Best Bike Water Bottle Holders of 2024
Water bottle cages for road bikes, MTB, bikepacking, and commuting for mounting on all sizes of bikes with all sizes of bottles
March 6, 2024
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A bike water bottle holder is perhaps the humblest accessory for your bike. But every cyclist needs to carry water, so choosing the right bottle cage is important. There are many bottle cages out there, and most are pretty good.
You don’t have to spend much to get a standard bottle cage that effectively carries a water bottle on your bike. But over decades of riding our bikes, we’ve found that some cages are more durable, hold a bottle more securely, or hold larger water bottles. We think these better bottle cages are worth spending a little more on. Our goal is to help you find possibly the last water bottle cage you need to purchase.
Our main water bottle tester and the author of this review, Sam, has ridden a bicycle across the United States, bikepacked all over the American Southwest, and spent years commuting by bike. He has also worked as a bike mechanic for ten years. He’s used countless water bottle cages on his bikes and installed hundreds on other people’s bikes. He’s seen what cages last and which don’t. He’s seen which ones hold a bottle securely and which eject it when riding offroad.
Whether you’re looking for a bike water bottle holder for cruising around, bottle cages for your gravel bike, an oversized cage for bikepacking adventures, or something to carry coffee on your bike to work, we found something that will suit your needs.
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Comparison table
| BOTTLE CAGE | TREELINE AWARD | MATERIAL | WEIGHT | COLORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silca Sucuro | Best overall Read review |
Titanium | 30 g | titanium |
| Bontrager Bat Cage | Best affordable Read review |
recycled plastic | 48 g | black |
| TwoFish Quick Cage | Best for bikes without mounts Read review |
stainless steel | 122 g | silver |
| Bontrager Elite | Best for mountain biking Read review |
nylon | 38 g | red, black, white, neon green |
| Widefoot LiterCage | Best for bikepacking Read review |
stainless steel | 136 g | polished, black |
The Winners
Best Bike Water Bottle Cage: Silca Sicuro Titanium Bottle Cage
Material: Titanium
Weight: 30 g
Available colors: titanium
What we liked: Lightweight, durable, versatile, classic look, 25-year warranty, easy bottle access
What we didn't like: Expensive
The Silca Sicuro Titanium Bottle Cage is the best bike water bottle holder and our favorite of the ones we've tested. This bottle cage is made of titanium, an extremely durable and lightweight material. They’re so durable that Silca guarantees them for 25 years, and that’s not a typo. A pair of these could be the last bottle cages you ever buy.
We’ve been using these cages on our main test bike for hundreds of miles, and they still look like they did when they were new. We used them to carry extra water bottles mounted to our fork on a bikepacking trip on the Sky Islands Odyssey route in Southern Arizona.
They securely held a pair of 24-ounce bike water bottles for 250 miles of rocky dirt roads and singletrack. When we finished the bikepacking trip and removed our frame bag, we promptly moved these cages into the center triangle of our bike for daily use because they’re that good, and we know they’ll last.
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The author using Silca Sicuro and Velo Orange Mojave bottle cages on a bikepacking trip.
Many water bottle cages won’t stand up this well to scraping against rocks, dirt, and sand when mounted to the fork on a bike. But, these cages withstood all that abuse without issue. Titanium is an extremely strong metal alloy, and these cages made us believe in using this material for bottle cages. Many cages will bend from the weight of a liter of water bouncing inside, forcing you to bend the cage back almost daily if riding long distances on bumpy surfaces. But these cages only bent the slightest amount, and only when we used them to carry an extra large, 34-ounce bike water bottle.
Close up on the Silca Sicuro water bottle cage.
If you’re concerned with weight, these are as light as it gets. This cage is as light as a carbon fiber water bottle cage but will last decades longer than a carbon cage. Carbon is brittle and will break eventually, while titanium can withstand practically anything.
Close up on the Silca Sicuro water bottle cage.
These cages look great, too. They use the same design as a classic metal water bottle cage, which we appreciate. After all, it’s just a water bottle cage; it doesn’t have to look like a high-tech gadget. They improve upon the classic bottle cage design with 1-inch slots for the bolts, which allows you to fine-tune where you install the cage on your bike.
Bikepacking in the southwest with the Silca Sicuro water bottle cage (and others) for a long water carry.
Titanium isn’t cheap, and that means these cages are pretty expensive for what they are. You can buy enough aluminum alloy bottle cages to put a pair on three bikes for the cost of one Sicuro Titanium cage. However, we’ve used a lot of aluminum bottle cages over the years, and they often barely last a year before they break. So, we think this bottle cage is worth the price if you’ll use it a lot.
They have tons of positive customer reviews on Amazon and elsewhere online, and Road.cc, GravelCyclist, and FeedTheHabit all have positive things to say about them. Compared to other cages that will probably end up in the trash in a year or two, well, this bottle cage is.
Best Affordable Water Bottle Cage: Bontrager Bat Cage Water Bottle Cage
Material: recycled plastic
Weight: 48 g
Available colors: black
What we liked: Inexpensive, adjustable mounting position, durable, made of recycled material
What we didn't like: Not the easiest to remove a bottle while riding
The Bontrager Bat Cage is an inexpensive water bottle cage made of recycled fishing nets that works as well as many more expensive water bottle holders. Most water bottle cages designed to hold a standard bike water bottle work about as well as other cages, so it can be hard to choose which is “best.” This cage is inexpensive, made of recycled plastic, comes with a great warranty, and is from a reputable bike brand, so we think this is a great choice.
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The Bontrager Bat cage mounted on our bike.
It has two arms that wrap around a bike water bottle to hold it securely, even when it’s full and on bumpy terrain. Some water bottle holders will bend or get brittle over time, but plastic cages like this one tend to hold up better than cheap metals or fancier composite materials like carbon fiber. The plastic in this cage is pliable enough, so it won’t break while holding the bottle effectively. It also has two sets of holes to adjust the placement of the cage, a feature you usually only see on more expensive bottle cages.
Close up on the mounting system for the Bontrager Bat cage.
There isn’t much to say that’s negative about this cage. If we’re being picky, removing a bike water bottle from this cage is more difficult than some bottle cages. However, this also means you’re less likely to lose a bottle while riding.
