I've lost of my bottle cage bosses (bolt got stuck, needed drilling out, damaged the insert) and the LBS initially suggested it'd be a 2 min job that they could do whilst I waited. However when I went in they (different guy) said it'd need booking in. Now, in typical fashion, I've decided I need both bottle cages for next weekend, so besides arguing with them or trying a different LBS, what option do I have?
Order some on ebay and try and install myself with a bolt? Someone want to lend me a tool (South Wales/Farnborough)
Assume only one insert damaged? Use the other one and a zip tie for the weekend then get it sorted when you have more time?
Si
I've fitted larger ones (M8) on the car using a nut & bolt and it was a bit hit & miss. Given the much thinner metal on a bike frame I think I'd want the right tool for the job.
It's a really easy quick job. There's a simple method described online if you google it. Yoo don't need the tool.
Or Hlfords do a Elite bottle cage mount for £3:
Assume only one insert damaged? Use the other one and a zip tie for the weekend then get it sorted when you have more time?
Hmm, not a bad idea.. how could I forget the zip tie?
If zip-tying, use a bit of old innertube cut up to give the tie something to grip, or it might spin round. Will protect the frame from scratches too. That Haldords thing is very effective.
Yeah I was thinking of sticking some kind of rubber grommet in the hole and pushing a bolt in to stop it rotating.
Halfords thing looks too short for my large box section carbon dowbtube..
You can get a rivnut gun on ebay for £8 IIRC - I think that's what mine cost at least - not obviously going to be top quality but for a small number of uses, a useful tool to have. I've repaired two bikes now which works out at about a fiver each so far (£2 for a pack of rivnuts on ebay).
hmm.. tempting, if I can get it by Friday...
Jubilee clip will be more secure than a zip-tie if you end up with the temporary bodge.
A couple of zip ties will be fine. A old frame of mine had wobbly rivnuts and I used it with a single zip tie for about 2 years.
I've got one attached to the outriger tube on the back of my dinghy, a 6" bit of 5mm rope (i.e. just enough to cover both holes) up the middle of the bottle cage, a zip tie arroud the tube, a loop through the hole in the cage and the rope through the loop. Once the zip ties tight it's never moved.