[niteschaos]

I have bent my stock aluminum cages to death as they just won't hold my bottles anymore. What do you recommend to replace them with? I was thinking about getting the resin Profile Design cages. I was looking at the Tacx, but I read that they break too easily.

 

[lostrancosrd]

arundel

i think i spelled it right. they are cool looking carbon cages that hold the bottle well while still allowing me to get it in and out with out a fight. it will help you with about 20 grams of that overall weight .

 

[niteschaos]

I'm not interested in carbon cages. I just wanted something a bit more resilent than the 5 dollar aluminum cages that came with the bike. I race my rig so I want something less than 10 or 12 bucks a peice so that when I go down in a crit and someone lands on my junk I won't cry too much. 40 bucks for a bottle cage? That's right up there with 200 bucks for shorts in my opinion.

 

[winstonc]

I have a Profile Design cage. It uses a little black rubber band to provide tension to hold the bottle. The rubber band on mine fell off, but it still holds bottles just fine - a full bottle stays in place even when the bike is upside-down.

I also have a Performance plastic bottle cage. I think it's lighter, and it also works fine. I think I paid about 4 or 5 bucks for each one, and I don't think either one will wear out or break because the materials used are very resilient.

 

[B2]

How about Cateye

I have bent my stock aluminum cages to death as they just won't hold my bottles anymore. What do you recommend to replace them with? I was thinking about getting the resin Profile Design cages. I was looking at the Tacx, but I read that they break too easily.

I think they still make em. They're plastic, cost about $4 and work really good. I've got a set on one of my bikes now that originally came on a used bike I bought in 1996.

Bryan

 

[sanrensho]

Another vote for Cateye

I'll second the recommendation for Cateye cages. Flexy enough to withstand a lot of punishment. I have them on my mtb and I've never lost a bottle while riding on some really rough terrain. Cheap, too.

Last year, Cyclingnews ran a photo of one of the Italian pros who had Cateye cages spec'ed on his bike.

 

[Coolhand]

My favorites- Specialized Rib Cage Pro's

37 grams. 15 bucks. Holds onto bottles, and takes big ones too. Used them for road and cross. Good stuff.

http://www.specialized.com/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=5027&JServSessionIdroot=amqgjq0ijy.j27002

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

If you want something that lasts, and looks traditional, take a look at the Stainless Steel cages from Performance. They are light, last a long time, and don't mark up your bottles like Aluminum cages do after the anodizing wears off. ( Under $10 )

 

[7eap4a]

Cussi

I also had a bad experience with Tacx cages breaking. For my $$, you can't beat Cussi Elite cages. They work perfect - for a long time. You can get them for around $25, which isn't too bad for a relatively light cage. I also like the look a the Cussi, it's less distracting, and cleaner looking - but that's me.

 

[Mike Prince]

Trek "Bat" Cage

Cheap, ($7), just about any shop that sells Trek (isn't that any shop?) will have them, no agonizing over colors as they only come in black, they will last longer than you and will not let go of a bottle unintentionally.

I have Blackburn stainless cages on my road bike (cheaper and better lookng than Ciussi Inox) and put the plastic Trek cage on my fixie. Now I'm considering the Trek cages for the road bike after some time on the fixed gear...

 

[Dinosaur]

Ciussi Elite

I have Giusse Elite alloy on my main ride ($9.95) and Blackburn alloy on my other bike ($4.95). I have to press down on the Giusse's once and a while to compress them as they will stretch over a period of time. The Blackburn's seem to hold up better. If you want a good durable cage and not one just for looks, consider a Blackburn. Or full bore stainless steel Blackburn -$14.00.

Just checked a bike catalog and a King ti cage goes for $44.95. Good grief! A King stainless steel-$14.95. Stainless might be the way to go for the long haul.

I have a ti cage stored in my garage, it's a Blackburn (says ti on it). It's still good, must be about 14 years old. I don't know if Blackburn makes ti cages anymore, but it's a keeper. I bought it a long time ago when things were cheap. maybe it was a discontinued model, I don't see any Blackburn ti cages listed.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Another vote for Profile

Profile makes a good-performing value priced cage. No flash, just function. Never lose a bottle, no blackening of bottles. Gets the job done at a good price.

 

[The Don]

Stainless Cage = good

Simple, durable, light, no marks. Especially nice if you have a more traditional setup. Performance, King Cage, Ciussi, whatever...

 

[tube_ee]

I have bent my stock aluminum cages to death as they just won't hold my bottles anymore. What do you recommend to replace them with? I was thinking about getting the resin Profile Design cages. I was looking at the Tacx, but I read that they break too easily.

My vote is for the stainless steel Nitto cages, available from

http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog/waterbottles_cages/20030.html

Yeah, they're 35 bucks, but they're freakin' beautiful, hold a bottle really well, and are pretty light, to boot.

--Shannon

 

[Steve-O]

Ditto

Profile makes a good-performing value priced cage. No flash, just function. Never lose a bottle, no blackening of bottles. Gets the job done at a good price.

Not the most attractive or lightweight cage BUT probably the most reliable I've used. Pricepoint.com has them for $2.98. How can you go wrong?

Note - There is also a carbon version of this cage out now. I haven't tried it but it looks pretty nice...

 

[PdxMark]

I like stainless steel...

Cuissi, King... Simple, classic, and without the blackening that you get with Al cages. And if one gets bent, you can bend it back into shape well enough to work. You can't do that with Al. You can get them online for as low $15.

I did break a Cuissi stainless cage once. I had a full, large size water bottle in the cage and during a lovely early morning ride in Yellowstone. Gorgeous. Highly recommended. I was riding over one of the many stretches where the roads are broken-up and crumbling. One of the bottom tubes on the cage on the seat tube broke. It took me awhile to figure out where the rattling sound was coming from.

I should have tried to get it replaced under warranty, but I tossed the cage before I thought to do that. I had had it for several years.

 

[Jed Peters]

King Stainless.

Or, the BTP cages at www.speedcific.com are REALLY light and nice for not too much $$$$.

 

[treebound]

lbs

Check your local bike shops. The shop I used to frequent always had several takeoffs from customer upgrades and last season leftovers in a clearance bin for a few bucks or so.

Just a thought.