Ti Cages - Ease of Insert

[ipenguinking]

I've been using a pair of King titanium cages on my custom ti bikes since the frame was delivered few months ago. I bought these cages used for $50 years ago without ever installing on my bike. While these cages look very good ti bike, I've found inserting a bottle while riding isn't the easiest thing as they are very tight, especially when bottle is lighter with less than half full. In comparison the Arundel Madible cages on my other bike offer both easy in/out and I've never lose a bottle on bumpy road. My question is are those ti cages from Silca or Wolftooth offer easier in/out as well as good grip on bumpy road? I would like to stick with ti cages since they look the best on ti frame, only if I don't have problem using them.

[ipenguinking]

double post

[nickf]

Are you able to bend them out a bit to get the grip of the cage where you want it? I had king stainless cages in the past, just slightly pulled on them to loosen them up.

[ipenguinking]

I tried but ti has very good memeory for going back to the original shape. Plus I did not want to pull too much since those aluminium rivetnuts installed on the frame can be fragile. Maybe I can try with cage off the bike?

[wilwil]

My Silca ones are fine with Camel back Podium bottles.

[rcrowley]

Camelback Podium bottles definitely fit tighter than typical Specialized bottles in my Ti King Cages but they can be bent to suit somewhat and I haven't found that they lose holding power after doing so.

[mikemelbrooks]

I had the opposite problem, the Ti cages ejected water bottles regularly, they are fitted to a tandem and they are nearly horizontal. If you are worried about your rivnuts I would remove them from my bike and screw them into a piece of wood.

[Bigger Gear]

I have both King Ti and King stainless, and IMO the King Ti hold a bottle less snugly. I have the Ti on one bike and the stainless on three other bikes. You are correct in that trying to set the Ti cages by bending is pretty much pointless, whereas the stainless ones can be snugged up with some gentle bending. I'm also willing to bet there are very small variations in how tight the Ti cages are from cage to cage as new. In the past 5 years the only bottle I can remember ejecting was from the seat tube Ti cage. I am using the latest Camelbak Podium bottles almost exlusively FWIW.

I also have some of the original Arundel Dave-O carbon cages, these are really good as they hold a bottle very snug but can release easily. The Mandible cages also get excellent reviews, I've never owned. I also have a ridiculously expensive pair of ENVE carbon cages sitting on a shelf because they are almost impossible to remove a bottle out of while riding.