Folding Bikes - Extra water bottle cages for Bike Friday?

I'm so disappointed with the fact that the BF only has one water bottle cage on the bike. I tried to get water bottle cages that go on the front handlebars, and the BF handlebars are too thick for that. Then I tried to get profile design water bottle holders for the seat, and they didn't fit either. *uuugh*

Does anyone have ideas on what to do? I'd rather not get a hydropack or anything like that. I already carry a bag with all my stuff, but I just want something that either goes on the seat or the handlebars (preferably seat).

Koffee

Have you tried the twofish cage?
Here is the blurb:
Quick Cage Water Bottle Holder

Stainless Steel Cage

Patent pending hook and loop and elastomer cinch design.

Goes on and comes off instantly.

Strap them anywhere!

Includes a large mouth 24 oz screw-top Twofish waterbottle

I read what some people said about the cage- do you have that water bottle, and can you address the issue about the cage slipping, no matter how tight you cinch the velcro?

Koffee

Just curious, what model BF do you have with only one bottle mount? My old NWT had three, I'm pretty sure, the Crusoe has two, Pocket Tourist has one.

I've used both the older and newer versions of the Twofish cage, usually mounted on the handlepost, toward me, on my Dahon. Yes, they do slip to the side sometimes no matter how hard you cinch them, but it's not really bad, I just push them back from time to time while riding. They're not flopping all over.

I suppose one alternative might be the Minoura bottle cage mount. ( http://bikepartsusa.com/product_info.phtml?p=01-170957 ) You put it on a frame tube, and mount a regular cage to it. I put one of these on the head tube of my Twenty. Perhaps you could put one on the back of the seat post or even seat tube, though it would be hard to reach while riding, okay for a spare bottle. It could probably go on the stem, too, but that might impair the quick-fold. The metal strap holds it very tight, and doesn't seem to have scratched the paint on my Twenty, but you might want to use a rubber shim if you did go this way.

my pocket rocket has three.

I've used the twofish on my track bike for long street rides with no problems.

koffee brown,

I use both the minoura cage bottle cage mount and the two fish velcro mount. Each has its strengths.

1.) Two Fish: Positives - It can be mounted and unmounted easily and the parts that are in physical contact with your bike are either rubber or nylon strap. Negatives - If you don't have it mounted well, it can come off. In addition, you have to make sure you pull it out without alot of side to side movement or it can turn and be haning off the 'side' of the bike instead of nicely centered. Overall Impression - Once you have it set up well, it works fine. I've used mine for more than a year without too much of a problem.

2.) Minoura: Positives - It has a very secure fit that feels like a 'regular' bottle holder when you are using it. It's the closest to braze ons you will get. Negatives - the mounting system causes the bottle holder to stand out about an inch or so away from the actual frame tube.. More serious is the fact that the strap that holds the Minoura onto your bike is metal...be careful or you can scrape the paint off of your frame. Overall Impression - a very solid bottle holder that I will be keeping on my bike until I can get my LBS to put on some braze ons.

Hope this helps,

Juan

I use a Twofish on my Dahon's handlepost and I have no problems tightening it -- tho' the Dahon handlepost is tapered, and IIRC the BF's are not. The cage turns to one side fairly frequently, but never enough to bother me as all it takes is a quick twist to get it back in place.

However, I love it that I don't have to bend over at all to get some liquid refreshment whilst riding (which drives me nuts now when I ride a standard bike, with the water bottle way the heck over there on the downtube ;) ). Plus, the Twofish comes off very fast when it's time to fold the bike.

Some other alternatives are here (attaches to the saddle post) (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=72&subcategory=1023&brand=&sku=12403&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=) and here (attaches to the handlebars). (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=72&subcategory=1023&brand=&sku=12402&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=) I'm likely to use the latter if I ever get another standard bike. The only thing is you have to keep in mind how those contraptions will affect your bike's fold....

I would be interested in the answer to this also as my new Pocket Pilot has only one cage mount also.
Kenal0

Someone also used (rubbercoated?) hose clamps to secure a bottle holder to the stem of their handlebar. Hose clamps are VERY secure, cheap, and functional - just not aesthetically pleasing.

Looks like this covers a few methods not mentioned

http://www.nordicgroup.us/cageboss.htm

Kenal0

I'm a big fan of the Minoura BH-95 mount... it mounts solid and doesn't move around.. it also will fit tubes of upto just over 35mm .. here it is on both my Xootr/Swift and new Chameleon ... also, you can get 'twin cages' to mount to most any single cage mount..

Bruce

Ok, I'll look into all the options.

I have the pocket rocket. It only has the cage up on the downtube part of the bike.

