When I ride with a large group, at least once during the ride, a water bottle gets ejected from its cage. Hey, what's the deal with that?

I ride with old chromed steel TA cages and my bottles stay put.

Or perhaps it's intentional? Is there some new electronic assist bottle cage that helps you remove your bottle quicker?

Inquiring minds want to know.

The deal?

Poorly designed bottle cages that are "lightweight".

When you do big rides, like the Five Boro Bike Tour, you see dozens of dropped bottles in the road. I've never figured out how so many people could lost their water bottle.

Some people just have lousy manual dexterity....

Some of the Less expensive bottles bounce out.

Many plastic/carbon-fiber bottle cages suck at holding bottles. A good bump and they'll self-eject.

These Yellow ones were Bad at coming out.
Bought them because of the color and cheap price.

If you put a caliper around every water bottle that you see, you'll find some that are a skosh smaller in diameter than others. I'm thinking that 10 Wheel's water bottles will fall into that category.

Plastic water bottle cages don't adjust like the cheaper metal water bottle cages do.

FWIW, my favorite water bottle cages are Blackburn Chicane cages. They can be adjusted for a snug water bottle fit and they are stainless so they won't leave black marks on your bottles.

They were just Very Slick

Was watching the 1st wave go off at a spring gravel race while waiting for my wave and after a fast downhill and hard right turn there were water bottles everywhere. Only minutes into the race so no one was drinking.
I've never had a water bottle come out.

I've Used Specialized Bottles in Their , Fiber-Nylon cages never had a Problem.

Other than the plastic in the bottles Cracking when Older.

Poor fit perhaps?

In the 35+ years I've been riding, I've only lost two water bottles, and both of those were during group rides and me missing the cage when trying to return the bottle and unable to turn around and retrieve it.

I realize this started from someone wanting to micro-manage the parts choices of other people,

and boasting of their superior choice , But,

Consider a match : specialized made cage and bottle ,, Elite cage and Bottle, etc,


To secure the fuel bottle in an Under the Down tube water bottle cage , on my Touring bike.

I simply put a toe strap around the cage and put the cage on top of the strap, when I screwed it down.

tightening the strap kept the bottle 100% secure.

Most interesting section of the STP is the downside of the Longview Bridge. The joints between the massive concrete sections have angle changes and beyond the ones on the slope where speed builds, the roadway is littered with water bottles, lights, blinkies, miscellaneous stuff that bounces out. Not unusual to spot CO2 cartridges minus their shattered inflators, a pump, a tube, gels, energy bars, etc.

I have cheap Profile Design cages and Camel Back Podium Chill bottles and have never had one come off. I think it could be that after they drink they don't secure them properly in the cage so they bounce out. I've seen more bottles come lose from the behind the saddle cages than any other kind.

Profile Design cages are Not Cheap

Sometimes the problem is inertia.

Bottles mounted on down tubes are subject to ejection if the bike slows suddenly. I'm not talking about braking here, but the horizontal shock of hitting a pothole at speed. There's a steep bumpy hill I descend fairly often. I have to make sure the D/T bottle is no more than half full, otherwise it gets ejected every time.

Mtn bikers see this often, and some even eject vertical bottle, though that's much harder.

Those TA cages were some of the best cages ever made just looking at function, ie they hold WBs securely and are easy to access. I heard from several bike shop owners over the years that TA kept making the steel cages at the request of the pro riders who were not stars. The grunts who were not going to get handed a new bottle by a lesser teammate or the team car if they lost theirs.

Another plus: they go a lot further before they break and often, that break isn't a lost bottle whereas aluminum cages WILL break and you will lose (or have to go back for) the bottle.

Ben

I would have thought Polar bottles were ejection proof -- they have deep indents -- but I found one on a bouncy gravel trail that proved me wrong. Probably the other cyclist's cage. No way those puppies are escaping from my cage -- it's a chore to lug 'em out and stuff back in, but I don't worry about losing 'em.

When Mtbing, I often had my water bottles bounce out when I first started. Then I learned to push in the cage to tighten the grip (metal only) but that didn't always work and I went to a camelback hydration pack that you wear like a backpack.
I never saw a roadie wear one, I guess for aero reasons?

This will age me but I loved those Cannondale Velcro ones. Never had a problem with my (long gone) pair. Too bad they don't make'em anymore. Perhaps I'll DIY something similar.

what about adding some tape of some sort ( like the anti slip strips for steps) and then it may stay in?

Easier for me to jut buy the cheap metal ones, bend them to the point they hold, and be done with it. Never lost a bottle this way.

Sometimes, I think people create their own problems by buying fancy equipment they have no practical need for.

still have the mount? just put sticky back velcro on a Bottle.. Or sew a Bottle cover that the hook stuff grabs.





./.

I use either Specialized or Camelbak bottles in King Ti and SS cages.
I've never had anything bounce out in years and years of riding.

The one exception is that I have a Profile Design RM1 on my P2C. I've never had a problem with those either.

Those who trade water bottle security for a handful of grams of weight saving deserve neither...