Did 70.3 Chatty this weekend and was blown away at the bottle graveyard at several railroad crossings early in the ride. I repeatedly see people with super expensive bikes (and some that aren’t expensive) that have super cheap cages holding their bottles. It’s actually pretty dangerous for the rest of us for bottles to be flying all over the place. All I can speak to are TriRig kappa cages (no I’m not affiliated in any way). They will never eject a bottle. It’s actually kinda hard at first to get the bottle in and out it’s that grippy. I’m sure xlab also makes great cages but I’ve only used the Tririg ones recently. Please get better cages before we all wreck behind you!
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Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
triguy86 wrote:
Did 70.3 Chatty this weekend and was blown away at the bottle graveyard at several railroad crossings early in the ride. I repeatedly see people with super expensive bikes (and some that aren’t expensive) that have super cheap cages holding their bottles. It’s actually pretty dangerous for the rest of us for bottles to be flying all over the place. All I can speak to are TriRig kappa cages (no I’m not affiliated in any way). They will never eject a bottle. It’s actually kinda hard at first to get the bottle in and out it’s that grippy. I’m sure xlab also makes great cages but I’ve only used the Tririg ones recently. Please get better cages before we all wreck behind you!I've been testing out my cheap cages the last couple of weeks on my outdoor rides. Specialized rib cage on the right holding a bottle, and Bontrager RL on the left holding my flat-kit canister. No issues, including riding over some crap roads, taking speedbumps at 40kph, and are pretty easy to get bottles in and out.
good cages don't need to be expensive. they just need to be well designed.
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Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
thats like 70 bucks canadian - i'm way to cheap to spend that much on a bottle cage
I just use one one of my wife's grippy hair elastics around the cages to make it a little bit tighter - seems to work fine
I just use one one of my wife's grippy hair elastics around the cages to make it a little bit tighter - seems to work fine
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [y_nigel]
[ In reply to ]
y_nigel wrote:
thats like 70 bucks canadian - i'm way to cheap to spend that much on a bottle cage I just use one one of my wife's grippy hair elastics around the cages to make it a little bit tighter - seems to work fine
no shit, I need 2 cages on the rear and there is no way I'm spending $140 plus tax on bottle cages...
I might put a hair elastic on the cage with the bottle to loop over the spout as extra insurance, but im not sure yet...
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2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Last edited by:
JasoninHalifax: May 25, 18 10:16
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
I guess I’ve been lucky. I have some profile design ones mounted behind my saddle and have never launched a bottle. But those railroad tracks are definitely a bottle graveyard.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [JasoninHalifax]
[ In reply to ]
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
Is it weird that last week I actually stopped my bike and picked up an almost brand new specialized water bottle (which is key because it matched all my other ones) from the Train Tracks on my morning ride?
I'm not really a germaphobe, and I totally put it in the dishwasher before using it....
I'm not really a germaphobe, and I totally put it in the dishwasher before using it....
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [y_nigel]
[ In reply to ]
I guess I should clarify and say whether you spend money or not please make sure your bottles don’t launch at every railroad crossing. I have 2 plastic specialized rib cages on my road bike and they’re great.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [JasoninHalifax]
[ In reply to ]
Quote:
no shit, I need 2 cages on the rear and there is no way I'm spending $140 plus tax on bottle cages...My view is that no way am I paying IM entry fees, coaching, pool costs, bike costs, and spending 15 hours a week training, then letting the cost of 140 bucks stop me from securing a bottle that might be the key to me finishing the race (liquid nutrition wise)
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [KG6]
[ In reply to ]
KG6 wrote:
My view is that no way am I paying IM entry fees, coaching, pool costs, bike costs, and spending 15 hours a week training, then letting the cost of 140 bucks stop me from securing a bottle that might be the key to me finishing the race (liquid nutrition wise)
Funny - was going to post something similar. Anyway, XLab Gorilla cage BTA and Gorilla XT behind the saddle or on downtube, and you'll never launch a bottle again.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [KG6]
[ In reply to ]
My view is that the less expensive option isn't necessarily any worse, I've owned expensive stuff that's junk and cheap stuff that's excellent, and vice versa. Anyone should test the hell out of their setup anyway, and our roads are a great test for bottle security. They're complete crap.
