The Free Parable Monkii V Cage Bicycle Bottle Cage offers versatile carrying for use on all sorts of bikes including small-framed ones and most folders. It’s easy to use, takes bottles up to 1.5 litres and you can remove it completely with no fuss. It may not be not the prettiest or most aero – but it is very practical.
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Free Parable’s new Monkii V is an interesting alternative to a standard bottle cage and is designed primarily for non-standard bikes. Think folders, small-framed bikes, mountain bikes and the like, which can often struggle to accommodate a standard bottle cage.
The Monkii V Cage has plastic bosses that fasten to the bottle cage attachment points and then you just attach the Monkii Cage to the bosses, allowing you to remove the cage as and when you want. You simply strap the bottle in, and once in it’s supported by V-shaped forks at the bottom of the cage.
It only took a matter of minutes to fit the plastic bosses to my bike’s bottle cage mounts. And if your bike doesn’t have bottle bosses, Free Parable’s Monkii Clip and Monkii Corset accessories allow you to mount the cage in different places.
Once fitted, those plastic bosses stay put, and you can either take off the cage attached to the bottle or leave it in place and remove the bottle in a more traditional way. I found that the cage was a little more fiddly to get on and off than the previous version of the Monkii Cage I have used, but it was still pretty straightforward.
However, it meant that I left the cage in place and tended to just remove the bottle. Both options were a bit tricky when actually riding, so I’d be less inclined to use the Monkii Cage where speed and performance were important. That said, the instructions actually state you shouldn’t operate it while riding. It did keep the bottle stable and didn’t rattle or bounce out when going over bumpy terrain.
Where the Monkii Cage also excels, and not just for non-standard frames, is that it will carry bottles of all sorts of shapes and size – it’s rated to carry up to 1.5-litre sized bottles with a maximum load of 1.5kg.
I tried it with a few different bottles and flasks and it worked very well, no matter what size I used. It also does double duty as a holder for bags and the like for bikepackers, and I found it pretty nifty for this too, happily taking a rolled-up compact sleeping mat or a bit of spare clothing in a dry bag.
With a simple Velcro fastening strap with grippy underside that hangs onto the bottle, there’s very little here to go wrong, and it’s a sturdy set-up without much of a weight penalty.
Value
At £18.95 it’s a little dearer than many basic traditional bottle cage options, such as the £9.99 Topeak Ninja Master + Cage SK + that Stu tried out, but the Free Parable is more versatile and far less expensive than more luxury cage options like the adventurous and super-grippy Dawn to Dusk Captive 10 Cage at £54.99 that Mike reviewed.
It looks roughly comparable to the Granite Aux Carbon Bottle Cage that Ty tested for off.road.cc but the Free Parable cage is around £9 less expensive and a more practical and versatile option for bikepackers.
Ultimately, there are less expensive and more fancy bottle cage options on the market, but if you’re short of space and keen to have a cage that could double up as a holder for pretty much anything, then the Free Parable Monkii V Cage Bicycle Bottle Cage might be a good option to try.
Verdict
Well-designed and effective – a versatile and stable load-carrying option for non-standard frames
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Free Parable monkii V cage bicycle bottle cage
Size tested: One Size
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?
Designed to be a versatile bottle holder for those with less standard geometry frames and to accommodate a variety of bottle sizes and other items
Does a good job of offering plenty of options for load carrying
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Made of engineering grade plastic and sturdy nylon straps
In the box
monkii cage x1
Cleats x2
Velcro Straps x1
Screws x2
Max load 1.5kg
Other accessories are available
Very well made and very sturdy, though the main cage was a little overly plasticky.
Did a good job of holding a variety of sizes of bottles and flasks safely and securely, and it was very easy to use. It was just a little bit fiddly to slide the cage off the bosses.
There’s very little to go wrong here and everything is solidly made and sturdy.
Among the lightest non-carbon bottle cages.
Given how versatile it is, it’s very good value for money.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Very well.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
I liked the fact that you could easily remove the whole cage from the frame or leave it there as you would a traditional bottle cage. I also liked the ability to carry a flask or larger bottle and occasionally use it for backpacking luggage-carrying duties.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Just a bit plasticky looking and feeling and a bit clunky to take off and put on.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
At £18.95 it’s a little more expensive than many basic traditional bottle cage options, such as the Topeak Ninja Master + Cage SK + at £9.99 https://road.cc/content/review/topeak-ninja-master-cage-sk-291015 but it’s definitely more versatile and it’s far less expensive than more luxe cage options like the adventurous Dawn to Dusk Captive 10 Cage at £54.99 https://road.cc/content/review/dawn-dusk-kaptive-10-cage-294403 It looks roughly comparable to the Granite Aux Carbon Bottle Cage with strap kit https://road.cc/offroad/content/review/accessories-misc/granite-aux-carbon-bottle-cage-with-strap-kit-7945 but is around £9 less expensive and also offers a more practical and versatile option for bikepackers.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Definitely
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, particularly a bikepacker or one with a non-standard frame
Use this box to explain your overall score
Well-designed and easy to use, with good versatility for different load carrying. It’s sturdy and effective and not a bad price. An innovative solution for bottle (or luggage) carrying.
About the tester
Age: 48 Height: 1.65m Weight: 77kg
I usually ride: Liv Invite My best bike is: Specialized Ruby Elite
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: commuting, touring, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,
2 thoughts on “Free Parable Monkii V Cage Bicycle Bottle Cage”
I got the Fidlock, which does
I got the Fidlock, which does about the same thing but is a bit dearer. I like that this is even less obtrusive when not installed, would probably have bought instead had I known about it.
I have both the V and the
I have both the V and the “straight up and down” versions and find the latter easier to use. I’m using mine to carry a 1.5 litre bottle on the downtube when touring.
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