Scared of drilling holes in your bike to attach a bottle cage? Read this guide on how to install water bottle cage on bike without holes and know alternative ways other than drilling!
If your bike doesn’t come with a built-in water bottle holder, then it’s come to use one. But general people use drills to mount the water bottles. Well, it’s one of the ways to do it. But it’s certainly not an effective process as it can damage your bike’s frame and break the frame too.
To avoid damage to the bike’s frame, we need to think of an alternative way. Other than drilling, there are numerous ways to attach a bottle cage to your bike without drilling.? Yes, you’ve heard it right.
So today, we’re going to tell you how to install water bottle cage on bike without holes.
Installing Water Bottle cage on bike without holes
It’s frustrating. It’s frustrating when your bike does;t come with a bottle holder. Meaning, that now you’ve to carry the bottles in your bag on the long tours. But it isn’t an ideal solution. It can result in shoulder and back pain.
So to all the bike manufacturers, you should definitely add a cage for bottles in bikes if you’re seeing this.
But as things stand, we should look into how we can solve this problem. There are a few techniques or ways you can attach the bottled without drilling the bike frame.
But remember, the drilling process is more long-lasting than the other methods. But due to the drawbacks and cons, we should definitely follow the alternative techniques.
Ways to attach water bottle Cage without drilling
In this article, we’ll not guide you on the drilling holes process. Instead, let’s take a look at the alternative ones.
- Using Zip Ties: Yes, you might get surprised, but it’s actually an effective way to mount the water bottle cage on your bike. We’ll go into the details later.
- Hose Clamps to hold the water bottle cage: This is a simple yet effective way to attach the water bottle cage if your bike is missing one.
- Screwless Holder: By the name, you can understand that there is no screw involved in it. So your bike’s frame will be absolutely alright.
- Clamps for Bottle Cage: It is another fantastic tool that you can use in your bike to attach the water bottle cage.
- Straps for Bottle Cage: This is a similar product to the above one. But the only difference is, that it’s a strap, not metallic clamps. Besides, it has quite a few exciting features as well.
Till now, we’ve only learned about the basics. So it’s time to dive deeper into how to install water bottle cage on bike without holes. Let’s start…
1. Using Zip Ties
The first and the most common way other than drilling is using zip ties. It might sound weird, but trust me, it’s actually a very effective way. You can even use it if your pre-installed water bottle cage gets broken or damaged.
Also, using zip ties to make a water bottle holder is the cheapest alternative you can get on the market. But how to use them?
- First, place the water bottle cage on the frame where you want to keep it. You might take the help of your friend to set it up.
- After placing the water bottle cage properly, take the zip ties. Now you need to attach the bottle cage to the frame. To do this, use the zips to firmly tie them together.
- Initially, you’ll find the connection is loose. But tighten the zip ties until they become solid and stop rotating.
- For a better outcome, use zip ties above the middle and lower part of the cage. This will make the connection tight, and the bottle cage will not rotate or get displaced as well.
2. Use Hose Clamps
The second alternative way to drill a hole in the bike is to use hose clamps. Don’t believe us? Well, read on, and you’ll know for yourself.
People have previously used hose clamps in cars to connect the radiator hose pipes. But you can also use it to install a water bottle cage.
- From the image, try to think about how it works. You can see it has a connection bolt that holds the hose together.
- So you just have to wrap it around your bike’s frame and then place the water bottle inside it.
- After that, tighten the screw to the required pressure. And it’ll work like a water bottle cage. So it’ll carry your water bottle when you’re traveling.
3. Screwless Holder
The screwless holder for water bottles in bikes is effective and adds an appealing look to the bike. There is no drilling involved here. It just follows a simple process to hold the water bottle cage.
The screwless holder has arms. So you need to fix the arms in the correct order so that they can wrap around the bike’s water bottle. The solid grip helps to hold and keep the bottle in the correct position even if you’re riding in an inclined position.
This screwless water bottle cage holder is recommended for bikes who own mountain bikes and go for adventurous tours!
4. Using Clamps
The 4th way on our how to install a water bottle cage on the bike without holes guide is to use clamps for the bottle cage. Yes, we’ve already shown you a process involving the clamps (hose clamp), but this is a different tool and process.
By using this tool, you can mount the bottle cage on your bike. This clamp is like a strap. To mount the bottle cage, you simply have to just attach it to your bike’s frame. And then tighten up to your need. We’d suggest tightening up firmly so that the bottle doesn’t come off from the cage even riding in off roads.
Another important feature and useful feature of this cage holder are, that you can keep the holder at any angle. That means you don’t have to follow the traditional way and keep the bottle cage facing towards you. You can even set it a little bit toward the right (if you’re a righty) to get easy access to the bottle while riding.
5. Straps for Bottle Cage
This method of attaching your bottle cage s specially for mountain bikers. If you’ve seen mountain bikes before, you’ll notice that there is little headroom. As there is less space, so you cannot fit a big bottle cage in them.
To help you with that, there are special straps to hold the bottle cage. Trust me, this is one of the simplest ways to mount a bottle cage on your bike. Moreover, installing process is also easy, and it gives a sporty look to your bike as well.
After buying this, you need to wrap this trap around the bike’s front frame. Although it’s a strap, it can actually perform the task well. So after you install it, you don’t have to worry about slipping off the bottle. This is a proven method to install a water bottle cage in your bike without drilling holes.
So these are the most effective ways to install the water bottle cage. Alongside them, there are a few more ways that you can try out.
1. Use Tapes
Well, this might sound awkward, but actually, it isn’t. This is more of a DIY method. All you need to do this is buy electrical tapes from hardware stores. Then you place the bottle cage on top of the frame. After that, tell one of your friends to hold the cage tightly with the friend, and you just wrap a few rounds of the electric tapes around the cage.
As you’re using rounds of tapes around the frame and cage, the bottle holder will hold its place. But this method can be a hassle on rainy days as rainwater can damage the tape, and the cage will fall off.
2. Water Bottle bags
Another alternative way is to carry a water bottle bag that can be mounted on the bike seats. Unlike others, you need to attach this to the backside of your bike’s seat post. This gives more room, and you can carry multiple bottles in it. Moreover, this will also allow you to carry essential tools and medi-kits while going for long tours.
Conclusion
Carrying a water bottle while riding your bike is a must. Especially in the summertime, you should carry more water bottles to keep your body hydrated.
It’s seen that some people don’t use a water bottle cage just because they have to make holes in their bikes. Yes, it’s actually a concern, but I think not anymore. I hope this guide on how to install a water bottle cage on a bike without holes will help you install a bottle cage without any kind of drilling.
