Adding cages to forks

[John_M]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a raven tour and thinking about adding a cage to each fork leg for some extra space/water.

My thoughts were using the mid eyelet and a hose clamp. Is this bonkers? Has anyone else done something similar?

Many thanks
John

[Danneaux]

Hi John!

Welcome to the Forum!

My thoughts were using the mid eyelet and a hose clamp.

It certainly has been done successfully by others...*and* I have some reservations myself. The forks do flex to a degree, and it would surely be disastrous if the bottles managed to work loose and foul the spokes or leave the cage and get caught in the spokes. I'd feel much better if the bottle cages were attached to braze-ons and the bottles secured to their cages with a short webbing strap. Using the mid-eyelet for one boss would surely help prevent rotation, but I'm a bit concerned a hose clamp at the bottom would put the cage out of alignment with the blade, causing the clamp to dig into the blade. Some sort of P-clamp might be better.

Hmm.  Here's a thought...TCB Racks' "IBT" model is compatible with lowrider racks (fits above) *and* has mounts for mounting a bottle on each side. I haven't seen one in person, but it might be worth a look at: http://www.tcbracks.com/itty-bitty-titty/

One thing to check in any case is to be sure the top of a bottle will clear the underside of the downtube when the fork/handlebars are turned.

If you need extra capacity, a good solution is to fit 1l bottles to your existing cages. I've had stellar luck with Zéfal's Magnum series of 1l bottles with the caveat that you do need to screw the tops on securely or they will leak. Compared to .5 or .75 bottles, the 1l adds some capacity; a pair add even more. They come in a variety of colors including black and transluscent white: http://www.amazon.com/Zefal-Magnum-Black-Water-Bottle/dp/B0044Q9NX6

Alternatively, a cage to fit a 1.5l PET bottle of water will add even more capacity and will still fit your standard bosses. I have both kinds mounted to my (past) Sherpa and current Nomad in the galleries. See: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3896.0 ...and... http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4523.0

I've also had good luck mounting two bottle cages on my uncut steerer. So long as the weight is located directly around the steering axis, I have not had any problems and it has been unnoticeable when steering. The bike handles the same with empty or full bottles, and I found they did not contribute to shimmy in my case.

Some relevant external links on fork-mounted water bottles:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=2260.0
http://forums.mtbr.com/bikepacking-bike-expedition/best-kind-water-bottle-cage-strapping-fork-leg-814373.html
http://forums.mtbr.com/salsa/fork-mounted-bottles-682415.html
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/717907-Fork-Mounted-Bottle-Cage
http://nordicgroup.us/cageboss/ (*Note: some photos on this site are NSFW -- not suitable for work)
http://recklesscognition.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/methods-for-attaching-water-bottle-cages-without-screws-and-bosses/

Hope this helps.

Best,

Dan.

[NZPeterG]

Hi John,
I run with two bottles Cages on My front forks last year in North Africa.

Now I find a few things to watch out for  

1st:My Bike handled far better with my bottles mounted low.

2nd: I mounted off the lower eye and used a P-Clip to mount the top of the Cage.

3rd: Yes all forks flex so I run Plastic Cages so they can flex with the forks, Still going strong  

4th: I would make a mounting plate to mount Cages on my new Thorn Nomad with some rubber bush's to let the forks flex freely? Why because with Thorn Forks you have more bolt mounting points.

Here is a Photo of My Africa Bike from Last year in Egypt



Happy Cycling

Pete
 

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