Supacaz Unisex's Fly Ano Bottle Cage

Product Information

The top of the cage is stiff, designed to maintain the overall structural integrity, whilst the lower half is more malleable so that the cage can be bent to fit different bottles. Considering that many new bikes are missing a pair of bottle bosses under the downtube, and there’s no such thing as a suspension fork bottle mount, the USB is a good option. It comes in four sizes: 1 1/8-inch for handlebars and seat stays, 1 3/8-inch for steel frames and forks, 1 5/8-inch for 32mm suspension forks, and 2-inch for aluminum tube bikes and 36mm suspension forks. Note that because the cage attaches via a post mount, the nut goes onto the cage and some bottle cages might not work if they don’t have a recessed channel. What's more, bottle retention, particularly in rougher races like Paris-Roubaix, is going to be a greater determining factor than weight. Are carbon bottle cages worth it?

Over the past decade, we’ve reviewed 72 bottle cages here on road.cc and this is far and away the most expensive, costing almost 30 per cent more than the next dearest one we’ve featured. Indeed, all but four cost at most half as much as this one does, and in many cases significantly less.

Functionally though they're no different to plastic or metal cages, and are a little more fragile too, so weigh up what's really important to you before pressing 'buy now'. What are the lightest bottle cages? That being said, as ever there are always some questions that need answering, so having tried a tonne of cages out I'll try my best to answer them below. What bottle cage do pros use?

Each Barnacle uses an M5 bolt and swivel nut to secure it to the tubing and a brass M5 threaded boss embedded into it. Although they can handle more, Jon suggests loading the Barnacles up with no more than 1,000 grams will have negative effects on the bike’s handling (when mounting to the fork), and should be avoided. Find more at our press release here. Silca also says the cage should prevent scratching to your bottle, but I'm not totally sold on that – surely if you have some grit in between cage and bottles it'll mark the plastic when it goes in and out of the cage, Cerakote or not? After one particularly wet and muddy ride this winter, both my bottles were scratched from grit. So, there you go.In all, the Supacaz Fly Anodised bottle cage would add a nice aesthetic touch to a bike. It provides decent retention but the overall product feels a little flimsy. Fitting the cage to the bike is easy using the pre-drilled holes, and should the tolerances not quite match up the bottom hole is elongated to allow a bit of adjustment. The holder in itself is very light, gorgeous, and the finish looks durable (to be confirmed along the kilometers of course). While they’re not cheap, Tailfin has created a product with a high level of design, engineering, durability, and finish, and until you actually handle them and fit the SFMs, it’s hard to convey how well made they actually are. We think the SFM is perhaps one of the better and more elegantly designed options we’ve tried for use with a suspension fork. Logan and Virginia recently put nearly 2,000 miles on four pairs in Baja and Oaxaca, with no issues to speak of. If you aren’t up for clamping, strapping, or taping mounts to your frame, there are two ways to permanently add bottle bosses to your frame or fork. Hire a Framebuilder

More or less, yes. All cycling bottles (or 'bidons' if you're... French) are a more or less identical diameter, and have a little notch at the same height from the base, which helps them clip into the bottle cages. Manufacturing tolerances vary though, and so some combinations of bottles and cages may be tighter or looser than others, but on the whole if they look like they're going to fit, they will. How tight should a bottle cage be? As previous, I'm surprised at people who think they get to tell others how they can and can't spend their money. The best bottle cages? How much difference can they make? Well, there's more to them than meets the eye, though I will admit they are all relatively similar in terms of functionality. Below I've rounded up 24 very good options, including plastic, carbon, and metal options, as well as some more specialist ones for smaller frames, odd-shaped bottles, and high capacity units. Even the weight weenies will be happy, as I've weighed them all too. It's an interesting demonstration of the effectiveness of the Cerakote coating. I tried to replicate the test myself with a not-entirely-sharp Stanley blade, and indeed, it did the same thing. After inserting and removing a bottle through a couple of months' worth of grimy weather, I've not noticed a single mark on the cage.Once inserted, your bottle is gripped firmly and whether full or empty it isn't going anywhere. I've used it on both road and gravel rides and the bottle has stayed put up against the stop at the bottom of the cage. The Barnacle by Drj0n Bagworks provides a low-profile mounting option for bottle and cargo cages on the fork, downtube, or other locations on a bike frame. The Barnacle clamp is 3D-printed from durable plastic and comes in nine diameters ranging from 25.4mm to 47mm, designed to fit commonly available downtubes in steel, aluminum, and titanium, and also rigid steel and suspension forks. You can also use rubber strips to help accommodate varied tubes. For example, 45mm with a 1mm rubber strip fits a Fox 34 or a Fox 36 without.

In my experience, having compiled a fair few pro bike galleries in my time, is that the Elite Custom Race Plus seems to be the most common, though pro riders' choices are often determined by sponsorship than by free will.My only gripe is that the holder is sold with screws with a short head to allow good clearance of the bottle. The fancy screws from my frame stamped with the brand do rub against the bottles when I try to use them so I have to use the Supacaz screws... and they are incredibly soft. You can round the head without using any leverage if you are not careful.