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coloral stainless steel water bottle

progress is mostly portrayed as a good thing; standing still for any length of time, it would appear, is regarded as a manifest failing of society, of technology and perhaps even of civilisation itself. thus, no matter the marketing campaign that convinced you product 1.0 was the greatest thing since sliced bread, product 1.1 will have marmalade on it. the inevitability of version 1.1 was never in doubt, and nor indeed, is the impending arrival of version 1.2 and so on, ad finitum. if ever you had doubts that such is the case, i might point you in the direction of apple's recent introduction of the new macbook air.

i am typing this particular day's article on what can now be confidently referred to as the old macbook air. if i take a look at the sides of its incredibly thin, aluminium casing, there is a socket into which the charging plug might be inserted, alongside a usb socket, matched on the opposite side by a second usb socket, augmented by a thunderbolt port and a highly convenient sd card socket. the latter removes the need to hunt amomgst my computer bag for the transfer cable that arrived with my digital camera, when time comes to get photos onto the macbook.

however, were i predisposed to make a bee-line for my nearest apple store (a little hebridean humour there: it's in buchanan street in glasgow) to acquire a brand new, rose gold coloured macbook air, i'd need to ask for a slightly bigger carrier bag. for the new machine sports only two thunderbolt 3/usb-c ports into which none of my current accessories will plug. should i wish to continue using any of the usb 3 items in my possession, i need to look at spending around £70 for an appropriate adapter. there's then the possibly futile search for a usb-c compatible sd card reader; should i be able to find one, you can bet it won't be particularly cheap, especially when, at present, it is totally unnecessary.

progress in the world of computers is always promoted as not only good, but ultimately necessary if we wish to take advantage of their ever-increasing power. the same can be said of computer software. i have spent several years as a member of a prerelease community, trying out new features before any of them reach the public eye. reputedly, several of those features will never see the commercial light of day if the majority of this community give them the thumbs down. sad to say, for one reason or another, that's not always the case.

it's not much of a leap to transfer those perceived misgivings to the velocipedinal world. if you take a look at the cost of a mechanical shimano dura-ace groupset against the price of the electronic di2 version, it seems you'd be paying the better part of £800 to alleviate the major physical demands of pushing a lever as opposed to pressing a button. that £800 would buy you a shimano ultegra groupset with enough change left over for some decent cycling apparel. but according to common consent, electrics are the benevolent result of progress.

sat amongst my rather large collection of books upstairs, is a delightful hardback from velopress entitled 'goggles and dust - images from cycling's glory days'. this compact and bijou publication features images culled from the famous horton collection. the cover photo is that of demuysere and rebra in the midst of battle during the 1929 tour de france. both gents' bicycles are each sporting two metal water bottles carried in bar mounted cages, arguably a more practical location than the current downtube and seat tube positions, brought to us courtesy of progress.

yes, i'm well aware of the fact that there would be scant space available for your srm power meter display, but one thing at a time; the bar mount position is always open to negotiation. but those metal bottles, that's another matter altogether, one that has recently surfaced in a persona that straddles both retro and modernity simultaneously: the coloral fluted, food grade, stainless steel water bottle.

to quote from the coloral website, "In the golden age of the 40s and 50s, a time of legends and bitter rivals, a metal 'bidon' was the container that riders used to carry water. The most recognisable bidon was Coloral, a fluted alloy bottle with a cork stopper and tooled cap signed off with a scripted logo. Riders didn't just reserve them for bottling water, but also to preserve a simple blend of milk and sugar that kept energy levels high during competitions, and even wine when celebrating victories."

we have, however, moved on from the middle of last century, to sup from logo'd plastic water bottles which the professionals can throw away with impunity, an act for which we can be fined if we try the same thing en-route to the coffee shop. the original coloral's popularity, however, dwindled as the 20th century wore on, until production ended in the mid 1950s. its revival in the 21st century has been at the hands of enthusiasts, intent on reviving the coloral bottle using modern materials and fashioned to fit today's bottle cages. having referred to the disposal of plastic bottles by the professionals, concurrently pointing out that such a practice is frowned upon if emulated by our goodselves, takes care, i feel, of the plastic versus steel argument.

but, if you're in need of a clinching argument in favour of the latter, might i broach the ephemeral subject of insulation. for, in addition to the coloral's fluted magnificence, were you to fill it with 14 fluid ounces of hot green tea (for example; other teas may be available), there's every likelihood it will still be hot green tea a few hours later. lest you think i jest, i should point out that the steel screwtop fits an opening which easily allows the removal of the green teabag popped inside earlier in the recipe. having completed the first part of my saturday perambulations while making my merry way to debbie's for lunch, it was but a simple request to have a double-espresso poured into the bottle for perambulation part two.

i can attest to the smiling joy attained when consuming a temperate espresso after slogging a nearby ascent. this bottle is going to be well-used throughout the coming months, bearing in mind that there's the not insignificant matter of rapha's festive 500 before the end of the year. but then, when cold turns to not quite so cold, on its way to warm(ish), the coloral will be put to good use keeping cold drinks cold (how does it know?). it is, as i believe is the colloquial term, a win, win situation. it would be simply the icing on the cake were the fine folks at coloral.cc to find the time to fabricate a handlebar-mounted double bottle cage for the full modern-retro experience.

with moves afoot to ban the use of power meters in the tour de france next year, 'twould then be a simple matter to outfit team sky's pinarellos in similar fashion to the machines of demuysere and rebra.

the 14 fluid ounce, food grade, fluted stainless steel coloral bottle is available form either rouleur.cc or coloral.cc

thursday 1 november 2018