New posts

Fabric cageless water bottle - review

Oct. 25, 2015, 12:15 a.m.
D_C_
Posts: 1026
Joined: June 26, 2012

I picked up a Fabric cageless bottle, which seemed like an elegant solution for my Kona Process 134's bottle mount on the underside of the downtube.

Halfway down my first lap with it, on Bobsled, the bottle came off, I ran it over, and it exploded.

I know; cool story, bro. But there's not much information out there on these, and I wanted to warn others with a bottle mount under the frame that this product may not work for you.

It may work better for bottle mounts inside the front triangle. Your mileage may vary.

Edit: I emailed Fabric with pics and details of what happened. They responded quickly and are sending a new bottle with studs of a softer plastic said to better absorb vibrations. I look forward to trying it out. Read below.

Oct. 25, 2015, 1:19 a.m.
Nick2468
Posts: 1354
Joined: Oct. 11, 2003

Well that's disappointing. I have a process as well and was pretty interested in these so I don't have to mount a cage.

Oct. 25, 2015, 6:08 a.m.
D_C_
Posts: 1026
Joined: June 26, 2012

Yeah, definitely disappointing. I liked the idea of not having an ugly cage hanging down there when not using a bottle.

In contrast, I have not lost a single bottle yet in a few months of running a Specialized Zee cage.

Oct. 25, 2015, 10:36 a.m.
Jeff-M
Posts: 2154
Joined: Jan. 10, 2003

Oh no, that sucks. Having a brand new product grenade itself on the first outing is brutal.

I'm intrigued by the Fabric design too. I ride with a hydration pack about half the time and use a water bottle for shorter rides on Fromme. Anyone else using one?

Probably jinxing myself here but I haven't lost a bottle out of a regular cage ever.

Oct. 25, 2015, 10:48 a.m.
DemonMike
DemonMike
Posts: 2412
Joined: Sept. 5, 2012

biggest issue with the Process is the bottom mounted bottle mounts , i run a Bontrager cage on my 167 with a 24oz Camel Back bottle and i have yet to lose a bottle .

crappy deal on the Fabric design , thanks for sharing your result will steer clear of it

#northsidetrailbuilders

Oct. 25, 2015, 12:18 p.m.
Nick2468
Posts: 1354
Joined: Oct. 11, 2003

I've been putting off buying a cage for ages and just dealing with the full pack on every ride. Looks like it's time to bite the bullet and go with a cage.

Edit: Picked up a bottle and cage today and went for a ride. Got a camelbak bottle and the opening got absolutely packed with dirt on the short ride I did. Do you guys just deal with it or find a bottle with a cover of sorts?

Oct. 25, 2015, 6:41 p.m.
DemonMike
DemonMike
Posts: 2412
Joined: Sept. 5, 2012

yup down fall of the camelback bottle , if it gets too dirty i undo the lid and drink out of the bottle , being a under mount on the frame i don,t drink while pedaling

#northsidetrailbuilders

Oct. 25, 2015, 6:45 p.m.
yellowdogx
Posts: 2658
Joined: July 6, 2003

I picked up a Fabric cageless bottle, which seemed like an elegant solution for my Kona Process 134's bottle mount on the underside of the downtube.

Halfway down my first lap with it, on Bobsled, the bottle came off, I ran it over, and it exploded.

I know; cool story, bro. But there's not much information out there on these, and I wanted to warn others with a bottle mount under the frame that this product may not work for you.

It may work better for bottle mounts inside the front triangle. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the review. Was looking forward to picking a few of these up for myself and kid.
:(

Originally posted by Purecanadianhoney
I don't see how hard it would be to scrape out the head of your cock once in a while.

Oct. 25, 2015, 8:21 p.m.
Mike-E
Posts: 261
Joined: Oct. 15, 2003

Who sells them locally?

Oct. 25, 2015, 8:46 p.m.
D_C_
Posts: 1026
Joined: June 26, 2012

Who sells them locally?

I got my at Bicycle Sports Pacific downtown. They had a bunch of them.

Oct. 25, 2015, 8:58 p.m.
leggatt
Posts: 0
Joined: Oct. 6, 2005

They seem like a neat idea, but the cage looks so much more secure. Are there adapters for regular bottles?

Oct. 25, 2015, 9:53 p.m.
C.Lee
Posts: 0
Joined: June 12, 2004

They seem like a neat idea, but the cage looks so much more secure. Are there adapters for regular bottles?

don't think you really want an adapter if the bottles designed for the cage isn't working out

Oct. 25, 2015, 10:29 p.m.
CraigH
Posts: 8848
Joined: Nov. 19, 2002

I use the Nalgene bike bottle, I used to buy them from REI but the last 2 times I checked they didn't carry them anymore.

Oct. 26, 2015, 7:20 a.m.
leggatt
Posts: 0
Joined: Oct. 6, 2005

don't think you really want an adapter if the bottles designed for the cage isn't working out

It was more a question if all your exits bottles were rendered completely useless. If the cage isn't secure and you have to buy a few new bottles it would seem to be a waste of money.

Oct. 27, 2015, 8:59 a.m.
D_C_
Posts: 1026
Joined: June 26, 2012

An update: I emailed Fabric with photos and a description of what happened. They'll be sending me a new bottle with studs made from a softer compound, which will be included in their next run to distributors in January.

Overall, very impressive customer service and I am hopeful the new studs will work out.

Here is the email I got:

First of all, sorry for your disappointment regards the bottle and many thanks for your feedback. MTB’s are the only types of bikes where these have stayed on 100% of the time even from our very first test bottle (we all ride mtbs xc and ‘enduro’). Road bikes have been harder to get right throughout testing where the fast frequency vibrations and stiff frame/ solid tyres have been causing us headaches.

I’m happy to send a new bottle over to you to replace that one but I will also send some different compound studs made of PU which provide more grip and absorb vibrations. I will send a soft and medium compound. We are now using the medium ones and they will be supplied as standard in the next delivery to our distributors around January. These have proved much better on the road bikes and held them solid, this should transfer over to your bike happily too.

Our only concern about having the bottle hanging down there is that it doesn’t have the protection of a cage underneath (or the frame triangle) so off’s and lay downs may cause the bottle to lever against the studs under whatever weight goes on top of it.

Can I have your address please and I’ll send a clr/blk one over to you with the new studs. The medium studs have a small ‘2’ inside.

Forum jump: