These are great for sure. I came to these years ago from King Cages, which will never let go of a bottle, but require attention to get the bottle in.
Not cheap, but either King Ti or Silca Ti cages. Last forever, and I’ve never lost a bottle.
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I wanted to like these but we had guys on the king cages losing bottles due to the difficulty of insertion. You think it’s in but it isn’t. Maybe they needed to open them up a little, but in my experience it was not a good fit for me. I had to pay way more attention putting the bottle in than with the elites
Went with Elite Rocko Carbon on a new bike. First time using Elite cages. The camelback podiums have been well held, but I notice the cages grip my polar bottles much better…MUCH.
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I’ve run TacX Deva w/ TacX bottles on my MTB for a long time. Super rough New England singletrack, jumps, plenty of crashes. Never once have I lost a bottle.
The recent re-designed Podium bottles are 2mm smaller in diameter than previous versions and are less secure in many cages (how they can have screwed this up is beyond me!).
It’s not just the cage that needs to be good for a secure bottle.
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I’m running new Podium bottles in the X-Labs Gorilla cages. No worries about ejecting bottles.
+1 for Tacx Ciro. Very good hold on the bottles, but still easy to take them out and put back in. Comparatively cheap, reasonably light at 29g, and look decent, choice of accent colors if desired (I think like ten colors, and choice of glossy or matte finish on top of that). 95% of the time I use Camelbak Podium bottles, no issues, the other 5% I use big 1L bottles from Elite. One of the few things where I’m surprised how inexpensive they are (paid 13€ per cage).
More of a problem with some cages than others. It’s a known issue with the new Podiums though. I’ve had the callipers on mine and many others have reported the same.
Ive used Arundel Dave O’s for years. Never lost a bottle. Not cheap though. Mine have been on the last 4 bikes I have owned though. Guess I got my moneys worth 
Not inexpensive, but the Blackburn clutch carbon cages are super light and super grippy. I have them on my gravel bike and they are side entry. Very grippy, with a satisfying action to ensure the bottle is back in. Offered in great colors, super adjustable. Tried with different size/shaped bottles – but mostly specialized / purist bottles in 22 and 26 oz., insulated and not. I haven’t tried their top loading version (cinch).
I have been disappointed in the supacaz fly bottle cages. Look amazing but lose their grip over time.
I also have been super happy with the titanium cages on ebay - look great, inexpensive, light, grippy. LIke these – https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000296677787.html
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I was wondering why he was testing the cages in that manner (underside of the 2x4) but then I saw his bike at the end of the video and it made sense.
Incidentally, I have used the Zee cage as my BTA cage for tri’s for amny years and it has been great. Never lost a bottle and the right release made it easy to take out the bottle and drink.
Never tried the Zee cage on a down tube or seat tube however, but I think it would fare well.
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I guess I’ve been using King Ti cages for so long (>10 years, probably closer to 20) that I’m used to the feeling of fully inserting bottles, so I’ve never half inserted a bottle and had it eject.
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anyone have leads on good gold (or gold + black) ones? was hoping for the specialized sagan ones in green to match the bike, but haven’t been able to find them in stock so going gold.
Elite Custom Race Plus cages are bomber, I’ve paired them with the lightweight elite bottles and tbh they can be a pain to get out. But I know I won’t lose a bottle or take a buddy out.
Just over 10 quid a cage and although not carbon or anything I’m only saving 20g or so over really expensive versions.
Yeah it could be just my own fault but I ditched them because insertion for me wasn’t unconscious. They sure would never come out over bumps!
I’ve used the rib cages (non-carbon) for many years with the big podium bottles, never ejected one even during rough gravel racing. Have also used the z cage side loaders on my MTB’s and never lost a bottle from those either. Besides my shiv TT bike, none of my bikes are Specialized, I just really like their cages.
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Gorilla cages are so tight they take practice getting most bottles in and out of them. I did lose a bottle from one of them before but only because I couldn’t get the bottle all the way into it (it was mounted behind the saddle). But once a bottle is in there I can’t see it coming out. Probably overkill (and overpriced) for most situations.
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I’ve had them on my Lynskey for just over 10 years now, and I’ve never lost a bottle from them. I just bought a pair of the stainless for my aluminum cross bike, and even with the opposite shape, they’re way stronger than the aluminum planet bike, specialized or whatever I’ve had before.
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