I have used insulated bottles from Polar and Camelbak. Here are the benefits of Bivo over these bottles: 1) keep hot drinks hot and cold cold. After several hours my hot chocolate is still warm on cold rides and there is still ice in my bottle on the hot days. 2) they are much easier to fully disassemble and clean. Even though I wash my caps weekly in the dishwasher and fully disassemble them every few weeks. I still found mold in my Camelbak/Polar caps. Not with Bivo. 3) I drink so much more with this bottle. I have nearly choked at times with the volume of liquid that comes from this bottle. No more hand cramps from trying to squeeze a cold stiff bottle. Just pull the cap open and pour.
I have taken these on road and gravel rides and they stay put in my cages as well if not better than the insulated plastic bottles. The bottle cap/cover accessory is also great for keeping out the muck on wet or dusty rides.
It's nice to have some type of cover over the nozzle on any water bottle. It keeps the road grime off of what you're putting in your mouth. It actually helps your grip as you can leave the top on when you open the nozzle by pulling it up from a cage, flip the top off with one hand and drink. The ring on the other end fits nicely into a groove on the nozzle. It's a no-brainer for a Bivo bottle if you're a person who wants to keep the drinking nozzle clean while riding.
Purchased this as a gift and installed 2 on my daughter's brand new gravel bike.
We did some punchy/rough rides together and she never lost a bottle and they look great.
The side enter/exit is critical since she's 5' 3', so it's not a large frame triangle to navigate.
She loves these compared to her past cages on her prior gravel bike.
Full transparency, I'm partial to Elite cages: I have 2 on my ORBEA Orca OMX that have never failed.
Getting through a hot summer in So Cal, water bottles including podium chill would last maybe an hour before the contents was warm. Enter Bivo - no more warm water as the insulation allows the water to stay cold for an easy two hours if not longer. And it's painfully easy to clean. It's pricey, but unless you drop it (it dents easily) it's likely the last one you will ever need. The 21 oz size is pretty big so make sure you have enough room; otherwise go with the 17 oz size.