This cage has been around for years and has many positive customer reviews online. Peloton Magazine, Bike Radar, and FeedTheHabit also have good things to say about this cage. Bontrager also has an excellent warranty program that guarantees against manufacturing defects, and since you can bring this back to a physical store if you have a problem, we think it’s worth purchasing this cage over a budget cage from a less reputable brand.
Best Water Bottle Cage for Bikes Without Mounts: Twofish Quick Cage Stainless Steel
Material: stainless steel
Weight: 122 g
Available colors: silver
What we liked: Mounts anywhere on any bike, durable
What we didn't like: Strap could be more secure
The TwoFish Quick Cage is a stainless steel water bottle cage that mounts anywhere you need a bottle cage on your bike. Some bikes don’t have water bottle bosses, especially older bikes. When you need to carry extra water, you may also need to mount extra bottle cages to places like the fork or under the downtube. This cage makes attaching extra water to your bike possible.
We’ve mounted water bottle cages onto a suspension fork using hose clamps and zip ties. And while that works, the clamps leave scratches on the fork, and zip ties can break. This cage mounts with a simple velcro strap. The velcro fits into a curved rubber bracket that conforms to the shape of the tube and keeps the cage from moving. The cage is a basic design and is made of durable stainless steel. It’s not the lightest or fanciest, but this cage is durable and practical.
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The mounting system on the TwoFish Quick Cage stainless steel water bottle holder.
TwoFish could improve this cage by replacing the velcro strap with a small Voile strap, which will more securely hold the cage in place. The Voile strap is rubber, preventing the cage from shifting as you ride. The cage can rotate a little with the velcro, but tightening the strap as much as possible helped alleviate this. When we attached the cage with Voile straps, getting a tight fit was easier to prevent any shifting.
Close up on the TwoFish Quick Cage stainless steel water bottle holder.
These bottle cages are extremely popular and have tons of positive customer reviews. We think they’re an excellent solution for mounting a water bottle to a bike that doesn’t have water bottle bosses.
TwoFish also makes a vinyl-coated cage for 24-ounce reusable steel water bottles and an oversized version for 40-ounce Kleen Kanteen bottles. If you’re looking for a clamp-on cage to carry bottles that aren’t bike-specific, check these out.
The TwoFish Quick Cage stainless steel water bottle holder mounted on our bike in areas where there are not otherwise mounts.
The mounting system on the TwoFish Quick Cage stainless steel water bottle holder allows you to put water bottles where there are no mounts.
The TwoFish Quick Cage stainless steel water bottle holder holds a Klean Kanteen water bottle and other non-traditional stainless steel bottle sizes.
Best Water Bottle Cage for Mountain Biking: Bontrager Elite Water Bottle Cage
Material: nylon
Weight: 38 g
Available colors: red, black, white, neon green
What we liked: Durable, made of recycled materials, secure
What we didn't like: Can’t adjust how it’s mounted
The Bontrager Elite Water Bottle Cage is a lightweight and durable cage made of recycled materials. It securely holds a water bottle as you ride a mountain bike over bumps, around berms, and even if you decide to hit that jump on the trail. We used this cage on a bikepacking trip and never once lost the bottle it held, no matter what we rode over.
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The Bontrager Elite Water bottle holder holds a traditional-sized bike water bottle.
It’s made of durable, recycled plastic. This material is pretty lightweight. It’s almost as light as the carbon fiber and titanium cages we tested. And this cage costs much less than those cages made of more expensive materials. It has two large arms that wrap around a bottle to prevent it from bouncing out and a substantial lip that holds the grooved middle section of a bike bottle.
The Bontrager Elite Water bottle holder on a bikepacking trip.
While we think almost everything about this cage is great, it doesn’t have larger eyelets that allow you to move it up or down on the water bottle bolts. This isn’t a dealbreaker; in fact, most bottle cages don’t have this feature. But some other cages do allow for this adjustability. If you need that adjustability, we suggest getting the Bontrager Bat Cage, Silca Sicuro, Bontrager Side Loader, or Specialized Z-Cage instead.
The Bontrager Elite Water bottle holder mounted to a Surly bike.
This cage has tons of 5-star customer reviews on the Bontrager website and REI.com. We think it’s pretty great, too.
Close up on the mounting system on the Bontrager Elite Water bottle holder.
Best Bottle Cage For Bikepacking: Widefoot LiterCage
Material: stainless steel
Weight: 136 g
Available colors: polished, black
What we liked: Fits large water bottles, lightweight, durable, mounting versatility, handmade in Colorado.
What we didn't like: They aren’t always in stock
The Widefoot LiterCage is our favorite water bottle holder for bikepacking because it holds a standard 1-liter Nalgene or 40-ounce Kleen Kanteen. This bottle cage will also hold the larger 1.5-liter (48-ounce) Nalgene, but you’ll need a strap to secure the bottle near the top. We recently used this bottle cage while bikepacking in southern Arizona and have used the LiterCage on many bikepacking trips in the past as well. This cage is also great for commuters who carry a large reusable bottle in their day-to-day life. With this bottle cage, you won’t have to carry that bottle in your backpack anymore.
This cage is handmade in Colorado of high-quality stainless steel. It has a 7-slot mounting bracket, which allows you to mount this cage in various positions using two or three bolts. The bracket is attached to the cage with a slight gap in between. This feature allows you to slide hose clamps between the cage and bracket to install the cage where you don’t have water bottle bosses. This gap is also a great way to secure your large bottle further if you’re riding over bumpy terrain or the cage isn’t installed upright, such as under the downtube.
View The Widefoot Litercage
We feel secure carrying extra large Nalgene bottles through river crossings on our bike with the Widefoot Litercafe water bottle cage.
We love that this cage is handmade in the USA, but there can be downsides when ordering from small companies like this one. Since Widefoot is a small operation, these cages aren’t always in stock, so it will require some advanced planning if you’re going to buy one for an upcoming trip. We recommend purchasing this whenever they’re available on Widefoot’s site so you have it ready for your next bikepacking trip.
Bikepacking with the Widefoot Litercafe water bottle carrying extra large Nalgene bottles.
This cage has 100s of positive customer reviews on the Widefoot site, and Bikepacking.com and The Radavist have great things to say about it. We think this is the best bottle cage for bikepacking, commuting, and any ride where you want to carry more water.
Close up on the Widefoot Litercafe water bottle cage.
