I agree with Billy David. I've seen guys with 2 water bottles on the down tube but... if you have a pump in front of the seat tube you have to move both bottles about 1 1/2" up the down tube. Then there's the problem with getting the lower bottle in and out of the cage plus possible interference with the top bottle and the shift levers.
In the desert Southwest during the 70s on long rides I used 1 down tube cage and one TA handlebar cage. In the heat of the summer I used 2 TA handlebar cages.
Then there were the Reg "Erector Set" bar cages with all the sharp edges to get cut on...
I've seen pictures of a lot of racing bikes from the 20s and 30s that had a dual handlebar mount with aluminum bottles with large corks and flex straws.
Chas. Colerich
Oakland, CA USA
> 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 th
e mini ones are pretty much useless. Billy [i also like the bar mounted cages] Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "michael haddad"
> Subject: [CR] Why do older frames have only one set of bottle bosses?
> 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