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THE WOMBAT-NITTO WATER BOTTLE CAGE Manifesto CONSTRUCTION These WOMBAT-Nitto waterbottle cages are real works of art. The light and durable stainless steel wire is welded by skilled craftsmen and polished to perfection. They‚re custom made in limited quantities for Charlie Cunningham and Jacquie Phelan by Nitto in Japan, a company known for the highest quality products. WATER TRANSPORT HEALTH ISSUES This water bottle cage is the outcome of Charlie’s quest to improve the way water is carried on bicycles that began when he built his first mountain bike in 1979. Back then. he used a glass water bottle that fit in a standard aluminum cage. Naturally the brown glass bottle had to be wrapped in something (butyl rubber inner tubes) to keep the bottle from breaking with all the rattling… why the bother? Of course pure water tastes better, and maybe this is reason enough to care about how we transport it. But did you know that chemicals called plasticizers are used in standard polyethylene waterbottles to make them soft and pliable and that these compounds leach into the water? You’ve probably noticed this chemical taste, particularly on hot days. When Charlie read that plasticizers are suspected as being biologically active and that they may mimic human hormones, causing not so subtle health problems (= euphemism for cancer-causing agent), he decided to find a way to carry pure water on rides. After all, we’re urged to pound water when riding to avoid dehydration. It make sense that, as we move greater volumes of water through our systems, it’s especially important to avoid contaminants that could be retained in the process. Well, as you may have guessed, Charlie’s glass bottles left plenty of room for improvement…nobody copied this eccentric solution to a non-problem. Riders are used to the taste of plastic water from bike bottles, so it had to be OK. So, when the first clear 1.0 and 1.5 liter spring water bottles appeared in the early nineties, he took note of the fact that these bottles are made of a material called PETE which is ideal for storing water. It contains no plasticizers and it‚s more resistant to breakdown by sunlight. And, these bottles are much lighter. It wasn‚t long before he designed and built the first cages to hold these excellent waterbottles on his personal bikes. WEIGHT SAVINGS Amazingly, the WOMBAT-Nitto cage bottle, holding a 1.5 liter spring water bottle, transports twice as much water while being 50 grams lighter than a standard aluminum cage holding a standard large polyethylene water bottle! For shorter rides, the Nitto cage can of course carry the smaller 1.0 liter spring water bottle. Even with the 1.0 liter bottle the WOMBAT-Nitto cage carries a lot more water while being 55 grams lighter than the large poly bottle with standard cage. WHAT ABOUT BACK MOUNTED WATER BAGS? Back mounted water bags certainly can carry a lot of water and they allow it to be carried on the back. The large capacity is nice, but carrying it on the back doesn’t appeal to us. Most experienced riders know that it’s better to carry the weight of the water on the bike than on the body. Carrying it on the body has objectionable effects: The water bag has to be lifted every time the rider stands. Over a long ride this adds up to more fatigue and wasted energy that would otherwise have been used to move the bike along. The water bag adds weight to the upper body, putting more weight on the saddle. As the bike moves over irregular terrain continual impacts transfer up through the saddle. Added weight on the saddle obviously reduces comfort and increases upper body fatigue. Putting weight on the back raises the rider’s center of gravity. This adversely affects control of the bike. To an experienced rider this isn’t a subtle thing, especially in technical riding where you need to move your upper body accurately to steer and control the bike. Putting a heavy mobile fluid like water up high on your back doesn’t help control, and to complicate things, you need to constantly compensate for the weight change as the water is consumed. As for water bag material, the plastic has improved in recent years from the original that contained distinctly unpleasant smelling plasticizers. The newer material is said to be FDA approved for beverage use, if that gives us any assurance, but bags still need a fair amount of attention and diligence between uses to maintain them in a healthy, bacteria-free state. ON-THE-GO DRINKING One thing that water bags do well is providing water without taking the hands off the bars. The big size and stiffness of PETE bottles (a consequence of no plasticizers you’ll recall) do not lend themselves to rolling drinking. Fortunately this isn’t much of an issue for most riders, racers being the exception. The fan of the WOMBAT-Nitto water bottle cage typically likes to stop now and then for a drink, take in the view and maybe share the moment with a riding friend. WATER BOTTLE STORAGE Any reusable water bottle tends to grow unpleasant films inside if not stored properly. We’ve found a simple tried and proven way to clean and store PETE spring water bottles. After use, fill the bottle with tap water, put the cap on and shake well. Empty and store away from light with the cap off. Rinse again with tap water before refilling. We‚ve also found that the bottle can be refilled immediately with purified water after rinsing and stored for several weeks with no problems. NOT MANY LEFT We ordered a small quantity of these WOMBAT-Nitto water bottle cages for our own bikes and a few friends. We‚re offering the few that are left at $50 each, shipping included within the continental USA. We believe these are the ultimate way to carry water on the bike and if we hear happy sounds from enough WOMBATS that feel the same way, we may order more. For now, this is special one time offer. WOMBAT/NITTO WATER BOTTLE CAGE SPECS -Welded, polished stainless steel -Weight 50 grams -Mounts on standard frame water bottle bosses. Two stainless 5x.8 button head cap screws are included. -Holds 1.0 or 1.5 liter spring water bottles.
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