The bracket on the Widefoot Cage is attached to the cage with a slight gap in between. This feature allows you to slide hose clamps between the cage and bracket to install the cage where you don’t have water bottle bosses.
Best Water Bottle Cage For Road Biking: Bontrager Pro Water Bottle Cage
Material: Carbon fiber
Weight: 29 g
Available colors: gloss black, matte black, white
What we liked: Ultralight, holds a bottle securely, doesn’t bend
What we didn't like: Expensive
The Bontrager Pro water bottle cage is our favorite for road biking. We think this is a great cage for any kind of cycling where a lightweight bottle cage is a priority. We used this cage while bikepacking over 250 miles of rough dirt roads and singletrack, and it held a massive 34-ounce bike water bottle in place the entire time. This sleek, modern-looking cage will also look great on your high-end road bike.
This bottle cage is the lightest we tested at 19 grams on our home scale (Bontrager lists the weight at 29 grams, but we’re pretty sure our home scale is more accurate than that). It’s made of carbon fiber, an extremely light and rigid material. When we first held this cage in our hand, we were shocked at how light it felt. Since carbon is so rigid, you don’t have to sacrifice a secure fit for your water bottle to save weight. It has two curved arms that wrap around any standard bike water bottle and a lip to hold the bottle in the cage.
View The Bontrager Pro Water Bottle Cage
Commuter bike in Denver mounted with the Bontrager Pro water bottle cage.
However, carbon fiber is expensive. While this cage is the lightest we tested, it’s also one of the most expensive. Also, carbon fiber is robust but wears out over time. It may take several years of riding and sun exposure, but this carbon cage will eventually break. We’ve put a lot of miles on this cage, and it’s still in great shape, but we’ve seen plenty of broken carbon fiber cages over the years while working as a bike mechanic.
The Bontrager Pro bottle cage mounted on a bikepacking trip.
If your top priority is weight savings, the Bontrager Pro is an excellent choice. If you want a less expensive cage that is almost as light, check out the Bontrager Side Load recycled water bottle cage. It weighs 5 grams more but costs less than half as much.
Close up of the Bontrager Pro water bottle holder.
The Pro water bottle cage is very popular with high-end cyclists and has many positive customer reviews online. For the right cyclist, this is a great option. Its expensive price tag isn’t for everyone, but this is it if you’re looking for the best carbon fiber bottle cage for your road, mountain, or gravel bike.
Bontrager Pro on a bikepacking trip.
Best Bottle Cage For Oversized Bottles: Velo Orange Mojave Bottle Cage
Material: Steel
Weight: 158 g
Available colors: silver, black
What we liked: Holds oversized bottles extremely tight, has multiple mounting options, can adjust
What we didn't like: Heavy
The Velo Orange Mojave Bottle Cage holds onto oversized bottles so well that we use two hands to remove a 40-ounce Kleen Kanteen water bottle. We used a pair of these water bottles mounted to a Tumbleweed Mini Pannier Rack on a recent bikepacking trip. We started the trip with extra straps to further secure the bottles, but quickly realized they weren’t necessary.
View The Velo Orange Mojave Bottle Cage
The Velo Orange Mojave water bottle cage mounted on a bikepacking trip.
This cage is made of stainless steel with a rubbery vinyl coating. The cage is shaped like a traditional metal water bottle cage but has an extra ring that wraps around the top of the bottle.
The Velo Orange Mojave water bottle cage is a stainless steel with a rubbery vinyl coating. The cage is shaped like a traditional metal water bottle cage but has an extra ring that wraps around the top of the bottle.
The ring comprises two overlapping half circles connecting at the opposite sides of the “standard” bottle cage section. You can tighten or loosen the fit of your bottle in the cage by squeezing it together or pulling apart the separate sides.
We know this sounds complicated, but this cage’s design holds an oversized bottle the most securely of any oversized bottle cage we tested. It also has five mounting holes to attach to your bike, so you can use two or three bolts and adjust the position.
The Velo Orange Mojave Bottle Cage holds onto oversized bottles like two 40 oz Klean Kanteen bottles.
The only real drawback of this cage is its weight. This bottle cage is the heaviest one we tested. Even compared to the other oversized bottle cages, this cage is heavy. However, the extra steel that adds weight also ensures that you won’t lose your water bottle, no matter what.
A stainless steel tumbler in the Velo Orange Mojave cage for riding around town.
This cage has tons of positive customer reviews, and the Radavist has excellent things to say about it as well. This cage is best for a super secure hold on your Nalgene-sized water bottle.
You can tighten or loosen the fit of your bottle in the Velo Orange Mojave cage by squeezing it together or pulling apart the separate sides.
Best Adjustable Water Bottle Cage: Arundel Looney Bin
Material: nylon reinforced plastic
Weight: 47 g
Available colors: black, white
What we liked: Fits a variety of water bottle shapes, lightweight, inexpensive
What we didn't like: tightening dial wears out over time
The Arundel Looney Bin is the best adjustable water bottle cage. In fact, in 10 years of working as a bike mechanic, it’s one of the only adjustable water bottle cages we’ve seen. This water bottle holder will hold water bottles from 65 to 95 millimeters in diameter. We’ve used these bottle cages for years for everything from carrying a coffee tumbler to 48-ounce Nalgene bottles while bikepacking. They’re inexpensive compared to many high-volume water bottle holders and reliable enough to use for years.
This cage can carry a bike water bottle, reusable steel bottle, and even a single-use plastic bottle. It features a dial that tightens or loosens the arms of a plastic cage to fit the diameter of whatever bottle you need to carry. It has no curved lip at the top, so this cage will fit any bottle, not just bike water bottles. If you’re using a 1-liter or larger bottle, we recommend using a strap to secure the bottle further, or it could bounce out of the cage when going over rough roads or trails.
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Bikepacking and crossing a creek so deep, it came up to the water bottle cages. Here, we’re using the Arundel Looney Bin cage to carry extra large bottles.
While we’ve used a set of Looney Bin cages for years, they aren’t quite as durable as a non-adjustable bottle cage. The dial that tightens and loosens the arms will get dirt and dust inside after using it. Once the dial is dirty, it won’t work as well, either. It will still function but won’t have the same smooth feeling as when new.
The Arundel Looney Bin cage is adjustable, but feels as secure as non-adjustable bike bottle cages.
