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Soma Fabrications launch the world's biggest water bottle that fits in a standard sized cage, with a 1.1 litre capacity

Able to hold over a litre of liquid and fitting in 98% of standard cages according to Soma, the new bottle is aimed at endurance riders who want to go further without having to refill...

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.  

soma_further_bottle top view1_2000

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. 

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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10 comments

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CXR94Di2 | 4 years ago
3 likes

These bottles come into their own when climbing mountain passes or expanse of wilderness, where multiple hours without seeing a cafe or water point.

Avatar
CyclingInBeastMode replied to CXR94Di2 | 4 years ago
0 likes

CXR94Di2 wrote:

These bottles come into their own when climbing mountain passes or expanse of wilderness, where multiple hours without seeing a cafe or water point.

Hmmm, surely if you are in the back and beyond "multiple hours" (that's usually more than two) is an extra 350-400ml of liquid* really going to be enough of a margin to be safe?

Wouldn't you be looking at two x 1100ml plus a 750ml as a bare minimum if you're going to be out for that length of time with absolutely no failsafe/backup to get fluids from? Fluids can seem to go in a flash if you're having to exert yourself (you mentioned mountains right) and/or the conditions creep up on you or just plain underestimated how much you needed, it can turn into something very unpleasant indeed, causing panic or worse.

Might not simply having a bladder pack in a saddle/pannier bag or over the top tube (tri style) better for taking extra liquids than trying to utilise multiple extra large bottles?

You could maybe fit one to your downtube if you've an older frame type or have a side 'opening' cage, I suppose if you rode a 61/62 sloping then you might squeeze one in using a std cage but that's not many is it. Attached direct to the saddle via a mounted bottle cage is going to be awkward but maybe doable if you don't have a saddle bag there, could do under the downtube but most endrance bikes don't have those mounts either (though u can buy kit to do so), proper adventure bikes should have the third cage mount but then you've got rack mounts anyways in which case you're likely to have front/rear panniers so simply putting back up fluids in the bags to transfer to bottles as per above is better? 

*based on a 700-750ml bottles

Avatar
Pilot Pete | 4 years ago
2 likes

But bottles this size look sh1t, and two 500ml bottles look much better. Does anyone really ride around the UK where they need two such bottles as they can’t find anywhere to refill smaller bottles? And the other issue is weight - watch out for breaking the tang off a bottle cage as you go over bumps with such a heavy bottle in your cage. You would be better off having an alloy or stainless cage or a design that doesn’t have a tang at the bottom to hold the weight of the bottle.

PP

Avatar
dave_t | 4 years ago
0 likes

I've been using a SIS waterbottle that they market as being 980cc, but I've just measured mine and manage to squeeze in 1040cc, so not far short of the Soma. Like the Soma it has a wide neck for easy filling and graduations down the side. The thing I really like about this bottle is the teat, it's made from a rubber and is easy the push in and out and has a high flow rate. Also dead easy to take apart for cleaning.

Avatar
tourdelound | 4 years ago
2 likes

Want one...........

 

Avatar
Sriracha | 4 years ago
3 likes

"Further 38oz is 170% bigger than a 22oz (650ml) water bottle and 152% bigger than a 25oz (740ml) water bottle..."

Sheesh, even a 44oz bottle would be only 100% bigger than a 22oz bottle. A 38oz bottle is 170% of the capacity of a 22oz bottle, so it is 70% bigger. And a 22oz bottle, at 100% the size of a 22oz bottle, isn't any bigger at all.

More importantly, is it 100% biodegradable?

Avatar
wildoo replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes

Sriracha wrote:

"Further 38oz is 170% bigger than a 22oz (650ml) water bottle and 152% bigger than a 25oz (740ml) water bottle..."

Sheesh, even a 44oz bottle would be only 100% bigger than a 22oz bottle. A 38oz bottle is 170% of the capacity of a 22oz bottle, so it is 70% bigger. And a 22oz bottle, at 100% the size of a 22oz bottle, isn't any bigger at all.

More importantly, is it 100% biodegradable?

EU-Bottle (Hungary) have offered a quality 1 litre size bike bottle for many years so this really is nothing new! 

As for Biodegradable thats a silver bullet that does not exist.  Most bottles are made from Polyethelene plastic & even with special chemical additives will only break down to a limited extent and this process ONLY works in landfill environment (not in a hedgerow, garden compost heap etc).  Most cycle bottles are fully recyclable when they reach end of life so should be sent to for recycling so the plastic can then be ground down and re-purposed into a new product.   

Avatar
Sriracha replied to wildoo | 4 years ago
1 like
wildoo wrote:

Sriracha wrote:

"Further 38oz is 170% bigger than a 22oz (650ml) water bottle and 152% bigger than a 25oz (740ml) water bottle..."

Sheesh, even a 44oz bottle would be only 100% bigger than a 22oz bottle. A 38oz bottle is 170% of the capacity of a 22oz bottle, so it is 70% bigger. And a 22oz bottle, at 100% the size of a 22oz bottle, isn't any bigger at all.

More importantly, is it 100% biodegradable?

EU-Bottle (Hungary) have offered a quality 1 litre size bike bottle for many years so this really is nothing new! 

As for Biodegradable thats a silver bullet that does not exist.  Most bottles are made from Polyethelene plastic & even with special chemical additives will only break down to a limited extent and this process ONLY works in landfill environment (not in a hedgerow, garden compost heap etc).  Most cycle bottles are fully recyclable when they reach end of life so should be sent to for recycling so the plastic can then be ground down and re-purposed into a new product.   

Avatar
wildoo replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes

Sriracha wrote:
wildoo wrote:

Sriracha wrote:

"Further 38oz is 170% bigger than a 22oz (650ml) water bottle and 152% bigger than a 25oz (740ml) water bottle..."

Sheesh, even a 44oz bottle would be only 100% bigger than a 22oz bottle. A 38oz bottle is 170% of the capacity of a 22oz bottle, so it is 70% bigger. And a 22oz bottle, at 100% the size of a 22oz bottle, isn't any bigger at all.

More importantly, is it 100% biodegradable?

EU-Bottle (Hungary) have offered a quality 1 litre size bike bottle for many years so this really is nothing new! 

As for Biodegradable thats a silver bullet that does not exist.  Most bottles are made from Polyethelene plastic & even with special chemical additives will only break down to a limited extent and this process ONLY works in landfill environment (not in a hedgerow, garden compost heap etc).  Most cycle bottles are fully recyclable when they reach end of life so should be sent to for recycling so the plastic can then be ground down and re-purposed into a new product.   

Yes indeed thats very misleading.  You would have thought the manufacturer would be shouting loudly about this on their website but they don't and there will be a very good reason for that! 

Avatar
CygnusX1 | 4 years ago
3 likes

We need the "2 bottles Vs. 1 bottle (with refill)" discussion updated to  include calculations for this larger bottle size angel

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