Dumb Question on Water Bottle Cages
 

Right or Left Loading ? Apparently The Retailer where I bought My Trek Bike had a special where I'd get a Free Bottle cage. They called me to ask if I wanted one Left or Right loading . As it's sent from their promotional company to my home.

I have no idea. Does it even Matter ? The Kid that called said it's My Choice : DUHHHH

Appears most online places sell both but have more color options as Left.

So I am guessing as a Right Handed person like most people : The Left side is what you want ??

I KNOW DUMB QUESTION

I don’t use those types. I like “center”.
I am right handed and use my left hand 95% of the time when reaching for the bottle.

I prefer right-loading because I use my right hand to grab it.

(I'm assuming "right-loading" means it pulls out the right side when it's one the downtube - a cage that's right-loading on the downtube will be reversed when it's on the seat tube and be accessed from the left.)

As [MENTION=425264]tyrion[/MENTION] mentioned, unless the cages are the Arundel flip-flop, you're going to need one of each-- a lefthand and a righthand. I assume the cages to be the Bontrager side load, so you would want one of each.

If your frame is tiny and only fits one cage... what hand do you usually grab the bottle with? I'm right handed so I use the right.

There are some that are made so you decide , when you install it, which side you load them ..

I too have the center type myself..

When I first read the title of this thread, I was sure it was like the joke where the boss sends the trainee to go get a right-hand screw driver. Lol, there really are left and right bottle cages??

I've been riding for years and never knew there was a "handed specific" cage. I looked it up and saw it was by Lezyne. Price is around $10 https://www.rei.com/product/846484/l...hoCs98QAvD_BwE. I guess I will stick with the old style cage that matches the color of my frame, costs under $2 (postpaid) and will last for at least a couple of years.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8b78267ddb.jpg

Most cages are top loading.

Side loading cages are useful for small frame sizes, where it's difficult to pull out the bottle since the top tube is too close. (Either very small road bike frames, or some styles of mountain bike frames.)

I'm right handed and always use my right hand to grab the bottle.

My stainless steel cages have lasted for 15 years so far. They don't put black marks on the bottles, and they don't get worn down where the bottle slides in. The steel is springy and grips the bottles securely -- no aluminum cage bending needed. I can slam the bottles back into the cage without looking -- some carbon or plastic cages aren't as easy. Stainless steel is way better than an aluminum cage. They weigh the same, too.

Another who has never used one-sided cages. Now all my cages are stainless steel Kings shaped like the one in VegasTriker's post above. I reach down with both hands. Usually my right, but both when I switch the bottles. Now if I was small and rode a very tight frame, I could see one-sided cages but I passed on beyond that size long before I knew anything about waterbottle cages.

+1 to rm -rf and stainless cages. They don't break and don't shed bottles. I can put my bottle into the King cage crooked. When I look down 15 miles later, it's still there and still crooked.

Ben

Could explain why he needs one of each. I think I’m missing something.

Because the right-sided cage you mount on your down tube will become a left-sided cage when you turn it around to mount on the seat tube.

Ben

They are called "Side loader" cages and are often used on small frames where there isn't enough clearance to lift a bottle straight out.

They are also used on touring rigs, bikepacking bikes and anything with a frame bag which reduces space in the triangle.

I use side loaders inside the triangle and center loaders on the fork legs when my gravel bike is set up for bikepacking....

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...875c590b0f.jpg

-Tim-

Boy do I feel dumb, so simple Thanks.

I technically don't need teh Thing : I drink 90 Oz of water everyday between 6:AM-& 7 AM . Yes in an Hour or less : Not really supposed to drink More then that daily. I find by doing what I do. My Body doesn't need water during heated activity : SOmetimes But rarely

You might wan to read this, with special attention to the "How much is too much?"

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318619.php

The kidneys are capable of excreting up to 7 gallons (28 liters) of fluid per day. However, they cannot excrete more than 1 liter per hour.

Sounded smart and all until they failed at simple math... !?

At what time do you eat all the food you need for the day?

Not all the water you drink goes to your kidneys. Most of it is absorbed in the small intestine.

Sure, but the quoted 2 sentences say nothing about the small intestine, and both refer to kidney excreting different amounts and contradicting themselves.

I think because a kidney is an organ, not a machine. Relatively speaking, call the capacity 1L/hr. But a 100lb woman and a 240lb man might require very different water intakes to maintain hydration, and will similarly have different filtration rates for their kidneys, and absorption rates for their intestines.

24 vs 28 isn't that big a difference when you're talking about humans. Maybe the 28 was drinking beer.

I'm not sure why do you have a camel's drinking habits (or similarly unusual writing style) but just want to give you a bit of advice - sooner or later you'll definitely find out "by doing what you do" that you is not a camel and that your body does indeed need water "during heated activity". And this will be an extremely painful wake-up call - kidney stones are no fun, believe me. Yeah, first hand experience...

As for 90 oz a day limit, I've no idea where this comes from but from experience I know that during hot summer days and hard rides it is about 1 water bottle (21 oz) per hour, give or take. So, it can get way past 90 oz for 1 day if ride is long.

I sweat quite a bit. I've drank over 3 gallons in a 24-hour period, numerous times. On a typical summer day, I will drink around 2 gallons.

Record for a single ride, eleven 25oz bottles over the course of 67 miles. Over 1oz per minute for 3 and a half hours. I weighed something like 7lbs less than when I left the house, so I sweat out well over 20lbs.

All that said, there's no way in hell I could or would drink 90oz of water in an hour and then figure I was good for the rest of the day. I would have the pee to end all pees about 45 minutes later.

Article says 2-3 gallons : I drink 90 OZ and all within an hour or less > It's a good buzz : I also discovered whether you think you have a Thyroid issue or not . Supplements make a world of difference over 50.

If I did that, I'd be making constant trips to the bathroom all morning.