I've circled in red a few cms of space I could use if I just had slightly lower bottle cages. It matters because it's tight with my half frame bag.
I've researched a few reddit posts on this topic and some products led to me to things like the wolf tooth b rad or king cages.
That's complete overkill for this, I just need to find that lucky cheap bottle cage out there that just happens to sit a little lower.
I'll go into a shop and search through them to see if I find anything but figured someone may have had a similar experience here. Thanks!
by LowFold7347
8 Comments
Check for something called a bottle dropper.
https://www.tailfin.cc/product/accessories/bottle-dropper/?v=5f02f0889301
Pretty much this but there are numerous other brands that do something similar, you can even get a no-name one.
drill extra holes in the cage base. You shouldn’t need to though, just get bottles that are a little wider.
Some bottle cages have longer slots so that you can adjust placement. There are infinite number of these. Also consider side entry cages.
3D print your own bottle cages! Here’s the model I used: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/side-load-bottle-cage
My friend printed them for me with PETG filament, they’re bombproof.
I landed on the arundel nylon cages and used a dremel to slot the holes and its worked for a handful of bikes.
That said, for the few times I bikepack, I use a full frame bag with a platypus water bag at the bottom and use it to refill a smaller water bottle attached to the handlebars
If it’s just to make it easier to get them in and out with the frame bag, consider side loading cages. It took me a ride or two to get used to them but now I much prefer them over vertical ones even when space is fine.
The Zefal Pulse S2 is a bottle holder with adjustable position
I’m really liking my Zefal Pulse S2 cages for the same reason, they use 2 large slots for mounting and so have 52mm of adjustability. They are also quite light, stable and not too expensive. https://www.zefal.com/en/bottle-cages/724-690-pulse-s2.html#/80-model-right