Forkin cages!

[ootini]

Hi all,

I'm very close to hitting the button on some Monki clips and Gorilla cages, but want to pick your communal brains first.
I'm looking for a solution that will allow me to carry a pair of 5 litre dry bags on my forks, and to be fair, the gorilla cage idea seems to tick all the boxes so far, however it's not the cheapest venture ever. Each clip is a tenner and each cage is twenty, so that's £60 in total.
Are they any alternatives?
I like the monki clips meaning I can disconnect the cages when they're not in use, however this also makes me wonder about how likely the cages are to fly off of their own accord when riding on anything bumpy. Especially as the clips only provide 2 cleat / bosses but the gorilla cage is designed to use 3. Which seems odd.
Anything cages + some pipe clips from B&Q is cheaper, but then the cages are permanently attached, and I'm concerned about over tightening the clips on the suspension forks.
Anyone have ideas? Suggestions? Do I just bite the bullet and go for the Gorilla cages and clips? How do you guys do it?

[HaYWiRe]

5L on each fork seems a bit big, may just be a difference in how manufacturers measure volume, but my sleeping bag fills a 5L bag and its the bulky synthetic type and a fair size to be fork mounted, id think 2-3L on each side would fit better, could just be me

What's the thinking behind mounting weight on an 'unsuspended' part of the bike like the forks? (assuming you have suspension not rigid)
Not criticizing just curious as I've seen it done quite often

[jameso]

Stu's used them enough to know. Personally if it's on the forks I'd want it to be fixed 100% solid. If I can pull it out by hand I'm not fitting it there, ie bottles on my fork get a strap to back up the cage grip. The front wheel hitting bumps at speed creates a fair bit of 'ejection force' and I've been over the bars at speed when something jammed in my front wheel in a similar sort of situation. Not nice.

[ootini]

5L on each fork seems a bit big, may just be a difference in how manufacturers measure volume, but my sleeping bag fills a 5L bag and its the bulky synthetic type and a fair size to be fork mounted, id think 2-3L on each side would fit better, could just be me

What's the thinking behind mounting weight on an 'unsuspended' part of the bike like the forks? (assuming you have suspension not rigid)
Not criticizing just curious as I've seen it done quite often

Hi, saying 5l may have been overstating. I'm just using 5l bags. Basically this is my current setup ( and bear in mind it's on a budget).
I've got an 8l drybag containing my tent strapped to the handlebars. A small frame bag containing tools, tubes, snacks. I've got an AlpKit tapered airlok acting as a seatpack containing my sleeping bag and clothes.
This basically leaves me looking for storage for my sleeping mat and my cooking kit, both of which fit nicely in to cheap Karrimor 5l dry bags (they actually only take up about 3-4 litres each, and I figured as they're quite light I could mount them in cages on the forks. If there's better options I'm all ears.

[ootini]

Stu's used them enough to know. Personally if it's on the forks I'd want it to be fixed 100% solid. If I can pull it out by hand I'm not fitting it there, ie bottles on my fork get a strap to back up the cage grip. The front wheel hitting bumps at speed creates a fair bit of 'ejection force' and I've been over the bars at speed when something jammed in my front wheel in a similar sort of situation. Not nice.

I've seen Stu's article on the Gorilla cage but it's more of a first look than a review as such.

[TheBrownDog]

Ive used my Monkii cages and clips over all sorts of terrain and they've been fine. Carried various stuff and none of it has even looked like boucning out. The ghetto approach is to get a pair of large alloy bottle cages that encircle around the bottle and fix them to the fork lowers with two screw hose clamps. Looks terrible but works well enough. Wrap the forks with old inner tube to protect them too.

[Artie Fufkin]

I was out a couple of weeks back with a mate who broke the mounting area off a Gorilla cage down a steep bumpy decent.
He had a 3l dry bag with food etc in it.
We had to permanently zip tie it on. Some of it may have been due to the amount of pork pies he was carrying, though. So I would be cautious of what weight you put in them.

[ootini]

Cheers folks.

[ootini]

I was out a couple of weeks back with a mate who broke the mounting area off a Gorilla cage down a steep bumpy decent.
He had a 3l dry bag with food etc in it.
We had to permanently zip tie it on. Some of it may have been due to the amount of pork pies he was carrying, though. So I would be cautious of what weight you put in them.

