Need recommendations for bottle cages that hold bottles firmly. Have tried a couple of composite options without good results. Dont care about weight - just want the bottles to be there when I need them. Have always used specialized alloy mountain cages in the past and may go back to those.
Cateye BC-100 bottle cages.
Cheap, light, (nearly) unbreakable, (almost) never drop a bottle, and do not mark the bottles.
I have been using them for ~25 years. Just had one break after 20+ years of use and it still held the bottle fine except in a crash.
Every other one is still going strong and have not lost a bottle regardless of the terrain or crashes.
You can find them on line for $6-8, and they weigh around 35g.
I do recommend using a large washer under the mounting bolt head to prevent pull through.