ROCKBROS Insulated Water Bottle: Well Made but Too Wide for Bike Cages

I bought the 18oz and my friend bought the 22oz for our bikes. On the plus side; they seem well made. The fold out straw is handy on a bike but needs to be left out while riding since you can't open it one handed. I don't use the internal straw extension which means the bottle must be tilted back to drink, which I've been doing for decades. I don't usually use ice but tried it on a recent ride. After 5 hours in the sun on a 90° day there was still considerable ice in the bottle. I like having less exposure to plastics. On the minus side; Although advertised as bike-compatible these bottles are about 1/8" too fat for standard bike bottle cages. (RANT: Really! How hard would it be to make it 1/8" smaller so it fits its advertised purpose? END RANT) It also lacks the the groove for the retainer nub used on bike bottle cages which causes the bottle to focus its weight on the nub and fit badly. Pics 1 & 2 show how it fits poorly in a standard bike bottle cage. By the way, it fits really badly in the RockBros cages. On some bottles the vent doesn't work right, making it hard to draw against a vacuum when using the straw. My wife says if the straw doesn't stay completely folded when in a carry bag it can leak. (this is not an issue for me on the bike) I found a solution to the fit problem with a Topeak "DualSide cage". This cage is large enough to handle the fat bottle. If the nub is snipped off, it also lets the bottle settle fully. (See pic 3) This cage has the added benefit of facilitating loading the bottle at an angle from one side. On my bike there is little clearance to the steering tube and the angle loading helps. You're nearly always loading the bottle at an angle from one side anyway on any bike so this makes sense and it is reversible so it can be installed to either side. If you are having trouble drawing liquid though the straw; first make sure you are folding the straw all the way open against the stop. If the straw is folded only part way open the passage is partially blocked and won't flow freely. If the straw is fully pivoted open and you still feel like you are drawing against a vacuum, continue reading. Here is a partial solution to the "vacuum" problem if you encounter it. It turns out there are different vents used on the caps. My 18oz bottles have simple holes that are plugged by a little nub on the straw when folded closed. My friend's 22oz bottles have a more sophisticated one-way flap valve that self opens and closes from pressure. My first bottle did not allow drawing through the straw, there was no vent although the hole did not appear to be blocked. I pushed a small wire through the hole anyway and - surprise- now it works fine (a 1/16" drill bit would work). My second bottle did not need this. My friend had a vacuum problem with his with the valve. DO NOT push a wire or anything else through a valve type vent, it will ruin it. (see pics 4 & 5 for the difference) If you have a problem with this type vent you should be able to take the flap valve out with a fingernail to make sure it isn't stuck, then put it back in. If it's still too hard to draw, you can remove the valve and leave it out. This will relieve the vacuum and make it easier to draw but IT WILL LEAK. Probably not a problem on a bike but may be in other situations. If none of these ideas work for you, you can always just drink through the screw cap, this will work even with no vent.