Roughly how much of the cage did the 3l bag fill? I'm wondering how big or small the 5l bag would be inside the cage so to speak. I'm now thinking maybe the Gorilla cage would be too big, and I should use the Monki cage instead. I need a tape measure...

[Steezysix]

I've got some of the Blackburn Cargo cages - http://www.blackburndesign.com/cages/ou ... Y16UflViko - £20 each and come with the straps. I put them on my forks using the mid fork eyelet and a couple of hose clips with some old inner tube wrapped underneath - they're pretty solid. I was using two 8L Alpkit Airlock Extra with my slepping bag in one and tent in the other (just over a kilo each) - the straps thread through the cages and through the loops on the drybags so there's no risk of losing them.

[slarge]

I've never used cages mounted to fork legs as the idea feels wrong to me. Doesn't anyone worry / have experience of the cage or drybag slowly moving until it jams the front wheel? Would scare the crap out of that would!

[ootini]

The tapered Airlok arrived. Good quality etc but I'm not convinced about the volume though, I seem to get more in my 10l karrimor I think. Either way I can get my sleeping bag and clothes in, as expected. So I still need somewhere for the cook kit and sleeping mat.

[Gari]

Depending on size etc the cook kit could go in a stem cell? A frame bag is where I put mine, along with food etc.

[StuartG]

I use the Gorillas for my mat and TN bivvy. They are in 5l dry bags, but the reality is they are only 4l used. They are on the salsa rigid forks, so have the 3 mounting points in the forks.

I like them, they keeps things tight and out of the way. There is a little swing on the dry bags, but not much. They have been fine on rough tracks, I thought they would bounce off. I would be a little concerned of an impact, but as they are semi rear facing I can't see that happening.

Overall, they work better than I expected. The handing isn't badly effected, unlike panniers!

[StuartG]

Actually, just been putting mine back on and that they are a bit fiddly with the velcro straps - but does make things secure

[ootini]

Actually, just been putting mine back on and that they are a bit fiddly with the velcro straps - but does make things secure

Do you have any photos of the cages on your forks?

[StuartG]

Does this help? Let me know if you need anymore?

[ootini]

Does this help? Let me know if you need anymore?

That's great ! Thanks. Helps me get an idea of scale etc.

[Drillmaster1]

Ive used gorilla cages for four 2 week trips now with 8L dry bag in each one containing sleeping bag, waterproofs,sleeping mat, maybe a gas cylinder too.
They've been great although the load bounces around a bit on rough ground they have never come off, or broken. They are mounted on a rigid fork.
I rate them highly

[jam bo]

I've just ordered a set of gorilla cages with a monkii clip for one leg and some zefal gizmo's for the other to see which is best.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've just ordered a set of gorilla cages with a monkii clip for one leg and some zefal gizmo's for the other to see which is best.

Just remember that the cages have 3 mounts and the clips 2 ... you can mount the cages as a straight up and down QR or in V format, which means the cage 'twists' into position. The V type mount should make them much more secure.

[ootini]

An interesting bodge here: http://theridesouth.com/2014/09/09/goin ... ew-set-up/

[Chew]

For balance I used Monkii cages on our trip to the States and they were a real pain in the backside.

Using them with bottles, either the bottles or cages would eject over rough ground which isnt much use when you're crossing a desert.......The remaining one was ejected into a bin in Colorado.

[jam bo]

I've just ordered a set of gorilla cages with a monkii clip for one leg and some zefal gizmo's for the other to see which is best.

turned up. cages look good but a schoolboy oversight on the monkii clip means it was never going to work. designed for 38mm circumference tube is never going to fit a tube with 38mm diameter....

[rufus748]

turned up. cages look good but a schoolboy oversight on the monkii clip means it was never going to work. designed for 38mm circumference tube is never going to fit a tube with 38mm diameter....

I've run my clips with anything cages on White Bros Carbon Forks which are listed with a 34mm fork without a problem, thanks to some slight adjustment with a dremmel...

'Out of the box' they didn't grip all the fork leg, the end of each clamp by the tightening nut/bolt was preventing the clamp to tighten around all the fork and I was getting minimal contact.

I just trimmed some of the plastic off the end of the clamp (carefully) so that it looked oval rather than round before it was fitted. Once on the fork it's now a perfect fit, I run a small wrap of old inner tube between the clamp and fork to aid grip and stop marking and have never had any movement.