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Wolf Tooth B-RAD 4-Slot Mounting Base

7
£27.00

VERDICT:

7
10
The backbone of the Wolf Tooth B-RAD system, and it's a solid storage solution
Handy way to bolt extra stuff to your bike
Bit pricey
Pad and zip-tie anti-rattle solution is a fudge
Weight: 
53g

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The Wolf Tooth B-RAD 4-Slot Mounting Base is literally the backbone of the Wolf Tooth B-RAD system. It uses the existing water bottle mounts on your frame and lets you add or reposition bottles or bolt on the storage opportunities offered by the B-RAD range. B-RAD stands for Bottle Relocation & Accessory Device, if that helps with any confusion, while being rad, I suppose. It's a flexible system for organising on-bike bottle and accessories storage that can be customised to suit your specific needs.

The B-RAD Mounting Base comes in a variety of sizes (offroad.cc tested the B-RAD 2 last year). The 4-Slot is the largest of the breed, with nine threaded holes for the ultimate flexibility and capacity when bikepacking, touring, commuting or just exploring on two wheels, according to Wolf Tooth.

> Find your nearest dealer here

It's long enough to mount two small bottles in-line if you wanted, or just multiple accessories, and we all know how much some people just love adding things to their bike.

The 4-Slot Mounting Base is a 12in strip of metal with various slots and holes in it. The slots are there to nestle bottle cage bolts in, to secure the Mounting Base to a frame's bosses, and their length allows you to adjust the mount up and down to suit.

For mounting things to the Base, those nine threaded holes are designed to pair up, spaced at standard bottle boss distance. Want to use an existing bottle cage mount to add extra storage to your bike? Easy. Want to attach extra stuff to your bikepacking fork mounts? No problem.

At 6mm thick the mount is slim enough that it doesn't affect the position of an existing bottle cage a noticeable amount, nor does it look dorky on the bike. Yes, it matters.

2021 Wolf Tooth B-RAD 4-Slot Mounting Base 3.jpg

As well as handy for hanging extra bottle cages off, Wolf Tooth has developed a whole B-RAD range of mounts, bags and straps to add storage to your bike, and if you're prepared to buy into the system it does work incredibly well. It's great for adding storage possibilities to your bike, and a boon if your bike is lacking the extra mounts or space to carry stuff.

> Buyer’s Guide: 26 of the best bikepacking bags

I found the B-RAD 4-Slot Mounting Base most useful in piggy-backing something like the Wolf Tooth Medium Strap off the bottom of a bottle cage for a secure way of carrying a few bits and bobs on a ride, or for mounting the Wolf Tooth Pump Bag securely and out of the way to an under the down tube set of bottle bosses; that was particularly useful. (Full reviews of both, to come.)

> How to carry stuff on your bike

The Mounting Base comes with an auxiliary foam pad and zip-ties to stop the metal plate from rattling against your frame and damaging it. With the Base secured to the bike at one end and whatever accessory you fancy bolted to the other end, there's enough flex in the system for the Base to clatter against the frame. The pad and the zip-tie are there to stop this, but it feels very much like an afterthought and a bit of a bodge.

Price-wise, there's not really much like this around; the closest thing is the 76 Projects Piggy On Bike Storage that combines a bolt-on mount and strap system that's akin to the Wolf Tooth Mounting Base and Medium Strap and Accessory Mount, but works out cheaper because of its dedicated mount and strap design.

As a way of adding potential storage to your bike, the B-RAD Mounting Base is a good idea, and it does offer a far more secure way of adding stuff to your bike than the plethora of bags and straps you can lash to your bike these days. You'll have to buy into the Wolf Tooth system, though.

Verdict

The backbone of the Wolf Tooth B-RAD system, and it's a solid storage solution

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Wolf Tooth B-RAD 4-Slot Mounting Base

Size tested: Four slot

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?

BOTTLE RELOCATION & ACCESSORY DEVICE An innovative, flexible system for organising on-bike bottle storage and accessories.

Bases are the foundation for the Wolf Tooth B-RAD system and the rest of the B-RAD system mounts to them. Reposition bottle cages using existing bottle cage mounts on your bike and customize storage to your specific needs. Lightweight, durable, rust-proof materials. The 4 slot base of the B-RAD4 is the longest base with 9 threaded holes for the ultimate flexibility and capacity when bike packing, touring, commuting or just exploring on 2 wheels. It's long enough to mount 2 small bottles inline or multiple accessories. The B-RAD 4 includes the required zip ties, channels for the zip ties, and a foam pad for secure mounting Compatible with any frame that uses standard 64mm spacing bottle cage braze-ons (basically every modern frame).

As a mounting strip for the Wolf Tooth B-RAD system it works really well, allowing you to store tools and stuff without having to strap it to your frame.

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

Wolf Tooth lists:

Weight: 75g

Material: 6061-T6 aluminum

Length: 307mm

Thickness: 6 mm

Tools Needed: T25 Torx

Max Load: 1700g

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

It's essentially a well finished bit of metal.

Rate the product for performance:
 
6/10

It works well as a way of adding storage to a bike, marked down for the potential rattling issue that's solved by the pad and zip-tie.

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

It's a strip of metal, it and its fixings are likely to last.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
6/10
Rate the product for value:
 
3/10

Works out more expensive than the similar 76 Projects Piggy, and feels like a lot for a bit of metal with holes in.

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

As a way of attaching extra bits to your bike, bottles or other B-RAD components, it worked well; the belt and braces fix of a foam pad and zip-tie to stop it rattling was a major disappointment.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

A handy, secure, strap-free way of adding storage possibilities to the bike.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The foam pad and zip-tie anti-rattle workaround.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

There's not really much like this around, the closest thing is the 76 Projects Piggy On Bike Storage that combines a bolt-on mount and strap system that's akin to the Wolf Tooth Mounting Base and Medium Strap and Accessory Mount but works out cheaper because of its dedicated mount and strap design.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yup, quite a handy and secure way of adding storage possibilities to your bike, especially when combined with other items in the Wolf Tooth B-RAD range.

Would you consider buying the product? I have a lot of on-bike storage solutions already, but this does extend options.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? If they were into long rides that required everything strapped to their bikes, then yes.

Use this box to explain your overall score

To get the most out of the Wolf Tooth Mounting Base you really need to buy into the B-RAD system, which might put you off compared with just buying a strap-on storage solution, but it does work, offering a secure and scratch-free answer to on-bike stowage. It's not cheap, but it's good quality kit.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 50  Height: 180cm  Weight: 73kg

I usually ride: It varies as to the season.  My best bike is: The one I\'m on at the time

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: road racing, cyclo cross, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Fun

Jo Burt has spent the majority of his life riding bikes, drawing bikes and writing about bikes. When he's not scribbling pictures for the whole gamut of cycling media he writes words about them for road.cc and when he's not doing either of those he's pedaling. Then in whatever spare minutes there are in between he's agonizing over getting his socks, cycling cap and bar-tape to coordinate just so. And is quietly disappointed that yours don't He rides and races road bikes a bit, cyclo-cross bikes a lot and mountainbikes a fair bit too. Would rather be up a mountain.

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