Swimming Workout of the Day:
Favourite Swim Sets:
2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Swimming Workout of the Day:
Favourite Swim Sets:
2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [JasoninHalifax]
[ In reply to ]
Thats definitely fair. I just know my gorilla xt cages work and cant complain about what i spent. In coming off that bike before the bottle
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [KG6]
[ In reply to ]
KG6 wrote:
Thats definitely fair. I just know my gorilla xt cages work and cant complain about what i spent. In coming off that bike before the bottlehey, it's your money, you can do what you want with it. I don't judge, ride whatever you want, just make sure it's safe for yourself and others...
Swimming Workout of the Day:
Favourite Swim Sets:
2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [y_nigel]
[ In reply to ]
y nigel: +1 on the wife’s hair band.
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Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [JasoninHalifax]
[ In reply to ]
JasoninHalifax wrote:
good cages don't need to be expensive. they just need to be well designed.This^^^
In my experience, it's generally the superlight (and very expensive) cages that fail to do the one thing they are supposed to do. I've had zero bottles lost in the last decade with $15, 40 gram Trek Bat Cages. If you look at the media coverage of special equipment for races like Paris-Roubaix, you'll see nearly all the Treks with Bat Cages (despite it not being close to their "top of the line" cage), and also some other teams that are not sponsored in any way by Trek/Bontrager.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [JasoninHalifax]
[ In reply to ]
JasoninHalifax wrote:
y_nigel wrote:
thats like 70 bucks canadian - i'm way to cheap to spend that much on a bottle cage I just use one one of my wife's grippy hair elastics around the cages to make it a little bit tighter - seems to work fine
no shit, I need 2 cages on the rear and there is no way I'm spending $140 plus tax on bottle cages...
I might put a hair elastic on the cage with the bottle to loop over the spout as extra insurance, but im not sure yet...
Why do you need 2 cages on the back in a race? They have bottle handups every 10 miles typically.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
The cost of a cage doesnt seem to matter much in my experience. In the past I had a rear Profile Design double cage that didnt seem to like my ISM rails all too much. I had the whole dang thing rattle completely off on some bumpy roads mid-race on more than one occasion (I have since switched to an X-Lab cage made more specifically for the ISM).
On the front end, i use a Torpedo. But, that thing will go launching off at the very first bump if I don’t tie it to my bars with a rubber band.
On the front end, i use a Torpedo. But, that thing will go launching off at the very first bump if I don’t tie it to my bars with a rubber band.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [T3_Beer]
[ In reply to ]
One cage is for my flat kit. The other is a just in case bottle.
Swimming Workout of the Day:
Favourite Swim Sets:
2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Swimming Workout of the Day:
Favourite Swim Sets:
2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
For the flat kit, just put a strip of clear packing tape across the bottle/cage. No way it's going to launch, and easy to remove in the unlikely event of a flat.
ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
As an aside, is it not technically a rule infraction to 'leave equipment on the course'? I rode a slalom course of dropped water bottles between gaping potholes on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto... worst road ever.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [triguy86]
[ In reply to ]
My super cheap generic aluminum cages have never dropped a bottle.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [surroundhound]
[ In reply to ]
There's no "technically" about it, it definitely is and if a marshall sees you drop one it'll be a penalty, accidental or otherwise.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [mickison]
[ In reply to ]
+1 for Profile Design cages with the little elastic retention ring on it. It takes a serious bridge hit to eject a bottle from them.
I'm closer to the feathered end of the spear than the point.
I'm closer to the feathered end of the spear than the point.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [awenborn]
[ In reply to ]
Figured. That race was the only time I've launched a bottle (was my BTA) - I stopped and picked it up. Thankfully a volunteer was nearby and handed it to me so I didn't lose too much time.
Re: Please do us all a favor and stop buying inadequate bottle cages [David_Tris]
[ In reply to ]
David_Tris wrote:
+1 for Profile Design cages with the little elastic retention ring on it. It takes a serious bridge hit to eject a bottle from them.Yep. That’s what I have. No ejections yet