We’ve tried removing the dial to clean the internal mechanism but found this impossible. We’ve also submerged it in water and shaken it to flush out as much dirt as possible, which helped. But nothing we’ve tried makes the dial work like new again. This cage would be even better if the dial were serviceable, but it’s still great.
It has over 500 5-star reviews on Amazon, and Life In The Saddle and La Velocita have great things to say about this cage. We think this is a super versatile bottle cage and will continue using our Looney Bin for years.
We’ve been using the Arundel Looney Bin cages for years to carry extra large bottles for bikepacking trips with large water carries.
Close up on the adjustment system of the Arundel Looney Bin cage.
Best Side Load Water Bottle Cage: Bontrager Side Load Recycled Bottle Cage
Material: recycled plastic
Weight: 35 g
Available colors: black, dark grey, white, red
What we liked: Lightweight, inexpensive, fits on smaller bikes, works with half-frame bag, made of recycled plastic
What we didn't like: Harder to get a bottle out than some cages
The Bontrager Side Load Recycled Water Bottle Cage is an excellent option for holding a bottle in tight spaces without room to side it in and out from above. With this bottle cage, you can remove and reinstall a bike water bottle via the side of the cage. It comes in a right- and left-hand orientation. Depending on where you’re putting it on your bike, you can choose which side of the bike you’ll access the bottle from.
We used this cage on a recent bikepacking trip with a frame bag that left a single bottle cage’s width between the bag and the seat tube. With this cage, we could use this space to store the maximum volume of water that would fit in this space. We never lost the 24-ounce bottle we kept here, even when riding fast downhill on rocky dirt roads.
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The Bontrager side load recycled water bottle cage mounted on a bikepacking bike.
This recycled plastic cage weighs less than every other cage we tried, other than the carbon and titanium ones. It also has slots to move the bottle cage up or down on the water bottle bolts. These slots aren’t the longest of the cages we tested, but they allow 18 millimeters of adjustability when choosing a mounting position.
Close up on the Bontrager side load recycled water bottle cage.
There isn’t much about this cage we would change, honestly. But it’s worth noting that it holds a bottle so well that we often find it difficult to remove a water bottle while riding. This feature is quite beneficial in most instances, but this isn’t the easiest cage to use with one hand while riding.
This cage has many positive customer reviews online, and Bikeradar and Road.cc also have great things to say about this cage. If you’re looking for a side-loading water bottle cage for your bike, this recycled plastic option is great.
The Bontrager side load recycled water bottle cage, which allows cyclists to access their water bottle from the left or right (here, from the left).
Best Coffee/Commuter Bottle Cage: Portland Design Works Hot Take Beverage Holder
Material: nylon, micro fiber, plastic
Weight: 63 g
Available colors: black
What we liked: Holds coffee tumblers, installs easily on your handlebars, elastic stretches to fit multiple size bottles
What we didn't like: Has one strap that isn’t replaceable
The Portland Design Works Hot Take Beverage Holder is our favorite option for carrying coffee and reusable bottles on our bikes while commuting around town. This cage securely holds a 20-ounce tapered coffee tumbler on any bike's handlebars. It will also hold most reusable water bottles up to 3 inches in diameter. This water bottle holder is highly versatile and has remained on the handlebars of our bike every day since we started testing it.
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The Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder mounted on our commuter bike for riding around Denver. We’ve got our coffee tumbler inside.
This cage is perfect for taking that coffee tumbler around town. It will hold a single-use coffee cup, but that plastic lid won’t prevent your coffee from spilling out of the cup (that’s all the more reason to get a reusable tumbler). The Hot Take also holds cans, but you’ll spill beer if you attempt to take an open can to go.
The Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder holds a Klean Kanteen stainless steel tumbler.
It attaches to your bike with three velcro straps attached to your handlebar, stem, and steerer tube. It’s made of a polyester sleeve with a plastic sheet for rigidity and an elastic section that stretches around a bottle or cup. It has a velcro adjusting strap on the bottom to hold different bottle or cup sizes.
The Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder mounted on our commuter bike for riding around Denver.
The Hot Take is great, but we wish all the straps were easily replaceable. Two of its four velcro straps slide through nylon webbing loops. These two straps are removable to let you choose where to mount the drink holder on the handlebars. However, we like that the straps are removable because you can replace them if the velcro wears out. We wish the other two velcros straps on this cup holder were also removable.
Close up on the mounting system on the Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder.
The Hot Take has tons of positive customer reviews online, and it’s also been positively reviewed on Fat-bike.com. We love how many cups and water bottles this can carry, and we recommend it for your commuter bike for this reason.
Close up on the insulation and padding on the Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder.
Best Stylish Bottle Cage: Portland Design Works Owl Cage
Material: 5052 alloy
Weight: 67 g
Available colors: black silver, black gold, snowy
What we liked: Looks great, holds many types of bottles, super durable
What we didn't like: Heavier than some bottle cages, some may see it as gimmicky
The Portland Design Works Owl Cage is the coolest-looking bottle cage we tested. Most bottle cages do a good-enough job of holding a bike water bottle. And most bottle cages look the same. If you’re looking for a bottle cage that stands out in a sea of curved metal and plastic cages, this could be the one for you. We’ve used one of these cages for years on our commuter bike, and it works great as a tool to hold a water bottle while looking stylish. This cage is incredibly durable, and we love the look.
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Close up on the Portland Design Works Owl Cage water bottle holder.
The Owl Cage is shaped like an owl. The owl’s wings wrap around a water bottle to hold it in place. The owl’s face sits at the top of the cage, where many cages have a lip to hold a bike water bottle down. This cage doesn’t have that lip, so you can carry your reusable steel bottle or a bike water bottle. PDW makes other animal-shaped cages as well. If you’re more fond of cats, dogs, sparrows, or otters, there are also options.
The Portland Design Works Owl Cage is a stylish bike water bottle holder that can work on serious bikepacking trips.
This cage isn’t the lightest, but what do you expect? It’s shaped like a cute animal. We know not every cyclist wants to look like a serious athlete and think this cage is great because we’re not all serious athletes. Bikes are fun, and so is this bottle cage, so we’ll take the weight penalty.
This cage has tons of positive customer reviews online, and we agree with every one of those reviews. The Owl Cage is a hoot!
The Portland Design Works Owl Cage is a stylish bike water bottle holder that can work on serious bikepacking trips.
