Which material should I choose?
Bottle cages are usually made of plastic, aluminum or carbon. All materials have their advantages and disadvantages. Plastic is usually lighter than aluminum, but also less durable and stable. Aluminum, on the other hand, is sturdier and more durable, but also a bit heavier. Carbon is the lightest, but also the most expensive.
Approximate weight of a bottle cage made of different materials
- Carbon: approx. 25 g
- Plastic: 28 – 44 g
- Aluminum: 42 – 45 g
What do I do if my bike frame is too small or my frame bag is in the way of taking the bottle out of the holder?
With most bottle cages, you insert the bottle into the cage from above. But there are situations where this is not possible. If your frame is very small, you ride a fully MTB or you have a frame bag mounted, you may not have enough space above the bottle cage to insert the bottle.
Then simply use a "sidecage" bottle cage. This allows you to simply insert the bottle into the holder from the side. You just have to make sure that you prefer a bottle cage that has the opening on the right or left.
Which bike bottles fit in the bottle cage?
All standard bicycle bottles with a capacity of 0.5 or 0.75 liters fit into the "normal" bottle holders. The 750 ml bottles are also secured against falling out by the bracket on the bottle holder thanks to the appropriate design of the 750 ml bottles. The uniform diameter of these bottles is 74 mm.
With smaller frame shapes, a 0.75-liter bottle may not fit into the frame due to its size. In this case, you must use a 0.5-liter bottle.
How are bottle cages attached to the frame?
Usually, you have pre-drilled holes on the down tube and/or seat tube to be able to mount bottle holders directly. The hole spacing is standardized (65 mm) and is therefore suitable for all standard holders. With a suitable Allen key (hex key), you can quickly complete the assembly.
However, if your frame does not have suitable mounting holes, you can buy bottle cage adapters. For example, the SKS Anywhere Velocage bottle cage. This mount is attached to the frame using straps.
It can also be mounted on the saddle. The ACID brand offers a solution with the SILink bottle cage adapter , which allows you to attach one or two bottle cages to the back of the saddle.
A completely different solution for conveniently attaching a bottle to your bike is a handlebar mount. Rave even offers an insulated option with the Iso bottle bag. This bag is attached to the handlebars with adjustable Velcro straps. This allows you to conveniently remove the bottle without having to bend down. The highlight, of course, is the additional insulation. Your drink stays cold or hot for longer – depending on the circumstances.
Cube bottle cage
Cube offers a huge range of different bottle cages. All bottle cages are available in colors that match the corresponding bikes and e-bikes. So you can be sure that the bottle cage is the perfect match for your bike.
At Cube, there are various abbreviations that appear in the name of the bottle cages. They have the following meaning:
HPP = High Performance Plastic
HPC = High Performance Caron
HPA = High Performance Aluminum