Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Updated July 2022
Consider this as part three in a Gear Index subset all about bottle cages, cargo carriers, and boss-mounted bags for carrying extra gear and water. If you’re looking for solutions for attaching cages or adding mounts to your frame, check out Ways to Attach Bottle Cages and Add Cage Mounts to Your Bike. And if you’re interested in larger, open-sided, Anything-style cargo cages, go to the Complete List of Cargo Cages and Fork-Mounted Bags. In this Gear Index, we’ve assembled a growing list of oversized bottle cages for storing larger water bottles, useful bottle cages that are slightly unconventional, and several extensively tested standard-sized bottle cages that we can confidently recommend for bikepacking and touring.
Choosing Bottle Cages for Bike Touring
It may seem excessive to put a lot of thought and writing into a piece of gear as mundane as the bottle cage, but bottle cages used on long off-road tours and rugged bikepacking trips take a lot of wear and tear. In addition to being constantly abused by the duty of securing heavy bottles on rough surfaces, they often get knocked around while in transport, and they’re prone to bending and breaking. With that said, we’ve found it rather important to have good, reliable cages. After all, as heavy as it is, it’s ideal to put water on the bike, not on your back. Nobody wants to carry a three-liter hydration backpack while out riding long, consecutive days. So, here are the three criteria we used to choose the bottle cages in this reference list:
Oversized Bottle Cages
On most tours, we typically carry two cages that fit standard water bottles and one or two oversized cages. And on routes such as the Baja Divide that require even more water capacity, bottles such as 32oz Nalgenes or 40oz Klean Kanteens are a must. In this list, you’ll find all the oversized bottle cages we could scrounge up.
Specialist Bottle Cages
Throughout the list, you’ll notice a few bottle cages that are slightly atypical. Some are particularly useful for different sizes or types of bottles, such as a stainless steel bottle. Others enable various placements of the cage, a handy feature when you’re using other bags that interfere with the bottle, such as a half-frame bag.
Bomber Bottle Cages
Over the years (and kilometers), we’ve used all types and brands of bottle cages and broken quite a few of them. We’ve found that you can almost always find replacements in practically every country, but most cheap wire cages wear out and become flimsy. So, we also included the ones that have stood the test of time.
As with other Gear Indexes, you’ll see the bottle cages we’ve tested at the top of the list, each indicated with a hexagonal “T” icon and a slightly darker background.
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$26.95
Arundel Looney Bin
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Plastic/aluminum
- Bottle Size: 62-92mm Diameter
- Attachment: 2 bosses/bolts
CloseArundel designed the Looney Bin based on the fact that not every bottle is the standard 73mm in diameter, and not everyone wants to use a “regular” bottle while on their bike. Using a ratcheting knob, the Looney Bin will hold anything from a small PET bottle, to a large bottle of Pinot Noir, as shown here in Tasmania. We were a little worried about how this plastic cage would hold up, but we’ve been extremely impressed after using it for thousands of miles, without issue.
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$55
Bedrock Honaker
- Type: Soft Water Bottle Cage
- Made of: X-pac/Rhinotec/Cordura
- Attachment: Velco Straps
- Bottle Size: Nalgene 32oz
CloseWe’re firm believers that every bike should feature bottle cage mounts on the underside of its down tube, bar a few suspended 26ers, where clearance is tight. It’s a no-brainer area for water storage; the center of gravity is kept low, and there’s rarely any interference with terrain or obstacles. Unfortunately, all too many bikes skimp on such potential for water hauling. Bedrock’s Honaker Hydro Pack comes in handy for just such scenarios, designed as it is to hold a 1L Nalgene bottle, via a bag strapped to your bike’s down tube.
The Honaker features with a strip of Velcro sewn in vertically, as well as an adhesive backed strip for the down tube of the bike. This doesn’t act as support, but works to keep the bag from rotating or sliding. There are two main straps that hold the bag in place; each has a rubberized backing material where they make contact, providing a secure anchor point. The spindrift collar is designed to keep the bottle clean, a nice feature when riding in cattle country. It was originally designed to fit a standard 700-800ml water bottle, but now has been updated to fit a larger Nalgene. We tested it using the Zefal 1L Magnum.
