottles are optimised for cage fit, ensuring that the bottle stays put no matter the terrain.

With so many features, the range is more expensive than other cycling water bottles, but you do get what you pay for.

With its rubber nozzle and easy squeezy bottle, the Elite Jet has become a go to option for a few folk here at Cycling Weekly. 

We've found that managing fluid flow rate on the bottle is one of the easiest we've come across, and the fact that it's biodegradable is a big bonus too, with Elite claiming a compost breakdown of up to five years, as against several hundred for a regular plastic bottle.

There are four sizes in the range and on test we've found the 19oz/550ml the perfect size for an average sized bike frame with two bottle cages.

The largest option is great for hot rides with limited/ no refill options, but if you have a small bike frame, you may struggle to get it to fit.

There are a handful of colours to choose from, with the clear our favourite as you can ensure it's been thoroughly cleaned.

A perfect cycling water bottle with no compromising eco-credentials.

We’re expecting a big following for these new cycling water bottles which recently arrived on the market. The dual fueling system not only allows you to take on board liquids, but also has capacity for one to two gels in the internal pouch. 

We’ve been testing a pair of the larger size bottles, (750ml/ 25fl oz) and have really liked and rated the bottle for the quality as a regular drinks bottle alone. The soft push pull oversized nozzle is really comfortable to use, and we were really pleased to discover it can be taken apart completely for deep cleaning. 

Swapping between liquid and gel is easy, even on the move thanks to a simple switch on the top of the lid which opens a valve to either chamber. 

The pouch allows the gel to easily flow once the switch is turned, allowing you to consume as much as you need at a time. As the pouch can take between one to three gels (180ml/ 6fl oz), you’ll just need to pay a little closer attention to your dose if you’re methodical with measurements. 

We really love the idea of reducing single use plastics of gel wrappers, although we know we’ll still have to be patient until a refill system comes into play.  At the time of testing Squeeasy were in talks with some of the big nutrition brands to encourage bulk bottles/ containers with a pump action to make refilling much easier. Fingers crossed this happens soon as it will not only be better for the environment, but a much easier way to use the bottle duel system. 

There are two sizes available, the 750ml/ 25fl oz, that we tested weighs in at a claimed 100g, while the smaller 550g/ 18fl oz bottle tips the scales at 95g and both cost £21.99 at Squeeasy.com

Surely this has to be the most excited you've ever been about the humble bidon? With even the best cycling water bottles being a pretty mundane purchase, the Watrbodl collection shakes thing up with its range of highly amusing designs, that subtly and gently mock us cyclists - and I've never had more queries as to where to get one.   

The collection features bottles of several sizes and all short run designs, meaning that the uniqueness makes these highly desirable, so act quick if you don't want to miss out. 

The wide neck makes filling with drinks power, and cleaning post ride easy, but be aware that the design will, like any cycling bottle, rub off over time, so you made need to be gentle to preserve it for as long as possible. 

The push pull soft nozzle is easy to use, especially if like me you prefer the bite down pull open method.     

BPA free and dishwasher safe make these a highly practical, and highly amusing cycling water bottle choice. 

Purchase direct from Watrbodl.com with international shipping or free in the US if over $55.

There's probably not many cycling households who haven't owned a Science in Sport (SiS) water bottle at some point, often coming free with energy / electrolyte drink bundles.

There are three sizes to choose from and even an opaque Fluro yellow version which all cost not much more than a take-out coffee. The SiS water bottle is a great cycling water bottle for anyone on a budget.

The wide neck makes filling with energy or hydration powder very easy, and its simple pull-push nozzle is effective, although the firmer rubber has been known to pinch a lip on closing if not careful, and does have a tendency to leak if shaken vigorously or on its side, especially after being used a while.

The 600ml version fits easy into most bottle cages, although the firmer plastic does mean it's not as easy for the cage or rider to grip, so can be easy to drop, as well as making the flow rate a bit harder to control.

Made by Specialized , the Rapha Bidon features the well know Purist technology which protects the inside of the bottle from external taste, mould or staining.

Having previously used the Camelbak Podium bottle, there was a slight outcry when Rapha moved to using Specialized and its unlockable nozzle system, but from experience the wide and soft nozzle is easy to use on the move and open and close with just your mouth, if not quite as leak proof.

The malleable bottle is easy to squeeze and regulate flow as well as helping you or your bottle cage keep a secure hold.

There are two sizes to choose from and a handful of colours to match Rapha's classic kit colourways, but it doesn't come cheap, although it's probably the most affordable piece of Rapha kit you'll own.

With so many bottles in the Specialized range to choose from, the MoFlo stands out for its simplicity.

As the manufacturer behind so many other branded bottles, it only seems right to have the founder included in the best cycling water bottle buyer's guide.

Having tested the Purist technology across multiple bottles, it's one of the best for ensuring that the liquid inside retains its own flavour, with even water still tasting the same after a few hours in the bottle, even on warm days.

The MoFlo nozzle is easy to use on the move thanks to what Specialize calls a wider than average water channel, delivering up to a claimed 50 per cent more than other brands of bottle, although be warned - this will overwhelm most small children, making this probably the best cycling water bottle for hosing down kids!

The easy-to-squeeze low density plastic (LDPE) ensures both rider and cage have a secure grip on the bottle as well as delivering a controllable flow rate (unless grabbed with the force of the above-mentioned small child).

It's not the cheapest on the market, but a no regret purchase that does a great job.

At just 54g for the 16oz/ 550ml bottle, the Elite Fly is the ideal cycling water bottle for anyone looking for every ounce of weight saving they can find, and comes with a 'lightest cycling bottle in the world' claim.

Elite says this weight saving is made by using a changing density of plastic body, which also makes the bottle very malleable, so easy to control the flow rate on the move.

The softer than average body along with the design also helps to keep this great cycling water bottle secure in both the cage and rider's hand, meaning less chance for it to get dropped (although it might be a tricky one to hand up in a feedzone).

The compact design of all three sizes also makes it easy to fit smaller sized bike frames, great news for rides with limited refill opportunities.

The soft push-pull nozzle is easy to use and does come apart for cleaning, but can be prone to leaking when on its side after significant use.

There is a huge choice of colours to choose from in the range, making it easy to match with any colour scheme and there are team-issue versions too. But if in doubt, go with transparent for ensuring that you've thoroughly cleaned it.

Buyer's guide to the best cycling water bottles