The Fontus Ryde and Airo self-filling water bottles turn air into water

The end of the mid-ride pit stop?

Fontus has developed a pair of self-filling water bottles that extract moisture from the air and turn it into drinkable water

Courtesy

Josh Patterson

Published: January 30, 2016 at 2:00 pm
Fontus has developed a pair of self-filling water bottles that extract moisture from the air and turn it into drinkable water - Courtesy
The Fontus Ryde mounts to the top tube and turns water vapor in the air into drinkable water while you ride - Courtesy
The science behind the design is pretty straightforward. A solar panel is powers a series of cooling fins that condense water. It's the same process that occurs when water droplets form on the outside of a can or bottle when you take it out of your refrigerator - Courtesy
The Fontus Airo is a self-filling water bottle with a built-in fan to speed up water production - Courtesy
The Airo has a sleeve that doubles as a solar panel to recharge the fan and cooling elements - Courtesy

Imagine never running out of water because your bottle refills itself as you ride.

While it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, the science is very straightforward. Fontus, named after the Roman god of springs and wells, is a small startup developing a pair of self-filling water bottles that collect moisture from the air and condense it into drinkable water, allowing you to ride further (and perhaps putting some domestiques out of their jobs!)

The fontus ryde mounts to the top tube and turns water vapor in the air into drinkable water while you ride:

The Fontus Ryde is powered by solar cells that cool a series of hydrophobic teeth. As air moves over these teeth the temperature of the air drops, causing water vapor in the air to condense into water droplets. The droplets run down the teeth and are collected in the bottle.

The science behind the design is pretty straight forward. a solar panel is powers a series of cooling fins that condense water. it's the same process that occurs when water droplets form on the outside of a can or bottle when you take it out of your refrigerator :

The Ryde relies on the forward movement of the bicycle to push air through the condensing system. Presumably the speed of the rider could also have an effect on the rate condensation.

Fontus has also developed the Airo, a water bottle designed for hiking that could also be a hit with bikepackers.

The fontus airo is a self-filling water bottle with a built-in fan to speed up water production:

The Airo uses an integrated fan to speed up water production. It comes with a sleeve that doubles as a solar panel to recharge the fan and cooling system.

The airo has a sleeve that doubles as a solar panel to recharge the fan and cooling elements:

These bottles function best in conditions with high temperatures and high humidity. Fontus claims the bottles can harvest up to 0.5l of water per hour under optimal conditions.

The Ryde and Airo are still in development, so pricing and availability are unknown.

Learn more at fontus.at.

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Josh Patterson

Contributor

Josh Patterson is a BikeRadar contributor and former technical editor. He has spent most of his career working in the cycling industry as an athlete, mechanic and journalist. He holds a master's degree in journalism and has more than 20 years of experience as a cyclist and 12 years of experience riding and writing for BikeRadar, Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Dirt Rag, RoadBikeReview and Outside Magazine. A native of the Flint Hills of Kansas, Josh was a pioneer in the gravel cycling movement, having raced the first Unbound 200 and many other gravel events around the globe. He considers himself a cycling generalist and enjoys road, gravel and mountain biking in equal measure. When not traveling for work, he can be found exploring the singletrack and lonely gravel roads that surround his home in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to his love of cycling, Josh is an enthusiastic supporter of brunch, voting rights and the right to repair movement.
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