Best Water Bottle Cage for Smaller Bike Frames: Specialized Zee CagE II
Material: composite
Weight: 42 g
Available colors: gloss black, matte black, matte black & red
What we liked: Side loading cage is great for small frames, securely holds a bottle, lightweight
What we didn't like: hard to get bottle in with one hand
The Specialized Zee Cage II is another side-loading water bottle holder that’s a great option for smaller bike frames. If you don’t have the space to use a top-loading water bottle cage on your bike frame, whether that’s because you’re using a half-frame bag or you have a smaller-sized bike with a small center triangle, a side-loading cage is the way to go. We’ve been using the Zee Cage for many years. We squeezed two water bottles into the small center triangle of our hardtail mountain bike using two of these.
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Close up on the Specialized Zee Cage II.
The Zee Cage II is made of composite material that’s very stiff. This material will not bend, so it will hold your bottle in place as your bike is jostled around. It also comes in a right-side and left-side version.
The Zee Cage II allows us to use two bottle cages on a hardtail mountain bike with a small center triangle.
If you prefer to grab your bottle with your right hand while keeping your left on the bars, we recommend a right-side version for the downtube and a left-side version for the seat tube (since bottle cages mount facing each other, you’ll want one of each to access both cages from the same side). This cage also has a bolt hole on the bottom to attach a multi-tool.
The Specialized Zee Cage II mounted on our mountain bike.
Even after many years of using this cage, we still struggle to replace a water bottle in this cage with one hand while riding. This setback isn’t a huge deal; we’re still using it, after all. But, a tight-fitting side-load bottle cage like this one is hard to operate with one hand.
The Specialized Zee Cage II for a day of riding the Colorado Trail.
The Zee Cage II has tons of positive customer reviews on Specialized’s website, and Singletracks.com, BikeMag, and Bermstyle.com all have positive things to say about the Zee Cage. We’re still using this cage on our mountain bike because it’s never dropped a bottle, either.
Close up on the Specialized Zee Cage II, which works well for bikes with smaller frames.
Other Bike Water Bottles We Tested
TwoFish Quick Cage Vinyl Coated
Material: stainless steel
Weight: 83 g (40 oz)
Available colors: black
What we liked: Holds bottles that aren’t bike specific, straps anywhere, durable
What we didn't like: Straps aren’t as secure as bolts
The TwoFish Quick Cage Vinyl Coated is very similar to the stainless steel TwoFish Quick Cage, but the vinyl-coated version will hold your favorite steel or plastic reusable water bottle. Unlike most water bottle cages, this cage doesn’t have a curved lip at the top to hold a bike-specific water bottle. So, this bottle will hold your 2.75” Kleen Kanteen, 18 to 24-ounce Hydroflask, or similarly shaped reusable bottle. The vinyl coating helps grip any bottle you use, and the velcro straps allow you to mount this cage anywhere on your bike that doesn’t have water bottle bosses.
View The Twofish Quick Cage Vinyl Coated
The Two Fish Quick Cage Vinyl coated water bottle holder uses straps to secure it to a bike.
We didn’t pick this one as a winner because the velcro straps aren’t the most secure, though. With a heavier steel bottle, we found the velcros didn’t always hold the cage and bottle in place. We recommend the Arundel Looney Bin if you want to carry a reusable water bottle on your bike because it mounts with bolts to your bike and won’t move around.
Material: stainless steel
Weight: 83 g (40 oz)
Available colors: black
What we liked: Holds oversized water bottles, straps anywhere,
What we didn't like: Not as secure as other drink holders
This TwoFish Quick Cage holds 40-ounce Kleen Kanteens and other large water bottles. This Quick Cage has two velcro straps to more securely hold a heavier bottle, and it’s an excellent solution for attaching large water bottles to your fork or under your down tube when you need to carry the most water. We found that Voile Straps, hose clamps, or zip ties keep the cage from rotating as you ride better than the velcro straps that come with this cage. We ultimately didn’t pick this cage as a winner because their are other bottle cages that work better for holding oversized water bottles, namely the Widefoot Litercage, Velo Orange Mojave, and Arundel Looney Bin.
View The Twofish Quick Cage 40 Oz
The Two Fish Quick Cage 40 oz is a large capacity water bottle holder than can handle 40 oz size bottles.
Material: alloy
Weight: 66 g
Available colors: black
What we liked: Holds a coffee cup, clean look
What we didn't like: Not as secure as other drink holders
The Portland Design Works Bar-ista carries a tapered coffee tumbler on your handlebars. It’s a tapered ring with a rubberized interior. With this, you simply drop your coffee cup in and start riding. We ultimately didn’t pick this as a winner because we found the Portland Design Works Hot Take Beverage Holder held our coffee tumbler more securely and is more versatile because it can hold most other water bottles, too.
Compare Prices Of The Portland Design Works Bar-Ista
The Portland Design Works Barista carries tapered coffee tumblers, but is less versatile than the Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder.
Material: aluminum
Weight: 63 g
Available colors: black, green, silver, white
What we liked: Comes in 10 colors, very inexpensive, works well
What we didn't like: Nothing makes this stand out because it’s just a bottle cage
The Planet Bike Aluminum Bottle Cage is about as basic as it gets when it comes to water bottle holders. We’ve installed hundreds of these cages while working as a bike mechanic. Most bike shops will give you one of these for free with a bike purchase.
Compare Prices Of The Planet Bike Aluminum Bottle Cage
The Planet Bike aluminum water bottle cage is a standard inexpensive water bottle cage that gets the job done.
There is nothing wrong with this cage. It will do what it’s designed to do: hold a bike water bottle. It isn’t the lightest, nor does it hold a bottle better than other cages, but it does work. And it comes in 10 colors to match your bike.
This cage is the least expensive we tested. If you’re looking for the best deal, this is it. You can get a better cage by spending a few extra dollars, though.
Bikepacking with the Planet Bike aluminum water bottle cage.
Material: aluminum
Weight: 55 g
Available colors: black, gray, yellow, orange, red
What we liked: Comes in 6 colors, inexpensive, holds a water bottle
What we didn't like: No stand-out features
The REI Co-op Junction Bottle Cage is another basic water bottle cage that reliably holds a water bottle on your bike. It has a clamshell-style opening that faces up, and you load the bottle into the top of the cage. There isn’t much more we can say about this cage other than it works. We ultimately didn’t choose it as a winner because it lacks any stand-out features, though. It comes in six colors. If you want to match your bike and one of these colors works, we say go for it.
