When I bought my Trek Procaliber xc hardtail I was after a new water bottle cage as all my others ones were looking old. I had the bright idea to look for a cage with an 'oil slick' finish to match the colours in the glitter in the black paintwork on the bike in sun. I have seen Supacaz cages with this finish but did some googling and found this one from Silca. I have many of there products and are really good quality so thought it would be spot on. I have never bought or owned a TI water bottle cage before as the price always put me off. Silca do loads of different cages from several colours in anodising and several colours in cerakote finish. I picked the rainbow one and arrived in a couple of days. Once I opened it up it was a lot lighter in colour than I thought it would be. The quality of the cage is spot on and lightweight. Fitting was simple enough but noticed when I fitted the bolts and slid it down it he slotted mounting holes some of anodising rubbed off straight away, not a good start. I read up more on the cage on the Silca website to find a statement right at the bottom about anodising could rub off the ti very easily! oh well time will tell but there are bare marks where the water bottle slides into the cage but are mainly on the inside so you cannot see them. In use getting my bottle in and out is very easy and the cage grips the bottle very well. In hindsight I should have just stuck with a black or carbon cage! The rrp is way over the top and to be honest a plain King Ti cage is better value for money or Silca plain Ti cage with no coatings.
RRP £98.00 and I paid £69.56 from Merin Cycles in 48hr p&p - 29% discount
Manufacturers blurb -
Never lose a bottle again with these incredible rainbow titanium bottle cages. This lightweight design doesn't mark your bottles, allows easy access, and holds your bottles on the worst terrain• Single Cage
• Rainbow anodized finish
• Seamless 3-2.5 titanium tubing
• 29g
• 21mm fore/aft adjustment
• Hand bent in Indianapolis
• Easy in-and-out
• Extremely secure design
• Laser welded
• Optimized for purist bottles
Please note: These cages are made to order by hand and some delays can be expected. Bolts are NOT included.
In our quest to create the ultimate bottle cage, we found ourselves completely fascinated by the look, feel, and durability of tubular titanium construction. This combination of design characteristics produces a cage that has better retention on gravel and other harsh surfaces and has proven to be the superior design when mounted on the underside of the down tube, so common in adventure riding and touring. While classic in appearance, this material, and its manufacturing are as complex and high tech as it gets.
Cleaning and care: Oils from your hands and fingers can change the anodized colour. To revive colour and/or clean the cages (and straws), use rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth. Do not use abrasive products, this will damage the anodized finish.
Please note that anodized titanium is only as hard as the titanium itself, and is less hard than many types of sand or abrasives found in sand and soil, including aluminium oxide and garnet which are naturally occurring and are harder than steel. Titanium anodize continually exposed to abrasion by these sand materials will eventually scratch and begin to wear and will not be covered under warranty. Routine cleaning of the cages and cleaning of bottles is recommended to remove any embedded abrasive particles which can accelerate this wear.
