When I added the new racks and bags on Kuroko’s fork, I also upgraded to double-wall steel water bottles. Unfortunately these weren’t a good match for my old faithful Minoura steel water bottle cages — the bottles would only go in and out with lots of scratching noises. So I ordered some cheap plastic bottle cages, and braved the 6C wind and rain to replace them.

Replacing the cages is straightforward — two 4mm bolts each, with plenty of grease to avoid seizing — but the new cages proved to be a very tight fit. So tight I nearly couldn’t remove the bottles after forcing them in.

So I hit up the online shops and soon found these spiffy carbon fibre cages. The open construction means they flex to allow the bottles in and out easily.

The weight comparison showed — surprise, surprise! — that carbon fibre is lighter than steel. But not by a whole lot (given what small amounts of material we’re dealing with here), and certainly not enough to offset the weight increase of the steel bottles over my usual plastic ones. Still, one must make these comparisons.

In today’s balmy 18C weather with no rain and no wind to speak of, I could take my time swapping the cages. I had learned from my experience, and mounted up the seat tube cage first, allowing for lots of room while getting the pump mount screwed on together with the water bottle cage. The down tube cage quickly followed, and then I was fitting in the water bottles before I’d even had a chance to work up a sweat.

Unless I’m feeling particularly spunky this weekend, the inaugural ride for the new bags and bottles will be Monday, when I finally take a couple of days off after having worked through the Spring Break.