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review
Bottle cages
Hoy Carbon Bottle CageHoy Carbon Bottle Cage

Hoy Carbon Bottle Cage

7
by Steph Mann
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Feb 21, 2015

2
£34.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Strong, secure and good looking bottle cage, but quite pricey
Weight: 
25g
Contact: 
www.evanscycles.com
How we test

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The Hoy Carbon Bottle Cage is strong, light and utterly secure, but comes with a price tag that leaves you wondering if you are paying for the name.

The bottle cage is a simple device, but an integral part of any bike. This one is attached in the standard way of using two bolts and will fit the majority of bikes.

Made of carbon it's certainly light, weighing in at 25g. The design is pretty good too, with a matt finish and subtle red and blue stripes. It doesn't come in any other colours.

Taking the bottle in and out of the cage can be problematic. I have two bottles, one fairly standard one with a lip near the top and another thats just straight up and down. The standard bottle sat securely and safely in the cage as it was the right shape. My other bottle was prone to bouncing around as it didn't fit the mould perfectly.

Also the design of the cage means that the bottle will more naturally slide in from the left or right depending on which tube the cage is mounted on. This just takes a bit of getting used too. Although I tend to push a bottle in from the top anyway. It held both 500ml and 750ml bottles quite easily.

Because it's carbon it doesn't have a lot of flexibility. As mentioned above, if your water bottle is the 'wrong' shape, the cage isn't very forgiving and it rattles a bit when riding less than smooth roads.

Overall the cage looks smart. It works brilliantly with the right shaped bottles and is extremely light weight. It does seem expensive though. There are significantly cheaper carbon bottle cages out there, and some that are lighter into the bargain, as well as substantially more expensive ones.

Verdict

Strong, secure and good looking bottle cage, but quite pricey for what it offers

road.cc test report

Make and model: Hoy Carbon Bottle Cage

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The cage is aimed at road bike users. The manufacturers say "The HOY Carbon Bottle Cage is super-light, strong and durable. Finished in matt carbon with the blue red and black Hoy track band detailing. If you mount it to your down tube the bottle will come out to the right, or mounted to the seat tube it will come out to the left".

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Matt carbon

25 Grams

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

A well made bottle cage.

Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

The cage takes a bit of getting used to in terms of which side you can remove your bottle from. It also only preforms properly with one type of bottle.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
10/10

It is very light.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

The price tag is steep for the cage on offer.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Overall the product worked decently well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

I liked the weight of the cage.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The price tag is too steep.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? No.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Maybe

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 34  Height: 158cms  Weight: 61kg

I usually ride: Giant defy  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,

 

Hoy Carbon Bottle Cage
Hoy

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2 comments

Avatar
Municipal Waste | 9 years ago
0 likes

45

"The standard bottle sat securely and safely in the cage as it was the right shape. My other bottle was prone to bouncing around as it didn't fit the mould perfectly."

Translation: The product works perfectly, my bottles are sh**.

"Made of carbon it's certainly light, weighing in at 25g."

Only a full 40% heavier than the admittedly £10 more expensive Elite Leggero Carbon then 13

"Because it's carbon it doesn't have a lot of flexibility."

As it's carbon it SHOULD be flexible so as not to mark the bottle and to hold it securely whilst making entry/exit easy. (Example: Bontrager RXXXL cage.) One benefit of buying a carbon one as opposed to a plastic one, which serves the same purpose. is that carbon will have a theoretically infinite tolerance to repeat use, whereas the plastic won't.

Avatar
SamSkjord | 9 years ago
0 likes

Or, get the exact same bottle cage from China for £10 on ebay and write HOY on it with tippex.

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