Redflea

Since there isn't a Bottle Cage Forum (a huge missed opportunity, IMHO) I'm (inappropriately?) posting this here and will accept any chastisement deemed appropriate.

Just received and installed the Topeak Modula Java Bottle Cage

Needed it because of this Thermos bottle I have and love - 24 oz of ice cold water four hours into a ride can not be beat. (I don't like wearing things like the Camelbak.)

The cradle is sturdy and well designed, well made, very high quality and IMHO looks great. It holds the bottle very securely via the bottom bracket and via the top arms and locking rubber strap. I've actually had my bottle jump out of my previous holder when I hit a dangerous bump hidden by some leaves, that will never happen w/this cradle.

Very happy, would buy again. All you guys and gals who love big bottles (and you know who you are) need to get this.

Installed. Set bottom bracket diameter and length to maximum sizes. Holds up to about 3" in diameter.


Sexy side view.


Bottle in place - fits perfectly. Top arms grab bottle nicely and rubber strap secures - no way it will move unless released.


To change bottom bracket size, loosen yellow knob and slide to desired diameter.


Set vertical size by sliding the back bracket up/down. Two settings - large and xtra large.


For those romantic biking dates. This is a total chick/dude (your choice) magnet, trust me.

zonatandem

We live in sunny AZ (think 100+ degrees in summer) and freeze a half-filled water bottle as a spare on our tandem.
Our other bottles are filled with ice + water and a sock around the bottle for insulation.

Redflea

That's crazy-cycling.

IPassGas

yes, finally good adjustable cages, we have the Arundel Looney bin. We carry sigg fuel bottle and other larger stuff. We are pros at wine, always transfer to platypus bag and lose the bottle.

PS...what?! can't plug it into your dynohub??

noglider 

My wife has one of these because she won't use a plastic bottle. The downside is that she has to stop riding to drink.

Actually, I'm glad for the link, because hers broke, and she needs a new one. I think she forgot to screw something on tightly, so it wasn't a defect.

Redflea

Pure genius - the dyno-hub connected adjustable Topeak cage. Along w/the automatic ice maker we're putting in place, on-the-fly margaritas are within our reach!

Redflea

Yeah - we always drink only when stopped, our rides are relaxed enough that stopping to drink isn't an issue. Glad the link was helpful. Topeak has another adjustable cage (Topeak Modula EX) that also looks nice - my bottle is so tall that I wanted the additional height and top holding arms that the Java version offered.

Redflea

Update after first uses:

I've ridden w/the new bottle cage twice now, and am in love w/it. (Don't tell my wife!) Highly recommend it.


The cage is very secure, but it's still easy to remove/replace the bottle when you want a drink. You can choose to use or not use the rubber strap on the top section - the upper arms hold my bottle securely, but I use the upper strap as well just because I'm a belts and suspender kind of guy and because the strap is very easy to hook/unhook quickly.


I think anyone using a non-standard sized bottle should consider this one (and the other two adjustable cages linked to from this thread). Depending on their needs any one of them should work great.

noglider 

I guess one nice thing about this is that you can use it for bottles (and maybe even cans) that you buy in stores while on a trip. They come in many sizes and shapes, and this holder should work for many of them.

Redflea

Absolutely right - especially w/the one I got, you can carry pretty much any cylindrical item up to about 3" in diameter and as tall as there is room inside your frame. Take your can of Fosters w/you on the go.

BTW - love the Pascal quote in your sig...one of my professors in college used to refer to it often and challenge us to apply the time and effort to make things simpler/shorter.

2_i 

I don't have experience with exactly that cage, but have experience with a couple of other Topeak cages that share elements with this one. Thus, my expectation is that the cage will work fine when there is a bottle inside. With empty cage, its bottom will grab cuffs of pants and be other susceptible to catching or getting knocked off. Eventually the bottom will crack.

Redflea

Interesting...I don't know about the ones you've used of course, but I've had zero issues with it so far when riding w/the cage empty, and based on the design and how it mounts expect none in the future.

The way the bottom bracket on this cage is designed/oriented when mounted (on either the seat tube or down tube), I go as far as to say that it's going to be almost impossible to catch my pants cuff on it. On the down tube the bottom bracket is curved and facing with the open (concave) side forward/down, so that any cuff or other item that hits it will naturally slide off rather than catch. There just aren't any exposed sharp/square edges or other pieces on the bottom bracket/lower part of the cage that to get snagged on. This should be clear from the pics.

If I had mounted it on the seat tube instead of the down tube, the cage is too far back/behind where the pedal is when you start moving forward/down and is too far away to be affected in that case as well.

The bottom bracket is also about 2 1/2 inches away from my pants cuff when I'm on the pedals, making it very difficult for the cuff to even reach the bottom bracket to try to get caught. I guess if I wore some 70's extra wide bell bottoms I might find a way to get tangled up, but i'd be more worried about my front derailleur/sprockets at that point. (And my fashion sense. )

I'll update if I see anything different over time, but at this point based on my experience and use, I don't see any way for the issues you note to occur with this cage.