I have built and maintained my bikes fkr the last forty years. So I installed these cages and had terrible problems getting my water bottles in. They also seemed too close to each other so as I was in a rush I just took one bottle. Anyway I cursed the cage everytime I took a drink. It was not easy to use. Then I got home and decided to take them off and return them - at that point I realised I�d fitted them the wrong way up!! Once installed correctly they are fine, they firmly hold the bottle and do their job. I have been laughing about my stupidity since. So in brief install them correctly and they are great do it wrong and they are not so great!!
Not much to dislike about these cages. They work well with Camelbak or Polar insulated bottles. they seem a tad too snug at first, but they will loosen up after about a month. They are cheap, compared to the pricey carbon cages. I've always had a problem with my seat tube mounted water bottle hitting the top tube when I removed it. You can lower these to avoid that problem because of the location of the holesslots (they have both) The price is hard to beat for a cage that actually works and is at a very reasonable price.
I picked up a pair of these after reading the reviews, and deciding that I was both tired of my water bottles turning black with aluminum oxide, and that shelling out for a carbon bottle cage seemed silly. The cages look great, and are light and easy to install, as you'd expect. They also grip the bottles very tightly, which for me was a problem. I have to wrestle the bottle in and out every time, and they aren't easing up in the slightest after several rides. While I'm glad I'll never lose a bottle popping out on the road, I'd trade a popped bottle every couple of thousand miles for not having to spend so much effort and focus every time I need a drink!
Perhaps these are better suited to mountain than road, as the level of grip is way too high for road, at least in my experience. And I've tried several different types of bottle, all with the same result.
Fit and finish is great. A soft, matte touch seems durable. Tried with a number of bottles and they all fit snug but are still able to be removed easily enough. Bought these to replace some cheap Amazon carbon cages.
Bought these to put on my gravel bike because I read they were sturdy and had good bottle grip.
Worked like a charm and look great...I was in a gravel race and bottles were popping off people's bikes left and right...these didn't let the bottles budge once. Very tight fitting.
On the flip side, it takes a little extra pull to get the bottle out as well. Would highly recommend if you've had issues with bottles falling out especially doing gravel, cross, or mtb racing. All around great cage for the price!
These Elite bottle cages are great. I have lost too many water bottles out on the trail with the standard steel cages. Even when bent in for maximum grippage, bottles still seemed to weasel out on a bumpy descent. The Elites hold onto my 25oz Podium Big chills and dont let go. Perhaps not the best value on cages made of plastic and rubber, but if you can find them on sale, these are worth consideration.
Old aluminum bottle holders were loose on my road bike. These fit snugly. no issues with inserting or withdrawing multiple type bottles. Works good, look great. As always BTD ordering and delivery was excellent.
I went for the plastic over carbon based on cost - the price premium for the latter seeming too high to justify. At first, these bottle cages were so stiff that I found them almost unusable on my road bike, but with a couple of months' use, they have loosened to close to 'just right'. The are light weight, low cost, look ok, certainly do a good job of firmly gripping, and seem durable. The fit with my insulated bottles (podium) is imperfect, but not terrible. Fits ordinary bottles just fine.
FWIW, the apparent loosening is real, not just perception. The 2d bottle cage, which holds my seldom used backup water bottle, is as stiff as ever, while the primary one has eased up.
nice light weight and look good on the mountain bike, large insulated bottles sometimes fall out of inferior cages while hitting roots and rocks, So far it has done great, once i turned it right side up. actually worked for a ride upside down, thought I broke it when bottle didn't fit quite right. da
These are simple plastic cages. They are reasonably lightweight and look good. They grab the bottle snugly and that's good if you're using these for MTB, riding gravel or on bumpy roads. You can spend a lot more on a bottle cage but you won't get any better functionality than these provide. The snug fit could be an issue if you are challenged at quick bottle removal and replacement but it's not a big deal.
