# Recommendations for Bottle Cages



## Schneiderguy (Jan 9, 2005)

that are reasonably light, fairly priced and work.


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## mmorast (Oct 22, 2007)

*Specialized ones*

These are from Specialized. They are not so much of the carbon bling, but they hold my bottles tight, pretty darn light for the price. Look great on my Specialized bike, but perhaps the name Specialized on the side of them might cause problems on other bikes. They do have a carbon version that is about 13 grams lighter, but man for 4 times the price I can loose the 13 grams from around my waist. 

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=33724


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## wasfast (Feb 3, 2004)

I have a set of the Specialized one's and they work fine for a faux carbon cages. Mine are 2-3 years old and working fine. 

I've had the Tacx Tao's, the Elites etc. My current favorites are the King (stainless because I'm cheap). Very simple, clasic look and very durable.

The ultralight carbon cages seem extremely expensive for what they are.


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## rkb (Apr 4, 2007)

*Zipp Carbon Cages*

I have used a set of these for a year now and they hold a bottle well, seem fairly durable and weight next to nothing. Both cages and bolts weigh 54 grams. They are not the cheapest, but I got mine Ebay for about 90 bucks, which is about 30 to 40 off retail.


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## Flat Out (Aug 9, 2007)

I stumbled on these the other day. They are the lightest I've seen at 18 grams and only $49.

http://www.profile-design.com/products/hydration/elite-karbon-kage/


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## manhattanproj (Jul 13, 2006)

if you dont want to spend so much for carbon

check out cateye bc 100


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## crumjack (Sep 11, 2005)

manhattanproj said:


> if you dont want to spend so much for carbon
> 
> check out cateye bc 100


+1, Iight, cheap, and durable

I generally like Specialized gear and the cages look nice but I've been on several rides where a friend had the bottom of their cage break.


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## rkb (Apr 4, 2007)

Flat Out said:


> I stumbled on these the other day. They are the lightest I've seen at 18 grams and only $49.


Yeah, those are cool, they look like the same design as the Zipps. Might be able to find them a little cheaper.


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## mmorast (Oct 22, 2007)

Yeah, I was worried about the specialized bottom tab breaking. Actually had it happen to a friend's, but those were last year's models. The new ones seem a little more sound on the bottom tab. I have about 35 hours of riding on them so time will tell. I had considered carbon cages, but I have seen those break just as easy. These were not some cheap Forte ones. So since these were $16 a piece vs. $40+ a piece for carbon I thought I would give them a try. So far they have been fantastic.


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## terzo rene (Mar 23, 2002)

Lightest that will actually hold a large bottle in any conditions is the BTP 13g MTB cage.
The other 2 @ ~20g I've found that hold well and are reasonably cheap are the Topeak carbon shuttle cage (found them for $75/pair shipped) and the Edge Elite sold on ebay (usually around $40/pr) which were a very pleasant surprise and have an interesting silver inside, natural outside. Arundels are nice and hold well but are on the heavy side for carbon cages.

Can't beat the cateye for price and it holds well and you won't break the end tab off - which so far has eventually happened with every carbon cage I've used for any length of time, including the uber expensive Record cages.


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## dhtucker4 (Jul 7, 2004)

I had a pair of Pedro's recycled milk bottles cages (thin plastic - either 1 or 2 in the U.S.). One bottle cage weighed 25 grams, and the other one weighed 27 grams (I purchased 6 from Nashbar). Of course, they weren't durable, but I used only one on my seat tube for three years. For some reason, I destroy cages and water bottles on my down tube, probably because I use them a lot more than the cage/bottle combo on my seat tube.


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## ahumblecycler (Aug 15, 2007)

I have the Profiles, they are nice and light. I use thermo polar bottles with no problems.


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## liveonedge (Dec 21, 2005)

I have the Zero Composites cages at 22grams a piece, great bling too.
http://www.zerocomponents.com/waterbottles.html. 
I've never had a bottle bounce off or any issues for that matter. If you can score them for less than MSRP then not too shabby addition to the bike. I think I paid $40 for each.

I forgot to mention that it's 22 grams including bolts.


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## JetSpeed (Nov 18, 2002)

http://www.speedcific.com/BTPCarbCage.html 

BTP carbon cages. I love mine, holds the bottle quite firmly.
15 grams each and if you buy two, they are $84 a pair.


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## CoLiKe20 (Jan 30, 2006)

damn.. this is why I try to stay away from this forum.
I was spending way to much time & money thinking about how much lighter my bike could be. 
the madness is creeping back into my brain looking at these cages.


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## hirosugi (Jul 30, 2008)

I got these Profile Design Stryke Kage for $6 and each weigh 30 grams.


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## loudog (Jul 22, 2008)

king cage titaniums. simple elegant and sick light


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## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

I have Bonte XXX-Lite cages - 17g each. I got them as part of my bicycle purchase, so I didn't research the topic, but hese have worked and not dropped a single bottle.

Just my $0.02


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## Bertrand (Feb 1, 2005)

I like Cannondale aluminum cages. Very light, minimalist design, very cool looking, and not expensive.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

Anyone tried the Prorace Lightweight cage offered at PBK for $4? Only 20 grams, or so it says. Too good to be true? Even if it breaks in a year I wont shed tears at this price.


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## cyclust (Sep 8, 2004)

Wanna save some weight in your cage/bottle combo? Zefal makes an extra large bottle, called the magnum, that holds 28 ounces. I use one of these instead of 2 standard bottles, which hold 16? ounces. This saves the weight of an extra bottle cage, and of course one of these bottles is much lighter than 2 regular bottles. And I only give up 4 ounces of capacity.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

Skip the Tacx cages, I absolutely hate them.


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## z rocks (Sep 9, 2007)

What cage holds that big bottle securely. Zefal? I like this idea...


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## ChuckUni (Jan 2, 2003)

z rocks said:


> What cage holds that big bottle securely. Zefal? I like this idea...


I'm betting the King Ti cage would hold it, and they claim it's 30gm.....


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## chirider990 (Apr 18, 2004)

i have broken 3 of the specialized cages and one of the plastic elite cages. Currently using the perfomance bike brand forte cage at 25 g bought it on sale for 20 bucks. Looks cool and will not drop a bottle. Only problem might be it shaves off some plastic sometimes off the bottle.


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## unit (Jun 11, 2008)

ChuckUni said:


> I'm betting the King Ti cage would hold it, and they claim it's 30gm.....


You would win that bet.

I run King Ti cages on my rigid SS MTB (and I am known to do a bit of urban hucking)...No cage should be expected to hold a full bottle under the conditions I ride, but these do (after you bend them in a bit). People I ride with joke that I have my cages set on "stun" (Star Trek joke). 

Seriously, you can bend these cages with a careful effort to make them hold as tight as you want.

Going on 5 years, and never an issue.


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

King Ti W/B Cages are the absolute best at holding your bottle, easy removal, light weight and maintenance free.
Been using mine for 2 years and never a problem.
Looks great and works great.


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## aaronis31337 (Apr 7, 2008)

I bought some sweet carbon cages from E-bay for 11.00. They are light, strong, and look awsome. Do a e-bay search on "carbon water cages". You'll have hundreds of choices.


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## revolator (Oct 11, 2007)

LOVE IT!

The tacx tao are da bomb.

I also like to try the King stainless steel ones.


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## Oldteen (Sep 7, 2005)

moabbiker said:


> Anyone tried the Prorace Lightweight cage offered at PBK for $4? Only 20 grams, or so it says. Too good to be true? Even if it breaks in a year I wont shed tears at this price.


I tried two of 'em, but gave up 'cause they don't bottles too well.

I'm now using Trek Bat Cage. Not the lightest (~40g), but it's cheap & I've never lost a bottle or broken a cage. If it was good enough for Lance, it's good enough for me. (Duh- did I just write that??)
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.07/armstrong.html


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## Duckman (Jul 21, 2005)

King ti.


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## android (Nov 20, 2007)

loudog said:


> king cage titaniums. simple elegant and sick light


Absolutely. And one of the few that meet the poster's requirement that they "work".


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## ChuckUni (Jan 2, 2003)

revolator said:


> ....
> 
> I also like to try the King stainless steel ones.


King stainless are very nice if you can handle the extra 20gm or so. They have a very nice look to them with the smaller tubing. Much less expensive too.


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