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| Here's what you get with the King Cage Top Cap Cage Mount super adventure fun pack. |
Recently, I picked up a King Cage Top Cap Cage Mount from the King Cage booth at the
NAHBS. Ron Andrews, the guy behind King Cage, was at the show with his wind-up monkey and bending equipment, cranking out cages in front of a mesmerized crowd. It's quite a thing to watch. He, himself, makes all of his products from U.S. sourced materials in his garage in Durango. His titanium and stainless steel cages can be found on some of the best bikes in the world, and have been the choice of numerous pro riders. I can't think of a better business setup than Ron's to make a self-sufficient living, with the flexibility for plenty of time to enjoy life.
In any case, I had been interested in his top cap cage mounts since
I encountered one on Nicholas' Pugsley last Fall. When the opportunity arose to get one for just $5, I couldn't say no. I would have walked away with many more of his items if it wasn't for the fact that I was down to just $5 at the time.
Yesterday, I took a few minutes to install the Top Cap Cage Mount on my Pugsley. It really couldn't have been more simple. Here's how it went:
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| Unbolt and swap the stock top cap for the King Cage model. Make sure it's tight and aligned with the stem. |
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| Bolt the bottle cage to the top cap cage mount. |
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| I don't have a King Cage bottle cage, so this stainless steel Blackburn will have to do. |
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| That's it! Here's the completed installation holding a bottle. |
I rode the bike around a bit, just to see how it felt to have a bottle cage right there in the cockpit. It didn't seem intrusive, nor did it rattle or bump around. Between the two cages on my Moonlander fork, and the one now on my stem top cap, I can carry three bottles while still having my Revelate framepack in place. I'll be back at a later date with any further impressions, but this looks to be a great addition.
I've been using King cages, in stainless, for around 20 years. I won't use anything else if I have a choice. I had one break after many years of rough service and Ron replaced it- no questions asked. I managed to come home from NAHBS with (two of 'em) of Ron's new version of an Anything Cage. They're only made it Ti though. Nicholas and Cass love their top mounts, I'm sure you will too.
ReplyDeleteGood job on picking up some of Ron's "Manything" cages. I wanted some, but I was out of cash. I'm going to have to make an effort to get some, and to replace some of my old battered cages.
DeleteI've wanted to do a top cap cage for quite a while now. My problem is I'm a big guy who buys bikes used, and it seems everyone is obsessed with chopping their steerer tubes as soon as possible after they purchase a new bike.
ReplyDeleteConsequently I'm forced to use the highest rising stems (Dimension brand) I can find to get the bars up to a reasonable level once I take ownership of these otherwise fine steeds.
Looks sweet, enjoy it.
There's not much more irritating than people who cut the steerer tubes of bikes you may one day own. I, too, don't understand this behavior. In the case of your 1x1, you might consider a new fork, maybe a Pugsley fork, to fix the problem. It would likely be well worth it.
DeleteI'd throw a 100mm spaced Pugsley fork on my 1x1 in a heartbeat if I found a fair price on one, which would probably inspire me to build up some Marge lites too.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure the 1x1 had a pug fork on it in its previous life up in Fairbanks.
The bigger issue for me is the fork on my old red(ish) CrossCheck. I just can't get myself past the aesthetics of any of the mismatched color options available, and I've yet to find an uncut red fork. I try not to get preoccupied with how things look, but there are times I can't help it.
I know first hand about the color match irrationality. I curse by name the dolt who cut about one inch off the steerer of my 2001 Bean Green Cross Check. I can curse by name because I'm the guilty party. For some now unfathomable reason I trimmed the steerer and have regretted it ever since. The new black CC forks have many more braze-ons, so that may be enough to make the change at some point.
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