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review
£9.99
VERDICT:
Holds on to your bottle tightly for a decent price
Weight:
43g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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The Deda Elementi Gabbia bottle cage does the job of keeping your drink in place and looks pretty good while doing it. There is a degree of adjustment to suit your frame, too.
- Pros: 15mm adjustment; holds a bottle securely
- Cons: Scratches quite easily inside
Priced at £9.99, the Gabbia sits well against a lot of the opposition. The Vel Race Cage, for example, is a couple of quid more, while the Zefal Pulse B2 Cage will cost you an extra £1 on top of that.
> Find your nearest dealer here
It's no good being cheap if it's at the sacrifice of performance, but while I had my initial concerns over its strength (the Gabbia feels quite flimsy and flexible), it proved its worth out on the gravel bike where everything was taking a right battering. A full 750mm bottle stayed firmly seated thanks to the snug fit.
Getting the bottle in and out isn't a faff either thanks to the large open neck of the cage, so grabbing it quickly never turns into a clumsy fumble.
Available in seven colours, there are plenty of options for tying it in with your bike's finish, although one criticism I do have is that the gloss finish on the inside does scratch from the bottle being inserted and removed. The cage can look quite worn in very quickly.
> Read more road.cc reviews of bottle cages here
Most cages have one round hole and an elongated one to allow for a small amount of adjustment should your frame bosses be a little out. The Gabbia has a nylon insert that slides up and down to give around 15mm of adjustment – ideal if you have a small frame and need a bit of clearance. It does make the cage body a little thicker than most, but Deda includes some longer bolts should you need them.
Overall, the Gabbia is a decent quality water bottle that does the job of looking after your bidon.
Verdict
Holds on to your bottle tightly for a decent price
road.cc test report
Make and model: Deda Elementi Gabbia 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?
Deda says, "Gabbia is a light and strong bottle cage made in high-density techno polymer.
"A special plate helps the mounting on the frame."
It does the job for not a lot of money.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Deda lists:
High-density techno polymer
Finish: Matt outside, inside glossy
Colour
Fluo Green, Fluo Orange, Fluo Yellow, Grey, Pob, Red, White
Rate the product for quality of construction:
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
6/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
8/10
Rate the product for value:
6/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It does its job, holding a bottle securely.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Good grip on the bottle.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Inside scratches easily.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It's a few quid cheaper than a lot of the polymer cages we've tested.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Possibly
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
It's a good bottle cage for a decent price, though the finish wears quicker than plenty of other cages I've tested.
About the tester
Age: 40
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed
Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.
With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.
He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.
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