Water bottle holders for older bikes

Just a quick question for the group. I have an older style bike (at
least late 70's early 80's) that dosen't have lugs for bottle cages. I
have looked around and all I seem to find are bottle holders that
either a.) fit on the handle bar or b.) fit behind the bike seat
attached to the bike post. A friend of mine mentioned seeing a long
time ago bottle cages that had a clamp to attach to the bike. Would
anyone know where to find one, or better yet mod by bike to take
current bottle cages?

Just a quick question for the group. I have an older style bike (at
least late 70's early 80's) that dosen't have lugs for bottle cages. I
have looked around and all I seem to find are bottle holders that
either a.) fit on the handle bar or b.) fit behind the bike seat
attached to the bike post. A friend of mine mentioned seeing a long
time ago bottle cages that had a clamp to attach to the bike. Would
anyone know where to find one, or better yet mod by bike to take
current bottle cages?

It's not so easy finding the clamps to fit around the frame anymore (partly
because downtubes originally came in three fairly-common sizes, and now come
in several more), but you can still find water bottle cages that have
mounting tabs extending out far enough that you can attach them with a
radiator hose clamp. Not the fanciest-looking way to do it, but it works.

Alternatively, you could drill holes in your tubes and install nutserts,
which are put in place mechanically (no welding or brazing).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Hmmm . . . hose clamps. I thought about that. Guess I will take a
look at some cages a bit more carefully with that in mind. Also where
do I get nuserts?

Hmmm . . . hose clamps. I thought about that. Guess I will take a
look at some cages a bit more carefully with that in mind. Also where
do I get nuserts?

Many better bike shops might have nutserts, since they've been used in
production bikes for some time, and are needed once in a while to replace
one that someone's managed to strip the threads in. You might even find a
shop willing to install them for you (although many won't; definitely not
something I'd feel comfortable doing, not just due to liability issues, but
also the concern that I might screw up somehow and drill a hole where it
wasn't supposed to be... not the type of mistake you can recover from!).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Paladin 3000 wrote:
Hmmm . . . hose clamps. I thought about that. Guess I will take a
look at some cages a bit more carefully with that in mind. Also where
do I get nuserts?

Hardware store. This thread might be helpful:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in...p/t-88777.html

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA

On 8 Jun 2005 20:10:54 -0700, "Paladin 3000"
wrote:

Just a quick question for the group. I have an older style bike (at
least late 70's early 80's) that dosen't have lugs for bottle cages. I
have looked around and all I seem to find are bottle holders that
either a.) fit on the handle bar or b.) fit behind the bike seat
attached to the bike post. A friend of mine mentioned seeing a long
time ago bottle cages that had a clamp to attach to the bike. Would
anyone know where to find one, or better yet mod by bike to take
current bottle cages?

Go to your local bike shop. There are a couple of different devices
that attach to the bike and then allow you to use a regular bottle
cage, by bolting it to the adapter. Like this:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=
I have one made by Elite, that is well made and looks good.

Now, if the bike is a beater, then you can use a couple of hose clamps
to attach to the bike. Get a cage like this, so you can get the clamps
around it:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=
Mount it so that the clamps cover the bolt holes, here is a closer
look:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile_morei...ku=1820&brand=


Life is Good!
Jeff

Paladin 3000 wrote:
Just a quick question for the group. I have an older style bike (at
least late 70's early 80's) that dosen't have lugs for bottle cages. I
have looked around and all I seem to find are bottle holders that
either a.) fit on the handle bar or b.) fit behind the bike seat
attached to the bike post. A friend of mine mentioned seeing a long
time ago bottle cages that had a clamp to attach to the bike. Would
anyone know where to find one, or better yet mod by bike to take
current bottle cages?

Just the kind of post I can answer. Use auto heater hose clamps and you
can put a bottle cage anywhere you want to, even on the front forks (I
have some like that), seat post if you have it high enough, rear down
tubes if you need to.

See this bike
http://www.syix.com/bbaka/bike/water_bike.jpg
a work in progress.
Just be inventive and don't worry about looking like a Fred. Better to
look different than to be dehydrated. I go for long trips, sometimes all
day away from any towns/stores or much of anything so it is a self
sufficiency thing. The nice thing about heater hose clamps is you don't
have to drill the frame (never a good idea).
Good Luck.
Bill Baka

Jeff Starr wrote:
On 8 Jun 2005 20:10:54 -0700, "Paladin 3000"
wrote:


Just a quick question for the group. I have an older style bike (at
least late 70's early 80's) that dosen't have lugs for bottle cages. I
have looked around and all I seem to find are bottle holders that
either a.) fit on the handle bar or b.) fit behind the bike seat
attached to the bike post. A friend of mine mentioned seeing a long
time ago bottle cages that had a clamp to attach to the bike. Would
anyone know where to find one, or better yet mod by bike to take
current bottle cages?


Go to your local bike shop. There are a couple of different devices
that attach to the bike and then allow you to use a regular bottle
cage, by bolting it to the adapter. Like this:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=
I have one made by Elite, that is well made and looks good.

Now, if the bike is a beater, then you can use a couple of hose clamps
to attach to the bike. Get a cage like this, so you can get the clamps
around it:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

Mount it so that the clamps cover the bolt holes, here is a closer
look:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile_morei...ku=1820&brand=


Life is Good!
Jeff

All good choices but I have a few things to add to that. Make sure the
holder is a good grade of metal, steel if possible. Use and old tube and
cut it to protect the bikes paint job where you put the clamps. Get
water bottles that fit firmly into the holder. 10.5" circumference is
the best bottle I have and it fits so tight I have to get off the bike
to wrestle it out. On the good side it has never even budged even on
some real bangs both on dirt and pavement. If you fill them with juice
or soda (non-carbonated) with sugar, Sodium, and Potassium you may get
through the day without eating, unless you feel a real need to chew on
something. Those energy bars don't do much for me. Finding good bottles
is a challenge these days, at least around here where they are all from
China, and cheap plastic. The Chinese bottles out gas and give the water
a funny flavor unless you have some sort of flavored juice in there. I
found out by leaving one bottle in the refrigerator for about a week
before using it and could barely drink it.
Buyer beware.
Bill Baka

thanks for the advice. Baka saw the picture of your bike, and I use
the same style of rubbermaid bottles as my water bottles to supplement
my camel back. Tomorrow I will definetly be investing in some hose
clamps and bottle cages. Too much water is not a bad thing.

I have seen fanny packs which will hold one or two water bottles. I don't
use the threaded water bottle mounts--I like the bottle on the handlebar,
right in front of me. The mount for that is available at some LBS's.