SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

Performance

 

If some reduction in capacity, compared to traditional bottles, is a bit of a pest - especially in the hot weather of the testing period (July and August  2018) - the gain has been worth it, in the touring/leisure context. Water - my chosen beverage - has been kept pleasantly gluggable. OK, in light-weight contexts, an additional bottle might be undesirable. However, for the less weight-concious, the lesiure rider, and the tourer, a swill of cool liquid under the proverbial spreading boughs on the village green is a definite plus. Left in the sun whilst exploring a castle for a couple of hours, there was no noticeable warming.

 

Icing the water, has seen the water kept cold as the temperature has risen to the mid-twenties after some three hours on the bike. Not carting a thermometer in the tool kit means this is very much rule of tongue, but things have been fresh. Room temperature has, frankly lasted all day and night and half the next day. At that point it was drunk. Best to keep water-bottles fresh.

 

Passport say that it will stop drinks becoming too cold, or even freezing, during winter jaunts. I guess that your soup wont be piping - this is not a thermos flask - but a proper winter update will follow, when appropriate seasonal weather arrives. In the meantime, I see no reason to think it won’t do a claimed.

 

Add on reflective functions are plentiful these days. Ranging from “every-little-helps” to really functional safety-aids, Passport’s Frostbright bottles definitely come toward the latter. For a start, they’ll generally be located on the frame with a clear side-view. They may not help motor vehilcle drivers see you coming, but they’ll certainly help them see you pass or cross in front of them - at night-time, anyway. I find things like this helpful at roundabouts and in urban settings. The reflective properties are very good, drawing comment from a couple of helpful drivers and procaliming my presence in much the same way as reflective strips on the tyre walls (when clean) or my commuting friend, the Altura Night Vision jacket.

 

A few people have mentioned that extra-squishy persona makes them harder to squeeze and liquid slower to dispense. There’s some truth in this, but, for me, it is far, far, far from a deal-breaker. I’d like to suggest that those who disagree should get a grip, but I won’t. In any case, the other side of the coin is strong security of tenure in suitable cages, trad or not.

 

Talking cages, its worth remembering that though its capacity is only a little above the Back Bottle, the Frostbright’s dimensions are similar to a trad 750ml bottle. It doesn’t sit nicely in the jersey’s rear pocket. On the other hand I’ve fitted it into the side entry Lezyne cages on my son’s old Genesis Volant, with its small frame geometry. Top entry cages need, as you’d expect more room for manouevre 

 

550ml means you might not want to waste any. I’ve found it necessary to ensure a good firm twist of the screw-on lid gives a good seal. There’s been no leakage through the cap or valve, except when filled with fizzy-water. That has been my experience of other bottles, too. On the subjest of the valve, it is malleable to the touch and, without being quite al dente it is easier on the teeth than some tougher plastics.