HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT BOTTLE CAGE?

In a variety of shapes and for a variety of uses, bottle cages have been with cyclists for decades. They are often the first purchase after the bicycle, and have evolved considerably to the point where they have become real technological equipment in terms of shape, efficiency and, above all, lightness. But how do you make sense of the multitude of choices available to you? Whether you're looking for aesthetics or efficiency, discover this guide on how to choose the right bottle cage!

Straight bottle cages

Let's start with the most classic bottle cages, the ones most commonly found on the market and suitable for most bicycle geometries. These bottle cages are often made from materials such as aluminum or plastic, and sometimes carbon fiber for the top-of-the-range bottle cages.

Zéfal offers several bottle cages in this range. The Alu Plast 124 and Pulse Full Alu are aluminum bottle cages suitable for occasional cyclists. Simple and effective, these bottle cages will hold your bottles in place on different routes, whatever your type of bike. And if you're a vintage enthusiast, you'll love our Vintage steel bottle cage with its brown leather finish!

Let's move up a range with bottle cages featuring more sophisticated geometry and materials. If the Pulse A2 will suit you thanks to its lightness (lighter than most carbon bottle-holders!) and its rubber membrane for better bike support, you'll like the Pulse B2 thanks to its bi-material construction, which provides both good rigidity while ensuring good bottle support, and a certain suppleness for ease of use! This bottle cage has the advantage of being available in a wide range of colors, making it aesthetically pleasing and blending in well with the frame.

Finally, let's talk about the Pulse L2. This ultra-light bottle cage weighs just 18g! It's Zéfal's carbon-fiber bottle cage that will hold any water bottle no matter what terrain you're riding on, while allowing easy insertion and removal of the bottle thanks to its minimalist design. In fact, it's the bottle cage used by the Lapierre Mavic Unity team, and other teams, on a daily basis and on mountain bike World Cup races!

Side-entry bottle cages

If you have a small, enduro or eBike frame, installing a bottle cage may be more complicated. In this case, you'll need to invest in a side-entry bottle cage. These bottle cages allow you to insert and remove your water bottle from the side, avoiding the frame! By the way, these bottle cages are also often used on bike trips to save space with frame bags. For more information, follow our article on how to store your bikepacking equipment.

The Pulse Z2, for example, is the perfect bottle cage for this type of use. In addition to its side entry, it's also reversible, so you can position it on either the right or the left, depending on your preferences or your equipment on the bike!

The Pulse Z2i is also available with a double accessory holder to save space. These two bottle cages are particularly popular with mountain bikers, gravel bikers and bikepackers, and work particularly well as a second bottle cage on the seat tube.

For triathletes, the Pulse Z2 is also available in the form of the Tri Bottle Cage, which comes under the saddle and offers two new easy-access bottle cages!

Other solutions for transporting beverages

A number of solutions other than the classic bottle cage are possible on a bicycle, and here are a few examples. The first is the Z Adventure Cage. Considered more as a classic water bottle holder, this solution makes it possible to carry large quantities of beverages such as bottles, large thermos flasks or large-diameter rigid bottles. It's a favorite among long-distance cyclists and bikepackers. And thanks to its strap, it keeps your water bottle in place. It can also be mounted on your front fork if you're equipped with threaded studs.

Another solution is the Gizmo, a universal bottle cage mounting system. This product allows those who don't have bottle cage mounts on their frame to add them, or if they do, to add more. These mounts can be mounted in various places on the bike, such as the top tube, diagonal, seatpost or even the fork.

Finally, a product like the Bottle Cage Mount includes a universal mount and a Pulse B2 bottle cage. This makes mounting a bottle cage on your stem or seatpost quick and easy, as the mount is already pre-mounted!

So there are plenty of options when it comes to equipping your bike with bottle cages, in terms of size, shape and function. Now it's up to you to choose! And if you need help choosing the right bottle cage, here's a guide just for you!