Carbon bottles cages are usually seen as gimmicky, overpriced, fragile, and for the weight weenies. Before using the HydroCarbon cages, I couldn't have agreed more. Why would I want to spend a ton of money for a few grams on something that I count on supplying me with water? Worse yet, why would I want to risk the potential of dropping a heavy bottle onto my chain drive and suffer an expensive mechanical?
Well I have used the BikeSmart HydroCarbon 4 Carbon cages for two seasons now and have yet to break a cage or launch a bottle. This includes hauling full 24oz bidons for two and half weeks over the cobbles streets of Belgium. During the Kermis races, full bottles slid across the course as the bumpy pave ejected riders bottles into the peloton but my Cliff bottles stayed snug and secure in my cages.
Now one might think, sure I bet your bottles stayed in your cages but I bet they take the jaws of life to pull one out for a drink. Actually the the carbon fiber material provides the perfect amount of flex allowing you to remove and replace your bottle with ease.
One of my favorite subtleties of the cages is the mounting slots for the bottle cage bolts on your bike. If you take extra precaution when packing your bike for travel and like to remove your cages, or trying to shed that extra gram in a Hill Climb or bit of drag in a Time Trial, these cages are a breeze to remove and install. Instead of having to completely unthread and remove the bottle cage bolt from the frame, you merely have to loosen it to slide the cage up and pop em off with ease.
Best part about these cages? BikeSmart has so much faith in their product and such dedication to improving them that they offer a no questions asked lifetime warranty on all their products! So lets say you for some reason got a bad cage and it cracks a year later, you simply walk into a BikeSmart vendor (Mike's Bikes for example) and swap it for a new one. No receipt, no problem.
Weighing in at less than 20 grams, the BikeSmart HydroCarbon 4 Carbon Fiber Bottle Cages cost $44.99 in Black and $54.99 in painted White. Not a bad price for the last bottle cage you will have to buy.
Visit mikesbikes.com or drop into your local Mike's to pick some up.
-Hank
