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review
Bottle cages
SKS Pure Carbon bottle cageSKS Germany Pure Carbon bottle cage

SKS Pure Carbon bottle cage

7
by Stu Kerton
UPDATED Sat, Jun 01, 2019 09:45

First Published Jun 1, 2019

3
£44.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Securely holds your bottle even over rough terrain, for a price
Weight: 
21g
Contact: 
www.zyrofisher.co.uk
How we test

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The SKS Pure Carbon Bottle Cage is certainly in the upper echelons when it comes to price, but as a drink retainer you can't really fault it. It barely weighs anything either.

  • Pros: Secure hold on your bottle, lightweight
  • Cons: Pricey, limited benefits over cheaper alloy options

As the name suggests, the cage is made from full carbon fibre and SKS says that the fibre structure it has used offers a higher degree of resilience compared with those that use woven carbon structures. It could make a difference when it comes to longevity over the years.

> Find your nearest dealer here

In the here and now, though, the cage works very well indeed. The 'spring' in the carbon material allows the two arms to wrap themselves around the bottle and give a tight grip. I tried it with a range of bottles and had no issues. Even a full 750ml bottle being rattled about by fast gravel descents didn't budge at all.

It's a bit snug to get the bottles in at times, so you have to give them a bit of a push to open the cage out, but once located it's easy to use.

It's fitted to the bike via two holes that are elongated, giving you a bit of wiggle room if your bike's bosses aren't quite set at the industry standard distance.

When it comes to looks, the mix of gloss and matt black will go with most paintjobs and the slim construction doesn't look out of place on thin tubed steel bikes or chunkier carbon offerings.

> Read more road.cc reviews of bottle cages here

The one area carbon cages never score highly on is value. Priced at £44.99 it is the same as the Vel SL-O Carbon cage and practically weighs the same too.

They are both very good, but neither works any better than the recently tested Supacaz Fly Cage Ano, an alloy cage that only weighs 1g more for just £16.99. 

> Best upgrades for your bike for less than £50

If you really must have carbon, you can spend less – the Elite Rocko, for example, is 6g heavier and £27.99 – but the SKS Pure will serve you well and you'll have no issues with dropped bottles.

Overall, it's a quality piece of kit that looks and feels durable.

Verdict

Securely holds your bottle even over rough terrain, for a price

road.cc test report

Make and model: SKS Pure 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?

SKS says, "PURE is one of the lightest bottle cages on the market. Not only does the full carbon design ensure a lightweight solution, but also a secure hold for all standard water bottles. Thanks to the fibre structure, the material also offers a high degree of resilience when compared with woven carbon structures. With its slender appearance, the bottle cage in a matt/glossy, stealth design will bring beauty and performance to the bike."

It does the job, I can't take that away from it.

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

material: carbon

color: black

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
4/10

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

For holding onto your drink you can't really knock it.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Securely holds your bottle, even on gravel trails.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

It's nothing massively special for the money.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Similarly priced to other carbon cages on the market.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? No, I'd stick with alloy at half the price.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, if carbon was a must.

Use this box to explain your overall score

It works well, but it's pricey for what it is, compared to alloy cages.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 40  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

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

SKS Pure Carbon bottle cage 2019
SKS Pure Carbon bottle cage
SKS 2019
SKS
Stu Kerton

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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3 comments

Avatar
robbyrob2000 | 5 years ago
0 likes

"If you really must have carbon, you can spend less – the Elite Rocko, for example, is 6g heavier and £27.99"

The ELITE Rocko is NOT a full carbon cage. If you want to save more money, you can spend less with a carbon reinforced DUAL cage from SKS for £19.99, which is 28g.

https://www.zyrofisher.co.uk/products/detail/SKBCDUALB

 

 

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
0 likes

I bought a couple of Bontrager cages that weigh in at c.14g, think I paid £15-16 the pair, no doubt they are copies though they did come with the retail packaging (that means nowt these days).

That said they've been fine on my flat bar gravel bike. Best looking cages I have are Elite Inox.

Avatar
Xena | 5 years ago
0 likes

I use a carbon cage by smud, it weighs 4 grams. It works fantastic . No issues at all ,

my other bike I have a tune carbon Kevlar cage , this also weighs 4 grams .  Never had a bottle fly out ,work fantastic .

 

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