^Blackburn cage warranty. That's great!
Probably right on too with the age of it. Our Santana is a 1980 production and has Blackburn cages and rack from that year.

I love that Nitto cage, too. Never owned one though, since the price has always been prohibitive for me. Maybe one day I'll find a deal on a used one.

I'm partial to TA cages. They're light, and the have a classic look to them. I own several versions. Here below on my Look, if you look closely you will notice the one on the down tube has weld marks where the side rails join to the mounting plate, whereas the one on the seat tube has a rounded overlap. Both are aluminum. The one on the down tube came with a grey anodizing that I removed and then polished the cage. That was a pain and I never could polish all the nooks and crannies. From a performance standpoint, they are a little flexy but I've never had a bottle fly out of the cage --though I could imagine that happening on some cobbles.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...psdeabc786.jpg

Here again is the TA cage in chrome, which likely predates the alloy version.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc0036a0b.jpg

Also a fan of the King cages. Very well made (in the USA) and reasonably priced. For a slightly more modern look, I like the King Iris cage. Don't have any great up-close shots of the cage, but here are a couple different angles:

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4552.jpg

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_4550.jpg

For those with even more discriminating tastes and no budget, the Iribe cage looks really nice, too:
Compass Bicycles: Bottles/Cages

I like the VO retro cage for 60's bikes, and some older ones.
http://store.velo-orange.com/media/c...ge_mk_ii-2.jpg


The VO Moderniste cage for 70's and some 80's bikes.
http://store.velo-orange.com/media/c...moderniste.jpg


And the Salsa Nickless cage for some 80's and 90's bikes.
http://salsacycles.com/files/compone..._SS_WC8001.jpg

I put the Elite Ciussi SS cages on the RRA and like them. I have read that their quality has gone down (made in China) but mine seem to be holding up well. If I was doing it over, the King SS cages would get a serious look.

The Novara SS cage from REI is a pretty decent Ciussi knock off for a reasonable price:

http://www.rei.com/media/gg/a46b89a5...962870b1e4.jpg

Like gaucho777, TA cages. The alloys are light but a bit bendy with full bottles and tend to leave grey marks on the bottle. The same, original style, in chromed steel is slightly heavier, grips bottles like a pitbull and is so strong I have lifted my bike up with it (not recommended typically). Never had one of the plastic clips break although a very high mileage one cracked. Great cages. Remember, steel is not just for C&V framesets!

I think this is a Coloral bottle cage from the 30s.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Q...o/IMG_8854.JPG

Old bottle cages are not that hard to find; but most of the ones you find are rusty and a lot of them are just junky. It's hard to find a vintage bottle cage that you'd want to use. For me, the solution is usually to wear a hydration pack.

I've got the Ciussi, King Iris and REI stainless cages on my bikes. Most of my bikes have the REI cages, which are a real bargain for SS cages. They cost $12 each now, but were only $8 when I got most of mine.

The King cages look the nicest but grip bottles more than I like, making them hard to take out. The Ciussi are next in appearance but not worth the extra expense compared to the REI cages.

Had a gal bring her bike by for me to look at. It had one of those cages on it and we noticed it was cracked where the cage attaches to the flat mounting plate. It turns out these are these are thin stainless steel tubing, so I cut the heads off a couple nails, slid them into the tubing to brace it and silver brazed it up good as new. Maybe better; it shouldn't have cracked in the first place.

Oh rats... I had some Blackburns that failed (OK, from me sticking too big-a bottles in them) that I ended up tossing.

That's where the seam in the tubing is--you can see it in the photo. I had one fail that way, too. Still, I like them in general.

Make my own.
Ripoff of a Nitto design, about $1.50 worth of stainless rod. Weighs 35 g.


http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/...ttle_cage3.jpg

That looks awesome! Any pics or insight into the construction process?

^+1, but most of us don't have cassave's talent. (You should see his seat clusters!)

+1 - they're really cool cages for the right bike, but the aesthetics look wrong on a vintage roadie. They look terrific on MTBs and on CF.

The stainless are less expensive and look more appropriate. The Iris cages are beauties as well. I like these and vintage cages like TA and Cobra when I can find them inexpensively (or pull them from flips). The King cages are much better at holding the cage snugly, but nothing looks as good as a REG/TA/Cobra cage on the bike.

I Like(d) the Elite ciussio inox stainless cages, but they moved manufacture to China and there is a hugely noticeable difference in aesthetics and quality. I won't buy the new ones again (though I am stocking up on older used ones).

Some of the Nittos are beauties, but like most Nitto - hugely over priced.

These are beauties, but I've spent less for complete 531 and SL bikes with campy than a pair. I once saw a Bilenky tandem with 8 (!!!) of these on it. I spent less for the whole tandem!

Compass Bicycles: Bottles/Cages

http://www.compasscycle.com/images/cage_iribe_01.jpg

You should really consider selling these on here. I'd buy a few. GREAT work.

I would as well.

I like the looks of the Nitto cages, but I simply won't pay that much.

Imho. The Kings work too well to pay the big bucks required of the Nittos.

I agree gmg - and if something is of similar quality and made in the USA, I'm supporting the USA product.

The traditional-looking stainless Blackburn SS-1 is not bad, $10 or less on clearance at Nashbar now.

Electra makes a copy of that expensive Nitto cage. Normal retail is $20, but they often have 50% off sales:

Electra Ticino Tourist Bottle Cages - Bottle & Cup Holders - Accessories - Electra Bike Store

Back in the mid 1980s , I had a cageless bottle , wish I had a pic or name. A special plastic mounting clamp with a 'V' shaped cutout , and the bottle had its own molded in 'V' shaped dohicky that slid into that clamp . Clean looking. The bottle finally broke and its the only one that would fit that mounting.:cry:

I don't know of it's the one you had, but I have a bottle like you described, but no cage for it. One of us should complete the other of it's the right bottle. I'll take and send a photo today.

Dang , the mounting bracket got tossed years ago:( . But I'd like to see your photo

I don't have one, but my wife likes this one.
https://www.ridepdw.com/goods/cargo/the-bird-cage

"Bottle gauge? Can't you look in the side? Why would anyone need a bottle gauge?"

"Uh, Rosanna, that's bottle cage, not bottle gauge."

"Oh, that's very different. Never mind."

Rhode Gear made the v fit bottle/cage. Had a couple of them. They managed to work themselves free & disappeared.

The cleaned up REG. Lacks the elegance of the wire cages.