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    My bottles are fighting my frame bag — what cage setup should I use?


    Hey everyone,

    I’m having a very annoying setup problem.

    I have a frame bag mounted inside the triangle, and two 650 ml bottles in regular bottle cages. The problem is that the bottles hit the bottom of the frame bag, even though there’s clearly a lot of unused space lower in the frame.

    I don’t really want to remove the frame bag because it’s super useful, but I also want to keep carrying water on the bike.

    What would be the best fix here?

    by Lucky_Ad_9480

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    20 Comments

    1. Financial-Ocelot-681 on

      Drop down bottle mounts. I like wolf tooth Morse cage. Gets you an extra inch or so. Can also shop for a better fitting bag. Just remembered there also hose clamp type bottle mount bolts for steel or aluminum frames which looks like what you have. Can mount bottles under the down tube or on the seat post. Forgot who makes those. Or go full frame bag and feed bags / bottle bags on handlebar as other poster mentioned. There many options when you start looking

    2. Heart4Cycling on

      Handlebar bottle bags are nice. I use them with my standard bottle cages for convenience, especially on tours and commuting

    3. boxwagon on

      besides a smaller frame bag? wofltooth makes some b-rad devices that can let you move the bottle cages away from the mounts toward the cranks but you’ll wind up without enough space for both the bottles.

    5. AcademicSellout on

      Congratulations, you’ve been inducted into r/MYOGbikebags. Please proceed to aisle 5 to pick up your sewing machine.

      This is how it starts. My deepest sympathies.

    6. SwimmerMore15 on

      Your framebag is too large. You should take the 3l Version. Fits better, looks better

    9. auerz on

      500ml bottles, and a handlebar bag with a bigger bottle. Transfer water to the big bottle on stops.

    10. Ashamed-Attention-78 on

      Yeah, a smaller frame bag would help but you would lose capacity there so the best bet is to get hold of some bottle cage adapters, so you can drop those cages out of the way. Wolftooth, Mount Skidmore are two I’ve used, but a quick search shows there are many more options out there. These days I use one larger bottle on the seat tube and use an adapter to drop it all the way down so it clears my large Revelate frame bag. You can mount bottles in other places, like the handlebars, but I prefer the bulk of my water weight sloshing around as low as possible.

    11. JRAPodcast on

      Specialized Zee Cages.

      You will want a right and left pair – it will make sense when you install them.

    13. verndavan on

      Hot take? Check out cranktanks. Seem to get a lot of flak for being “overpriced water bottles” but can fit up to 4L where your current cage set up is and you’ll still be able to fit your top tube bag

    15. velonom on

      You could move the seatpost cage down with a drop down bottle mount and use a smaller bottle in the downtube cage. You’d probably have to remove your iTag holder though, otherwise the bottle in the seattube cage would collide with the bottle in the downtube cage. I’d also swap the top loading cages for side loading ones.

      Other options would be full frame bag with a bladder, or moving the bottles elswhere (like a seatpost bottle cage).

    16. SaudiJohnny on

      I think this would solve your issues.
      https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/b-rad-bottle-relocation-and-accessory-device?variant=27315032837&country=SA&currency=SAR&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&tw_source=adroll&tw_campaign=%5BADROLL:CAMPAIGN_EID%5D&utm_term=%5BADROLL:AD_GROUP_EID%5D&tw_adid=%5BADROLL:AD_EID%5D&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=22668092616&tw_kwdid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22674238001&gbraid=0AAAAACraZvsIPV2qsTBAGPCucoEFigl2S&gclid=CjwKCAjw3ejRBhAdEiwADkqPn8oxYngFBl2kglhTqY3D-wzafS2V2Q7nv_GQ_0DQQeX6lLGL9o3WgRoCikUQAvD_BwE

    17. TheAnonymousWombat on

      I had a similar issue and for me sidemount cages (restrap) and offsetting the rear cage was the solution (from BBB, I don’t recall the exact name). Not perfect but works. Also i switched bottles. The camelback podium i had before were narrower and taller for the same volume

      If you offset your rear bottle enough you might be able to squeeze in a large volume one and you can could then get a smaller second one to make it fit?

      https://preview.redd.it/0m5koksa669h1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2464e6b7868a647411d8baae6015314f220a8bbc

    18. WILDBO4R on

      500mL bottle on the downtube, adapter on the seat tube to bring the bottle to the bottom of the triangle. Frame bag is also a little large, so if it’s possible to exchange it, do that.

    19. _landloper on

      Full size frame bag with a bladder. Lots of solid ways to route the hose. I find the magnetic hose attachment doodads super useful for the bite valve. Plus a 4-6 liter gravity filter can be used as a bladder. Solves a bunch of hydration issues

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