climber7

went out for a ride this morning. i have 2 cheap aluminum water bottle cages on my bike, and i had a water bottle in each of them. the other day, i noticed the cage on the seat tube seemed like it had a pretty loose grip on the bottle, but i didn't think much of it. today, about 2 minutes into the ride, i went over a large pothole, and...we have liftoff! water bottle launched clean out of the cage, landed on the pavement, and shattered its cover. i've heard about water bottles being launched before but i've never experienced it.

anyway, i'm out a water bottle. but it also gave me an excuse to get some cooler-looking cages. ordered 2 elite custom race cages from PBK for less than $22...not too bad.

moral of the story is if your cage seems loose, don't wait! buy a new one before you lose a bottle.

MrTuner1970

Or slightly bend the cage so it will hold the bottle.

achoo

Doh! Beat me to it.

kaimat

But then you have a bent, old cage. Why wouldn't you want something new and flashy? Your post doesn't seem to follow bike logic.

climber7

exactly. you guys are too practical. besides, if it bent once, what's to stop it from bending again? couldn't bending it back and forth every time weaken the metal? what if it bent back slowly over the course of a ride and then launched another bottle?

to be honest, i sort of wanted new cages anyway for the looks. i had decided i didn't really need them, but this gives me an excuse, and it's only $20.

rat fink

Blackburn Camber cages fix this problem.

Looigi

Those Elite cages are spiff. Nashabar had them on special for $9 about a month ago and I got two (42 gm ea). I also have Arundel Sport cages (~$14, 50 gm), which IMO are better functioning, but not as cool looking. I don't think you can eject a bottle from either the Elites or Arundels.

I run wire cages on my Ti bike cuz it looks appropriately retro.

climber7

i believe it, and they look nice...but i didn't really feel like spending more than $20 for bottle cages. if nothing cheaper worked, it'd be a different story, but i've seen some good feedback on the elites.

looigi - i saw that $9 nashbar special but decided i didn't need new cages. at least it didn't end up costing me much more. good to hear they're secure.

rangerdavid

was your bottle plastic??? just wondering how the bottle shattered. I guess a plastic one can, or can it?

MrTuner1970

Is there such a thing as bike logic?

OP was establishing a moral to his story. My moral of the story would've gone something like this: "If you want new bottle cages, just friggin' buy 'em. No excuse required."

But folks ought to at least know how to make it hold a bottle again.

rat fink

Actually, Specialized Rib Cage Pro (~ $15) fixes the issue, too. Neither of those two will let go of water bottle unless you pull it out. Can't ask for much more than that.