Tacx Ciro bottle cage

The Tacx Ciro is a good looking, lightweight and very secure bottle cage available in a choice of colours to match your bike. And at a penny under £16 it's good value when you take all those factors into account. Some may find the fit a bit too tight, but if you want an ultra-secure setup then it's hard to beat.

• Pros: Light, secure, looks good, nine colours
• Cons: Quite a tight fit

The Ciro is an evolution of the Deva cage. The focus for this new product has been on getting the weight as low as possible while ensuring it's still strong and durable enough to securely hold a water bottle in place.

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To achieve this low weight, the cage is constructed using a glass fibre core wrapped with moulded carbon with a very minimalist design – the result, says Tacx, of analysing every aspect of the cage to shed weight where possible. It's certainly achieved that because at 30g there's really not a lot to this cage.

Essentially the Ciro consists of two wings that clamp around the top of the water bottle, with a small retaining lip at the bottom and a ramped section at the front to further aid bottle security. That ramped section is designed to interface harmoniously with Tacx water bottles (obviously) but it works with other bottle brands just fine, so fear not, you don't have to buy matching bottles to get the best from this new cage.

In use, the Ciro does a solid job of holding water bottles securely. The fit between bottle and cage is on the firm side compared to other bottle cages I've used regularly in recent years and it does require a bit of a firm push to seat the bottle fully into the cage when replacing it after a drink. There are easier cages to get bottles into.

> Read more road.cc reviews of bottle cages

But once in place, there's no way the bottle is going to bounce out. I tested this over rough ground on a gravel bike and no bottle ejections occurred, and the same was true on the road bike, even on my bumpiest local roads. It's also been tested by several professional WorldTour cycling teams during the classics and if it's good enough for the pros, it's probably good enough for you and me.

Naturally, a Tacx water bottle fits nicely, with the ramp shape of the cage fitting perfectly into the groove that circles the top of the bottle. Happily, the cage works okay with other bottles – no problems with an Elite or Camelbak Podium bottle.

The actual weight of 30g is damn close to the 29g claimed. That's light, although it's heavier than the 23g Elite Vico Carbon bottle cage Jim tested last year. From Jim's review it would seem bottles fit into the Tacx Ciro much more easily than the Elite Vico, and personally, I'm willing to pay a 7g weight penalty for an easier-to-use cage.

And lastly, there are nine colours to choose from, so you can personalise or match the cages to your bike, with gloss and matt options.

In summary, the Tacx Ciro is a good looking bottle cage that is light and secure, comes in a wide choice of colours and with a reasonable price tag. If you're in the market for some new cages for your bike, this should definitely be a contender for your cash.

Verdict

Lightweight and secure water bottle cage available in nine colours at a decent price