Side entry water bottle cages?

[Tokie]

Has anyone tried side entry water bottle cages? Any recommendations? I have a small frame, and have heard that they will make it easier to insert and remove my water bottles. Thanks! tokie

[crazycanuck]

I have one on my mtn bike & find it easier to use a hydration pack. Main reason is the bottle doesn't stay in & it's too hard to reach when paying attention to the trail! :o

I don't know why i've not removed it..:o :confused:

[alpinerabbit]

Have one on the mtb and find it iffy and it does seem the bottle slips out easily. It's from Elite if you care to know.

I had to settle for one "regular" cage only on my small road frame (would that be a center entry? center load?) - I would not want to send projectiles flying on a road ride.

[JaneE]

Hmmm...I'm also having an issue with fitting two water bottles on my (small) road frame. My LBS was going to order some side-loading cages for me but if they don't hang onto the bottles reliably then what's the point of them?

Maybe I'll just stick to two really small water bottles instead.

[Steph_in_TX]

I had to put one side loader on my newer road bike. I have been pleased with it. It's still holding tightly after almost two years.

http://www.arundelbike.com/sideloader.html?p=1.1.1.3

[Tokie]

Thanks Steph! I am looking for the cages for my road bike. The fellow who did my bike fit yesterday told me his side loading cages have been really great, but I forgot the brand. I e-mailed him last night, so maybe he'll get back to me before he goes to Interbike! By the way, I called Arundel about their "white" carbon water bottle cages - I've seen one at a bike store, and it looked so cool. They have been discontinued, too many of them broke during manufacture, making them too expensive to produce. They were very very cool looking. Tokie

[Zen]

My second cage is an add-on by TwoFish.
When the bottle in the regular cage gets empty I just switch it out.

[VeloVT]

I have a size x-small (49cm) road frame with very compact geometry. It does fit two cages, but I cannot fit older-style (narrow-mouth) 24 oz bottles on the frame. However, the new, super wide mouth 24 oz bottles will fit -- they are significantly shorter. I still don't have TONS of room to pull the bottles out (have to pull up and to the side immediately), but I've gotten used to that and can do it on the fly just fine.

I don't think I would like side-loading cages very much because I actually don't remove the bottles from the same side every time, and I think it would bug me not to have that flexibility.

FWIW, I have the Arundel carbon cages -- I think the model is called "Dave-O" -- and I like them very much.

If the picture is not too small, you can see in my avatar how tight the bottles are -- it looks pretty crowded, I think, but it works with the right bottles.

[Bluetree]

I highly recommend the Arundal side loaders. I have them on both of my small bikes (a 44cm and 42.5cm) and both work great. They are very "grippy" and there's no fear of bottles flying out.

Here's what they look like on a 44cm Ruby, one of the smallest production frames on the market. The Campy bottle I used in the pic is actually taller than standard 24 oz'ers, and I have been able to pull it in/out without any problems.
(There's no way I could do that with standard cages!)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2868328356_e0f9af7c26.jpg

If you're buying more than one, I recommend getting them from Sage Cycles (http://www.sagecycles.com/). You get 15% off, plus free shipping over $75. Be sure to get the Side Loader (http://www.sagecycles.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?page=sc/PROD/HN01/HN01ARSL01) + the Other Side Loader (http://www.sagecycles.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?page=sc/PROD/HN01/HN01ARSL04), if you are particular about left-handed and right-handed access.

[Zen]

Nashbar sells them for $5 plus shipping

[Skierchickie]

I have some Bontrager Sideswipe cages. Love 'em. I have never had a bottle fall out, and they are really easy to pull out and to put back in. I have 2 on my tourer and 1 on my mtb. It's still a tight squeeze on the mtb, so I use my Camelback, and use the bottle for my dog's water, since we have to stop to fill her bowl anyway. I'd crash trying to get any bottle out of any cage while riding singletrack on that bike. I had one on my road bike, but my new bike came with such a pretty white cage that goes so nicely on my pretty white & electric blue bike, I haven't been able to put the silver cage on it.

I originally had my lbs order one, to try it out, then got another, and then saw my lbs had 2 last spring, ......

[Tokie]

Bluetree - thanks for the link to Sage, that 's a pretty good deal...15% off for first time customers, I wonder what else I need! I am a water bottle klutz, so it's good to hear that the sideloaders are user friendly. I hope to check out the LBS after work tomorrow! Tokie