Reader Magnus came up with a great hack to help keep liquid in your water bottle a liquid during freezing temps. He even did his own experiment to prove the effectiveness of the hack. Hmmm, maybe I should create a shield for my whole bike! Take it away Magnus . . .
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This is my little hack . . .
I cut the top of a PET soda bottle and mounted my bottle cage inside.  But why? I live in Sweden and the temperatures are not the  most favorable during a significant period of the year and cold temperatures combined with the drag from the speed of cycling makes the liquid in the water bottle go very cold very quickly.
This “windshield” makes the liquid hold the temperature better. A test I made with hot water over a 1 hour ride showed the protected bottle was 10 deg Celcius warmer (that’s 50 deg F) after the ride then the unprotected bottle. Another nice side effect is that you don’t get as much dirt from the road on the bottle.
Original article from Bikehacks.com here
I put a shot of vodka in my bottle. Don’t really notice it and it definitely doesn’t freeze.
No, 10 degrees Celsius is 18 degrees F – this is a temperature DIFFERENCE, and Celsius degrees are 1.8 times as big as Fahrenheit degrees. (Still a good warmup, but I don’t know if it would keep the nozzle from freezing.)
With a 50 degree difference the protected bottle would of had to warmed up during the ride.