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Rubber bands über alles (bottle launching solution)

In another thread, I posted my rubber band solution for tucking CO2, tire irons, and a tube under my saddle.  Recently, after a few fights with launched bottles (and it's always the FULL ones you lose, of course), I had one of those "doh!" moments and came up with another rubber band solution, which I illustrate below.

The disadvantage of this solution is that you have to stop to get the bottles out and re-mount the one you exchange in.  There is another way that i've done it, which is a little less secure, in which you tie the other end of the rubber band to the other side of the cage instead of wrapping it around the bottle.

It's probably not "cool" to use rubber bands on a full carbon frame, but cheap solutions to some things mean you can afford a few other things.  

William

 

 

 

Comments

  • ...............if it works then I'm all for some rubber bands on the bike - need black ones tho' William! :-)

    My last race was kinda interesting - the bike route went through the New Forest (here in England) which is national park - loads of cattle-grids to cross - never seen so many bottles strewn all over the place! It was tough negotiating the debris!
  • Yeah, I need black rubber bands and black zip ties, too! :-)

    I always take the back thingy off for races, but you gotta have it for those longer rides out by yourself!
  • On some Ironman coverage I saw Tereza Macel with something like this to hold her water bottles in.  She had the elastics near the top of the bottle(the part you drink from) and reached around on the fly to do/undo the elastic.  If you did it that way you probably would not have to stop.

  • Yes, I'm sure that's right about getting the bottle out on a race (who cares about the rubber band if you're racing Kona, right?). And empty ones are a lot less likely to fly out, so you could just put them in (or she may have discarded them!). I can see how to do it pretty easily using the nipple if you don't care about what happens to the rubber band [snap or fly off]. Makes sense!
  • William,

    I was having lots of problems launching bottles with similar cages on a rear mount - bottles would eject straight up and out with moderate bumps.  FWIW I stumbled across some specialized plastic cages and I figured they could not hurt.  See http://www.safetycycle.com/speciali...white.html  These are probably the best cages I've had, as they are easy to get bottles in and out of and have not launched one bottle yet on any road, and I ride on some tough roads.  Worth a look and might require less attention than the rubber bands.

    Dominic

  • Cool. If this doesn't work out in the long run, I will definitely give those a go. (Can't stand the thought of spending $75 or whatever on fancy-ass cages!)

    Thought more about what Wayne suggested, and I'm pretty sure I can put it up so the elastic is removable on the fly without flying off...and empty bottles are not a problem (at least for me). When I'm using one of these systems, it's for my 3rd and 4th bottles...so I'm exchanging them with empties from the bars and down tube, not using them repeatedly.
  • I'll post a pic on how my DH does the rubber bands. He's been doing it for years, but it's such an EN code violation, I did not dare even whisper about it. All I can say from riding with him, it is way better than having to go back and pick up the launched bottles. He loops the rubber bands simply, and takes bottles in and out on the fly.

  • What's worse is when you don't even notice that you've lost the bottle, which has happened to me 3-4 times!
  • I have had luck with regular bottle cages. the fancier the cages look, the worse they fare. Also I put the smaller bottles on the back (when possible), (16oz?) with the biggerones on the frame...
  • Yes that's true that smaller bottles launch less. I just wish my "regular" cages didn't launch. I'm not so lucky.
  • The XLAB carbon bling Gorilla cages on my race bike have NOT launched...yet! I have cheaper Profile Design cages on my road bike and have launched a couple of bottles but it has to be a hard hit.
  • Posted By Paul Hough on 09 Jun 2010 05:31 PM

    The XLAB carbon bling Gorilla cages on my race bike have NOT launched...yet! I have cheaper Profile Design cages on my road bike and have launched a couple of bottles but it has to be a hard hit.



    I've experienced the same success with Gorilla cages. Even when riding Stagecoach Road, and over the sets of railroad tracks coming out of Cross Plains.

  • My experience:

    • As P said, the cheaper cages work better - the only cages that really worked well for me were $5 from perfromance bike and metal.  I simply bent them in to be really really tight
    • Frozen bottles plus rough train tracks, pothole or bunny hop = launched bottle no matter how good the cage is
    • After i found cages that were good, instead of launching bottles, I almost lauched the whole thing last year and took it off after that
    • Two bottles plus other stuff is just a lot of weight to be bouncing around for hours and hours behind the saddle.

    Therefore, my new solution that works 100% of the time and is even cheaper then rubber bands.  Bottles go in cycling jersey pockets... all problems solved and it cost $0.

    If I am riding really long and there are no stops, I go two bottles in the jersey pockets, one on frame and one on the aerobars.

  • 2nd on the Gorilla cages. DO NOT LAUNCH!!

  • Like matt, I got the cheapo Performance metal ones. I think they were like $3.50 on sale. THe first time I used them, I hit a bump and it bent open. So, I took a zip tie and tied the 2 sides together (with a bottle in it) and made it really snug. Haven't had a dropped bottle since. I kind of have to wiggle them in, but they do go in and I can take them in/out while riding.
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