[Fishtoes2000]

I find I launch water bottles from time to time. That's something I can't afford to do at endurance races. I suspect it's due to the rigid bike getting bumped about. I used some Specialized Rib Cages at the Leadville 100 and launched two bottles.

Any suggestions for better bottle retention?

(Please, no Camelbak vs. bottle hijacks...)

 

[OneGearGuy]

hmmm... bottles...

for starters, the smaller, standard sized (21-22 oz) bottles stay in any cage much better than the larger (28-32 oz) bottles do.
now that carbon is all the rage, more cages are starting to have a wrap around design vs. a single, tubular piece of metal forming the cage. some can be pretty spendy, but i know that they hang on to a bottle better (can be difficult to get your bottle out, esp. until you are used to them) and due to their construction, are some of the lightest cages ever.
Tacx Tao, Profile Design, Elite, Zipp (getting expensive now!), but the deal has to be the Performance Carbon cage. only 30 grams and on sale for 20 bucks right now!
here's the link:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=18207
let me now if that helps!
aD-man

 

[shiggy]

I find I launch water bottles from time to time. That's something I can't afford to do at endurance races. I suspect it's due to the rigid bike getting bumped about. I used some Specialized Rib Cages at the Leadville 100 and launched two bottles.

Any suggestions for better bottle retention?

(Please, no Camelbak vs. bottle hijacks...)

There is only one worth having, the Cateye BC-100

I have been using them for more than 15 years. Light, unbreakable, hold great and cheap.

 

[The_Real_Cyclesmith]

I find I launch water bottles from time to time. That's something I can't afford to do at endurance races. I suspect it's due to the rigid bike getting bumped about. I used some Specialized Rib Cages at the Leadville 100 and launched two bottles.

Any suggestions for better bottle retention?

(Please, no Camelbak vs. bottle hijacks...)

The Salsa one works very well...holds the bottle well and I personally don't know of anyone whos thrown a bottle with these

Another good one is made by a guy named King. A rep of mine sold me some and I loved them. Tubular steel...very light weight, guy makes them all by hand. Very cool...but my rep doesn't have them anymore and I don't know anything more than that they were called King Cages...but if you throw a lot of bottles these are the ones to get!!

 

[The_Real_Cyclesmith]

I Found It!!!

After some searching I found a place that has them...called King Cages. Get this one...it rules!!!!

Cambria Bike has them

 

[dirtdrop]

Another vote for King, either in steel or ti which ever suits your budget. My steel cage is bent out of shape (don't ask) and it still keeps the bottle in nice and tight.

http://www.kingcage.com

 

[terminaut]

Mmmmmm... King Cages...

My main choice for all my bikes, an nary a problem yet. If you buy 'em in batches, they might throw in a free titanium King Pen!

​

 

[Drevil]

I like King also.

 

[logbiter]

Iris vs std king cage?

One better than the other for holding the big bottles?

I launched a couple bottles this weekend too... man it's been a while since I went offroad rigid!
Serge

After some searching I found a place that has them...called King Cages. Get this one...it rules!!!!

Cambria Bike has them

 

[truman]

Dang, those Kings are pretty. I never loos a bottle, but I just might need one of those for no reason other than to class up the sled.

 

[roadiegonebad]

those are the ones... and stainless steel means your bottle won't get all fugly

 

[OneGearGuy]

$$$$

king cages are the true sculptures of the bottle cage scene (maybe everything with "king" in it's name is super sweet!).
the bad news is they will lightnen up your wallet more than your bike (Ti esp.).

 

[wooglin]

Just to be different, I'll go with Blackburn (also available on that Cambria page).

But pretty much anything in this sort of a design does the job for me because I bend the cage in for a really tight fit.

 

[The_Real_Cyclesmith]

One better than the other for holding the big bottles?

I launched a couple bottles this weekend too... man it's been a while since I went offroad rigid!
Serge

The Iris works better are far as preventing throws...but the standard works awesome as well. Plus the Iris gets more attention, people notice that one on your bike!!!

 

[gonzostrike]

as usual, Shiggy knows his shyte.

the only cage that works for me in the Rocky Mtns is the Cateye synthetic cage.

 

[AntiLoc]

Trek Bat Cage

I used this combination on my full rigid SISS and never lost a bottle. I use the same combination on all of my bikes now.

The Bat Cage has a locking lip at the top that will engage with bottles designed with a deep groove. It does not work will when mounted on the bottom of a down tube, or when using bottles with a shallow groove. They are also less than $10 from the local Trek dealer.

Trek Bat Cage + Any bottle with the type of deep groove ring near for locking at the top.:

I don't know how to get an image posted, but I have tried. If there is no image, you can see the bat cage at the Trek website on their acessories pages. www.trekbikes.com. Their regular bottles are also the type that I am talking about.

 

[dodjy]

But I thought the Cateye synthetic cage was only compatible with 27-speed frames?

dd..'''

 

[the_dude]

i'm with wooglin on this one. just bend 'em. i've got a sh!tload of old alloy and steel ones, and i can bend them enough to hold just about anything. and they're damned cheap too. the king cages are nice, but c'mon! who needs expensive bottle cages?!

the_dude

 

[AL29er]

Ditto, I just get the cheap tektro/delta cage and bend it in a bit. It makes it a pain to get the bottle out, but you don't lose bottles.

I can see why the King and other wrap around cages would work better. The top of the bottle is held in by the portion of the cage closest to the frame (ie the most rigid portion of the cage). Nice idea, but I am not shelling out more than $5 for a h20 cage.

 

[dyg2001]

QUOTE]

Wow, that's a valuable stack of cages!

Larry at Mountain High Cyclery also carries King Cages. I just ordered four in stainless.​