A bottle cage is device used to affix a

water bottle A water bottle is a container that is used to hold liquids, mainly water, for the purpose of transporting a drink with oneself while travelling or while otherwise away from a supply of potable water. A water bottle is usually made of plastic, g ...

to a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

. Composed of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's r ...

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion i ...

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

, it is attached to the main frame of a bicycle, the handlebars, behind the

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

, or, in uncommon cases, the

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...

. Most modern bicycles have threaded holes in the frame to hold the bottle cage, often called

braze-on A braze-on is the name for any number of parts of a bicycle that have been permanently attached to the frame. The term "braze-on" comes from when these parts would have been brazed on to steel frame bicycles. Braze-ons continue to be so-called ev ...

s even though they may be

welded Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as braz ...

, glued,

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

ed, or moulded into the frame material. Clamps are necessary on bicycles not so equipped, such as older or less expensive models.

Locations

The most common location for a frame-mounted bottle cage is on the top side of the downtube. The most common location for a second frame-mounted bottle cage is on the front side of the seat tube. Small bikes and

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which m ...

s with rear suspension often do not have enough room for two bottle cages inside the main frame triangle. Some mountain bikes have highly sloped top tubes that limit the size of bottles mounted inside the triangle. Some

touring bicycle A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase (for ride comfort and to avoid p ...

s have a third frame mounting location: under the downtube. Bottle cages may be mounted behind the seat with a bracket that attaches to the seatpost. Some uncommon

forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods eit ...

include bottle cage mounts.

Tandem bicycle A tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle (occasionally a tricycle) designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement (fore to aft, not side by side), not the number of riders. Patents relat ...

s may have as many as six bottle cages.

Recumbent bicycle A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by b ...

s may have bottle cages mounted to the steering mechanism or behind the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

back.

Styles

The vast majority of bottle cages consist of a single hoop of metal tubing or rod bent to hold the bottle snugly and engage the neck, or an indentation in the case of larger bottles, to prevent it from bouncing out. Varieties, often made out of plastic or carbon fiber, may completely encircle the bottle. Some manufacturers have released non-standard bottles and cages that only work with each other in order to offer specialized shapes (streamlined, for example) or restrict consumers to purchasing brand-specific items.

Standards

Mounting

The standard bottle cage has two mounting holes, apart, to match the threaded holes in the frame, and through which small bolts pass. Some have a strap, adjustable for non standard bottles. A fork might include bottle mounts as well. If equipped a 3 hole configuration is normally used to allow the cage to be mounted higher or lower on the fork. The holes are usually sized and threaded to accept an M5 x 0.8 bolt, which means 5 mm in diameter and threads 0.8 mm apart (pitch).

Bottle

The standard size of bottle cage holds a bottle 2-7/8 inches (2.875") or 73 mm in diameter and five inches (5") or 127 mm tall, or with an indentation that far from the bottom for the tab on the cage to engage.

Other uses

Some examples of

bicycle lighting Bicycle lighting is illumination attached to bicycles whose purpose above all is, along with reflectors, to improve the visibility of the bicycle and its rider to other road users under circumstances of poor ambient illumination. A secondary p ...

take advantage of the bottle cage by using it to hold a bottle-shaped battery to power the lights. This sort of bicycle lighting has proved popular. Many small tire pumps come with a mounting bracket intended to be mounted alongside a bottle cage. The Trek Soho 3.0 comes with a stainless steel coffee mug designed to fit in the bottle cage mounted on the front side of the seat tube. In addition to the fairly standard cycling water bottle, cages have been produced to hold commercial 1 liter and 1.5 liter water bottles.

History

Until the 1960s, cyclists often carried a second bottle on the handlebars, held by a bottle cage fixed to the handlebars themselves and by a third point to the handlebar stem. Such bottle cages are familiar from pictures of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. Riders had a cage there rather than have two on the frame, where the centre of gravity is lower, because at the time the Tour's rules insisted that riders carry a pump. The pump took up the length of one frame tube and made a second bottle cage on the frame impossible.

Gallery

Image:Thorn.nz.JPG,

Touring bicycle A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase (for ride comfort and to avoid p ...

with three bottle cages Image:Tandem loaded for touring.JPG,

with six bottle cages Image:Canto at Niagara.JPG,

with bottle cages mounted behind the

back Image:Bicycle pump frame mounted.jpg,

Tire pump A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...

mounted alongside bottle cage

References

{{Bike equipment Bicycle parts Holders