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review

SKS Bottle Cage Adapter

7
£4.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Inexpensive solution to carrying additional bottles on bikes without resorting to frame alteration
Weight: 
78g
Contact: 
www.chickencyclekit.com, www.madison.co.uk, www.raleigh.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The SKS bottle cage adapter is perfect if you have a fixie without bottle cages. I think this one will prove a permanent feature on my 1950s Holdsworth which has just had successful bottom bracket surgery and a respray.

There's nothing particularly exotic about its lightweight ABS plastic construction other than to say it's up to SKS's usual standards and shouldn't weather badly. Pressing the orange SKS emblem while rotating the cage allows it to be angled precisely, depending on the adapters' position and rider preference. Fitting is a no-brainer - simply wrap the elasticated webbing around your chosen tubing-whether this be frame, seatpost or stem.

Ours flopped open with disturbing ease on the first few attempts but nipping the webbed strapping in by a matter of millimetres made all the difference. Once you have the correct alignment, whip it off and attach your chosen bottle cage.

Having experimented with various frame and component diameters, it appears to fit most between 25.4 and 31.8mm without vibrating loose, thanks in part to the rubberised shim, although I'll confess to borderline-obsessive checking during our first few outings. I tried a few different bottles and all held up pretty well.

Verdict

Inexpensive solution to carrying additional bottles on bikes without resorting to frame alteration.

road.cc test report

Make and model: SKS Bottle Cage Adaptor

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

"The SKS bottle holder adapter can be attached to the seat post, the stem or about anywhere with this adjustable, well-proven SKS quick-release mount system. The angle adjustment ensures that the bottle is always optimally aligned". No quibble here.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

ABS plastic, nylon tensioning belt.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10

78g by my scales.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The cage adaptor is a remarkably effective and inexpensive means of carrying an additional cage. However,the pressure-fit design requires careful tensioning to remain secure.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Lightweight, simple and above all, sturdy.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

 

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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2 comments

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davecochrane | 12 years ago
0 likes

Top end tri bikes have a tendency to launch bottles out of seat cages - wonder how a steel frame fixie will fair in that regard?

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Rob Simmonds | 12 years ago
0 likes

That's the same cam-lock mount that they use on the Tour Bag I tested last year. Works brilliantly, you just have to tighten up the strap until the catch snaps into place.

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