The trials and challenges of racing force cyclists, teams and sponsors to balance optimal performance with light weight frames and components against safety and reliable functionality. Every one wants the full package with zero compromises and manufacturers across the bicycle industry push hard every year to keep pushing the boundaries. While carbon fiber and other NASA-grade materials get all the press, sometimes the less expensive options truly get the job done. Elite's Paron Race Bottle Cage is a great example. Made from a composite, Fiber Reinforced Polymide (FRP), the Paron Race is a 35 gram bottle cage that costs under $12, and truly meets the standards of professional racing. The composite material offers just enough flexible structure for it to adapt to various bottle shapes and other variables. It holds bottles firmly, yet has v-shaped side wings that allow for fast enrry and removal at more severe angles than most cages. This saves time and energy, and reduces the risk a dropped bottle will take out the stream of riders behind you.

Paron means boss, in Venetian parlance, just as padrone is more commonly used across Italy. To boss, or lead is to take control, and carries responsibility across the peloton. It is a status that is earned, and given, not taken. Elite has been designing and making top performing bottle cages for pro and amateur cyclists for decades and has earned their place. It is a measure of respect for cycling and it's riders that Elite named this cage the Paron Race. If you want top performance, but don't have the budget of Team Sky, we recommend this bottle cage. Perhaps you will earn your respect through actions and character, but if you don't you bottles and the riders around you will appreciate it.