Pro teams are always on the lookout for any advantage they can get, no matter how small it maybe be. And while most people focus on reducing the weight of their bike, wheels, and other equipment, I’d bet most of you haven’t thought about the water bottle you are carrying. Elite did when they created the FLY water bottle line. At just 54g for the 550ml bottle, it is the lightest bottle available when every gram counts.
Elite achieves the weight savings by using variable thicknesses of plastic throughout the bottle. Culminating from a 3-year long study with multiple universities, they selected a soft, odorless plastic that is easy to clean, yet still durable. The base and top are thicker for durability while the middle section is thinner to save weight. The bottle itself is more of a tube shape than the traditional bottle shape that has a more narrow neck before widening at the top. There is still a small indented section that helps keep it locked into the bottle cage. The wide-mouth opening makes filling bottles or adding ice a breeze, something that I can’t say for most water bottles with traditional shapes.
The lid uses a larger nozzle than most other bottles, making it easy to open and close with your mouth or hands and providing a higher flow of water. When combined with the thinner thickness of the bottle, it takes only a light squeeze to get the liquid flowing. The nozzle is also removable, allowing for a more thorough cleaning and drying.
Elite sent me a few to test out, and overall, they are great bottles. The weight savings isn’t astronomical (only about 22 grams for a similar size bottle) unless you are a domestique bringing 10 bottles up from the team car, but functionally they are good bottles. When you squeeze the FLY bottle, that is when you can really tell the difference from other traditional bottles. It’s something like feeling a soft, flexible 320tpi cotton tubular casing versus a vulcanized tubeless tire. I didn’t scientifically test the difference in flow rate, but it is definitely on the higher end of water bottles I’ve used from brands like Camelbak, Polar, and Specialized. It also didn’t take as much pressure to get liquid moving.
The bottles themselves have held up pretty well, which honestly was a little bit of a concern. When you feel how soft they are in the middle, I was a little worried that they might not be as durable. While I’d suggest washing them by hand, they are dishwasher safe up to 104F and have lasted several cycles on the top shelf of a dishwasher. The bottles themselves show signs of use through scratches from going in and out of the bottle cage, but again, structurally they are holding up.
The compact overall size and three different volumes (550ml/18.5oz, 750ml/25.4oz, and 950ml32.1) of the FLY bottle works well for frames with tighter geometry or when using frame packs. The 550ml is available in a wide range of colors, with the 750 in clear, black, and red, and the 950 in clear and black. For anyone riding in dirty conditions, there is the FLY MTB in clear or black in all three sizes and has a clear plastic flip cover protecting the nozzle from dirt and grime. There is also an ICE FLY, which features an insulated design for about 2.5 hours. It also features a plastic cap over the nozzle and is available in blue, clear, red, smoke, and green in the 550ml size.
You can also support your favorite pro teams through the FLY Team. Movistar, Team Ineos, FDJ Groupama, Team Bahrain McLaren, AG2R La Mondial, UAE Team Emirates, Team Sunweb, CCC Team, Team Confidis, Team Arkea Samsic, Team Isreal Start-Up Nation, Alpexin Fenix, BMC Vifit and CMC-WCC are all available in 550ml, with Team Ineos, Bahrain McLaren, Movistar and BMC Vifit available in 750ml.
Pricing for the Elite Fly bottles start at $8 for the 550ml, though searching around on the web will find lower prices.
So the next time you are lusting over those new lightweight handlebars, consider instead that you can save probably just as many grams with a few Elite FLY water bottles for considerably less money.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
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Location – Lancaster, PA
Current Testing Rigs – 2024 Van Dessel Arch65, 2019 Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, 2018 Van Dessel Motivus Maximus LTD, 2016 Van Dessel Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 2015 Bianchi Sempre Pro, 1978 Trek TX900
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