Fabric, the company best known for a range of saddles developed by the guys behind Charge Bicycles, has branched out and introduced the new cageless Fabric Water Bottle, which does away with the traditional water bottle cage in favour of custom bottle bosses.
The new Fabric Water Bottle is a complete solution. It uses a pair of custom mounts that fit to regular water bottle bosses and the special water bottle simply hooks onto these mounts. Fabric says it’s secure and enables easy quick release.
The biggest benefit of this design, according to Fabric, is that it’s very light – the mounts weigh just 3g, lighter than even the lightest carbon fibre bottle cage. The mounts also maintain the clean lines of the bicycle when a bottle isn’t being used as well. Fabric also reckons its new system is more secure than a conventional water bottle and cage, so less chance of losing a bottle when riding over rough ground or cobbles.
It’s not quite as revolutionary as Fabric would like you to believe, the Vincero Design Stratus20 bottle and mount system uses a similar design approach, but that one uses magnets in a specially designed mount and compatible water bottle.
The Fabric Water Bottle is significant cheaper though, it costs £11.99, which gets you the bottle and mounts. Initially it is only offering a 600ml bottles but plans to add a 750ml at the end of the year, and also adds that the system allows for different bottle sizes and shapes, allowing the possibility of bespoke designs.
26 thoughts on “Fabric launches new cageless Water Bottle”
But you have to put the
But you have to put the bottle onto the mount the right way round, unlike any other mount that takes the bottle at any angle of rotation. Can’t see it being very user friendly.
No cage, but how heavy is the
No cage, but how heavy is the bottle with the rubber slots/bottle guides compared to a bottle with out
looks like faff to line it up
So, a bottle that will only
So, a bottle that will only engage at one angle, that uses a proprietary mount that can only take that brand of bottle? or a decent cage that can take a bottle jammed at it from a wide range of angles, from any orientation, and that will take any standard size bottle and even a wine bottle?
Which is the better idea?
“a wine bottle”. What an
“a wine bottle”. What an excellent idea. Shall take same for next long ride, for a picnic en route.
solution looking for a
solution looking for a problem
@alistairkings – depends if
@alistairkings – depends if functionality or design is your priority, and it’s not exactly as if this were not functional…
You have to remember that one
You have to remember that one litre of water weighs one kilogram, so saving a few grams on the weight of a bottle cage is neither here nor there. 😕
Having said that, everybody’s free to buy and use whatever kit they wish.
I remember having a very very
I remember having a very very similar design back in the 1980s:
scroll down on this page to see the RDR Bologna system, look familiar?
http://midlifecycling.blogspot.de/2014/11/with-or-without-cage.html
Coming to a roadside gutter
Coming to a roadside gutter near you! 😉
looks a wee bit foutery…and
looks a wee bit foutery…and puncturey as the peloton ride over a dropped bottle…
Will be interesting to see
Will be interesting to see how simple it is to reconnect the bottle when you’re on the rivet. Looks a good option if you’re a fan of clean lines though.
SamShaw wrote:Will be
That’s my concern, getting it back in, especially on a climb.
yep no good for the bottle of
yep no good for the bottle of Bollinger in mine…
Surely if you reach down,
Surely if you reach down, grab the bottle, remove it, lift it, drink from it and reach back down to replace it, then your hand will not at any point slip around and therefore the slots should be perfectly aligned to the bosses when you go to replace it.
I get the point about compatibility with other bottles, but as I usually go out and come back with the same bottle on my cycle rides, I’d definitely give this a go at this price. I don’t care how flash your bottle cage is, this is a far more aesthetically elegant solution.
In fact I’m going to buy one now.
DOH! – Available September 15
M
They should have been more
They should have been more honest there.
Advantage? Clean look.
Claiming that it is better in every aspect than the conventional type is a marketing suicide.
If I was in a position to buy
If I was in a position to buy a new bike I’d give them a go. But with a dozen standard bottles and 2 cages on my bike I’m not going to be changing soon. Does look like a solution looking for a problem though.
I had a similar system a few
I had a similar system a few years ago but reverted back to standard bottle & cage.
There was a strong magnet on the frame & the same in the bottle, obviously opposing poles. The system worked well & the bottle snapped into the holder & was very firm once in place but I found myself looking down, spinning the bottle sometimes just to get in in the position for the magnets to engage. A standard setup usually means I can just put the bottle into the cage without even glancing down.
So you have to have specific bottles & specific “cage/holder”, its just easier to have a normal bottle & cage.
I’d give it a go if it
I’d give it a go if it weren’t for the fact that It won’t work with the half dozen normal bottles I already own and regularly use.
Brilliant.
But as I will have
Brilliant.
But as I will have to stop to put the bottle back I may as well take a picnic chair and enjoy the rest. Do they do a picnic chair and boss for the seat tube mounts?
hectorhtaylor
As Mungecrundle has already pointed out, unless you are prone to doing some weird juggling routine inbetween getting your bottles out of their mounts and putting them back, then there’s not much reason for it not to go back pretty easily.
Not sure if i’m sold on it for general use myself (lovely clean lines though) but some of you seem to make out it’s going to be some sort of dromedarian eyelet insertion issue.
I seem to remember something
I seem to remember something pretty well identical to this in about 1975. I don’t think it had special bosses though, I think it just fitted over the screw heads. I rather think it didn’t catch on.
I have two conventional
I have two conventional bottle cages on my bike because I sometimes need the extra capacity but normally I just take one bottle out on a ride. I quite like the idea of this system, for my second bottle at least. I’ll probably get one when it is released and give it a try unless road.cc post a crushing review of it in the meantime.
Doesn’t anyone else have
Doesn’t anyone else have their fingers between bottle and down tube as they slide it back into the cage? This looks like it’ll pinch fingers
Daft idea.
Daft idea.
Far too many ‘if it doesn’t
Far too many ‘if it doesn’t suit me it’s cr*p’
Good for small frames.
Good for ditching bottles before a sprint, as no cages left in the wind.
Good for aero bottles or other non-conventional shapes.
Better than expect
As a bottle was only $22 with 2 mounts, I grabbed one to test out and I am enjoying it. Much easier to get in than expected. So I bought another and a mate bought 2.
Mounting the bottle is one of those things that takes some effort the first ride or two, but then you start lining it up and slotting it in without thinking about it and as fast as a cage.
People have said they come loose. I haven’t lost any and I have taken them on some TERRIBLE roads that are known to eject bottles from cages. I have noticed there is two “clicks” when you mount the bottle. So if you only go to the first click, then the bottle probably would come loose. You need to push down hard and feel the two clicks to get it secure. Again, it becomes natural and mindless once you are used to it.
I have also noticed there is a difference in tightness between bottles when mounting. So their Quality Assurance might not be the best and some people might get bottles more loose and prone to ejecting.