We used the Honaker mounted to the Marin Pine Mountain 2 on our trip in southern Spain. It worked flawlessly, and we rode some rough stuff. The only complaint is that it was a little tough to get the bottle in and out without undoing the straps a little. But if you approach it as storage for a backup bottle for camp use, it’s perfect. Overall it’s a ruggedly built product that works well for bikes without down tube mounts
- Weight: 77 grams (2.7 oz)
- Price: $55
- Place of Manufacture: Colorado, USA
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$26
King Cage Iris
- Type: Standard Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel
- Bottle Size: Standard Bidon/Bottle
- Attachment: 2 eyelets/bolts
CloseThe King Cage Iris is a little different from most ‘tabbed’ bottle cages. The tabs at the top of most cages are designed to catch the indentation found on most plastic bottles. Without this feature, the Iris works perfectly for the smooth-sided Klean Kanteen 27oz or 16oz insulated water bottles. While not quite as secure as others, we’ve used the Iris quite a bit and love it.
- Weight: 49 grams (1.7 oz)
- Price: $26
- Place of Manufacture: Colorado, USA
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$26
King Cage Stainless Steel Cage
- Type: Standard Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel or Ti
- Bottle Size: Standard Bidon/Bottle
- Attachment: 2 bolts/bosses
CloseWhen asked what their preferred bottle cage is, nine out of ten bikepackers will name the King Cage Stainless Steel Cage. It’s a pretty straightforward design, but it’s built from quality stainless steel tubing in Durango, Colorado, and it’s generally bombproof. They are pretty sturdy, but if they do get knocked and contorted, you can simply bend them back into shape.
- Weight: 48 grams (1.7 oz)
- Price: $26 (Stainless)
- Place of Manufacture: Colorado, USA
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon (stainless) Amazon (Ti)
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$11
Lezyne Power Cage
- Type: Lezyne Power Cage
- Made of: Aluminum
- Bottle Size: Standard Water Bottle
- Attachment: 2 bosses/bolts
CloseThe Lezyne Power Bottle cage is one of the best and most burly cages we’ve used. At just 66 grams, that’s impressive. A lot of folks say the King Cage is the best, but I think it has competition. I have three of them and they’ve withstood the rigors of two tours, carried water for over 15,000 kilometers – sometimes on incredibly rough tracks – survived being banged around in and on top of busses and trains, and I’ll confidently bolt them on for the next trip. The best thing about these cages is the fact that they maintain their snug grip. They’re made of oversized hollow aluminum tubing for strength, and the wrap-around design securely holds bottles over rough terrain. I’ve found stainless cages prone to bending and becoming loose, which can produce rattling when used with metal bottles.
- Weight: 66 grams (2.3 oz)
- Price: $11
- Place of Manufacture: Taiwan
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon Jenson
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$85
Rogue Panda Bismarck Bottle Bucket
- Type: Handlebar Bottle Cage
- Made of: X-pac/Cordura/plastic/etc
- Attachment: 2 Straps
- Bottle Size: Standard Bottle
CloseNamed after Bismarck Lake, a water source off of the Arizona Trail north of Flagstaff, the Bismarck V2 was completely redesigned in spring 2022 to be more secure and even easier to use. It features a Voile strap fork crown attachment, it can be mounted on either side of your stem, and they’ve added exterior pockets on all four sizes of the bag. There are three mesh pockets and one large drawstring pocket that can fit a 12oz can for even more hydration storage. It’s easily the highest-capacity stem bag available that we’re aware of.
- Weight: 127 grams (4.5 oz)
- Price: $85
- Place of Manufacture: Arizona, USA
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$20
Salsa Nickless Cage
- Type: Standard Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel
- Bottle Size: standard Bidon/Bottle
- Attachment: 2 bolts/bosses
CloseThe Nickless Cage from Salsa is a well-designed and aesthetically pleasing stainless cage. It made this list because it never failed, even after many thousands of miles. I would point out that this cage is probably better suited to gravel or dirt-road riding over singletrack mountain biking; and better for plastic bottles than stainless. It bends a little, and with a stainless bottle this can get pretty annoying. However, it bends back in place and seems invincible. Another perk is that it has two strap slots, which make it the best cage in this list for hose clamping to a suspension fork. Some people report that the steel used on the Nickless can mark up the bottles, but that’s never been an issue for me.
