If you’re into bikepacking, you’ve probably given a lot of thought to carrying extra gear on your bike. For everyone else, there’s a good chance you have some empty braze ons somewhere on your bike. Whatever the case, Tailfin has a new option for carrying additional cargo on your bike that should appeal to just about everyone.
Called the Mini Cage, the new option is appropriately small—about half the size of their current Small Cargo Cage. Where the bigger cargo cages have three or even four mounting holes, the Mini Cage has just two.
Which are perfectly spaced for the standard two-bolt mounts which are used for water bottles. Many frames have an extra set on the downtube which are rarely used for bottles, and we’ve also seen more frame companies starting to add an extra set of braze ons somewhere in the front triangle specifically for cargo mounts like this. Or, if you don’t have any extra braze ons, you could add a set of the new Tailfin SFMs, and mount two Mini Cages on your fork!
Tailfin Mini Cage Dimensions
Designed with 40.5mm long strap slots, the Mini Cage is intended to be used with any kind of strap including Voile and numerous Velcro Straps. Thanks to the elevated design of the cage, the straps and cargo are kept off the frame preventing any accidental damage.
Thanks to the concave shape, the cage can even be used to carry bottles—from your standard water bottle to a full-size Nalgene. Obviously, this won’t be as quick to access as a traditional cage, but you could use it to house a spare bottle until you need it. Or a fuel bottle. Or spare parts bottle. Or…
Load Pads
And since cargo cages have the potential to carry heavier items, Tailfin figured out a way to make their cages more stable to prevent damaging the rivnuts in the frame. At each mounting point you’ll find a Load Pad, or a V-shaped Nitrile gasket that is permanently bonded to the underside of the cage. This spreads the forces around the rivnut by 16mm and also protects the frame, keeping the fit rattle free.
Tailfin Mini Cage Actual Weight
Weighing in at just 32g, the cage is CNC Machined from one piece of 7075-T6 aluminum. That’s what Tailfin credits for the cage’s strength while keeping the weight low. The included bolts and washers weigh 5g for the set.
Priced at $25, the Tailfin Mini cage is available now.
