I used to do the same thing before I got the X-Lab. I used a gatorade bottle - the green ones they used to give out at the swims. It was the short kind and had a very wide mouth. I kept everything in there. Go to your LBS and look around in their bins. They usually have an assortment of bottles in there.

I use on with a behind the seat Tacx Saddle clamp. I just used an old water bottle that I cut off where it is the widest. I have a tubular tire in there with a can of pitstop.

Barb

not a bottle, but I use this:

http://www.cagerocket.com/product_info.htm

Got it at REI, works great, only opened up once on me when I was going about 20mph over 2 sets of railroad tracks

-bcreager

There's the Cage Rocket...


I have one, but haven't used it... It requires the old-style bottle cage, not one of the newer types that circles around the whole bottle.

I have an old tool bag that is a cylinder of the same diameter as a bottle which I can carry in any cage... Works great.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

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A buddy of mine uses a small plastic PB jar. It fits almost perfectly (wire cage).

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I've used a variety of different specialized bottles before. I don't recall having trouble getting it all in but I do remember I always did the tubes last and they might have stuck up a tad and I didn't use the lid. It worked fine.

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Jason
Dig It Triathlon and Multisport
http://www.digittri.com

I second the motion for the Cage Rocket. I bought one on Nashbar for $10. I had a huge saddlebag and hated it dangling from my Xlab Flatwing. The Cage Rocket is also easy to remove when I wash my bike, which is about once a week.

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

I have been using some old bottles for years to hold my 2 tubes, CO2 and adaptor and a few allen keys. I just took two old bottles, cut off the upper part just below the neck to have to 3/4 open bottles. Make a slit in one of them to just fold it in a bit and slid the other bottle over top. Works like a charm and did not cost me a thing since I was going to throw them out.

My buddy used it in Ironman Canada this year and loved the idea. I just have to get it back now. Fits perfectly in the cage, keeps everything tidy and just looks like a cut off bottle.

If you can find a bottle with the largest opening and a screw top you will be fine and just stuff it with your items. It is a bit difficult to get the stuff out but it works. My two cut bottles to make one storage unit works very well and I can get it apart very quickly.

Like others, I've just used an old water bottle. I actually went FROM an Xlab to a water bottle. I also did not do any modifications to that bottle (I had some I received at an organized ride like the Pizza Ride in Chicago that had a bit wider mouth and screw on top). All I put in were 2 clincher inner tubes, 1 tire lever (because who needs more than that?), and my co2 inflator (with 1 cartridge already in and 2 more in the bottle), and a dollar bill. That pretty much covered me for having 2 flats.

Just make sure you don't grab the wrong bottle at a bottle exchange at an IM and throw away your tools :-)

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Craig Preston - President / Preston Presentations
Saving the world with more professional, powerful, and persuasive presentations - one audience at a time.

There is this option from SOMA, if you want to spend a couple of bucks, well actually $6:

http://www.somafab.com/stashbottle.html

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Suffer Well.

That 7.5" version looks perfect.

I was looking around for something that would work at Walmart and discovered that a tennis ball can fit perfectly in a bottle cage. It doesn't have a screw on lid, but it does have the wide mouth and is the same height at a 28oz bike bottle. And, it fits two spare tubes, two tire levers, four CO2 cartridges, an Ultraflate Plus, a patch kit and a presta/schrader adaptor. I'll try it out for a while and see how I like it. If the lid becomes an issue, the Soma may be the thing...

Steve

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Steve

"If you ain't first, you're last." Reese Bobby Talladega Nights

How about the back pocket(s) of a cycling jersey? Good jerseys have three nice size pockets that you can carry a ton of stuff in - snacks, tools, spare, extra clothes etc . .

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I've used a old water bottle for short races. But I like have two "drink" bottles.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

I do use a saddle bag sometimes but I also sometimes use one of those gatorade water bottles they give out at races. I split it down the middle from top to bottom. Pull it apart and put one tube, 2 C02, levers, ID, and a couple of dollars. I can then screw the top back on if you want to make it look like a drink bottle. Even without the bottle top, the split stays in place because of the bottle cage.

For race, I leave the top off and put 4 or 5 power gel packs partly exposed out of the top of the bottle so I can just grab it out of the top. I put the bottle on the seat tube cage so I can grab them easily.

I like that idea. Simple and smart.

jaretj