Vertical positions are the most launch-prone positions.

Here's a simple experiment to show why: Fill a cup (preferably plastic) with water and smack it straight on the table. Water will shoot straight up. Now replace "cup" with "cage" and "water" with "water-bottle" - and there you go.

It's best to angle down to ~45 degrees if not flatter. With Gorilla cages, I've found that they grip best if the bottle has a lip that fits right. Camelback Podium bottles, for example, have a lip that's too low and therefore they launch - expensive to replace, those - wheras my cheapie freebie bottles have the lip at the right spot and stay put.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

I've launched Polar Bottles that even have a lip that fits in the Gorilla cage.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

As mentioned, the more vertical it is, the more launch prone it is. Also, when I use mine, I put a strap over the top to lock it into the cage just to be safe.

I have a Mini Cage Pod with a Gorilla XT cage on a Delta Sonic and the Pod has never launched. The lid on the Pod did, however. Luckily the contents were not lost since they were jammed in there pretty good. If I purchase another Mezzo Pod I will be sure to tape down the lid.

I use an empty peanut butter jar.

This is also been my problem. It cost me time in a race once because the lid fell off. XLAB, please fix the lid on the Mini Pod. It comes off way to easily and I have to tape it down before every ride

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I never did find the lid. I prefer the smaller size of the Mini Pod to the Mezzo bottle. I also think that it is far less likely to be launched since the top of the bottle fits nicely in the Gorilla cage. The lid, however, is an issue as it does not thread on securely. I will most likely purchase a new Mini Pod but will tape the lid on. Access to the contents would only be required if I flat.

Did you use the rubber band that came with the Pod in the correct position? We recently tested the grip force again with the band in place on a standard Gorilla and it required 15lbs of force to pull it out. We then took the band off and tested it again...only 5lbs to pull it out.

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

Scott, please shoot my warranty department an email and we can help out with the cage pod. Glad to hear the contents were not lost.

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

Bryan,

We have it on our list promise! We are definitely not ignoring our cutomers' feedback. Please reach out to our customer service and they can help see if there may be an issue with the one you have.

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike

Brilliant. Really.

I use my Mini Pod in a Gorilla cage ziptied to the saddle. I'll either tape the lid, or simply insert the pod upside down. Problem solved.

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-Alex

The rubber band works. I also use a fat rubber band from the office supply store on the store bought bottled water with the sports cap and it also doesn't launch.

he speaks the truth

I've launched pretty much every bottle at some point. But the bottles that launch the least are the ones where the lip fits just so: A bit stiffer, the lip presses against the lip when the bottle fully inserted (so it doesn't have any wiggle-room), etc. A lot of bottles have a lip that's not quite in the right spot...

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Hi Candice,
I just received a replacement Mini Cage Pod. Thank you for the VERY quick follow-up.

Are there any particular bottles that you might recommend? Installed a super wing this me morning in an attempt to forgive, and then launched another two bottles on the rough roads of Surrey, UK. Do the xlab proprietary bottles work better with the gorilla cages than other bottles? Mine were Camelbak bottles and the lip certainly didn't interact perfectly with them.

Since I began using Gorilla cages I have never launched a bottle.

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Proud Representative of Slowtwitch Anti-Atheists Society.

Use packing tape to tape it into the cage. Unlike a water bottle, you don't need to remove/replace it during a race.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Camelbak are the worst, in my experience. Love the valve, but I relegated them to road-bike use only.

Best, in my experience, were plain Tacx bottles. My team had a batch of custom Tacx Shiva bottles done and they've been great. Other good ones are the yellow Powerbar and white High5 branded ones they give at races - a pile of those never failed me.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

+1 (hope I didn't just jinx myself)

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Proud Member of Chris McDonald's 2018 Big Sexy Race Team "That which doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger"
Blog-Twitter-Instagram-Race Reports - 2018 Races: IM Florida 70.3, IM Raleigh 70.3, IM 70.3 World Championships - South Africa, IM North Carolina 70.3

The XLAB bottles shouldn't launch when used with the Gorilla or Gorilla XT cages. My favorite bottles are the Specialized Purist bottles. They will not launch

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

We do mention on our packaging that Polar and Camelbak bottles can potentially launch. Unfortunately they do not have a great groove for the top tab of any cage to really clasp onto when mounted on the rear, they are fine when mounting in the aerobar or frame areas though. We do all of our testing with the Aqua Shots so I know those will definitely work for you. I have heard success with the Specialized Purist bottles as well and if you are wanting an insulated bottle that will not launch, Specialized Purist Insulated is the one I would recommend for now.

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Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike