Are all bicycle bottle cages alike? Yes and no.
Yes, they are all designed to bolt to your frame tubes and hold your
drink of choice. However, no, they are
not all constructed alike, nor do they all perform alike. From how they hold said drink, to how
reliable and safe they are, these are chores all cages perform differently.
From a construction standpoint, cages can be made of alloy,
plastic, or carbon. From a performance
standpoint, some hold big bottles, and some hold small ones. From the reliability and safety standpoint,
not all cages perform day-in and day-out, safely holding your bottle from a
dangerous drop into your pedals and wheels.
Do bottles pop-out by themselves?
Can you actually pull-out a bottle on the go, and can it be put back in
securely, all without having to pull over?
These are parameters that need to be considered when selecting a good,
reliable, safe cage.
Shimano's minimalist packaging
It works, looks great, and it is Carbon - All good things
I have used alloy and plastic cages from Bontrager with good
results. I have also been a big fan of Blackburn’s Camber carbon cages, with their excellent
performance, light weight, excellent bottle holding properties, and killer
looks. Well, there is a new Sheriff in
town. Courtesy of the kind people at
Tweaked Sports of Glendora, California, I was provided with one of Shimano’s
Pro Carbon Cages to test out. And, the
results are in.
This is one light, strong, easy to use, darn good looking
cage. Being I am a big fan of all things
colored red, the black Pro Carbon cage looks rather stealthy on my trusty Trek
2.3 testbed (looks are a big plus for a cage).
Testing involved bouncing all over the battlefield grade asphalt of the
greater Los Angeles
area, and not once did a bottle even so much as rattle, let alone pop-out. That is performance and reliability you want
in a cage. And, while the Pro Carbon is
light, thin and flimsy looking, it is far from that. Light and strong – What’s not to like?
The Stats:
- Fits all diameter bottles
- Durable and rigid clamping construction
- Full, lightweight Uni-Directional Carbon construction
- Weight: 24 grams
- Standard two-bolt mounting
- Retail $69.00 USD
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