I’ve recently converted to using a hydration bladder after years of carrying bottles in a rucksack..

recently though, a lot more of my riding is a quick hour or so grabbed here and there, riding from the door, where a pack seems a lot of faff.. It would be nice to be able to simply clip a bottle in on these occasions..

is something like this any good or should I be looking at a more traditional shape for MTB applications..?

What do you folks use..?

if you must, then Tacx Tao or Elite Custom Race

Those Tacx ones (like in your picture) are very good. I have two on my tourer/crosser. The sides are made of a soft aluminium alloy which means you can modify the shape a little to hold a bottle really well.

However, the Specialized Rib Cages always seem to work really well too.

It’s worth making sure you get a good bottle/cage combo as they don’t all play well together.

No.
In fact nay, nay and thrice nay.

Plastic cages are suitable for gentle pottering to the cafe and for fashion. Get cheap alloy cages and bend them in to grip your bottles tightly. I’ve been in crashes involving 20 odd riders because people used fancy cages and their bottles bounced out…

King Cage

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14131

Not the cheapest, lightest or blingest but have used one off road for ages with no problems

I fancy one of the Vincero design ones as you don’t have to have the massive cage on the bike all the time
http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/vincero-designs-stratus20-system-magnetic-bottle-and-cage-system-2567-p.asp

I’ve bought a few of the £2.50 ones from on one. Seem to be holding up fine.

Crc are doing Elite fibre glass ones with a bottle for less than £10

Just get a cheap aluminium one. Reason being is that they can be adjusted to grab different sized bottles by just squashing them into the frame to make them narrower. Makes it handy for throwing in bottles of juice you buy from shops or holding other things like battery packs for lights.

Just don’t get the gold plated Elite cages. I had some for my bling bike a few years ago and the gold plate flaked and nearly cut the end of my finger off when I was reaching for the bottle. 😥

#firstworldproblem right there 😉

The Bontrager Race Lite plastic cages work fine for me.
Cheap enough, and available in a range of colours. And seem to hold the bottles securely.

I find Taos very good, although I now use Mt Zoom ti on my MTB.

Bontrager Race Lite cages are by far the best I’ve used.

I’ve got two of these, bought one off Chain Reaction a while back just because it was cheap, and recently bought another for the other bike because it works well. Feels very sturdy, never feels like the bottle could fall out, even smashing down rocky descents. For £2.50, you can’t complain.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=4963

IME the cage you use depends on your bottle. I’ve used camelbak podiums with the elite custom race cage for lots of off-road miles (and lots of stacks!) with zero slippage

Either King or that Blackburn cage up there^^^.

Both work without fuss and seem to last forever.

I like the look and idea of those Vincero bottle and holders. I know the initial out lay is a bit high but replacement bottles ain’t to dear.

Elite Custom Race

never lost a bottle

Always liked the Blackburn myself.

thanks for your input everybody..

ok..

well what I reeeeeally wanted was one of the magnetic vincero designs jobbies.. very discreet and perfect for occasional use..

BUT, although the mag rated it, I’d rather wait until I see a few more real world long term reviews, I’m nervous of change and that just looks too modern, like magic or something.. and if it turned out less than perfect at that price I would shout at the kids and ignore the wife until xmas, so great would my bitter dissatisfaction be.. hmmm

So bearing in mind that I was almost.. almost, willing to shell out 30 odd quid on bottle and magic levitating cage thingybob, I have instead treated myself to one of Ngee20’s Mt Zoom ti cages which at a smidge over £20 seems like a bargain in comparison.. and the publicity blurb says that it’s good for years of abuse so how could I resist..?

I use a RSP (posh Raleigh) Ti one, got it for £15 off ebay, it’s the same as the mt-zoom. Nice and light, really grippy and you can bend the arms in or out to suit your needs/bottle

Buy a Tacx as you first thought. I find it perfect on the MTB with a Tacx bottle. They are about £6 on Ribble Cycles at the moment, super light, look better than a conventional cage in my opinion and just work without any fuss. Highly recommended. Or buy a King cage if you insist on spending more money 😀

I have two tesco ones on my winter road bike, two elite custom race on the summer road bike (REALLY solid clip) and an elite ciussi on the hardtail as it suits the look better than a plastic one:

Looks like I’m too late now you’ve bought one, but there’s a few recommendations here, http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-me-a-fast-flowing-bottle-and-a-secure-cage
I ended up getting Podium bottles and Rib Cages.

Elite Custom Race every time, have them on all bikes (road + MTB) and never lost a bottle, even in a crash.

Avoid the Spesh Rib Cages, unusually for Specialized they’re rubbish

I’m using two of these on my road bike at the moment… have been spot on so far with a variety of bottles:

Elite Pria Pave