# Water Bottle - Anything Cages



## gmats (Apr 15, 2005)

OK. I did a quick search and read a few reviews. However, I wanted to find out what people think and are doing regarding carrying extra gear and water etc.

Here are the cages of interest:

https://salsacycles.com/components/category/accessories/anything_cage_hd

https://salsacycles.com/components/category/racks/anything_cage

https://www.blackburndesign.com/cages/outpost-cargo-cage.html

The idea is to bracket/hose clamp to the fork stancions.

Photos and reports of whether or not this works or there are headaches associated to doing this?

I'm interested in using a set up like this to do some simple bike packing. I've yet to test a set up so any info and insight will be very helpful.

Thanks,
g


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## c_kyle (Sep 2, 2005)

I've used the King manything cages with Vole straps and it's OK. I find, for me, the most useful thing to carry on the fork legs are an additional water bottle. I hose clamp the Salsa Stainless cages on the suspension fork legs. These cages are the most secure cages I've ever used and they have slots specifically for hose clamps. Add a loop of shock cord to the top of the cage and slip it around the bottle, and it's never coming out of the cage accidentally. 

I'm going to try something slightly different in the next few days. I've ordered a Wolftooth B-Rad 3 for each fork leg and am going to use Gorilla mounting tape and zip ties to mount to the fork legs. I think that will be strong enough for a water bottle as well as an anything cage with 1-2lbs of gear max.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I have one of those Blackburn cargo cages that I occasionally use to carry a stainless growler.


20160711_193510 by Nate, on Flickr

Would probably benefit from a b-rad to shift it up in this arrangement in the future, but I took this pic before that product came out, and haven't used it to carry my growler in quite some time (NC growler sanitation laws have really tamped down my growler fills since I moved).

I probably wouldn't trust hose clamps at the upper limit of any cargo cage's capacity, honestly.


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

Extra gear and water goes in my front roll, pocket, frame bag, seat bag or backpack. I don't like cargo on my fork and would not consider it for anything more than dirt road touring. And at that point I'd rather use panniers. If I need more capacity I use a larger seat bag, front drybag or backpack.


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## Rob_E (Nov 22, 2010)

Not 100% sure what you're asking. Are you specifically looking to carry water? In standard water bottles? If so, there are probably some better options.

But I have used both of those Salsa cages, and they work fine. I don't carry regular water bottles in them, usually. I do carry a growler from time to time, but usually around town, not as part of my bikepacking load. When bikepacking, I have used the Anything cages to hold my quilts, and sometimes other gear that didn't fit anywhere else. 

Fortunately my bike has the necessary triple braze-ons on each fork and in the frame triangle. I use Anything Cages on the fork legs (when necessary) when bikepacking, and the rest of the time I keep one (the plastic, HD cage) on the frame when the bike is in commuting mode. Works great for some things: Growler, gallon of milk, maybe a rain jacket I want to keep handy. For a standard water bottle, I'm better off using my normal, bottle cage.

I like the Anything cages when I need them, but they are the first thing to go when I pare down my gear. Generally, if I have to carry my cold weather gear, and/or if I am not able to use my rear rack, I use Anything cages on the fork. Otherwise I don't bother with them. It's fair amount of fiddling for not that much extra storage, but if you need the extra storage, it's worth the fiddling.


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## gmats (Apr 15, 2005)

Hi All, 

Thank you so much for your input. 

I have a Turner Czar so places to put stuff is limited. The seat bag option kind of goes out of the picture because at full suspension travel the tire will hit the bag. I know this already. The frame has limited space. There is room for one bottle in the frame one at the bottom of the down tube. I can strap things to the handlebar and the only other spot I have is the fork legs and a rack to the chainstays. I will get pictures of this some time soon. 

So again, the intention of these cages are gear and/or water as needed. Appreciate your guys' input. 

Aloha,
g


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

gmats said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Thank you so much for your input.
> 
> ...


Hey, g, have you tried a small seat bag and possibly some well-placed compression straps around the seat rails? Even a tiny bag helps.

The Czar triangle is open enough to make a custom bag worth getting. I would nix the frame bottles and use soft packs and Platypus water storage. You can't believe where water can fit when it's a pliable shape. I can get two 2.5-liter Platys in my front roll pocket when needed. You can still mount a bottle cage somewhere for drinking.

Center fore/aft and side/side is where I prefer cargo, try to avoid moving parts. I consider a backpack essential for overflow, especially on rough trails. One large enough to that it's almost never full so you can actually get stuff out of it or stash a sammy or pizza in it without it being hopelessly crushed.

$.02...


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## gmats (Apr 15, 2005)

Aloha She&I. 

Great info. 

I do have a "small" seat bag but it's only for the spare tube and mini-tool. Even with that small bag, if I lower the saddle any and I have full compression of the suspension the tire will rub. It's the problem of having a medium framed bike and being on the shorter side so I can't raise the saddle more. 

Great idea on the frame pack and Platypus water storage. 

And yes, that is what I am trying to do. Distribute the weight more evenly and lower.


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## H0WL (Jan 17, 2007)

The handle-bar mounted Revelate Mountain Feed Bag is the exact right size for a full-sized Nalgene bottle or large bike water bottle. One on each side of the handle bar and you're set to jet.

MOUNTAIN FEEDBAG


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## HOser (Dec 8, 2005)

My take on this, based on several years experience and from stealing ideas from others, is that carrying water on the legs of a suspension forks just plain sucks. It gives you a big increase in unsprung mass and your fork will perform poorly and take the fun out of your ride, and even put you in danger on steep, rocky downhills.

When I bikepack on my FS bike I carry water in a pack for three reasons:

If you're riding a FS bike, you're probably on difficult terrain where you'll be pushing/lifting the bike, so a lighter bike makes sense at the cost of more weight on your back and butt.
Unlike a hard tail, there's just not enough room in the frame bag for an FS bike to carry a water bladder.
Drinking water on the go that's in a bottle or bladder on the bike is hard when riding rocky trails, but sipping from a tube hanging over your shoulder is easy. You're less likely to fall behind on hydration.
This shows my FS setup, albeit on very non-techincal terrain . There's a custom frame bag behind my leg, no way I could fit a bladder in there even if I wanted to:








Now when I bikepack on my fully-rigid hardtail bike, it's totally different:

There's room for a 100 oz bladder in my frame bag which for most rides is enough.
If I'm riding the hardtail I'm on calmer terrain and drinking from a bladder in my frame bag is feasible (I clip the tube to the shifter cable on my handlebar). Also I'm unlikely to be pushing the bike so putting as much weight as possible on the bike makes sense (and carrying no pack at all when possible).
On the rare occasion I need more than 100 oz capacity, I commit to riding the hardtail and add on Salsa Anything cages and Nalgene bottles to my rigid fork legs and get a total of 200 oz capacity. I did just this back in April when I tackled the Kokopelli trail self-supported followed by the White Rim starting/ending in Moab, where water resupply options are thin.

Here's my hardtail setup with the 200 oz water capacity that I used on the White Rim, 100 in the frame bag and 100 on the fork. Normally I wouldn't have the water on the fork or the pack, but I needed both for extra water and food for this trip:








You say you can't fit a seat bag on your Czar, man that stinks. I settled on a Yeti ASRc after demoing one and confirming it could carry a seat bag without touching the tire (just barely).


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## dRjOn (Feb 18, 2004)

if it helps, i'm about finished prototyping and testing a more minimal approach....

































designed to fit voile straps and water bottle bosses - these will hold a reasoably bulky item if it is not too heavy and certainly a large water bottle with no issue. they weigh 30g and the straps vary but add around 40g more. my feeling is water bottle bosses shouldnt be overloaded - its just 2 M5 bolts afterall! but its a versatile approach..

they will be available soon, see the bit.ly link when they are available. they're slick enough to be unobtrusive when the straps are removed. slainte!


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## bikeny (Feb 26, 2004)

That's an interesting products for sure, but doesn't really help the OP, who is looking to add storage capacity to his suspension fork legs. Maybe you could add 4 thin slots to allow mounting with hose clamps?


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## dRjOn (Feb 18, 2004)

I'm going to be trying to mount them using revelate's tacky protective tape, with the voile straps around the back of the fork/frame tube in order to see if it will stay put. my gut feeling is it might be a big ask. i'm not a huge fan of hose clamps myself, but fair point!

in my experience forks are not great places to load weight. its much better in the frame triangle or under the down tube. but if you are trying to load more water on a bike, you still need to get the bulky insulated items and shelter somewhere - and I think that light/bulky stuff is much better the further you get away from the centre of the bike. 

as for not helping the OP - true, his initial thought was to put water on the fork legs, but if he *was* to consider other options, knowing *what* options are out there is good! ~

the whole reason I designed these was because I have various bikes I've strapped stuff too, including one with mounts on the fork. its ok, but ive moved to water in the frame bag and under the downtube - shelter and or sleeping bag on the fork if needed.


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## bikeny (Feb 26, 2004)

dRjOn said:


> I'm going to be trying to mount them using revelate's tacky protective tape, with the voile straps around the back of the fork/frame tube in order to see if it will stay put. my gut feeling is it might be a big ask. i'm not a huge fan of hose clamps myself, but fair point!
> 
> in my experience forks are not great places to load weight. its much better in the frame triangle or under the down tube. but if you are trying to load more water on a bike, you still need to get the bulky insulated items and shelter somewhere - and I think that light/bulky stuff is much better the further you get away from the centre of the bike.
> 
> ...


Agree on all of your points! On my last trip, I too had my sleeping bag on one leg and tent on the other. But this was on a rigid Jones fork using his old style roll top fork bags, which I really like. With this setup I didn't need a bar roll which was nice. I haven't decided yet which is better, a bar roll or 2 fork bags. I probably depends on the trip and terrain. I always have a big bottle under the downtube, a bottle or 2 in feedbags, and then add water elsewhere if needed. On a fork with bosses, something like the Oveja Negra Bootlegger would work well, although you can probably only fit a summer bag in one of those.

I also hate riding with a backpack, so I do everything possible to avoid it. I'm always riding a rigid or hardtail, so have a full framebag and a decent size seatbag which helps. If you ride a FS with dropper, your options are much more limited!


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## c_kyle (Sep 2, 2005)

c_kyle said:


> I've used the King manything cages with Vole straps and it's OK. I find, for me, the most useful thing to carry on the fork legs are an additional water bottle. I hose clamp the Salsa Stainless cages on the suspension fork legs. These cages are the most secure cages I've ever used and they have slots specifically for hose clamps. Add a loop of shock cord to the top of the cage and slip it around the bottle, and it's never coming out of the cage accidentally.
> 
> I'm going to try something slightly different in the next few days. I've ordered a Wolftooth B-Rad 3 for each fork leg and am going to use Gorilla mounting tape and zip ties to mount to the fork legs. I think that will be strong enough for a water bottle as well as an anything cage with 1-2lbs of gear max.


Some feedback on this little project: just use hose clamps, lol. My bike was packed into a truck with a bunch of other bikes and one of the cages was knocked loose. As soon as the race started, I had to go straight to a hardware store and buy hose clamps to fix it.


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