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review
Bottle cages
Arundel Stainless Steel Bottle CageArundel Stainless Steel Bottle Cage

Arundel Stainless Steel Bottle Cage

7
by VecchioJo
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Aug 24, 2012

4
£20.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Not for weight weenies, it's shiny, elegant and classy
Weight: 
52g
Contact: 
www.saddleback.co.uk
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Shining like a National guitar amongst their clutch of carbon and composite bottle-cages is Arundel's Stainless Steel cage.

Made from polished 4.2mm stainless tubing it's artfully bent into the same trademark mandible shape as the rest of the Arundel range, and then welded to a stamped embossed spine to fix it to the bike, the lower mounting hole of which is ovalised to allow for any Friday afternoon bottle-boss placement errors.

The open design of the cage means slipping a bottle in and out is easy and the flex of the steel helps a bit with fumbled stuffing as there's a smidge of give to the twin arms of the cage. Once home the bottle is held snugly, although there can sometimes be a bit of annoying bottle-buzz with a full large bottle.

Being bendy steel the arms can just about be encouraged to give more grip with the squash of a firm hand.

Aesthetically speaking, the slim elegant steel construction of the Arundel cage might look a bit out of place on your carbon dream machine and it's probably more suited to ferrous frames, where its weight might also be less of an issue.

Verdict

Not for weight weenies, it's shiny, elegant and classy.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Arundel Stainless Steel Bottle Cage

Size tested: Alloy

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?

Arundel say that their Stainless Cage has taken forever to get right, they even go so far as to say that at one point the factory guys told them to get lost. Hmmmm. But they kept badgering them to work out the details; the tube bending, the stamped spine and the polishing, the latter of which isn't easy, apparently. They carry on to suggest that the two arms wrapped in the same graceful curves as their original Dave-O carbon model work well in stainless steel because there is twice as much spring tension holding the bottle with more "springy" grip equaling less difficulty getting a drink, yet less chance of the bottle flying out. They use 4.2mm stainless tubing which saves some weight and isn't too stiff, polished to a brilliant shine it will add to the aesthetics of any machine so you get a timeless look that works great for a bargain price.

That's a fair bit to say about a simple bottle-cage but I'd agree with most of that. I wasn't there when they got the 'get lost' call from the factory so couldn't possibly comment.

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

4.2mm Stainless tubing, polished finish, stamped spline, holds standard 74mm diameter bottles, 58g weight.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
4/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

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

Holds onto a bottle, shiny, looks pruddy.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The slim shiny curvy steel looks.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Mild bottle buzz.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes. If they wanted that 'classic' look.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 42  Height: 180cm  Weight: 73kg

I usually ride: It varies as to the season.  My best bike is: The one I\'m on at the time

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, cyclo cross, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Fun

 

stainless steel
Steel
Bottle cage
Arundel Stainless Steel Bottle Cage
Arundel
VecchioJo

Jo Burt has spent the majority of his life riding bikes, drawing bikes and writing about bikes. When he's not scribbling pictures for the whole gamut of cycling media he writes words about them for road.cc and when he's not doing either of those he's pedaling. Then in whatever spare minutes there are in between he's agonizing over getting his socks, cycling cap and bar-tape to coordinate just so. And is quietly disappointed that yours don't He rides and races road bikes a bit, cyclo-cross bikes a lot and mountainbikes a fair bit too. Would rather be up a mountain.

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4 comments

Avatar
step-hent | 12 years ago
0 likes

Anyone looking for a more solid version of the moderniste should look at the King Iris - same curved shape but a more solid version with the bottle stop on the spine of the cage instead of the arm. I've got two on my steel winter bike and they not only look fantastic but work brilliantly on potholed winter roads!

Avatar
TomAMoore | 12 years ago
0 likes

love my Aurndel SS cages. They are on my steel road bike

Avatar
localsurfer | 12 years ago
0 likes

I had a moderniste, and swapped it for the aurndel. The moderniste looks very cool, but is far too flimsy. Mine lasted only a few months before I managed to mangle it.

The arundel also looks cool, and is bombproof. Very recommended from me.

Avatar
thereandbackagain | 12 years ago
0 likes

There's also the Velo Orange Morderniste cage, which is light (34g), stainless steel, and IMO much more elegant all for £12.

http://freshtripe.co.uk/Freshtripe/Accessories.html

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