Portland Design Work (PDW) is known for their whimsical bottle cage collections that can add some fun and character to any bike. In this review, we’ll be looking at the Lucky Cat and Very Good Dog cages and the companion bottles which take inspiration from cats and dogs. Retail price on both bottles is $28 which includes stainless steel mounting bolts and single piece aluminum 5052 alloy construction. As with all the other cages, the cat and dog variation are adorable with painted on details and cutouts to bring the animals to life. PDW also offers $11.95 26oz Specialized Purist bottles with matching graphic designs for both the cat and dog cages for those looking for a complete setup.
The Portland Design Work Lucky Cat and Very Good Dog cages combine one piece aluminum construction with adorable design details.
| Retail Price | $28 (per cage) / $11.95 (per bottle) |
| Rating | 9.6/10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 64 (cat cage), 73 (dog cage), 89 (26oz bottle) |
| Likes | + Secure hold on bottles even over rough terrain + Robust and durable aluminum construction + Clever details like dog paws on bottom of cage |
| Dislikes | – Non color matched bolts – Only available in right-hand side entry – Difficult to see details with bottles in cage |
| Where to Buy (US) | Portland Design Works |
MOUNTING
As far as mounting the bottle cage uses a standard two bolt design with the bolting area recessed in. Unfortunately, PDW does not include color matching bolts which means the stainless steel isn’t a perfect match to the cages. PDW does use a darker bolt on the top and the lighter version on the bottom which does help slightly blend the upper bolt into the design. The top bolt hole has no forward or aft adjustment while the bottom bolt has a little adjustment to make installation easier. With a bottle installed on the cage you won’t see the mounting bolts or a lot of the details of the cage. It’s actually hard to tell what either cage is when there is a bottle installed except for the paw graphics on the bottom of the Very Good Dog cage.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the Lucky Cat and Very Good Dog cages take the outline of a cat and dog and wrap the arms around the bottle to hold it in place. The bottle cages are a one piece design that is cut out of a single sheet of aluminum 5052 which is quite thick at almost 1/16” inch. That means there are no weld marks or seams on the bottle cage which gives it a sleek appearance. The Lucky Cat cage has the shape of the iconic Japanese Maneki-neko cat or beckoning cat, which is said to offer good luck. It’s design is a collaboration with artist Jake Tong who has also done some of the artwork on other PDW products. Portland Design Works offers the Lucky Cat cage in two different colors: white and black. We have the black cat here which has a glossy black finish along with painted details for the paws, whiskers, eye and collar. Cutouts along the ears, arms and body help give the bottle additional detailing.
The Very Good Dog cage features a cute dog face complete with floppy ears and tongue details painted on the glossy surface. Portland Design Works offers the Very Good Dog cage in two different colors: white and black. In this review, we have the white version which has black details printed onto it including the black paws at the base of the cage. Cutouts on the center and arm help reduce the weight of the cage and add additional details. Curiously, both bottle cages are side entry that are sold as right-side only. For both variations, the bottle is primarily held in place by wrap-around arms which compress the bottle while the bottom of the cages have a 90 degrees to prevent the bottle from sliding through. Unlike most cycling bottle cages which have a retention tab on the top of the cage that fits into the corresponding grip ring on water bottles, the Sparrow has a flat design. This is actually intentional as PDW found that the tab would make the cage difficult to use with non-cycling specific bottles.
BOTTLES
As with many of the bottle cages, PDW also creates a matching water bottle to pair it with. In this case, there is the Maneki-Neko 26 oz bottle for the Lucky Cat cage and the Very Good Dog 26oz bottle for the dog cage.. The design of the Maneki-Neko 260z bottle is a bright orange with red cap along with red Portland Design Works logo. Designed by Jake Tong, the bottle features a repeating design with Lucky Cat at the center with a smiling face. Note, PDW does also offer a 22oz Maneki-Neko bottle which has a more subtle white background.
The Very Good Dog bottle has four rows of dog caricatures that represent different colors and breeds of dogs. There is also a little easter egg with one squirrel on the third row with its neighboring dog staring at it. Both bottles are just a Specialized Purist bottle with their MoFlo cap and PDW’s custom design printed on it. The MoFlo cap is a standard pull/push style cap that locks into place by pushing it down. Although Specialized hasn’t designed the mouth piece to be easily removable, if you do some googling you’ll find there are some tricks to releasing it for a thorough cleaning.
ON THE BIKE
We were eager to install the Lucky Cat and Very Good Dog cages onto our road bikes and see how they performed. Despite their relatively heavy weight compared to carbon fiber cages like those offered by Topeak, the cages are easy to install and have an impressive grip on bottles. As other reviews have mentioned, the grip is almost too tight so we pulled the arms a bit out to loosen it and make it easier to install and remove bottles while riding. Even without the traditional retention tab, the bottle cages did an excellent job keeping bottles in place even over rough roads and big potholes. While both cages are super cute, most of the details of the cages become obscured when a bottle is placed inside it.
As far as the matching bottles, the Specialized Purist bottles have a great squishiness and high-flow from the MoFlo caps. The elaborate graphics are durable as well and show minimal scratches and wear and tear from being used in bottle cages. The color choices for the bottles are pretty limited which means the bright orange and red design of the Maneki-Neko bottle doesn’t work with all bike setups. We also preferred our Polar Breakaway insulated bottles over the PDW bottle variations as they help keep our fluids cool during warmer weather.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Portland Design Works Lucky Cat and Very Good Dog bottle cages and matching bottles to be fun and functional. Both bottle cages have a single-piece aluminum construction with details cut into and painted onto it to bring the cat and dog designs to life. We were impressed with the durability and tight grip the bottle cages offer which keep bottles securely in place over any terrain. With different color options and fun details, the bottle cages and matching bottles look great and perform well. As far as negatives, we wish PDW included color matched bolts, had a matching left-side entry option and found that most of the animal details are obscured with a bottle installed. That said, whether you’re a cat or dog person, it’s hard to not like both bottle cages and bottles as a way to add some fun to any bicycle.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Portland Design Works. 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.