View The Rei Co-Op Junction Bottle Cage
The REI Junction water bottle cage is a basic, no-frills cage that gets the job done.
Bikepacking with different water bottle cages to test them side-by-side on similar terrain. Featured: Portland Design Works Owl Cage, Bontrager Pro, Arundel Looney Bin testing in southern Arizona.
Buying Advice / What to Look for in a Bike Water Bottle Holder
There are tons of bike water bottle holders to choose from. In reality, most of them are pretty similar too. However, there are significant differences between many bike water bottle holders. We’ll explain the differences between types of bottle holders and what to look for when you’re making a purchasing decision.
Some of the bike water bottle cages we considered. Left to right: Bontrager Side Load Recycled, Widefoot Litercage, Velo Orange Mojave, Silca Sicuro, Bontrager Bat Cage.
Water bottle cages we tested. From left to right: TwoFish quick cage stainless steel, Planet Bike Aluminum, Velo Orange Mojave, Portland Design Works Owl Cage, Silca Sucuro, Widefoot Litercage, REI Junction Bottle Cage, TwoFish quick cage vinyl coated
Water bottle cages with similar design. Left to right: Silca Sucuro, TwoFish quick cage stainless steel, Planet Bike Aluminum, TwoFish quick cage vinyl coated, TwoFish quick Cage 40 oz, Widefoot Litercage
Material
The material of a water bottle holder will affect its weight, durability, and price. We’ll cover the differences between the common materials used below.
Steel
The Widefoot Litercage, Velo Orange Mojave, and the three versions of the TwoFish Quick Cage we tested are all made of stainless steel.
Steel is common in bike water bottle holders. Steel is one of the most inexpensive materials used in water bottle cages. Steel is also very durable. You can bend steel to make your bottle cage better fit your water bottle, which is useful with the traditional bottle cage shape because they tend to bend over time from the weight of the water bottle.
Since steel can be bent and still retain strength, steel water bottle holders will generally last a lot longer than aluminum, which is much more brittle and can’t be bent back. However, steel is heavier than aluminum. A steel water bottle cage can weigh up to twice as much as a bottle cage made of lighter materials such as aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, or molded polymer (plastic).
Aluminum
The REI Junction, Planet Bike Aluminum, and Portland Design Works Owl Cage are all made of aluminum.
Aluminum is an inexpensive, lightweight metal commonly used in bike water bottle cages. Most standard bottle cages at a bike shop are made of aluminum. Aluminum is an excellent material for bottle cages but isn’t as durable as some materials. Aluminum is a very brittle metal, and your aluminum bottle cage might break if you try to bend it to fit your bottle.
Titanium
The Silca Sicuro is one of the few titanium water bottle cages available.
Titanium is a strong and lightweight metal. It’s also very expensive, though. Titanium water bottle cages are stronger than Carbon Fiber. Titanium bottle cages weigh about the same as carbon fiber cages and are similarly priced.
Carbon Fiber
We only tested one carbon fiber bottle cage, the Bontrager Pro.
Carbon fiber is a lightweight material used in high-end bike water bottle cages. Carbon fiber is very expensive and less durable than bottle cages made of metal. Carbon fiber is robust but can eventually break when used in bottle cages.
Polymer Or Plastic
The Specialized Zee Cage, Bontrager Side Load Recycled, Bontrager Bat Cage, Bontrager Elite, and Bontrager Pro are made of composite nylon, polymer, plastic, and carbon fiber.
Many bike water bottle holders use some kind of plastic or polymer. Technically, plastic is a sub-division of polymer, so all plastics are polymers, but not all polymers are plastic. Polymers are inexpensive and can be molded into many unique shapes. Some plastic or polymer water bottle cages are now made with recycled materials, but not all are.
Nylon
Many water bottle holders also use nylon materials. Nylon can be made into a composite material similar to plastic or carbon fiber. Nylon can also be woven into a fabric as well. The Portland Design Works Hot Take Beverage Holder uses a combination of nylon fabric and other materials.
Durability
The Velo Orange Mojave, Widefoot Litercage, and SIlca Sicuro are some of the most durable water bottle holders we tested.
The material a water bottle holder is made of is the most significant factor affecting durability. Generally, steel and titanium are the most durable materials used in water bottle cages. Some plastics and polymers can also be quite durable, but they can also degrade in the sun over time.
Over time, a water bottle cage will get bent out of shape, especially if you have the cage under your bike’s down tube. No matter what material is used in a bottle cage, it will bend if you ride your bike a lot. The exception to this is polymer materials and carbon fiber, but since these materials don’t bend, they may simply break instead. Any metal alloy will bend over time and use, and steel and titanium will retain their strength after you bend them back.
Mounting Hardware
Most water bottle holders mount to your bike using 5-millimeter bolts. These bolts, commonly called M5, are the size bolt used for all water bottle cage bosses. Most bottle cages come with mounting hardware, but you probably already have M5 bolts installed in the threaded bottle bosses on your bike.
Most water bottle holders mount to threaded bosses on your bike, like the ones pictured here.
Use high-quality stainless steel bolts with a small amount of grease on the threads to mount your bike water bottle cage to your bike. Don’t use aluminum bolts; they can break easily compared to steel. If you're tempted by the aluminum bolts to save weight, you can use titanium mounting hardware, though this will only save you a few grams and will be more expensive. Be sure to prep all titanium bolts with anti-seize if you use titanium mounting hardware.
Some bottle cages are designed to work without threaded bottle bosses. These cages have some kind of strap that allows you to attach them to your bike quickly. A bottle cage that doesn’t bolt onto your bike won’t be as secure, but they work for attaching a bottle holder to places on your bike without threaded bosses designed for a bottle cage.
The TwoFish Quick Cage, Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder, and PDW Bar-ista all mount to your bike without the traditional 5-millimeter bolts used to mount most bottle cages.
Construction Quality
The Widefoot Litercage, Silca Sicuro, and Velo Orange Mojave were the best-constructed bottle cages we tested.
Not all bottle cages are created equally. Some are meticulously hand-welded with high-quality materials, while others are mass-produced using cheap metal or plastic. Frankly, any cage will do if you carry a bike-specific water bottle on your bike. But a nicer water bottle cage will be more durable in the long run, especially if riding over rough terrain or carrying larger, heavier bottles.
