The design of a cyclist's water bottle - the bidon - has barely changed in nearly a century. "It's always difficult to find a new or innovative design," says Aurélien Brunet, managing director of Zéfal, "because they need to fit in a bottle cage." Undeterred, the world's oldest manufacturer of bicycle components has set its sights on overhauling not only the bidon's form, but also its taste and smell.
First founded in Paris in the 1880s as a bicycle-pump business, Zéfal invented the now well-known Presta valve. In 1938 the company relocated to the Loire Valley. It was here in the 70s that its product range began to expand.
Zéfal sponsors professional cycling teams such as Cofidis, FDJ and AG2R, which is where water bottles are most crucial - each team goes through up to 25,000 a year. "We make around two million every year," Brunet says.
The bidons start out as tiny plastic pellets. Zéfal uses polypropylene, one of two plastics used to make water bottles worldwide. The other, low-density polypropylene, is more commonly used because its lightness and flexibility makes it easier to work with. However, it's also more porous, meaning it harbours the taste and smell associated with water bottles. "It's hard for plastic to be flexible, but not have any smell," Brunet explains. "This is where we are one step ahead."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
