Carbon Cages

Ok, lets get this out of the way, I used to have one, a long time ago, lost a bottle first ride, attached some rubber bits to the inside, couldn't get a bottle easily in, but it now weighed the same as an aluminium one.

So what's the point in carbon cages?

Riders seem to think they need a carbon cage, lets look at the facts, a 500ml bottle of water weighs 500g (just over 1lb if you're an old fella, in fact if you still use feet, inches and lb's you've probably never heard of carbon fibre, you're fine with your steel bottle cages). A carbon cage weighs something in the region of 30g, an aluminium one about 50g, but an aluminium cage has one huge advantage, it can be made to fit your bottle, it bends to shape and has some elasticity to allow it to grip the bottle. Aluminium bottles, £5, carbon bottles £25 upwards, for a product not fit for purpose.

In every race I've done this year I've noticed riders losing bottles on the first bit of bumpy tarmac, something you're certain to hit in a Scottish race. The ones who lose their bottle are all carbon cage posers, sometimes the bling boys have to take a good look at themselves and face the fact that for some things carbon isn't the best material, this is the case for bottle cages, they're a danger to others too, bottles flying about the bunch isn't particularly nice.

So the smart riders will ditch their cages, sell them to your nearest unsuspecting gringo or sportive rider, who cares more about bling than fuctionality. Carbon cages are not something for anybody looking for performance, you won't go well if you're not hydrated, plus you look a bit silly losing a bottle because you're a poser, you'd be as well swapping your helmet for a tiara, like a carbon cage, a tiara won't do the job and is overly expensive.