Best bottle cages 2025: 12 bike bottle holders rated by our experts

The best bottle cages keep your water bottles secure without fuss and if they complement the look of your bike, that's even better.

Unless you're looking for something exotic to complement a boutique build (and you've got a huge wad of cash burning a hole in your wallet), most people just want something that does its job of securely holding on to one of the best cycling water bottles without too much fuss.

We've put together a list of our favourite bike bottle holders on the market in 2025, and included a variety of different styles and price points, so everyone should be able to find something to suit their budget.

Jump to the end of this article to read our buyer’s guide to bottle cages, where we explain the differences between bottle cage materials, designs and how to fit one to your bike.

Editor's note: this list was updated on 2 July 2025 with our latest high-scoring reviews, including the ENVE C.I.M. and Silca Sicuro Titanium Bottle Cage – V2. We have also given awards to the best cages and shared information on how we test bottle cages, as well as why you can trust BikeRadar.

Arundel Mandible DTR

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• £65 / $75 / AU$120 as tested
• Pros: Lightweight; strong clasp; easy bottle insertion
• Cons: Pricey

Arundel’s 22g Mandible DTR stands for ‘down tube right’: its recommended position and access side. However, left-handed riders can switch the position with its seat-tube mounted STR sibling.

Made by wrapping carbon fibre over a foam core, the svelte design is far tougher than it looks, and both mounting options pair one round and one slotted hole for limited adjustment.

Bottle insertion is fast and smooth from the side, and the cage grips the bottle well.

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ENVE C.I.M.

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• £40 as tested
• Pros: Elegant aesthetics; lightweight; very strong hold on the bottle; no rattling
• Cons: Very few

The cheaper of two bottle cages ENVE offers, the 31g C.I.M. is made from an ‘injection-moulded composite’ and has a top-loading design. ENVE says it has engineered the cage to have a 'tuned grip', with full-contact rails to stop the bottle creeping up the cage and ejecting.

The C.I.M. looks classy in the flesh and looks a lot more premium than its £40 price tag would suggest – you’d be hard-pressed to tell the C.I.M. and ENVE’s carbon Water Bottle Cage (£75) apart. It impressed in testing, offering a seriously secure fit, and played nicely with both plastic and metal bottles. 

There was no rattling or vibration from the metal bottle, a problem found with some of the other cages on test. The C.I.M. requires a fair amount of force to insert and remove a bottle, but never to the point of being difficult.

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Zéfal Pulse S2

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• £18.99 / €19.95 as tested
• Pros: Excellent value; a great option for smaller frames or for bikepacking; left and right-handed options
• Cons: Bulky appearance

Zéfal’s Pulse S2 is a side-loading bottle cage, specifically designed for smaller frames where clearance might be an issue, or for when you’re bikepacking with a frame bag in the way.

The cage is made from “injected carbon fibre”, with the brand offering left and right side-loading options.

Zéfal also includes two 7075 T6 aluminium bolts with the cage. It’s only available in black, but it’s fair to say black tends to pair well with most frame colours.

We were impressed with the Pulse S2’s performance. The bottles are easy to fit and remove from the cage, and we like the fact that there’s 52mm of adjustment, meaning the cage should sit exactly where you want it to.

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Birzman Uncage

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• £9 as tested
• Pros: Well-priced; easy fitting with good adjustability; satisfying click
• Cons: Budget feeling

Birzman’s tough 41g Uncage has an unfussy yet attractive design that’s formed from a high-polymer material.

Generous bolt slots ensure easy fitting, and the cage has great rigidity while also boasting enough flex to shrug off daily riding abuse.

Chamfered, angled edges guide all bottles in smoothly, with a solid click signalling complete engagement and two internal ridges keeping a reassuringly firm hold.

A supplied Velcro strap can be used to attach a spare tube and there are levers to a slot beneath the cage, too.

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Elite Vico Carbon

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• £28.99 as tested
• Pros: Modern design; good adjustability; well-priced for carbon design
• Cons: Not the best with 750ml bottle

Angular shapes, and a matt finish makes this cage at home on carbon frames.

It holds a 500ml bottle well, but is a little shaky with a heavier 750ml bottle when compared to other cages.

The slotted back offers 15mm of adjustability, enabling you to find space on your frame for two cages.

The 27.9g Vico Carbon offers a distinct looks and carbon construction that's not overpriced.

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King Cage Iris Stainless Steel

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• £23 as tested
• Pros: Very strong hold of the bottle; high-quality construction; good value
• Cons: Some may be put off by the weight; not much fore/aft adjustment

King Cage claims the Iris won’t leave black marks on your bottle and it’s designed to offer a “slightly tighter fit than a standard cage”. 

The Iris delivers on that claim and then some – this cage has an almighty strong hold of your bottle and requires some concentration when removing or installing a bottle.

That isn’t necessarily a negative, though – this cage works wonders when riding off-road, especially.

There’s a minimal amount of vertical adjustment, though, so you may need to reach for an alternative if you ride a smaller frame size or are heading bikepacking. The retro styling may also be a sticking point for some but for the right steel or titanium frame, the Iris Stainless Steel certainly looks the part.

