Mounting water bottle cages on fork?

I have cages on my fork and only use them when I do longer rides. I have never noticed any difference in handling or whatever when I carry bottles on my fork and I only use larger(heavier) size bottles.. During a longer ride I will typically have one empty and one full on the fork at some point and again, I have never noticed any handling variance. Honestly, I think with gravel you have so much going on that it would be hard to accurately attribute something to bottles. I'm sure lifting the front wheel would be affected by having 5-6lbs of fluid on the fork; I try to keep my tires on the ground haha.

I used them on my Cutthroat for my longer rides.  From personal experience, use these bottles first.  I found myself getting my fingers/bottles too close to the moving spokes when I got tired and lost concentration.  I do everything I can to keep the weight on the bike and off my shoulders/back pockets.  I tend to drink a ton on the bike, so I loved having the comfort of knowing I had 2 extra bottles between stops.

I use the larger size Specialized bottle which I think are around 28 ounces.. I ride with a hydro pack so I typically use the fork bottles to refill my pack at a stop. I agree the fork carried bottles don't really work for typical on bike drinking; I rotate them onto the frame cages if that's what I need to do.. I live in Az so during for most of the year, carrying more than you think you need is the smart play..

 

Hopefully the snow melts soon; I used to live in the Mid-Worst so I remember waiting to ride..