First Look: Vibration damping grips & convertible water bottles from Leatt

23 january 2025, cape town, SOUTH AFRICA | first look at the new leatt mountain bike water bottles and grips as published on bike network by myles kelsey

Leatt enters the components game with vibration damping grips and an ‘upright drinking’ water bottle.

Exactly how much innovation is necessary when designing new mountain bike water bottles or a pair of grips? Not much really, or, I guess that depends on the brand. With Leatt, a company that was born out of prioritizing the needs of a rider, there is seemingly no end game to innovation. These, their latest releases, are testament to that.


Leatt SteadySip Convertible Water Bottle

For upright drinking

The SteadySip is available in a 600ml or 750ml size. It’s a soft and relatively easy-to-squeeze water bottle. Internally, a straw that is attached to the underneath of the lid, runs from the top to the bottom of the bottle. Externally, the regular bite valve can be swapped out for an extended tube/straw, with bite valve. Everything is easily disassembled for cleaning purposes and it has a wide opening, making it ice cube friendly.

23 january 2025, cape town, SOUTH AFRICA | first look at the new leatt mountain bike water bottles and grips as published on bike network by myles kelsey
Available in two sizes.

Details: Leatt SteadySip

Bite Valve: Self-sealing Hydrapak Blaster
Second Valve: Holds water in the inner straw
Third Valve: Anti-vacuum valve equalizes internal pressure
Material: Soft, ‘flexy’, odorless, tasteless
Size: 600ml or 750ml
Retail: ±R499 and R599
More: leatt.com

The idea behind the SteadySip is to enable riders to keep their eyes on the trail, while drinking. With the internal straw, there’s also no need to tilt the water bottle to drink which means the rider is in a safer posture, when drinking on the fly. Riders using full face helmets will not need to remove their helmets to hydrate.

23 january 2025, cape town, SOUTH AFRICA | first look at the new leatt mountain bike water bottles and grips as published on bike network by myles kelsey
“Upright drinking minimizes head movement and helps you keep your eyes on the trail or road, while drinking.” – Leatt

IMPRESSIONS: It seals well, is easy to squeeze and works perfectly in both setups. The look and feel is premium, the tolerances on the interchangeable parts are spot on. Gimmicky it ain’t — there’s real benefits for Endurance, Trail and Gravity riders here. A very clever idea!


Leatt DuoValve Water Bottle

Regular bite valve with maximum flow

The DuoValve is a more traditional bottle that is also available in a 600ml or 750ml version. Gone is the internal straw and convertible bite valve seen on the SteadySip model featured above. The DuoValve has a fast-flow valve, that can be closed to prevent spillage.

23 january 2025, cape town, SOUTH AFRICA | first look at the new leatt mountain bike water bottles and grips as published on bike network by myles kelsey
Available as a 600ml or 750ml version.

Details: Leatt DuoValve

Bite Valve: Self-sealing, high flow
Technology: Anti-vacuum valve equalizes internal pressure
Material: Soft, ‘flexy’, odorless, tasteless
Size: 600ml or 750ml
Retail: ±R249 and R299
More: leatt.com

As with the SteadySip, this DuoValve bottle is pretty soft and easy to squeeze. It has two valves; the bite valve for drinking which is also a self-sealing spout plus an anti-vacuum valve that quickly resets the pressure after drinking, restoring the bottle to full size, so that it fits securely into the bottle cage.

23 january 2025, cape town, SOUTH AFRICA | first look at the new leatt mountain bike water bottles and grips as published on bike network by myles kelsey
The anti-vacuum valve is located on the side of the bite valve.

IMPRESSIONS: The lid locks on nice and securely and there’s no leaking from either the valves or the lid. After squeezing, it returns to full-size, very quickly. What I really like is the bottle has very little indents so it fits very snug with bottle cages.


Leatt ReaFlex 6.0 Grips

Designed to combat hand fatigue and arm pump

The secret sauce inside these grips is the dual layering. The inner most layer, or core of the grip, contains ReaFlex — a material developed by Leatt that absorbs energy. It’s this inner layer that damps out trail vibrations. The outer layer has a soft rubber-like feel and has a variable profile (it is contoured and shaped) to maximize ergonomics. The idea behind the shapes is to reduce pressure points inside the palm, which then reduces hand fatigue.

23 january 2025, cape town, SOUTH AFRICA | first look at the new leatt mountain bike water bottles and grips as published on bike network by myles kelsey
Ideal for XC, Trail and Gravity riding.

Details: Leatt ReaFlex Grips

Material: Rubber-like external with Gel infused inner
Clamping: Single ring with 3mm Allen bolt
Size: Thin and thick versions, 135mm length
Weight: 106g
Colours: Black, Granite, Lava, Peanut
Retail: R599
More: leatt.com

When it comes to the design of the contact surface, this isn’t a plain Jane, copy-paste pattern. Leatt have really innovated here. Nearest the clamp is a section of ribbing that helps lock the rider’s thumb in place. The slightly elevated rectangular block is a bump pad, that provides additional palm support. For extra grip, a combination of half-waffle and triangular blocks line the underside.

23 january 2025, cape town, SOUTH AFRICA | first look at the new leatt mountain bike water bottles and grips as published on bike network by myles kelsey
The grip core is infused with an energy-absorbing gel.

Further efforts to boost comfort and ergonomics are evidenced by the 2mm taper — with the bigger section on the outer edge. The two available sizes are a regular which is a 33/31mm and a thin which is a 31/29mm taper.

IMPRESSIONS: The term gel conjures up images of something super-soft and squishy. That’s not what’s going on here. When fitted, I can feel these grips are only mildly softer than my choice of ODI or Renthal, but it’s that little extra margin of absorption that I anticipate will make a tangible difference to hand fatigue. Especially on longer endurance rides, technical lines and longer descents. Stay tuned for more feedback. //


RELATED POV: The Long Run at Helderberg Trails