Bike Diva

The Cage Rocket is available in seven different colors

Cage Rocket, in silver/black, attached to the Bike Diva's Cervelo P2C triathlon bike

Cage Rocket Rocks

When I finally decided to purchase a triathlon bike, to race in duathlons and time trials, I was pretty sure I didn't want to use a traditional under-the-seat bike bag to store all my tire changing gear. Normally, when I'm racing in sprint races, I strip all the extra gear off the bike. It's a pain in the butt to have to deal with the velcro straps every time I take the bike bag off the bike, then put it back on when I'm done racing.

I was looking for an easier way to store my bike gear. On solo training rides, and for longer events, like half Ironman distance duathlons, I wanted a way to be able to carry all the equipment necessary to change a flat tire. I'll also place my driver's license and a couple of dollars in the Cage Rocket when I'm out riding by myself. I probably will never use the tri bike on group rides, I have my Trek road bike for regular rides. So I'll probably only be doing solo rides on the Cervelo.

Mighty Mini Storage System

In a recent issue of a road bike magazine, I saw an advertisement for the Cage Rocket storage system. The Cage Rocket is a padded, hard plastic carrying case with a flip top lid. The Cage Rocket was designed to fit into a traditional water bottle holder. 

I had a Reynold's carbon water bottle holder, on the down tube of my tri bike, which is where I wanted to attach the Cage Rocket. The Cage Rocket doesn't fit in carbon water bottle holders, they are a bit too stiff for the system to fit into. I don't use traditional water bottle holders on any of my bikes, so I thought I might not be able to use the Cage Rocket without having to purchase a traditional water bottle holder. I have a faux-carbon, plastic water bottle holder on my road bike, which is very flexible. I tried placing the Cage Rocket on my road bike, and it fit perfectly. So I swapped out one of my road bike water bottle holders for the carbon water bottle holder on the tri bike - problem solved.

Plenty of Storage Space

The Cage Rocket holds a ton of gear - I took photos to show you exactly how much gear I was able to store in mine. I placed a large tube (700 CC with an 80 mm presta valve), cell phone, tire levers, two CO2 canisters, CO2 valve and my car keys in the Cage Rocket with no problem. Yes, all this gear is a bit heavy, but I think it's a bit more aerodynamic than attaching an under-the-seat bike bag to the Cervelo.

I like being able to store my cell phone in the Cage Rocket. No more worrying about if it rains, will my phone get wet, or trying to cram my cell phone into my bike bag, after placing it into a zip lock plastic bag. I've been on a few rides, where it's started to rain, and I didn't have a plastic baggy with me. Bummer. I have two water bottle cages on my road bike, I'm thinking I might start using a Cage Rocket on the road bike for my short to mid distance training rides.

I also like the fact, that after I am done riding, I can simply take the Cage Rocket off the bike, and place it in my gym bag. Except for taking out my cell phone, I can keep all the other gear in the Cage Rocket until the next time I'm ready to ride my bike. I'll be getting an extra set of house and car keys made, so I can keep them in the Cage Rocket permanently.  

Additional Information

Visit the Cage Rocket website for additional information on their complete line of products. Other uses for the Cage Rocket include carrying one in the cup holder of your car or boat, in your back pack, golf cart and more. I occasionally go to spinning classes at the gym. The spinning bikes have two water bottle holders. I only bring one water bottle with me to class. I'm thinking I could use the other water bottle holder to hold a Cage Rocket, which would contain my cell phone, driver's license and car keys. Pretty nifty.

The Cage Rocket weighs 3.7 ounce (105 grams) and has a storage capacity of 640 cubic centimeters. The foam lining can be removed to increase the storage capacity to 735 cubic centimeters, but I wouldn't recommend it. The foam lining helps keep everything in place, while you are riding, and prevents all the gear from clanging against each other.

CAGE ROCKET, INC.
927 DUCHESS RD
BOTHELL WA 98012-7020

Cage Rockets are available online from Bike Nashbar and REI.

 

Close up of top of Cage Rocket. My Bike Diva logo was etched into the top of the Cage Rocket. Logos can also be custom printed onto the main body of the Cage Rocket in one or more colors. Check the Cage Rocket website for additional information.