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news
Cage fight: CarbonWorks' Bottlecage (left) and Topeak's Feza R10 Cage fight: CarbonWorks founder claims Topeak bike bottle cage infringes brand's own design
Maybe imitation isn’t the best form of flattery? Simon Bühler, the man behind the boutique carbon cycling accessories brand CarbonWorks, has accused Topeak, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cycling accessories, of replicating a design he registered eight years ago for its latest Feza Cage Tubular Carbon R10.
After road.cc reviewed the minimalist and very, very light Feza R10 this week, with the product receiving a 9/10 score, Bühler reached out to road.cc (and commented under the review itself) to claim that the Taiwanese manufacturer had copied the design he came up with.
Bühler said: “I invented this cage design in 2015. In the year 2022 Topeak began making and selling copies of the cage, identical to the original.”
Bühler told road.cc that he came up with the design of ‘Bottlecage’ while he was serving in the German Armed Forces in 2015 after being inspired by nature. He said: “It was a cold and snowy winter in Bavaria and we had to walk many kilometres through the forest near Hammelburg/Würzburg.
“In this situation it came to my mind to make a light and new bottle cage, which has the same bionic design as the trees and plants in the forest. A round and hollow structure can be found in many grasses and plants. Making an integral connection to the tubes and so on... the idea was born.”
After a few months, Bühler completed the first prototype, based on which he got a design patent for in Germany. From then, he worked on making the product better, and even presented it at the annual Eurobike show.
Finally as Bühler finished his service and was about to start focusing on his small company based around this bottle cage, he heard rumours that Topeak was using his design and planning to present it at Eurobike in Frankfurt.
In what could be described as a David vs Goliath scenario, Bühler hired a lawyer to take on Topeak: "At first, they offered to pay for a licence, but then the next day they threatened to file for cancellation of my patent."
Bühler's patent document, dated 11 May 2015
Bühler said that after many costly months, Topeak told him that it was going to make a new and completely different design called V15; however, in Bühler's opinion, the promised revamp to the V15 has simply taken the form of his brainchild again.
“I had new hope, but now it seems that they are circulating their old design again,” added Bühler.
“I hope you can understand how important this is to me and three of my staff. We are definitely too small to take on a big player like Topeak. A lot of money and time that I would have spent on new inventions has been put into this battle, but hope is fading.”
Bühler also said that not only is Topeak using his design, but that it also copied the surface layer on the carbon to protect it from scratches. Topeak also appears to use similar imagery and advice from Bottlecage’s manual on its own R10 manual, claims Bühler.
CarbonWorks' and Topeak's manuals for their bottle cages
Bottlecage is the flagship product of CarbonWorks, which also produces bike mounts for mobile devices. The company says on its website that the cage is a “masterpiece of lightweight construction”, weighing in at just 8 grams, and is “perfect for everyday use and still incredibly light”, and is available to buy from £79.
On the other hand, Topeak’s Feza Cage Tubular Carbon R10 comes in at 12 grams and is priced competitively at £59.99. Our review noted that “it holds bottles very well and there's very little movement even over rougher surfaces”.
However, readers, along with Bühler himself, were quick to comment about the uncanny similarities between the two. MatzeLoCal wrote: “Oh wow, it seems Topeak took a a very close look at carbonworks bottle cage… not a very kind move from Topeak”.
Dadams7378 commented: “It's a blatant copy. I know that CarbonWorks are concerned this will possibly put them out of business, as though expensive, its still a lot less than the CW cage. Cheap Ali Express copies that don't really work are one thing, but this will be at least as 'good', plus cheaper. Not very ethical as you say.”
Topeak has been contacted for comment.
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
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40 comments
It isn't a patent. It is a registered design.
Really?
Whats novel and patentable about this? I've seen the same design in different material over the years.
If you're an old MTB'er like me you'll remember the Ringle bottle cages that were knocked off all over the place.
One single loop of tubular carbon fibre. Just because there were counterfeit Ringle cages doesn't justify or excuse Topeak's action. It's theft, plain & simple. Otherwise why would Topeak not make it available to buy in Germany?
This design patent should be thrown out. It's pretty effing obvious to use a single loop, the material being carbon fiber is standard and a bottle sets some pretty standard constraints.
The only non-obvious thing is flat one side, round the other, which is exactly where Topeaks differ the most.
Another case of taking something already known, change a small thing ('in carbon fibre") and pretend you're a genius designer.
lots of things tend to be 'obvious' once the first one comes out - but the reason apatent is granted is due to the uniqueness of the product and checks to see there are no similar prior examples.
If there is a patent then Topeak are infringing it. Whehter the small comapny can afford to win is another matter.
There isn't and they aren't.
I completely understand your first impression. But this type of cage was completely new in 2015. It consists of four parts glued together: two hollow carbon tubes and two middle elements with holes for the screws. One with the lower hook to prevent the bottle from falling out. Making a bent hollow carbon tube is not easy. The ones on Aliexpress are not hollow. They are filled with yellow foam, for example.
I am not giving professional advice, but I would note that a registered design must be visible in normal use.
Except that it's not theft.
However, it may well be patent infringement, though that would have to be confirmed by a court.
Probably to avoid a patent fight. That however doesn't mean the patent is valid - it just means Topeak can't be arsed to spend the money to challenge it.
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