Bike Water Bottle Cage (Tall)

Motivation

I wanted a bottle cage that could hold relatively tall bottles securely, be relatively lightweight, and be easy to print (ie. without a lot of steep overhangs). I took inspiration from this design, which I liked but was too short and difficult to print without supports (but works well for shorter bottles!).

Details

The cage is designed to hold standard 73mm outer diameter bottles, but I also designed it to work well with my bottle cage storage container. The ‘depth’ of the holder is 125mm (~5"), which I felt was ideal for taller, 24oz (~700mL) sport bottles.

There are 4 versions:

• Single-piece, loose grip
• Single-piece, firm grip
• Multi-piece, loose grip
• Multi-piece, firm grip

The multi-piece version separates the ring part of the cage from the end stopper, and requires drilling through some sacrificial bridges to fit a M3x20 screw and locknut. The single-piece variant doesn't need this but requires supports for the protruding end stopper.

The loose grip version has narrower walls and doesn't grip as tightly as the wider walled firm grip. The firm grip version was a result of experimenting with different materials, where the loose grip felt sufficient with PLA but not ABS, so a firmer version was developed for ABS. Using the firm grip with PLA will produce quite a tight gripping cage.

Printing Tips

• For single-piece, add support under the tab (I like snug supports). No other supports are needed as long as you have decent cooling and don't print too quickly.
• Increasing the time under “Slow down if layer print time is below” will slow down the print, but may reduce curling on the overhanging corners.
• Make sure your bed adhesion is sufficient, or add a brim.
• Recommended slicing setup: