Adding an extra water bottle cage to a bike?
 

Vintage bikes typically either have no braze ons and rely on clamps for a water bottle cage or have braze ons for one water bottle cage. A second cage is a big deal on a long ride. I'm curious how some of you have added extra water bottle cages.

The most straightforward (and very old school) is to add water bottle cages to the handlebars. This elite "eroica" handlebar cage looks cool but some of the reviewers don't think it works that well

https://www.amazon.com/Elite-0156001...language=en_US

Also bike packers (light weight offroad touring) have some pretty good solutions as well.

Here is a webpage showing some of those solutions:

https://bikepacking.com/index/add-cage-mounts-bike/

I like the idea of a bag that can hold a 32 ounce Nalgene bottle and attaches underneath the downtube. Other possibilities include fork mounted bags and water bottle mounts for the saddle.

Obviously the easiest solution is a hydration bag but I'm looking for other options. So what have you used to add extra water bottle cages to your old bike and how well has that worked?

My oldest Trek has no bosses. Went with the clamp on adapters from Velo Orange. I’m too thirsty of a person to not have water.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5008d4e09.jpeg

Almost done building a bike which will see long miles, and occasional camping. It’s a mid 70’s frame with one set of braze ons for a cage like you mentioned. Downtube of course.

So, this question has been on my mind as well. My thought so far has been to fit the largest bottle I can in the cage, and to carry two extra ~16oz bottles, one in each front pannier.

Looking forward to checking those links out, and to read the comments here to find out what others are doing to meet their hydration needs on the road.

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@natterberry gorgeous Trek btw :thumb:

Beautiful bike but that's only 1 water bottle cage. I'm interested in how to add a 2d cage. You could add a cage to the seat tube but that's less than ideal in some ways as you lose a great place for the pump.

What get me thinking about this is that I've been riding my early 70s Fuji Finest a fair bit and I'd like to do some longer events with it. Like your bike, I have one water bottle cage on the downtube and I run my pump on the seat tube.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...410524e0c4.jpg

Use the same VO clamps and mount under the front tube.

Or ride vintage and then drink vintage, people were not constantly hydrating with camel packs and sports drinks and some how managed to survive but with one (on none) water bottles.

A pair of DMR Hinged Clamps. Rock solid.

http://www.wigglestatic.com/product-...=430&h=430&a=7
https://i.imgur.com/3mkbzuHl.jpg

Adding bags to a pannier is definitely a great way to add more water capacity but I'd go bigger than 16 ounces. Why not use a 32 ounce Nalgene or something similar? If running a large enough saddle bag (say a Carradice for example), an extra Nalgene could go there. With a one liter zefal water bottle on the downtube, you're talking about 64 ounces and that's pretty decent.

I'd rather not lose the seat tube for my pump but good to know those are rock solid. Most of the old school clamps for water bottle cages are not that solid. I may get one of these for my down tube just for that reason, :thumb:

I remember those days well. I managed to do a lot of rides in hot muggy weather (I grew up and did a lot of riding in southern Louisiana) with one 16 ounce bottle on the downtube and another in my jersey pocket. I love C&V bikes but I'm ready to move on to "modern" ideas when it comes to hydration, :)

Yeah the DMR clamps referenced earlier might be perfect for mounting a second water bottle under the down tube. They're on wiggle but not Amazon US.

This page has been around awhile and some options may no longer be available

Adding Water Bottle Cages to Bicycles without Braze

Right. Same goal. I had no cages, and needed to add one. More showing how I added a mount.

I have the same issue with the Superior. I'm doing a century (tomorrow!) and definitely need two bottles. I'm not crazy about bar mount bottles and I use the seat tube for mounting a pump, so I was able to find an option that mounts to the seatpost. This works in my situation because my fit has a lot of post to work with. Might work with less post if you use a regular bottle.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fd4f3443_k.jpg

The bottle tucks in nice under the saddle and doesn't interfere with my pedal stoke or the brake cables. I can't tell it's there. The construction is all aluminum and seems sturdy enough. $8 shipped.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8bd17919_k.jpg

I was considering a dual cage set up, but it's pricey and doesn't look well made.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....bL._SX466_.jpg

Unless you had some custom super fancy frame, all water bottles were attached with straps until the end of the 70s. Almost all water bottle cages were TA. The straps to hold them on came with them, and were once a ubiquitous bike shop item. VO is the only place that still sells them. FWIW that's the historically correct way to do it. The standard move if adding a second cage was to put it on the seat tube. The frame pump then was moved to the top tube, or sometimes behind the seat tube if there was room. Top tube pump location requires a pip or umbrella clip, and a velcro strap for safety.

Anyhow, BITD, that's what I would do on a really hot day. Strap on a second bottle to the seat tube. Move the pump.

Moving to the modern day, most bottle cages won't even work with the old style straps. If working with a vintage bike, King sells those modded band clamps that should do the trick. I think the seat tube is still the best place for a second bottle. Handlebar cages are a viable option. Weight on the bars does slightly effect handling. If you've got a handlebar bag anyway, you could put a bottle in there. My modern classic bikes have dual cage braze ons. DT and ST. For camping, I'll take a couple Nalgene 32oz bottles and stuff 'em into my panniers. FWIW they fit into the pocket of Carradice Kendals. There's also those modern bladder things. Probably a good idea.

Which reminds me, when touring circa the early to mid 80s, standard configuration for me at least was: downtube tube bottle, seat tube bottle (w straps), and a bota bag for extra water. Yep, good old bota bags. Flexible hydration reservoir long before their time...

i have those clamps on the seat tube of my International. They are rock solid. However, keep in mind that on the downtube, the hinge and closure get in the way of the shifter cables.
DAMHIK :(

Sometimes the pump can be positioned between the rear q/r lever (pointed toward the saddle) and the seat cluster. That’s what I do on my Ross (which has cage mounting points on both dt and st) and never a problem. I did have to notch the fender a bit for clearance.

Your're talking about these from King, right?

https://www.benscycle.com/King-Cage-Universal-Support-Bolt/Water_Bottle_Cage_Hardware_KingCage_SupportBolt_584/Product?ad_id=MAgoogle&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqs3rBRCdARIsADe1pfTLoPAgIT1DgsopxmDqVYizeJHWwaaFuiOU0CNIOIPnWvO Qh9zGglEaArzsEALw_wcB

These are very clever but pricey at $6 each. They look very solid. They look like a modded hose clamp and they do look like they'll hold a water bottle cage securely. I would trust these under the down tube or on the seat tube.

I agree by the way. The combo of a modern water bottle cage with the old school clamps is often not a solid one which is why I started this thread.

VO clamps are a heck of a lot cheaper at $3 for a pair but the VO site says they do not work with VO water bottle cages. Huh? :wtf:

That's too bad because I like VO cages and I'm running one on my Fuji with an old school clamp. It is working but it was a pain to get on and the clamps are not holding as well as they might.

https://velo-orange.com/products/bottle-cage-clamp

I wouldn't put those King Cage hose clamps on anything but a gas pipe beater. I am going to a set of those hinged clamps mentioned above ;)

:roflmao:

I added a second cage with a Zefal Gizmo kit (available from Amazon, like just about everything), and switched to a Lezyne Road Drive pump (largest size) with it’s clamp secured under the original DT bottle cage. Black tape under the Gizmo straps to protect the nice black Miyata finish on the ST. Very happy with both for years, and I’ve used that pump for several road side flat fixes with no complaints. BTW, the available Lezyne pressure gauge, which replaces the normal hose for this pump, works quite well.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Bicycles/...20125538-L.jpg

There are those fantastic Rivnuts that are great for adding a second (or third) water bottle location to a bicycle. All you need to do is carefully drill two holes the size the Rivnuts are, insert the Rivnut into the hole and the tighten the Rivnut with a (usually M5) long bolt with a nut on it. The bolt is threaded into the Rivnut so that the bolt extends beyond the Rivnut in the frame and then the nut on the bolt is tightened against the Rivnut and crushes it inside the frame in a manner very similar to how a Pop-Rivet works. I thread the bolt onto the Rivnut BEFORE pushing the Rivnut into the hole. I've used Rivnuts on a number of bicycle frames and find them very secure. Whats great about Rivnuts is that they are flush against the frame when installed and they look a lot like a brazed-on bottle mount.

Cheers

Looks like a very clean job. Is that attached with zip ties? It's good to know it doesn't move on you. I have a pump mount for a topeak pump that attaches with zip ties; great pump but the mount does move around.

I use a couple of Minoura handle mounts, both singles and at least one double.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...cf&oe=5DC7D730

http://www.minoura.jp/products/acces...60/bh-60-m.jpg
I have some Bell Sports mounts like this but they are not the best.

https://images.amain.com/images/larg...00._bh-95x.jpg

I have one of these Zefal sets somewhere. They work OK but the rubber shims I used under them left marks on my frame after a year or so.

https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/fi...?itok=uD9miHGg

Here is one of the inexpensive Bell mounts in action

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...ac&oe=5DF3617D

Wolftooth makes a side by side adaptor, but it's rather spendy.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fca9664dca.jpg

Those aren’t exactly zip-ties (and I had the same problem trying to use a zip-tie as a pump peg). The Zefal Gizmo straps are part of the kit, and are tightened quite securely as the bottle cage screws are tightened.
@Bianchigirll’s last photo above is just like mine. Read the first review to get a better idea how to use it.

https://www.amazon.com/Zefal-Gizmo-B...ustomerReviews

And I see that there’s an updated version that uses two straps/screw:

https://www.amazon.com/Zefal-Gizmo-I...ustomerReviews

In addition to that Zefal, there are plastic type mounts from topeak and SKS that look pretty good as well. The SKS comes with a cage:

https://www.amazon.com/SKS-Germany-1...g%2C156&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Topeak-Versa-...0GFJ37ZSVXWNW6

And here's a review of the topeak:

https://road.cc/content/review/243199-topeak-versamount