Thanks for tuning in today we're going to be reviewing the Elite T-Race cycling water
bottle cage. Traditionally water bottle cages have been categorized into two main categories
a top entry or a side entry whether it be a left or a right entry. The reason you
want a side entry is if you have a smaller bike frame or something with a very angled top tube
that limits the amount of space you have. Elites new T-Race water bottle cages break those labels
and actually have a dual side entry design so you can come in from the left or the right
rather than having to pick one. In terms of packaging you can see it's pretty simple
you just have a little cardboard backing and the plastic pins that hold it in place.
Basic information on here that shows you can insert it in both directions. We already have it
off here so I'll go over the specs. Retail price on this is $16.99 so it's quite affordable. It's a dual
side entry design which makes it pretty unique and that you can use it from top side left or right.
It is a soft touch bottle cage so it's not supposed to rub against your water bottle or
put scratches into it and it's a fiber reinforced construction which is why it's a little more
affordable than their carbon fiber variations and has a monoblock structure frp material.
It's compatible with all standard 74 millimeter water bottles and you see the standard tabs on
the bottom and top to hold it in place and with the dual side entry design. You have a
very wide opening as you can see here that makes it really easy to put a bottle cage in here when
you're on the road. Now take a second to look at the weight of the water bottle cage, this isn't
the lightest bottle cage that Elite offers but comes in at 30 grams which is still quite light.
Now let's go over the fit and finish of the Elite T-Race water bottle cage. The reason this is called
a T-Race is because it actually forms a t-profile when viewed from the side and mounted on a down
tube. You can see that here it's pretty distinct t-shape it has a fiber reinforced
construction with this matte finish and because it's soft touch you can actually see it almost
feels like a rubber coated coating on top so it feels a little bit grippy non-slip to the touch
and hopefully we'll scratch bottles less than other metal water bottle cages would.
It's available in four colors which is nice you don't have to just get black or gray. We
have the gray version here but they also offer the black a blue and a gold they're all a matte finish
but at least with the color options you can definitely mix and match to your bike frame colors.
In terms of the shape it's quite distinct you have the standard
bolt holes on the bottom the two tabs one on the bottom one on the top then holds the
bottle in place and then the top tab goes where the little divot in the bottle profile would go.
A very wide opening here you can see what makes this special instead of having this perpendicular
to the main structure it's angled very far back so you get this very wide opening. This almost
a lip type style opening and that makes it really easy to place a water bottle so
you can see here you have a lot of angles you can put it in. That's why you can really go left
right or top and here you can see with the bottle on there that top tab actually goes right where
the profile narrows on the Elite bottle or any other standard bottle. The bottom holds it in
place so it doesn't slide up this main hoop goes down and low so it gives you a lot of access and
very minimal structure brandon is limited to just a basic T-Race on top and the Elite on the side.
One minor thing is that the T-Race isn't very centered here
on either of the bottle cages we have so the branding could be a little bit better but
otherwise very simple you just have a lid on the sides and it's in the accent color
so here we have the T-Race bottle cages attached to my specialized ruby
and it looks good even in the gray matte finish. It matches well with the matte black finish
very minimal graphics here just Elite very small so there's not it's not like you're a rolling
billboard. Now whether you have normal bottle or a little Elite bottle there's a new Elite Fly
and you can see it falls into place really well. The indentation on top of the
cage will match the tapering of the body and then it stays in place it's a very short insertion
distance though that's the only downside so you can see it only needs about an inch pushed down
and locks into place so you do have to get used to that when you're riding. If you
have a larger bottle like the Polar Breakaway that also works with this it's pushed down
and you can see the little tapered portion of the body bumps against the tab the bottom tab holds in
place. The other nice thing is because the opening is so large you can really come in at any any
angle and just push down and it'll lock in here. You can see the T-Race on our bike on the road
and as you can see it's really easy to put the bottle in and out of the bottle cage. Our only
complaint is that the insertion distance is quite short so you do have to get used to that otherwise
you end up kind of pushing down on it just to make sure it's actually there. You can also see
that you can come at it at any angle thanks to that wide body and even when you have a very tight
spot like our rear cage which is mounted a little bit high you can still kind of stuff it in there.
So now let's do a comparison between the Elite T-Race and other water bottle cages on the market.
One of the bottle cages we previously reviewed is the Elite Prism. This is a side entry bottle cage
and you can see the design here has a big opening on one side so you have to pick left or right
whereas the T-Race lets you do both because of the structure being so low. You can see the opening
is very similar and it gives you more access and with the T-Race it's a little bit more minimalist
styling. Where this has these large hoops and the T-Race just has a main circle. Now with a
standard top entry you can see the main difference especially when you put them side by side the main
structure on here extends very high. This is a Fabric bottle cage it's designed to specifically
match the curvature of the fabric water bottles but works with any other standard bottle as well
but you can see how far these extends. So if you have limited space you really have to put
the bottle way up here whereas this one you can come down low and then just slide it in
and again the actual insertion area is much larger here. You can see this large hoop
versus the standard circular smaller style you have with a top entry.
Now let's go over the pros and cons for the Elite T-Race bottle cage what we like about
it is the soft touch construction less abrasive than metal bottle cages. It also has a wide opening
that makes bottle entry easy whether you do a top or side entry. Finally the color options
allow for personalization so the colors such as gold and blue can match different frame colors.
Some of the negatives for the bottle cage is the fact that the graphics are slightly misaligned
a little bit of a nitpick but would be nice if they were centered. Finally the short
insertion depth feels a little bit odd when riding we often found ourselves checking if
it was actually fully inserted only to realize it was already there. Taking everything into account
would give the elite race bottle cage an 8.9 out of 10. It's a sleek dual entry bottle cage
that works well whether you need extra space or just want a more flexible setup.
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