Stolen cages?
 

Recently I've been having a problem keeping my water bottle cages from getting stolen. I've had 2 stolen in the past month and I've resorted to taking it off when I leave my bike locked up outside. Do any of you lads know of a screw type that I could use to ward off these unwelcome theives? Also, I've been looking into carbon fiber cages for a road frame and was wondering if there are any compsite material screws made (non metallic)?

as far i know, carbon water bottle cages are very poor water-bottle-cage-thief-deterrents. just get a rusty one and it'll get let left alone.

Fill the allen holes with wax and sink a BB in there too.

If you use a cable to lock up with you could try passing it through the cage. You could also fill the bolt holes with two part epoxy (after a threadlocked installation).

Apply lock-tight to the screws but it'll only slow the thieves down. If you have a cable lock, run the cable thru the cages too.

edit: sorry for the repeat comments, I type too S-L-O-W.

yeah, easier to run a cable though then to take them on\off. i run a cable through my seat rails as well, so my saddle is less likely to "walk off".

Check these out:

http://www.brycefastener.com/hexpin.htm

You could try Torx screws

Awesome, thanks for the help.

I'm wondering what kind of goof ball would go to that much trouble to steal a water bottle cage. If he'd work that hard at a real job his boss would love him!

I think this is the best idea honestly.

+1 crafty idea :D

I expect the OP has some "friends" that are doing this as a prank. Real thieves wouldn't waste their time on such low cost items.

To the OP: one cure is to forget the cages and get a Camelback.

I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard you can use superglue instead of wax with the BB, and just use acetone or other thinner (carefully) to get it out. I'm planning on doing that with my seatpost once I get my position dialed in.

Some hardware stores sell fairly thin steel cable, so you might see about looping that around the bottle cage and frame, then fastening it permanently with a crimp fastener. However, this won't stop a dedicated vandal who will promptly grab a pair of bolt cutters.

I don't know if Bryce Fastener sells pin torx bolts that have the right threads per inch and length for a water bottle holder, but tamper resistant bolts + Loctite blue will stop this problem cold.

I was going to give another vote for tamper-proof fasteners (rmfnla's suggestion), but then I thought about the issue more deeply, and I think perhaps the wisest thing is not to go with a nice bike to places where are that many or that "active" thieves. For those places, get yourself a beater and keep your drink in your backpack.

Well, that's what I think, anyway.

So if someone has the tools and inclination to steal bottle cages, why are they not stealing brakes and shifters and derailers and wheel skewers and seats and anything else that is fastened to the bike?

Sounds like someone is just messing with you- the h2o cage is usually the cheapest thing you can bolt on a bike.

Try painting your h2o cage pink and see if it still gets stolen.