1WD

For some reason Trek put the mounting bosses pretty high on the seat tube preventing me from fitting large water bottles.
I looked into side entry cages and fabricating an adapter plate to lower it.

Then it dawned on me... I doubt the cage is welded.

So I gabbed a piece of scrap wood (1x6) and laid it in the cage (parallel to the ground, perpendicular to bike). With a hammer I tapped the wood, from alternating sides of the bike. With each tap the tubing of the cage slid down and 30 seconds later it was about an inch lower - perfect to fit my larger bottles! Problem solved.

You cage must be the same style as mine to work. I bought it off ebay for under $2. Good luck!

habilis

Nice - I wouldn't have thought of that.

fietsbob

they couldn't have fitted a FD on if the ST WB Bosses were any lower



Old shade tree Mechanic's Motto "If at first You Dont succeed, Try a Bigger Hammer"

Crankycrank

Just be careful when doing this. Not all bottle cages will slide in their mounts like this one and you could rip the cage mounting holes out of the frame if hammering too hard.

AlmostTrick

Why is it the best modifications are usually free, and require the use of a hammer?

Great job 1WD! Thanks for posting.

Retro Grouch 

Because people don't want to use their heads?

ksisler

Had a similar design quandary on a touring frame last year... the cage mounts on the underside of the down-tube put a long water bottle so far up that it badly interfered with the front tire and fender. I also looked at either moving the mount or modifying the cage, but in the end I just swung by the LBS and found a standard size bottle with the matching color and emblem as the other long bottles I already had at the other positions. I am not usually one to not modify things, but in this case I voted with leaving the hammer in the tool kit, so to speak. As I keep a hefty amount of water in BPA free quart bottles in my panniers for long tours, the lack of the 4 ounces due to the one short bottle hasn't been a problem.

AlmostTrick

I'd say in this case, carefully tapping (alternating sides) with a hammer and block of wood was using their head.

habilis

The OP deserves the "Thinking Out of the Box" Award for realizing the cage rails would slide. A safer way would be to remove the cage and support the base somehow. You could screw it onto another piece of scrap wood and clamp that piece in a vise. Then, you could tap on the rails as described with the hand-held piece of wood and a hammer. That method would avoid risk to the cage mounts on the frame.

unterhausen

I don't think it will hold up over time. There isn't much difference between a big water bottle and a hammer when it comes right down to it. I want a dropper cage myself. I have thought about Asking King Cage if they could do it.

1WD

I was contemplating installing it on my steel frame bike for the hammering, but figured if it’s not welded it shouldn’t take much effort to move. I was correct – it took very light taps.

If that hadn’t worked I would have removed it for more drastic measures.