What should be your most conveniently accessed item while bikepacking, or cycling in general? H2O. Finding ways to creatively carry your water while bikepacking can be tough. King Cage has a unique option for carrying those extra ounces while in the field. The Top Cap Cage Mount is a simple, affordable, and easy to use solution that is made in the United States. King Cage was founded in 1991 and has been operated out of the owner’s garage in Durango, Colorado ever since. The owner had been working at a company called One Off Titanium when a customer inquired whether he could make a titanium cage. He has been making them ever since. The titanium cage came first and the stainless steel cage was introduced in 1996. Each product is made from USA sourced materials and is fully manufactured in the US. DSC04851   The Top Cap Cage Mount is a simple stem cap attachment with two bolts that extend vertically from the center of the stem cap. The installation is simple. Either remove your stem cap and place the King Cage mount beneath your stem cap so that it sits flush with the indentation. Place your stem cap back over the mount and secure it with the original bolt. Once it is tightened and center on the stem, use the two included bolts to attach a bottle cage to the mounting device. Because the installation is so quick and simple, it is very easy to move this mount from one bike to the next.King Cage We did run into a problem with one  of the King Cage bolts hitting the seat facing portion of our stem. This inhibited the cap to sit flush over the steer tube. As a solution, we placed the mount over the top cap and it proved to work out fine. Over the course of using this product through varying terrain, I have not experienced any clatter or movement of the bottle or cage while riding. On gravel and technical singletrack, the bottle has never released from the cage and fallen. Even when I have fallen off the bike, the cage and bottle stay in place. I have found this mount to be extremely useful on extended trips as well as day rides. When I switched from carrying a bladder on my back while riding to keeping all water on my bike, I found that I was forgetting to drink water while riding because I would have to reach down for my water which was mounted above and below my down tube. While this is rather easy on gravel or roads, it can prove to be difficult on singletrack. By switching my lower cage up to my stem, I have been able to maintain better hydration while out on the trail. King Cage The Top Cap Cage Mount is unobtrusive on your stem. The mount is made of a black aluminum and weighs almost nothing. The space between the cage and the bars is still large enough to mount a GPS device to either side of the stem, and it does not get in the way of stem bags or bar bag mounting points. Now, if you like to have your GPS front and center on your stem, this mount would not work for you. I purchased this product prior to heading out on the White Rim trail in Utah. I needed as much space to carry water as possible since there are no resupply locations on the 100 mile desert route. I had a full frame bag so I had lost space on my frame to carry a bottle – this was a perfect solution. I was able to carry three water bottles on my bars alone by using the cap mount and two stem bags, one on either side of my bars.DSC04843 Overall, the Top Cap Cage Mount by King Cage is a functional and sensible product that weighs next to nothing and will provide convenient hydration on any ride, long or short. It is a bikepacker friendly product and to put the cherry on the cake – it is made in the US and will only set you back $8.00.    

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