- Weight: 50 grams (1.8 oz)
- Price: $20
- Place of Manufacture: Taiwan
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$70
Silca Sicuro Bottle Cage
- Type: Alt-position Bottle Cage
- Made of: Titanium
- Bottle Size: Standard Bidon/Bottle
- Attachment: Standard Water Bottle
CloseWhen designing the Sicuro, Silca set out to make a tubular titanium bottle cage with solid bottle retention on gravel and other harsh surfaces. According to Silca, this was an especially important factor to scrutinize on the underside of the down tube, a common bottle placement location while touring. We’ve put nearly 1,000 miles on one of these cages and can confirm that it does an excellent job of securely storing a bottle I used it with a full liter Zefal Magnum bottle and was impressed. Unlike a couple flimsier titanium cages we’ve tried, this one keeps its shape and stays solid. Another nice touch is that it comes with two titanium panhead bolts.
- Weight: 28 grams (1 oz)
- Price: $70
- Place of Manufacture: Indiana, USA
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$23
SJS Alloy cage (or M-Wave)
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Aluminum
- Bottle Size: 1.5L PET bottle
- Attachment: 2 eyelets or Hose Clamps
CloseI bought this cage on SJS Cycles along with another order, kind of a last minute item that I tossed into the shopping cart. Surprisingly, it’s proven to be one of the best cages I’ve ever owned. It’s slightly oversized, so it fits larger 1.5L plastic bottles. I also drilled a third hole in it for use with a three-pack boss. Gin used it for a while under her downtube and I had it mounted to my fork. It’s lasted for thousands of miles. I can’t say the same thing for the little rubber cap holder, but a strap or velcro wrap easily replaces that. I was surprised to find it still on the SJS site and available under a different brand on Amazon.
- Weight: 118 grams (4.2 oz)
- Price: $23
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon
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$17
Topeak Modula XL Bottle Cage
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Aluminum
- Bottle Size: Oversized PET Bottle
- Attachment: 2 bolts
CloseSome folks might argue that this cage shouldn’t have made the list. I have met a couple people who have broken them, and saw one that had been welded. Somehow, ours held up for countless miles, and it’s become something of a touring standard. Most of the time, it’s the rubber piece that breaks, and a cord or multiple rubber bands are used to hold the spout of the bottle in place. That said, if it’s available, I would probably pick the SJS cage in its place instead, but the Modula has a couple of perks. It’s rigid, holds an oversized plastic bottle, and it’s fairly lightweight at 125 grams. Plus, it’s adjustable, meaning it can accommodate almost any bottle you want to carry.
- Weight: 131 grams (4.6 oz)
- Price: $17
- Place of Manufacture: Taiwan
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$39
Velo Orange Mojave Bottle Cage
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel
- Bottle Size: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Attachment: 2 or 3 eyelets/bolts
CloseThe hardwearing, stainless steel Mojave bottle cage is designed to fit a 32oz Nalgene bottle, 32 oz insulated Klean Kanteen, all the way up to a 40oz Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottle–which are a great way of avoiding potentially unhealthy plastics. The mounting plate has five holes to allow you to position it in three locations, higher or lower, to best fit your frame. You can also mount it on to three-pack water bottle boss configurations for added support. Although a little on the heavy side, we’ve been impressed; there’s no rattle at all with a 40oz Klean Kanteen, or any risk of a bottle jumping out when secured with a Voilé strap.
