3d printed titanium bottle cage 7.18 grams .

[SK5]

Had this custom made for me by a company in the far east . So many new companies doing 3d printed titanium stuff and if you have seen my full titanium world record mtb then you can see I have a lot of this stuff so I trust it .

It has also been custom anodised in blue fade .

I have added carbon fiber bolts which are less than a gram for a pair .

If anyone sees my facebook you would have seen my Carbonworks cage which I got to less than 4 grams fully painted . However I just love the added strength of titanium and less than double the weight .

[Juanmoretime]

I assume you need to use a tapered bottle with this cage?

[SK5]

No just a normal bottle . The base hits the seat tube and acts as a bottle stop . The bottle has to be large not small .

[SK5]

The original design has a bottle stop but I asked them to remove it . So they sent me a cad screen shot of the cage before printing .

[SK5]

The company is called FacFox and this is on my Scott bike .

[SK5]

Check the new weight . Even lighter .

[SK5]

I cut very thnly in the middle of the arms . Very difficulty but managed it . I kept the areas near the bolt holes and and the top section solid for added strength and stiffness .

[SK5]

Finally with the carbon fiber bolts comes to 6.4 grams . By far the lightest metal bottle cage in the world . If you want to see my sub 4gram carbon works cage in custom silver and bronze make a comment here .

[js]

This is impressive, full-weenie work, but what I'd really like to see is a video of that cage holding a bottle through a rock garden.

The requirement of using a very large bottle to have it rest against the seat tube seems a bit backwards... as that requirement surely adds more weight to the bike than a miniscule bottle stop, which would also remove the risk of abbrasion & damage to the frame.

From an engineering point, I appreciate a lot of what you're able to produce. Personally, I find it lands on the wrong side of the weight over function balance. I like to see work with fewer compromises, but to I appreciate that may not be where your motivation is. Still very cool to see.

[SK5]

While it is true that a larger bottle would add more weight the initial weight of the bike with no bottle (as bikes are weighed with no additional accessories like bottles, multitools etc) is less .

[SK5]

The bottle cage is still very solid (once bolted on) . The cuts are extremely fine so no large chunks have been removed . The beauty of titanium for stuff like this is not only is it light but can take more a beating . Of course carbon is the ultimate in terms of weight but I couldn't do this with a carbon cage .

[SK5]

Oh I was messaged on another site about the price if anyone is interested . For me including shipping to uk was 160 dollars and that includes anodisation . Unfortunately 3d printed titanium is still at an expensive stage but in time will get cheaper .

[SK5]

One final point (apologies but if I type all in one message it looks overwhelming) . This is for my world record sub 6.4kg mtb . I'm trying to get it even lighter but this time with a bottle cage . I've done additional work since it was weighed like adding carbon spokes, making my own titanium springs for the derailleur, modifying the bar plugs and stem plugs (1 gram each) . The bike rides well and can take a lot .

[tiddytoddy]

SK5 that is a thing of beauty! Any plans to sell these?