US innovators Soma Fabrications have made what they claim is the largest water bottle made specifically for standard sized bike bottle cages. Described as ideal of bikepackers and endurance riders with a single set of bottle bosses who want to ride for longer without stopping to refill, the Further bottle has a capacity of 38 fluid ounces, or nearly 1,100ml.
Buyer's guide to hydration packs for mountain biking
At 30cm tall, the Further has graduated marks all the way up to help you get the right consistency if you are using hydration mixes, and is described as easy to grip and easy to squeeze thanks to the LDPE plastic construction. It's clear so you can see exactly how much liquid you still have left, and has been fully designed and made in the USA.
Soma say the Further is very slightly bigger than the average bike water bottle, but they insist it should fit in around 98% of standard bottle cages. To maximise capacity, they made the top part wider with compromising grip, which also reduced the height to ensure it will fit inside all frame sizes.
The Further bottle is the brainchild of Jon Severson, founder of the Monstercross News website, who teamed up with Soma to address the problem of running out of water on longer rides: "I listened to many other riders regarding hydration on long training rides, gravel rides, and bike packing. Their frustrations were very similar to my own: “Not enough water”; “I don’t want to leave my bike in front of a store to get more water”; “I'm not a fan of hydration packs."
"While there have been a couple half-hearted efforts into making a 33oz-ish size bottle, they had issues with leaking, or being too stiff, or both. They were also VERY hard to find on top of it all. So the decision was made, how big could we really go?
"After all is said and done, the Further 38oz is 170% bigger than a 22oz (650ml) water bottle and 152% bigger than a 25oz (740ml) water bottle. In an era where most advancements are saving grams over the last gen or increasing stiffness in a product that was already plenty stiff, I’d say we made a significant gain in an accessory that’s been overlooked for decades."
We're not sure on pricing or availability this side of the pond yet, but are currently checking with Soma to see if the bottle will be on sale in the UK through their distributor - the Soma Fabrications website is here if you want more info.
After cobbling together a few hundred quid during his student days off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story), Jack bought his first road bike at the age of 20 and has been hooked ever since. He joined road.cc in 2017 having previously being Staff Writer at 220 Triathlon magazine, and reports on all things tech as well as editing road.cc's live blog. He is also the news editor of our electric-powered sister site eBikeTips. Jack's preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking (the latter being another long story), and on Sunday afternoons he can often be found on an M5 service station indulging in his favourite post-race meal of 20 chicken nuggets, a sausage roll, caramel shortbread and a large strawberry milkshake.