- Price: $39
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon Campfire Cycling
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$42
Widefoot LiterCage
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel
- Bottle Size: 32oz Nalgene/40oz Klean Kanteen
- Attachment: 2 or 3 bolts or Hose Clamps
CloseThe Widefoot LiterCage holds 3.5″ diameter bottles, such as larger offerings from Nalgene, Hydro Flask, and Klean Kanteen. It features a unique slotted 7-hole mounting plate that allows multiple settings on standard two-bolt mounting bosses or three-pack bosses. In addition, its slotted plate allows it to be attached using hose clamps or straps. We’ve been using the LiterCage with a 40oz Klean Kanteen, as shown. It works great, although we recommend using a Voilé strap to secure it for off-road riding. This keeps the bottle secure and prevents any rattling.
- Weight: 136 grams (4.8 oz)
- Price: $42
- Place of Manufacture: Nebraska, USA
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$70
Wolf Tooth Morse Cage
- Type: Alt-position Bottle Cage
- Made of: Titanium
- Bottle Size: Standard Bidon/Bottle
- Attachment: 2 bosses/bolts
CloseThe titanium Morse Cages are built from hand-bent hollow titanium tubing, weigh just 33 grams, and offer a versatile array of finely tunable mounting positions thanks to their dot-dash-dot-dash mounting pattern. Pair the cages with Wolf Tooth’s B-RAD system and you have nearly endless adjustability.
- Weight: 33 grams (1.2 oz)
- Price: $70 (Titanium)
- Place of Manufacture: Minnesota, USA
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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€35
Atelier Medium Biggy Bottle Cage
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Steel
- Bottle Size: Nalgene 32oz
- Attachment: 2 Bosses/Bolts
CloseThe made-in-France Atelier Medium Biggy Bottle Cage is an oversized cage for Nalgene bottles and the like. It has two mounting positions, is made of steel, and comes in six different colors.
- Weight: 210 grams (7.4 oz)
- Price: €35
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$22
DOM Monkii Cage and Clip
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage and Mount
- Made of: Plastic
- Attachment: Hinged Clamp
CloseThe Free Parable (DOM) Monkii Cage is a universal bottle holder made of Polyamide nylon and designed to fit various bottle diameters. It holds larger capacity bottles with various shapes up to 50 oz (1.5 Liter). DOM claims it’s suited for “bumpy and tough roads, mountain biking, bikepacking and adventure cycling.” The cage includes two cleats for use with regular bottle bosses.
The Monkii Clip has two round cleats that fit their Monkii cage, Monkii frame bag, or Monkii wedge tool bag. It secures via a hinged clamp to any 25mm-38mm tube, such as frame tube, down tube, handlebar stem or fork leg. It has a maximum Load: 1.5 kg / 3.3 lb. Kit includes one adapter, one M5 25mm screw, one M5 50mm screw, and a rubber shim.
*Weight shown below includes both cage (34g) and clip (62g)
- Weight: 96 grams (3.4 oz)
- Price: $22 (cage)
- Place of Manufacture: Taiwan
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon (cage) Amazon (clip)
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$55
Elite L’Eroica Vintage Bottle Cage
- Type: Mounted Cage
- Made of: Aluminum/rubber/stainless steel
- Attachment: 1 Velcro Strap
- Bottle Size: 70 - 78mm diameter
CloseElite’s L’Eroica Vintage Bottle Cage is quite the retrofit. We’re not sure how many bikepackers are willing to forego their cockpit bags for this big honking bottle cage, but we thought we’d include it for the sake of being thorough. The vintage clamp-down cage holds any manner of contemporary beverage vessels.
- Price: $55
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon (single) Amazon (double)
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$26
King Cage Bottle Lowering Cage
- Type: Alt-position Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel/Ti
- Bottle Size: Standard Bidon
- Attachment: 2 eyelets/bolts
CloseThe King Cage Bottle Lowering Cage is nearly identical to the standard King Cage (see the description of it below), but it lowers the bottle about 1.1 inches (2.8cm). This might be useful for those who need to move a cage away from a half frame bag or other gear. While this one’s nice, the Wolf Tooth Morse Cage has a little more range, although it costs a bit more.