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King Cage Titanium Cage

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• £51 as tested
• Pros: Lightweight; striking titanium design; firm hold of the bottles
• Cons: Limited fore/aft adjustment; base could be narrower

The Titanium Cage impressed us in testing with its striking finish and a firm but not overly strong hold of the bottles.

There’s very limited vertical adjustment of the cage, which King Cage says is intentional, as it makes for a neat aesthetic of the square mounting plate. The brand instead offers specific ‘Raising’ and ‘Lowering’ cage options.

We’d prefer to have the adjustability built into one cage than having to fork out for separate, specific options.

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Lezyne Flow

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• £12.99 as tested
• Pros: Impressive grip; good adjustability; sleek design
• Cons: Not the simplest to insert

An X-Grip design works well on bumpy roads, holding onto bottles with a tenacious grip, though the design means bottles must be pushed directly down into the cage.

The bolt holes have 10mm of adjustability, allowing the cage to be manoeuvred around frame bags.

The cage features a smooth, slick finish, as is expected on cages at this price point and weighs in at 48.7g.

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Topeak Ninja Master+ X1

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• £9.99 as tested
• Pros: Tyre levers included; good adjustability; well-priced
• Cons: Retentions lip is quite small

Topeak's 49.7g Ninja Master+ X1 features two tyre levers that lock into the cage. Though small, they are ample for clincher tyres, but meet their match on tubeless tyres.

The cage is also compatible with Topeak multi-tools.

The retention lip at the bottom of the cage is quite small, with large bottles sometimes breaking past with enough force.

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How we test bottle cages

We test bottle cages on a variety of surfaces to see how well they grip bottles over lumps and bumps.

Our testers look out for ease of insertion; quality of construction and price when reviewing bottle cages, but also keep their minds open to subjective features.

Long test cycles ensure we provide accurate reviews on the cages, allowing for any possible bottle wear to appear.

Why you can trust BikeRadar

BikeRadar has been an authority on bikes and cycling tech since its inception in 2007, delivering the world’s best riding advice.

We have experts testing all types of bikes, parts, clothing and accessories, from road, mountain and gravel bikes to commuting, bikepacking and electric bikes. 

Our reviews are always editorially independent – with no exceptions. Our reviewers comprehensively test all products in the real world, always reflecting on performance, value and the wider market when delivering their verdicts and review ratings.

We have more than 15,000 product reviews available at your fingertips, as well as expert buying, maintenance, training, skills, health and fitness advice. 

Our annual Bike of the Year test is an industry benchmark and the BikeRadar team consists of some of the most experienced riders and testers in the business.

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Buyer's guide to water bottle cages

Bottle cage materials 

Plastic bottle cages

Plastic bottle cages tend to be the cheapest and most popular option. They have a low weight and come in a multitude of designs, so you can find one to match your bike. 

Carbon bottle cages

The best carbon bottle cages can be considerably more explensive than plastic cages. But these bottle cages save some weight, especially if you want the lightest setup possible. However, unlike metal bottle cages, they can’t be bent to hold a bottle more securely.

Aluminium and titanium bottle cages

Metal bottle cages are the most practical option. They tend to last the longest and you can bend the cage inwards slightly to have an even stronger hold on the bottle. At the lower end of the range, you'll find options in aluminium or stainless steel. 

Titanium bottle cages are the cream of the crop, reducing weight while retaining all of the other benefits of metal bottle cages. 

What bottle cages do pros use?

You might think that professional cyclists would always use expensive carbon bottle cages – but this isn’t necessarily the case.

Many professional cycling teams use bottle cages from Elite, although sponsorship deals do impact choice. 

Bottle retention is particularly important for the pros on races such as Paris–Roubaix, and we often see pros fit a gripper material to their bottle cages to reduce the likelihood of a bottle ejecting on the cobbles. 

What’s the difference between side- and top-loading bottle cages?

Most bottle cages are top-loading, where the water bottle inserts from the top and into the cage. 

However, there are also side-loading bottle cages where you insert the bottle from the left or right side. These cages are good for mountain bikes where there isn’t necessarily room in the frame to pull a bottle out from a top-loading cage.  They are also good if you’re running bikepacking bags, which can take up lots of room in your frame.

Do water bottle cages fit all bikes?

Many bikes have bosses to mount two bottle cages in the front triangle and sometimes with a third mounting point on the underside of the downtube.

Bottle cages are the one thing not to have many standards, with the space between the two bosses being 64mm. So you can be confident that almost any bottle cage will fit your bike. 

Certain types of bike are less likely to have mounts for bottle cages. These include some mountain bikes, fixies and old steel bikes. 

How to fit a bottle cage

To fit a bottle cage to your bike, you’ll need an Allen key (normally 3 or 4mm).

1. Unscrew the bolts from the bottle cage bosses and put them in a safe place so you don’t lose them.
2. Some cages allow for vertical adjustment, so position the bottle cage over the bosses where you’d like it mounted.
3. Thread the bolts back into the holes and sercurely tighten them with your Allen key. 

If you’re mounting two bottle cages in the front triangle of your bike, we’d recommend installing the seat tube bottle cage first because it can be awkward to access the bolts with the down tube cage installed.  

Add a little grease or light threadlock to the bolts to stop them from undoing. 

After the first couple of rides, we’d recommend re-checking all the bolts are tight because they can sometimes loosen.