I purchased the Schwinn 23oz sport bottle and cage combo for my son's 24" Schwinn mountain bike (MTB). He recently got into biking and needed a way to hydrate on the slightly longer rides we plan to take together. We have yet to take this combo on a ride, as it's still cold in PA; however, below are my findings, so far, broken into two parts (bottle and cage) due to the combo: Pros: (Bottle) Nice construction; BPA free (no plastic-y taste); looks nice (silver and black theme); has a viewing area (not shown in the product description) that lets you see how much liquid you have left in the bottle; black "swirls" are silicone and provide extra grip; bottle is advertised as dishwasher safe; filled bottle with water, sealed it, ensured the nozzle was closed, and squeezed the bottle really hard--no liquid came out; nozzle snaps into place when pushed down, to stop water flow; nozzle cover is a nice addition; housing is a thinner plastic, making it easy to squeeze and get water one-handed. (Cage) Aluminum, won't rust; has a nice finish that compliments the bottle and my son's black and green MTB (mounted on the down-pipe, as it would be much too large for his seat tube); rigid enough to hold bottle but flexible enough to adjust its grip on the bottle; cage came (in the bottle) with a nice set of Allen-headed braze-ons (bolts) (longer than those pre-installed on my son's MTB), wing nuts, and mounting brackets (if you don't have braze-on holes already provided to mount the cage). My son's MTB had braze-on holes; so, I can't speak to how well the bracketing system works. However, I would think some sort of rubber backing between the brackets and your bike's tubing would help this system (for a number of reasons) if you need to use it. While such rubber wasn't included, it was still nice Schwinn (or polar? – see the pic of the bottle label) provided the brackets and hardware. Cons: (Bottle) Nit-picking here, upon opening bottle, and smelling it (before washing) had a plastic-y smell, which worried me at first (although turned out not to be a big deal); the nozzle dust cover feels somewhat flimsy, as if it will break over time (especially the part that connects the "ring" that goes around the mouth of the bottle to the cover itself, as well as any of the four "snaps" that lock the cover over the nozzle to keep it in place). While a pro, I worry about the housing being somewhat thinner, especially if it ever gets brittle with age. I also worry the silicone grips might peel off with age and continued use. Time will tell; however, to lessen wear on the grips, I'll need to work with my son to ensure he slides the bottle in the cage with the grips not facing the "lip" of the cage that holds the bottle in place. General Comments: Like I noted, the bottle had a plastic-y smell to it, which worried me; however, I washed the nozzle in a baking soda/water mix and rinsed it well. I then placed inside the bottle one very small drop of dish soap/water, washed it, rinsed multiple times, and then washed it with a 1/4 lemon juice to 3/4 water solution and rinsed thoroughly. Problem solved. The bottle neither smelled plastic-y nor left a plastic taste in the water. While instructions note the bottle is dishwasher safe, I don't put plastic in the dishwasher. Plastics are washed by hand and allowed to air dry (with the cap, etc. off ;) ). Beside the whole plastic-breakdown concept, I worry the silicone grips might come off the bottle if placed in the dishwasher, after all, they must be adhered to the bottle. Heat and glue tend not to work well together. The bottle cap has a lipped area that creates the seal around the mouth of the bottle. The lip is the same plastic as the cap. It isn't silicone, doesn't have a gasket, and simply uses compression to create a seal. Again, when tested, it didn't leak; but, keep this in mind. The bottle housing is not insulated (however, it wasn't touted as such; and, in this price range, I wouldn't expect it); so, it's not likely to keep liquids as cold as insulated bottles and is more likely to sweat given the thinner housing (a good thing the grips are on the housing). Please keep in mind, I haven’t used this on a ride yet. It will be interesting to find out how well it performs taste-wise (I don’t expect much from it temperature-wise, compared to insulated bottles) when the bottle (i.e., the plastic) heats up on hotter days and longer hauls. Recommended Purchase: Do I recommend purchasing this combo? If you are looking for a budget bottle (which is what most commuters and light cyclists need anyway) to get you through short trips with ice cubes and chilled liquid or, slightly longer hauls (filling it halfway with water, freezing it, and then, the day of your trip, filling it the rest of the way), as well as a budget, but decent, cage to boot, ding, ding, ding... for this price, you found a winner. If you are looking for an insulated bottle for really long-hauls, keep shopping. In case you're wondering, I paid the Amazon-advertised price for this product.I only write reviews for items I personally use and test. Please know I did the best I could at the time I wrote this review and always welcome both constructive feedback (to make my reviews better) and all questions related to this review (to make it better and help where I can). I will try to address both as time allows, within a reasonable period from the date I posted the review. I'm a family man; so, my time isn't always my own. Thanks for understanding.