- Weight: 49 grams (1.7 oz)
- Price: $26 (Stainless)
- Place of Manufacture: Colorado, USA
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$68
King Cage Side Loader Cage
- Type: Side Loading Cage
- Made of: Titanium
- Bottle Size: STANDARD BIDON/BOTTLE
- Attachment: 2 Bolts/Bosses
CloseThe King Cage Side Loader Cage is manufactured from 3-2.5 titanium tubing and uses a unique mounting design that can be positioned in the centre or offset to the left or right for easier bottle access. We’ve always had great experiences using King Cage products, specifically their Universal Support Bolts for adding cages onto frames and forks, and the Manything Cage for hauling Nalgenes and Klean Kanteens.
- Price: $68
- Place of Manufacture: Colorado, USA
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$33
Rivendell The Jim Cage
- Type: Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel
- Bottle Size: 32oz Nalgene
- Attachment: 2 Eyelets/Bolts
CloseMade by Tanaka in Japan for Rivendell Bike Works, The Jim Cage is an oversized steel bottle cage designed to accommodate 1L Nalgene bottles. Full length super clean welds strongly connects the tubular steel to the mounting plate. It weights 90g and holds ten times its weight in water.
- Weight: 90 grams (3.2 oz)
- Price: $33
- Place of Manufacture: Japan
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$15
Topeak Modula II Cage
- Type: Undersized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Engineering-grade plastic / aluminum
- Bottle Size: 63-74 mm
- Attachment: 2 eyelets/bolts
CloseAn innovative diameter adjustment system makes the Topeak Modula II Cage capable of holding traditional cycling water bottle as well as smaller bottles, such as a fuel bottle or small plastic PET bottle if space is limited. It fits bottles from 63 – 74mm (2.5” – 2.9”). We were a little worried that it would be plasticky and fragile, however, it seems pretty solid, although we’ve yet to put a ton of miles on it.
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- Weight: 72 grams (2.5 oz)
- Price: $15
- Place of Manufacture: China
- We highly encourage you to buy from a local shop when possible, but if you're going to buy online, you can use our affiliate links. We'll get a very small kickback that will help support this site. Available at: Amazon Jenson
- Manufacturer's Details: Link
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$24
Twofish Quick Cage (24oz)
- Type: Mounted Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel/Rubber
- Attachment: Velcro
- Bottle Size: 24oz Stainless
CloseThe 24 oz vinyl-coated stainless steel Quick Cage is specifically designed to hold reusable stainless steel bottles such as the Klean Kanteen. Otherwise, it holds bottles from 16 oz to 26 oz, including standard bidons and single-walled, insulated, or plastic bottles. The cage mounts with a single large velcro strap.
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$32
Twofish Quick Cage (32-40oz)
- Type: Mounted Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel/Rubber
- Attachment: Velcro
- Bottle Size: 32-40oz
CloseThe 40 oz vinyl-coated stainless steel Quick Cage is designed to hold large bottles like the 40 oz Klean Kanteen, a popular option amongst bikepackers. It also holds other bottles from 32 oz to 40 oz sizes, including a standard Nalgene. The cage adapter mounts with two large velcro straps.
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Twofish Quick Cage (64oz)
- Type: Mounted Oversized Bottle Cage
- Made of: Stainless Steel/Rubber
- Attachment: 2 Velcro Straps
- Bottle size: 64oz/growler
CloseThe Growler Quick Cage is specifically designed to hold 64 oz stainless steel bottles. It’s available in two sizes, to accommodate either single-walled (64 oz Klean Kanteen) or insulated bottle made by manufacturers such as Klean Kanteen and Hydro Flask. The cage adapter mounts with two large velcro straps.
Cargo Cages vs Oversized Bottle Cages
Note that we separated cargo cages from oversized bottle cages in this Gear Index series, but many of them can be used for either hauling gear or bottles. Anything Cages work well to carry large klean Kanteens and other such bottles, and we’ve also used cages like the M-Wave to carry a sleeping pad and even a small food bag. There is some crossover, but for the sake of clarity, we kept the two separate and dedicated this post to cages designed specifically for water vessels. So, make sure to check out our full list of cargo cages and bags here.
As with other Gear Index lists, there may have been a few options we overlooked. If you have a bottle cage that you’d recommend or an oversized cage that we missed, please leave it in the comments below!