Koffee

Looks like this covers a few methods not mentioned

http://www.nordicgroup.us/cageboss.htm

Kenal0
Interesting site. If you poke around, you'll also find this:

History
Dahon sent one of their employees to the U.K. to negotiate rights to manufacture the Brompton. Instead the employee formed Neobike and acquired the rights for his new company. Dahon holds several patents that are violated by Neobike's products, including the Brompton, and hence efforts by companies in the U.S. to import other Neobikes (not the Brompton which Neobike can't ship to the U.S. as part of their contract with Brompton) have been thwarted.

http://www.thorusa.com/dahonaccessories.htm

Of course I like the twofish .. I think the newer ones have a bigger rubber piece and velcro so they dont turn too bad and hold better ....

Koffee if you dont like the cage you can send it back for full refund ... no problem ( just use a different bottle for the test ride , I cannot take used bottles back ... lol )

Thor

I'm still waiting for my PRPro....I was under the impression that there were 3 sets of braze-ons for H2O bottle cages. Is there only a single braze-on as on Koffee Brown's PR, or are there 3 with the PRPro?

I'm still waiting for my PRPro....I was under the impression that there were 3 sets of braze-ons for H2O bottle cages. Is there only a single braze-on as on Koffee Brown's PR, or are there 3 with the PRPro?

All the pictures of the PR on the Bike Friday page show three sets of braze ons. The order form doesn't have a place to specify water bottle braze ons. ????

Koffee, I rode my new Petite Pocket Crusoe for a couple of months before I discovered the 2nd water bottle mount, on the rear of the seat mast. Until then, I'd been wondering how to carry another water bottle. I put on an old aluminum water bottle cage, a cheapie standard one from Performance, and it fit just fine. I can even put in a "tall" water bottle. Don't know if your model has this mount.

All the pictures of the PR on the Bike Friday page show three sets of braze ons. The order form doesn't have a place to specify water bottle braze ons. ????


Ok... I see a second set of braze ons on the seat, but that's where the velcro strap is. So what do you do with the velcro strap if you put the water bottle there? I use the velcro strap to hold the bike together tightly when I fold it- if it's not there, then it'll be a little bit harder to keep compact.

Koffee

You can still keep the strap there. Unscrew the bolt; pull it out of the strap; put the bolt through the bottom of the water bottle cage; put it back through the strap; add loctite and screw in.

Loctite? Is that like superglue?

Koffee

I only have one place for a water bottle on my pocket pilot. I am going try the Twofish suggestion.
Kenal0

Loctite? Is that like superglue?

It's a specialized adhesive, used to prevent screws from vibrating loose loose. You'll be wanting Blue Loctite (http://www.loctiteproducts.com/products/detail.asp?catid=10&subid=48&plid=153), which allows for removal with hand tools... some of the other versions are much more difficult.

You should be able to find the stuff at just about any hardware store.

I don't think the bolt that secures the strap is quite long enough to hold both the strap and a cage. You might need to get a slightly longer bolt.

Minoura also makes a contraption that hooks to the rails of your saddle so you can hold a pair of water bottles right behind the saddle. It's for tri bikes but would be great for touring, too.

I dig the twofish. Moves side to side a bit, but that's fine with me.

Looks like this covers a few methods not mentioned

http://www.nordicgroup.us/cageboss.htm

Kenal0

Hello all,

I'm kind of new here and was just going through some of the threads. I have a folder, a newer D7 Dahon that doesn't have ANY braze-ons for water bottles! I really don't know what they are thinking sometimes. Anyways I'm looking to add at least two water bottle cages for water and battery for lights and/or second bottle on my bike. I was wondering if anyone has tried the options stated above and how do they like the setup? Where were the parts located at? I also happen to enjoy a simple and elegant solution from unintended parts found in everyday products as was previously stated from a member above. Also I might add that I found a couple of solutions to the problem stated in this thread that I would like to share.

Ciussi Elite VIP Universal Cage Mounts - http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/accessories.html
Pipe/tube Support & Hanger - http://uscorp.thomasnet.com/viewitems/pipe-hangers-fittings/cking-corrosion-resistant-pipe-tube-support-hanger

Thanks for any and all help regarding this issue.

IBB

Behind the saddle mounting:

HydroTail
http://www.beakerconcepts.com/hydrotail.html

And there's another similar product by another company, it's got an X in the name...
look on triathalon sites in particular.

cheers

Behind the saddle mounting:

HydroTail
http://www.beakerconcepts.com/hydrotail.html

And there's another similar product by another company, it's got an X in the name...
look on triathalon sites in particular.

cheers

Yes I saw these cages too. I want to keep the cages on the seatpost or the steering tube as there's alot of real estate to do so. There's also alot of room on the downtube of the frame of the bike.

IBB

I like the front of the stem position like Bruce's. Here's how I did it on my PBW.
http://www.geocities.com/cyqlist/pbwcage.jpg
I drilled one hole in the front of the stem, which I don't think is a problem if the stem is steel, though a braze-on would be better. You can see the braze on mounts on top of the top tube, which I don't use because I don't like the bottle in that position for various reasons. There's another set of braze-ons under the downtube, which I do use, but is not accessible while riding.
Richard

Now that's a nice way of fitting your water bottle Richard! I like it and will follow up on doing this once a get the handlebars I want on this thing. Thanks for posting!

IBB