Traditional cycling water bottle cages can be divided into three categories: top, left, or right side entry. For bikes with sloping top tubes or smaller frames, side-entry cages are often the only option for mounting bottle cages. Elite’s new T-Race bottle cage breaks those traditional labels and offers a dual-side entry option. With monoblock structure composed of fiber-reinforced material, the T-Race is also quite affordable at $16.99. Although it isn’t the lightest bottle cage Elite offers, the T-Race features a soft touch cage that is designed to hold bottles securely without scratching them. Elite also offers the T-Race in four attractive matte finishes: black, gray, gold, and blue.  The bottle cage is compatible with all standard 74mm water bottles and can be used for road cycling or mountain biking.

The Elite T-Race water bottle cage allows bottles to be inserted from any direction and has a soft touch material that won’t scratch bottles.

Retail Price$16.99
Rating8.9/10
Measured Weight (in g) 30
Likes+ Soft touch
+ Wide opening allows for bottle entry from any angle
+ Color options allow for some personalization
Dislikes– Misaligned graphics
– Short insertion depth feels odd on the road
Where to Buy (US) Todson

UNBOXING

The bottle cage comes simply mounted to a cardboard backing with two push pins. No hardware is included as you can simply reuse existing bolts on your bike.

Elite T-Race Bottlecage - Closeup
To accomplish the dual-sided design, the T-Race has an aggressively angled main hoop that results in a large opening.

FIT & FINISH

The bottle cage is aptly named “T-Race” as it creates a “T” profile (as in time trial) when mounted on a time trial bike. The steep cutout and vertical side supports of the bottle cage do in fact look like a “T” and are nearly parallel with the ground even on the downtube of our Specialized Tarmac. In fact, the T-Race bottle has a unique design that stands out from any angle. Where traditional top entry bottle cages have side arms or a main hoop near the top of the cage, the T-Race is steeply angled downward leaving most of the upper portion exposed leaving a wide opening to easily slide a bottle in or out from any angle. Graphics are limited to subtle “Elite” logos on the sides and “T-Race” on the front hoop which we found to be slightly misaligned. Compared to the Elite Prism side entry bottle cage, the T-Race has a much simpler and sleeker design.

Elite T-Race Bottlecage - With Elite Fly
Despite the minimal design, the T-Race holds bottles securely even over rough terrain..

The T-Race is also described as a soft touch bottle thanks to its fiberglass reinforced polymer matrix composite construction. In terms of texture, the bottle cage feels sturdy but has a rubber-like coating to prevent bottles from slipping out of the cage or being scratched. Additionally, strategically placed ridges along the main structure help hold the bottle in place without scratching the finish or graphics off the bottle. The cage is injection molded so you can see some molding lines on the otherwise minimalist cage. On the road, the cage works surprisingly well as the main opening is larger than most bottle cages which allows you to keep your eyes on the road. The only downside of the design is that the insertion depth is very short which meant we kept pushing down the bottle out of fear of falling out over a bump even when the bottle was fully seated.

THE VERDICT

Overall we found the Elite T-Race to be a minimalist yet well designed bottle cage. The aggressively angled main hoop provides a large opening that allows for insertion from any angle. We found that the design made inserting and removing water bottles easier while riding as we could keep our eyes on the road. The soft touch design is also a nice feature as it keeps bottles looking new even the very thinly coated Elite FLY bottles or stainless steel bottles like the Bivo One. We’re also happy to see Elite offer more exciting colors beyond the normal black to give them some more personality. Although the T-Race isn’t the lightest or flashiest bottle cage Elite offers, it’s a solid option particularly if you need the flexibility of dual-side entry cage.

Disclaimer:  The product for this review was provided by Elite. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.

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