Bottle Cages

[Matt2matt2002]

Have ordered 3 of the Monkii cages and 5 extra sets of the attachments to fit on other bikes so will give an update on their operation once I fit them.

Nice company to deal with

Andy

Wait till you need a couple of end bits!
They are probably £20 each.
Oh no, that was Bike Buddy.
 

[Danneaux]

I'm watching this thread with great interest, and will be interested to hear how Andy makes out with the Monkii cages in a variety of locations on his bike. Rual's experience is encouraging also.

I'm pondering one (at first, anyway) as an alternative to my Blackburn "Bomber" 1.5l bottle cages. I love the Blackburns, but it is increasingly more difficult to find bottles to fit them; 1.5l bottles are no longer standardized. Also, Gatorade and other sports drinks bottles come on a variety of larger sizes, so substituting a Monkii cage for one of the Blackburns makes a lot of sense if it proves to be secure on extremely rough roads.

The Monkii looks like a functionally equivalent, smaller version of Salsa's Anything cage, but without the recent reports of breakage that seem to affect the Salsa.

Hopefully! It is nice to have options.

Best,

Dan.

[il padrone]

substituting a Monkii cage for one of the Blackburns makes a lot of sense if it proves to be secure on extremely rough roads.

I'm sure it will prove to be excellent - nylon bottle cages are generally ecxeptionally tough.

Trouble is they don't seem to have any real outlets happening - certainly nothing locally for me - and the ebay link only ships to UK. No on-line sales either   All adds up to a 'no-deal', not a winning way to do business  

[Andybg]

The company is a very new start up and even they admit they have not got it right yet. Their preffered method of business at the moment seems to be  - give them a call and pay by card. Not sure about postage but give Miles (Yep thats the guys name) a call and I am sure he will try and help out. Failing that I can look into postage for you and send one on.

I should get them begining of April (shipment coming from UK) and will carry out some "extreme" testing and report back.

Andy

[rualexander]

Their  website gives a bit more information about them http://www.cyclemiles.co.uk/
And their Pinterest page is interesting for the many cycling related images http://pinterest.com/Cyclemiles/

[Andybg]

Have been speaking with Miles this morning about sales and shipment of cages to Europe, the States and the rest of the world. He says he can and does do this. Shipment for a first item to Europe would be around 5ukp and to the states would be 5.75ukp with an extra 1.25ukp per item. He has now updated his ebay listing to cover most countries and any ommissions just call him at the shop and he will sort.

Andy

[John Saxby]

I've switched to the plastic cages offered by Kleen Kanteen to fit their stainless bottles (which I also use).  The  cages are light & well made, with very little friction on reinsertion-while-riding. I've found that they also work well with rigid & semi-rigid plastic bottles.  Only downside would seem to be that they handle a limited range of sizes -- my bottles are about 700 ml.

Current behaviour by the weather gods, mean sods that they are, makes this is a discussion for the future:  we have our mid-March snowstorm today, although the temp is a bit higher than yesterday's -8 and the NW wind has eased and shifted. I was out on my city bike yesterday for a few errands, first time since early December, and that was enjoyable--cold, but the roads were clear & dry.  Forecast is for -17 on the weekend, but happily, it won't be my problem...

J.

[Matt2matt2002]

I fancy having a bottle in front of me 

Anyone used a Topeak water bottle mount on their T bar?
Here is one on UK ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Topeak-Water-Bottle-Cage-Mount-Mounting-Bracket-Clamp-Handlebar-Seatpost-22-38mm-/360587633170?_trk

I envisage the bottle carrier on the right side of the T bar and my Cateye Adventure on the left.

Matt

There are complete units for attaching the bottle carrier to the handle bars but I have spare carriers already.

[E-wan]

I'm thinking of doing the same thing with one of these for hands free drinking without a hydration pack on my back

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/camelbak-performance-bottle-650ml-hands-free/

Ewan

[Danneaux]

Matt, Ewan,

I took a little different route, placing bottle cages on my steerer:
On Nomad: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4523.0
On Sherpa: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3896.0

The bottles are handy and have so far proven completely neutral in their effect on handling (nothing changed for either bike whether the bottles were full, empty, or absent). I use 1l Zefal Magnums and have been very pleased with them. They don't leak of one screws the lid on tightly, they have no "taste", are BPH-free, and hold a lot more than the usual .5 or .75l bottles, yet fit standard cages (I used CatEye flexible nylon cages).

You could do the same with a clamp-on cage mount affixed to your handlebars instead of the steerer, thought weight will have more effect on handling the farther it gets from the steering axis.

I'm in-process of replacing the nozzle on one bottle with a short length of aquarium tubing to use as a straw (and another even shorter length to use as a vent. The bottles are close enough so all I'd have to do it dip my head and get a sip when needed -- like one of those old "drinking bird" science demonstrators: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk71GY02diY ...and... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_bird Of course, the Camelback "straw bottle" Ewan linked will get you there without all the DIY work!

Best,

Dan.

[E-wan]

Matt, Ewan,

I took a little different route, placing bottle cages on my steerer:
On Nomad: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4523.0
On Sherpa: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3896.0

thanks Dan but your threads for your nomad and sherpa have so many pages I can't find the bit on mounting the bottle cages on the steear

Ewan

[Matt2matt2002]

thanks Dan but your threads for your nomad and sherpa have so many pages I can't find the bit on mounting the bottle cages on the steear

Ewan

4th & 5th pictures for Sherpa are good

That's some flight deck you are carrying Dan.
Is there a rocket boost button somewhere?
 

[Danneaux]

Hi Ewan!

Sherpa-mounted bottle/cage pics here (bottom of the first text entry): http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3896.msg17095#msg17095
Direct photo link to profile view here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3896.0;attach=1363

Nomad with me in full tuck here (old handlebars): http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3896.0;attach=1363 Bottles are still reasonably close enough for a straw when riding on the brake hoods, especially with the newer compact handlebars instead of the original anatomic-bends.

Detailed Nomad photo here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4523.0;attach=3251
...and here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4523.0;attach=3821
Profile views): http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4523.0;attach=3841
...and... http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4523.0;attach=4051

I use two flexible CatEye BC-100 nylon bottle cages: http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/BC-100/

To prevent them "clocking" (rotating) around the steerer, I insert a couple of vinyl grommets between the cage and steerer spacers, then cross-match my zip-ties as shown in the attached photo below. My 590M Nomad frame is long enough in the top tube so my knees clear the bottles and cage when standing. Yes, I can make them hit if I bow my knees in or "honk" the bike a lot side-to-side when standing out of the saddle, but I usually pedal straight if I'm standing. Seated clearance is no problem, of course.

At present, I prefer zip ties to holes drilled-and tapped into the spacers. Cross-matched as shown below and with something to add a bit of friction between cage and spacers, they are really secure.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Dan.

[Pavel]

Very nice useful thread ... keep the details coming! This is an area of cyclingdom that I'm interested in very much.  I have the sjsc maxi adjustable bottle cages which work well enough for me ... but I just know that the poorly designed retainer elastic will go at the worst possible moment.  How it survived intact on our trip is beyond me ... but it must be that there will be an area of desert I will need to cross in the future ... and the strap is waiting for that day to break!   So I need a better way for large bottles.  The biggest challenge we faced this summer was finding steady supplies of water.  We were always running out despite carrying a total of 5.25 litters.

[Andybg]

A couple of pictures of the Monkii cages on the bike and with the bottle removed which gives cleaner lines and makes washing so much easier. Am very inpressed with these cages and will write a review when I get the chance.

Andy