Flexr Hydration System Review

 
According to their website, the bottle is “a revolutionary new sports bottle with a disposable and fully biodegradable liner.” New, sure. Revolutionary? Well, time will tell. But, what I can tell you is that the liner does make it a bit cooler than the average bottle when it comes to clean up time. Having that removable liner definitely simplifies things for cleaning. No sticky residue to worry about means no bottle degradation. You won’t end up with the fuzzy fury of mold and mildew after a long summer of even longer rides with a bottle of mix. A definite plus, especially for anyone still living without a dishwasher.
 

 
The Hydration System
 
As mentioned in the intro, not only was the bottle sent to me, but the team at Flexr also included their Remote Bike Hydration Kit. This kit turns your Flexr bottle into a hands free hydration system by replacing the bottle cap and adding a length of tubing and a bite valve held in place with zip-ties.
 

 
Installation
 
The installation is pretty straight forward and the included instructions are pretty clear. Obviously, switching out the bottle caps could be done by even the slowest of well trained monkeys, but the tubing takes a little more thought, as well as a little bit of trial and error. The routing itself is pretty self explanatory based on the shape of your bike. Once lashed in place by the included zip ties, it’s just a matter of determining the right length. It’s great to be able to put a bike on the trainer at this point to get a good idea as to where you need to trim. I will fully admit to not getting it right the first time (left it too long), though if you are going to err on one side or the other, it’s always best to err on the long side. After a second trim, it was time to fully install the bite valve and bite valve connector.
 

 
Adding these two pieces to the water tubing is pretty straight forward, but getting the connector piece from the bite valve to the tubing in was a giant pain in the hand. I ended up trying to push with a piece of thick plastic between my hand and the connector. When it wouldn’t budge, I whacked at it a few times (as any frustrated person would!) with the plastic piece, which deformed the connector slightly. But, since the valve’s sleeve is such soft plastic, it slid right over without any issues. I did discuss this with Jim McFarland, President of Flexr Sports, and it was recommended that the tubing be warmed slightly by running it under hot water a bit to soften it up. That did help things and the seal is absolutely solid. With that done, you just add water and you’re ready to ride.
 

 
How it works on the ride
 
If you are new to anything beyond the standard water bottle, there is a bit of getting used to the form factor and function of having a tube to find and drink from. On a standard road bike, or in my case a CX bike that does double duty, it’s pretty easy to get acquainted with the action of finding the tube by the bar with your thumb and raising it up so you can then locate it with your mouth – and possibly a quick glance to make it a bit easier.
 
Having the tube the right length really comes into play here. Having it too short can really test one’s flexibility and comfort leaning forward. Leaving the tube long can lead to awkward encounters if you get out of the saddle, that might leave you thinking you needing to buy the equipment dinner… or drinks, at the least!
 

 
The bite valve itself was a bit of a challenge for me at first. Centering and getting it bitten evenly seemed to be very important to getting a decent pull of water. That said, it always seemed like it was a bit slower than what I would hope for because of what seemed like a suction/vacuum issue. Whenever I would try to take a long pull to get a decent gulp, the backpressure would build and slow the flow to the point where I would have to stop trying to drink and try again.
 
But, the real question is: did I like it? To be honest, I didn’t at first. But two of the main selling points ended up winning me over. Not having to reach down and grab a bottle was a nice change, allowing me to focus on the road a bit more and not worry about dropping a bottle. Not having to wash out the last bits of sticky drink mix from the bottle after a long day in the saddle – even better! Just pull the bag out and pop in a new one and you’re ready to go. And, if you were just using water, you can even re-use the bags by leaving them in place in the bottle and allowing it to dry.
 

 
Continued overleaf…