Users of the Fabric bottle cage system, opinions please.

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burglarboycie
Posts: 988
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:58 pm
Location: Northamptonshire UK

by burglarboycie

Hi all.

I'm interested to know the opinion of anyone who has used the Fabric water bottle for a while. How does it bare up to regular use? Is the fit still snug after a while? Any random bottle ejections etc.
I use Camelbak podium bottles normally so how do the bottles themselves compare?

Thanks in advance
Last edited by burglarboycie on Thu Jul 13, 2017 1:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

by Weenie


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corky
Posts: 1732
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:53 pm
Location: The Surrey Hills

by corky

I had the bottle and bosses when they first came out...... ironically the bottle came out on the first ride and shattered.....I emailed Fabric and got no response.......my response is never to buy fabric products again.

burglarboycie
Posts: 988
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:58 pm
Location: Northamptonshire UK

by burglarboycie

That's not good!!

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hmai18
Posts: 628
Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 12:19 am
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada.

by hmai18

I use it on my 'cross bike during race season during warm up and training days, simply to not have to constantly take a cage on and off to allow for shouldering. No issues for this occasional use, but I find it easier to slide a regular bottle into a cage than using the little studs.

The bottle is a bit stiff for squeezing.

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4ibanez
Posts: 556
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2014 4:54 pm
Location: Norwich, UK
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by 4ibanez

You have to lean down a long way to get the bottle into the right place. Also the bottle has to be in exactly the right position unlike a cage, where you can chuck it in any which way. It's not the easiest and you have to be sure the bottle is fully secure or it can fall out. The extra time it takes to access and replace the bottle changes your behaviour in a bad way... if a bit of really rough tarmac or a corner's coming up, I chicken out of going for a drink. Finally, the bottles leak out of the nozzle when full and don't squirt out water as well as the Purist bottles I have.

Edit: with replacement light bolts, they're the lightest setup you can get, and it's a nice clean look. As you probably guaged, the cons outweight the pros for me. When I drop a bottle or I'll get completely sick of cleaning sticky residue off the frame, cranks etc I'll put my BTPs back on and never look back.

NiFTY
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

Have them. Elegant look. Difficult to replace bottle while riding. Bottle doesn't work very well - slow flow rate not easily squeezable as one side is stiff to take the lug mounts. Carbonworks cages work well with camelbaks.
Evo 4.9kg SL3 6.64kg Slice RS 8.89kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

burglarboycie
Posts: 988
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:58 pm
Location: Northamptonshire UK

by burglarboycie

Thanks for the responses everyone. It's made my mind up that's for sure!! I'll stick with what i know :beerchug:

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wheelsONfire
Posts: 6283
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:15 am
Location: NorthEU

by wheelsONfire

corky wrote:I had the bottle and bosses when they first came out...... ironically the bottle came out on the first ride and shattered.....I emailed Fabric and got no response.......my response is never to buy fabric products again.


Haha... i had one of their bar tapes. Complete crap!
It was worn down in one week!!
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

wingguy
Posts: 4318
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:43 pm

by wingguy

Really? The cageless bottle is a total fad - style over substance, but we've sold boatloads of their bartape and used a fair bit on our own bikes and never had an issue with it. Lasted for ages :noidea:

mike001100
Posts: 103
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2016 10:26 am

by mike001100

Regarding "never buy fabric" - your choice, I have their ALM saddle on my cross bike and it ain't bad...

by Weenie


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Mrseasons
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:00 pm

by Mrseasons

i love the fabric stuff personally. Have you seen their new light for between your garmin and outfront mount? yes please!!

anyway, yep i've had a set of these bottles, they worked fine on the road and had a good grip to them, plus they make the bike look super slick without the bottles on. So yeah. i'd buy them again

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