It’s worth spending a little extra money on a water bottle holder that will last, too. We’ve used a lot of bottle cages over the years, and the best ones continue to tightly keep your water bottle where you want it for 1000s of miles. Less high-quality bottle cages will work, but they’ll wear out faster.
We found the construction of the Widefoot Litercage, Silca Sicuro, and the Velo Orange Mojave stood out the most among all the bottle cages we tested.
Water Bottle Capacity/Diameter
The standard bike water bottle is 73 millimeters (2.75 inches) in diameter. Most bike water cages are designed only to fit this size bottle, but many cages also hold larger bottles. When we say bike watter bottle, we mean a water bottle designed for bikes like the Camelbak Podiul Chill.
The Velo Orange Mojave, Widefoot Litercage, and TwoFish Quick Cage 40-ounce will all fit higher-volume bottles.
The Velo Orange Mojave cag, Widefoot Litercage, and TwoFish Quick Cage 40-ounce are designed to fit 89-millimeter (3.5-inch) water bottles. These cages are great for longer rides or bikepacking trips where you need to carry as much water as possible. These cages will fit higher-capacity bottles such as 32-ounce Nalgene bottles, 48-ounce Nalgenes, 32-ounce insulated Klean Kanteen, or 40-ounce uninsulated Kleen Kanteen bottles.
The Arundel Looney Bin uses a dial to adjust the band size that holds the water bottle in place. This dial allows you to carry water bottles from 65 to 95 millimeters in diameter—by far the most versatile water bottle holder we tested for this reason.
Ease of Use and Accessibility
A side-loading water cage makes getting your bottle out from tight spaces easier.
Depending on the size of your frame and the placement of the bottle cage, you’ll want to get a water bottle holder that makes accessing your water easiest. For instance, if you have a small frame, using a side-loading water bottle cage will probably be easier because there won’t be as much room to remove the bottle from a top-loading cage.
Bottle Retention
Comparing the profiles of the Silca Sicuro, REI Junction Bottle Cage, Bontrager Batcage, Bontrager, Bontrager Elite, and Specialized Zee Cage.
Bottle retention is critical for riding mountain bike trails or gravel roads. But really, any kind of bike rider should use a water bottle holder that effectively holds the bottle when you go over bumps.
Bottle cages designed for bike water bottles have a lip at the top to hold onto the recessed groove that wraps around the middle of a bike bottle. The larger this lip, the more securely it will hold onto the bottle. However, if this lip is too pronounced, it will be difficult to remove the bottle.
Most standard bike water bottle cages will effectively hold a bike water bottle when they’re new, but as you use a cage repeatedly, it can get bent. Then, it won’t hold the bottle as well. You can bend a metal cage back when it bends out too much, but that will weaken the metal and eventually cause it to break. Aluminum is a very brittle alloy that weakens as it bends, so they’re the most prone to breaking for this.
The best bottle cages that hold bike-specific water bottles are the Specialized Z-Cage, Bontrager Batcage, and the Bontrager Elite cage. The Velo Orange Mojave cage holds an oversized bottle best of any water bottle holder we tested.
Bottle Cage Placement
All sizes of TwoFish Quick Cages installed on our main test bike.
Most bikes have at least two places to attach a water bottle cage—on the downtube and the seat tube. Many bikes also have water bottle cage mounts on the underside of the downtube, but not all bikes have water bottle bosses in this location.
Most bike riders only need to store water inside their bike’s main triangle, on the downtube and seat tube. Figure out how much water you need on your bike and tet the appropriate cages to hold that water.
If you need more water than will fit in two 20-24 ounce bike water bottles, it’s time to look at other bottle cage placement options. Look on your own bike to see where it has threaded bosses to attach a water bottle cage.
If you need to attach water bottle holders under your downtube or on your bike’s fork, use a strap to secure the bottle further. These places tend to cause water bottles to fall out of the cage more frequently, and you don’t want to lose a bottle going over rough terrain.
Size and Weight
We weighed the water bottles side by side and compared their actual weights to that reported by manufacturers.
A bottle cage doesn’t weigh much compared to the overall weight of your bike. But if you’re trying to save weight everywhere possible, getting lighter bottle cages can save you 50 or more grams.
The lightest water bottle cages we tested.
The lightest bike bottle cages we tested are the Bontrager Pro Bottle Cage at 29 grams and the Silca Sucuro bottle cage weighing 30 grams. The Arundel Looney Bin can fit an oversized bottle and only weighs 57 grams.
Bikepacking with the Arundel Looney Bin cages to secure carry extra large bottles.
How To Choose The Right Bike Water Bottle Cage For Your Bike
Type of Water Bottle
What kind of water bottle do you want to carry on your bike?
73mm is the standard diameter of a bike water bottle, and most bike water bottle holders are designed to hold this kind of bottle specifically. If you only carry these kinds of bottles, you’re in luck. There are limitless bike bottle cage possibilities to hold a standard bicycle water bottle.
A reusable steel water bottle, such as a 24-ounce Kleen Kanteen or Hydroflask bottle, is about the same diameter as a standard bike water bottle. But these bottles don’t have a groove in the middle as a bike-specific bottle does. A standard bike bottle cage has a small lip at the top to grab onto this groove, so to carry a reusable bottle that isn’t specific to bikes, you’ll need a bottle cage without this lip—the TwoFish 24 oz. Vinyl-coated Quick Cage, Arundel Looney Bin, or Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder are your best options for carrying a reusable steel bottle.
When you start carrying larger water bottles on your bike, the options for water bottle holders shrink. There are options for carrying 3.5″ diameter water bottles, but there aren’t many options. We tested a few options that will hold a larger bottle: the Widefoot Litercage, Velo Orange Mojave, Arundel Looney Bin, and TwoFish Quick Cage 40-ounce.
Type of Water Bottle Holder
Top Loading
A top loading bike bottle cage.
A top-loading bike bottle cage is probably what you think of when you think “bottle cage.” It’s a bent piece of metal that wraps around the bottom of a bike water bottle.
Side Loading
A side-loading water bottle cage lets you remove and replace a bike water bottle on the side of the cage. These cages have an opening at the top and on the side; they’re usually made of composite materials because metal can’t be easily shaped this way without bending. They are beneficial for bikes with a small center triangle or a top tube frame bag installed.
Oversized
The TwoFish Quick Cage 40-ounce, Velo Orange Mojave, Widefoot Litercage, and Arundel Looney Bin all will hold larger 3.5-inch diameter water bottles.
An Oversized bike water bottle cage is designed to fit larger water bottles, like a Nalgene or Kleen Kanteen bottle. Oversized bottle cages are helpful for commuters and people who go on long rides where they need to carry a lot of water.
If you’re concerned with weight and carrying oversized water bottles, we recommend using Nalgene bottles since they’ll be the lightest. However, certain steel bottles are almost as light, and many cyclists like the look of a stainless steel bottle on their bikes. Hydroflask and Kleen Kanteen also make insulated bottles, which will keep your drink cold (or hot) while you ride. This is another benefit of those heavier bottles to consider.
And you can use a single-walled steel water bottle as a pot to boil water and as a water bottle, so even though it’s a little heavier, it can serve two purposes. We’ve done this in the past, and it works, but some might think this is taking ultralight bikepacking a little too far.
Adjustable
Adjustable bottle cages can fit a variety of water bottle sizes. They adjust with a strap or dial usually. With an adjustable water bottle holder, you probably can’t remove the bottle with one hand while riding. But you can carry anything from a wine bottle to a standard plastic water bottle in an adjustable water bottle holder.
Clamp-On
The TwoFish Quick Cage 24-ounce straps on to your bike frame with velcro.
A clamp-on water bottle holder attaches to your bike in places that don’t have threaded bosses for M5 bolts. This kind of bottle cage is helpful for older bikes or attaching bottle cages to unique places, like on your seat post, fork, or under your downtube.
Handlebar-Mounted
The Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder is a handlebar-mounted water bottle holder.
Handlebar-mounted water bottle holders are a subset of clamp-on water bottle holders. Handlebar-mounted water bottle holders work best for carrying a coffee thermos. They’re also useful for attaching a water bottle cage to a kids’ bike when there isn’t enough space in the center triangle for a bottle cage (not even a side-loading cage).
How To Carry A Coffee Thermos On Your Bicycle
The Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder is a great way to carry coffee on your bicycle.
You can carry a coffee thermos on your bike using a handlebar-mounted water bottle holder like the Portland Design Works Bar-ista or Portland Design Works Hot Beverage Holder. These water bottle holders are designed to carry coffee tumblers on your handlebars. They’ll also work to carry a single-use coffee cup with a lid, but the lid won’t prevent spills. And hot coffee on your legs during your ride isn’t as fun as hot coffee to drink after your ride.
If you have a coffee thermos with a leak-proof lid, you can carry it on your bike with an adjustable bottle cage like the Arundel Looney Bin. Or, you can use a 2.75-inch coffee tumbler with the TwoFish Vinyl-coated Quick Cage. You can also carry a lot of hot coffee or tea in an insulated 3.5-inch water bottle using the Velo Orange Mojave, Widefoot Litercage, or TwoFish 40-ounce Quick Cage.
The Widefoot Litercage water bottle cage can hold an extra large Nalgene bottle.
FAQ
Do all bike water bottle holders fit all bikes? Are they universal?
All bike water bottle holders will fit on any bike with threaded inserts for a bike water bottle cage. Almost all bikes have these universal threaded bosses.
Close up on the mounting system on the REI Junction water bottle cage.
Can I install a bike water bottle holder myself?
You can install a bike water bottle holder yourself. Put a small amount of grease on the threads of the two bolts, slide them through the bolt holes on the bottle cage, and thread them into the threaded bottle bosses on your bike’s frame.
When threading in the bolts, start them by hand. If they don’t screw in easily, you might cross-thread the bolt. Take the bolt out, add some more grease, and try to thread it in again. If it’s still challenging to get the bolt to screw in without resistance, first thread it into the frame without the bottle cage so you can see if it’s going in straight. Once you’re threaded the bolt into the frame once, it will be easier a second time.
What is the standard bike water bottle holder size?
The standard bike water bottle holder size is 73 millimeters in diameter. This size will fit a bike water bottle.
Is a carbon bottle cage worth it?
A carbon fiber cage is worth it only if you’re trying to get the absolute lightest bike possible. Carbon fiber is strong but isn’t the best material for bottle cages for anything but weight-saving purposes. A carbon fiber bottle cage will probably crack before a metal cage breaks, but they are generally the lightest cages available.
How to install a water bottle cage on your bike without holes?
You can install a water bottle cage on your bike without holes using a clamp-on bottle cage, clamp-on bottle cage bosses, or with hose clamps.
The Portland Design Works Owl Cage is a stylish bike water bottle holder that can work on serious bikepacking trips.
What’s the difference between a bike water bottle holder and a bike bottle cage?
No significant difference exists between a bike water bottle holder and a bike water bottle cage. These two terms are used interchangeably. Technically a bottle cage looks like a cage that wraps around a bike water bottle, and a bike water bottle holder is anything that holds a water bottle on a bike. Every bottle cage is a bottle holder, but every bottle holder isn’t necessarily a bottle cage.
How We Tested
Testing water bottle cages on a bikepacking trip in southern Arizona.
We tested bike water bottle holders while biking the Sky Islands Odyssey bikepacking route in southern Arizona. We also tested these water bottle holders while commuting by bike in Denver, Colorado. While bikepacking in the desert, we relied on these bottle cages to carry 5+ liters of water while riding over unmaintained mountain roads. This scenario was ideal for testing how well these bottle cages held water bottles, and some did better than others while riding steep and rocky downhill sections. When commuting with these water bottle holders, we carried a variety of beverages, from coffee tumblers and beer cans to water bottles ranging from 20 to 40 ounces.
About the Author / Why You Should Trust Us
Sam Schild has biked over 50,000 miles in the last decade. He is an avid bike commuter and has extensively ridden road, mountain, and gravel bikes. He has bike toured and bikepacked over 10,000 miles—across the United States, on the Kokopelli Trail, Colorado Trail, and all over the American Southwest. On all those trips, he’s used countless methods to carry water on his bike and tons of water bottle cages.
He has also worked as a bike mechanic for over ten years. Between his experience as a bike mechanic and his own cycling experience, he’s seen a ton of water bottle holders. He has installed water bottle cages in every possible place on his bike using bolts, hose clamps, zip ties, and more in traditional locations in the center triangle and many less common locations. You can learn more about Sam on his author page or his website.
