Came across the following which seems to be similar in concept to the Hed Lollipop. Any thoughts on mounting a water bottle holder/cage directly to the top of a stem? How is this similar or different to having it placed between the bar extensions?
King Cage Top Cap Cage Mount
“I saw this very clever device at Interbike in Las Vegas in 2009. Of course I try to avoid threadless headsets like the plague so it would only work for me on one of the 12 bicycles in our fleet. Cage is not included. Any standard cage can be used. I’d advise using a bottle that seals well so liquid doesn’t lean out.”
yes i use it also and love it, remember to turn it around and then the cage fits better and is more flat. Of note you have to tighten every few rides beause the screw loosens up
It looks tighter than it really is because of the picture. It comes out very easily and goes in easy as well.
I was worried about the single bolt as well, so I added the zip tie that you can barely see that attaches the cage to the bar. This will keep it from turning in the event that the bolt loosens. The zip tie is not tight, but only there to keep the cage from rotating in the event of a bolt getting loose. I put on plenty of lock-tight, and so far have not had any issues with the bolt coming loose, but I’ll still keep the zip tie as a backup safety measure.
I currently have what I think is a simple setup. Two (2) zipp ties along with some 3M double sided tape and velcro. Bottle cage mounted to the top of my Zipp 145SL stem which has a fairly nice flat top. From a cost standpoint this is extremely simple and cost effective…beats paying $45 for an XLab Torpedo or Hed Lollipop.
Does having a bottle mounted on top create more drag (mounted higher) than if it were mounted between the aerobar extensions?
did you drill out the horizontal holes in the bottle cage? I tried to mount a cage this way with a bunch of zip ties and it shook pretty badly on a bumpy descent.
looked into the hed lollipop but just can’t bring myself to pay so much for a little piece of metal
Yes, the Elite cage is plastic so drilling was not a problem vs. drilling a $50-100 carbon cage. I goofed a little on the top holes due to the awkward shape of the stem at the head. But the Elite cage has a good recessed area that can be drilled or slotted.
Tried it with ties going over the top, however it interferred with the water bottle setting properly as well as the bottle cage being a little too wiggly (i.e. thus the thought of using the 3M products for a little more adheasion. I’m thinking it would be nice if the stem had holes to mount a water bottle…but I don’t want to experiment with a $200 stem. Or, if water bottle cages where drilled/slotted to accomadate a horizontal mount in addition to a traditional vertical mount. Perhaps someone else can and provide a follow up.
Very simple, light and cheap. You could make your own easily as well. This solves the problem of your extensions being too far apart to just use a cage w/ zip ties. And you can use just about any cage you want.
Can you post a pic of this on the bike? I have the issue of my bars being pretty far apart and when I’m on rough roads, the zip ties occasionally break. Perhaps this thing would fix that issue? What do you think of it so far?
So does the aerobar mounted bottle offer an aerodynamic and/or ergonomic advantage? There is very conflicting data regarding bottle location. I’ve read recommendations for tall bottles, short bottles, aero bottles, no bottles, both bottles, seat tube, down tube, top tube and aerobar mounted bottles, and small hydration pack type setup’s where allowed. Surely, there’s some wind tunnel testing? Very interested in learning more!
I don’t know about an aero advantage to having your bottle there…I do however like the ergonomics of having the bottle between the bars. But really I just do what “looks cool” and right now all the “cool kids” are putting a bottle between their bars!
T
Sorry I don’t have a pic right now, but I am very happy with it so far. Very solid. You can mount it either under or over the extensions, depending on how you want your bottle to fit. I have mine below the bars and the bottle fits low right between my forearms. Beyond whatever aero benefits there may be this setup is especially good for me since my frame only has one cage mount and now I can carry 2 bottles on longer training rides. I used to have to use a Camelback type thing and I never really cared for that while riding aero.
I too would like to know about aerodynamics with this setup.Has there been any wind tunnel data on the aerobar bottle setup? Just wondering- it seems like it would be perfect for a sprint with a small bottle up front like that…
