PSA: keep your bottles out of your spokes

[yarbsr02]

Was JRA today (actually little bunny hop at a rough wood bridge) on my road bike when the bottle from the seat tube cage ejected up and to the left, that foot was back and guided the bottle into my rear spokes (shamal ultra). Spoke pinched the bottle against the NDS chainstay, locking up the wheel. No crash for me or the dude right behind me. Cut the bottle, so poured that drink into my emptier bottle, opened my brake caliper, and listened to my tire gently rub my frame the 20 miles back home. Bottle cage was a steel King. The problem (I believe) was the bottle, one of those very flexible The Feed freebies that I thought I loved until today. I'm convinced they are much less secure than a more rigid plastic bottle.

NDS spoke in my wheel was bent but not horribly, and the rim/tire actually deflected away from the bent wheel (probably 5mm out of true). Tightened it back up on the truing stand and it's plenty good, maybe 1mm runout, no significant vertical issue. Would you trust those shamal aluminum spokes after that? It's NDS so less tension, figure I'd give it a few rides and re-evaluate. I think I randomly have a replacement spoke if I end up needing it.

PSA: So if you're gonna use those softer bottles, give your bottle cage a little extra squeeze before heading out. Coulda been much worse.

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by yarbsr02

Was JRA today (actually little bunny hop at a rough wood bridge) on my road bike when the bottle from the seat tube cage ejected up and to the left, that foot was back and guided the bottle into my rear spokes (shamal ultra). Spoke pinched the bottle against the NDS chainstay, locking up the wheel. No crash for me or the dude right behind me. Cut the bottle, so poured that drink into my emptier bottle, opened my brake caliper, and listened to my tire gently rub my frame the 20 miles back home. Bottle cage was a steel King. The problem (I believe) was the bottle, one of those very flexible The Feed freebies that I thought I loved until today. I'm convinced they are much less secure than a more rigid plastic bottle.

NDS spoke in my wheel was bent but not horribly, and the rim/tire actually deflected away from the bent wheel (probably 5mm out of true). Tightened it back up on the truing stand and it's plenty good, maybe 1mm runout, no significant vertical issue. Would you trust those shamal aluminum spokes after that? It's NDS so less tension, figure I'd give it a few rides and re-evaluate. I think I randomly have a replacement spoke if I end up needing it.

PSA: So if you're gonna use those softer bottles, give your bottle cage a little extra squeeze before heading out. Coulda been much worse.

My most violent crash happened in the same way when I wound up sliding towards a Suburban literally on my ass. I will never use a wheel with widely spaced spokes after that. Stopped me dead.

[rccardr]

Got one of those softy Feed bottles for Mrs. Doc recently (she has physical problems with squeezing) and thought it would have a hard time staying in a bottle cage on a rough road.

[C40_guy]

My stainless bottles fit pretty darn tight in my Tacx holders, and the soft squeezy bottle goes in my pocket.

[Likes2ridefar]

Eliminate the risk. A good bottle cage should never eject a bottle, imo, in any conditions.

I’ve never dropped a bottle on my road, gravel, or full suspension mtb riding all sorts of terrain using Arundel Mandible and DTR STR cages. I’m sure there are others.

[schvezon]

Use king cages exclusively and this has never been a problem. In fact, removing my purist bottles from the cage has aggravated my wrist and thumb injuries occasionally. Those Feed bottles are thin and deflect quite a bit.

[yarbsr02]

This was a King cage, and I have had an excellent experience with them, have steel or ti version on every bike. I believe the soft water bottle was to blame, even though it seemed to "click in" reassuringly. Also, I incorrectly thought if it was full it wouldn't compress as much (And if empty not enough weight to go anywhere). Done with those bottles...live and learn.

[old fat man]

I'm impressed by people using King cages on rough surfaces. I've never found them to be as reliable as the Arundel Mandible style cages. I'd much rather have a hard time getting my bottle in/out of the cage than risk having it eject on its own.

[DRietz]

Originally Posted by old fat man

I'm impressed by people using King cages on rough surfaces. I've never found them to be as reliable as the Arundel Mandible style cages. I'd much rather have a hard time getting my bottle in/out of the cage than risk having it eject on its own.

I've never had a bottle come out of a King Cage. I have heard plenty of people gripe about them being too tight. Luckily, they're "adjustable."

[nickl]

Back in the day some World Tour and pro teams used mountain bike or other more robust cages. Example, Blackburn sponsored 7-11, Motorola didn’t equip their bikes with standard road cages but used a heavier version instead.

[benb]

I have also had better luck with Carbon or even the nylon plastic on the cheaper bikes. I switched about 10 years ago. I don’t think I’ve had a bottle eject since I last had a metal cage.

This is definitely a freak occurrence though. Maybe a stiffer bottle would have just bounced off the wheel. All my ejections in the past just resulted in the bottle skipping over the road or me running the bottle over with my back tire.