Hi Michael, all. Not to discount what Todd said in Marc's link, here's my thoughts: Prior to frame braze-ons for bottle cages you wer free to clamp 'em wherever they'd fit. One or two on the handlebars was common. And saddle mounted ones predate the triathelete's use of this tucked away aero conscious position [although that never seems to have been common]. The downtube is a nice ergonomic placement for a bottle. and that's where the earliest braze ons, at least for production bikes, ended up. For non hose, frame fitting pumps, which were roughly contemporaneous w/ the bottle cage braze-ons, the seat tube was the logical placement. When they went to the 2nd set of cage b/os on the seat tube, they typically put a nipple on the inside of the headtube. Personally i think this is a horrible place for a pump. It tends to get knocked off easily and makes carrying the bike by the top tube [as when portaging] very awkward. Racers may not need a pump, but i like to have one and the m
ini ones are pretty much useless. Billy [i also like the bar mounted cages] Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA.
I find that on-topic frames (like my 1984 Cinelli, 1983 Pinarello & 1978 Masi) tend to have bottle cage bosses only on the down tube. I know that 2 bottles were needed for most road races (even in the 80's), so why only one set?
The only thing I can think of is that the braze-ons might weaken the seat tube, but then why have them on the down tube?
I have been curious about this and would be interested in hearing a definitive answer or some good theories.
Regards to all,
Michael Haddad
Brooklyn, NY, USA