What kit to take on a ride?

Rob Johnson

I'm new to road riding and although I've been mountain biking with a camelbak for years I'm not sure what to take and how to carry stuff on the road.
At the moment I have a puncture repair kit, inner tube, tyre levers, mobile phone and a allen key set in a saddle pack which is only half full so rattles annoyingly. I carry a mini pump on the frame. Any food / energy bars go in the jersey back pocket.
On the mountain bike I carry all that plus a chain tool, chain links, zip ties, first aid kit and shock pump (obviously not needed on the road). But actually I'm far more likely to be far from home if I get a mechnical on the road bike so I'm interested on hearing what everyone else takes.

roger_merriman

mini pump, two tubes, levers, multi tool, tiny lock (for nipping to loo) and keys + phone /wallet and maybe map/water

spasypaddy

in my saddle bag currently is:
one inner tube, a multitool that has everything i will ever need to use to fix the bike, my keys, and a five pound note.

Lagavulin

Saddle bags: Tube, two tyre levers, mini tool

Jersey: Mini pump, two tubes, mobile, food

stabilised

I carry: spare inner tube; repair kit and tyre levers; 3, 4, 5 and 6mm allen keys; small flat blade screwdriver (for adjusting stops on gear mechanisms and the like) 10mm spanner and 6" adjustable spanner; mobile phone; 750ml water bottle; pump. The pump goes on the bike, the bottle in the bottle cage, everything else in back pockets. If I need food then there's usually still room for that, too.

There's quite a big variation in what people carry - from nothing (very foolish), through to someone I once knew who had bottom bracket tools, headset spanners; cone spanners, spoke key and just about everything else you might have at home with him. He seemed to work on the 'if you have it you won't need it' principle.

I quite recently read Nick and Richard Crane's book 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' where they cycled to the place farthest from open ocean from the ocean (Bangladesh to a very remote spot in Xinjiang province in China - over the Himalayas and across the Tibetan plateau - in 1986 (so also through quite a lot of places supposedly closed to non-Chinese). They carried a pump; repair kit; one tyre lever; 4" adjustable spanner; one cone spanner; 4 and 6mm allen keys; chain link remover; spoke key. 3,313 miles in 58 days and two p*nctures each!

nolf

I prefer a minimalist approach, on a 2 hour ride-
multi tool, spare inner, mini pump, keys, reserve gel, 2 x 500ml bottles on the bike, (1 carrying isotonic energy drink).

Don't bother with a saddle bag because they ruin the aesthetics of the bike!

salsarider79

I'm with Nolf on this one. For rides upto 3 hours, thats all you need. I take 750ml bottles (not 500ml) and small rear light (for the shortcuts and 'wonder where that road goes' moments).

grayo59

And a banana for anything over two hours.

tonyw43

Inner tube, multi tool, puncture kit, co2 pump, tyre levers and money all in small saddle bag. 2x750 ml bottles on bike, one with psp22, one with water (or go if v.hot), gels and bars in back pockets with mobile. If weather not looking too clever, rain jacket in back as well.

chuckcork

Generally levers, 2 tubes (+2 more if commuting and wearing my backpack), rear light if commuting (just in case of bad weather and I want more visibility), repair kit, pump, multitool with allen keys and screwdrivers, Cycling Ireland ID which is for insurance purposes, cash, mobile.

1 x 700ml Bottle for commuting
2 x 750ml Bottles on a standard sunday ride
4 bottles maybe on a longer distance (I use a Minoura bottle holder fixed to the seat)

Food in back pockets, maybe a Tri-bag on the bike for food bars for longer rides.

House keys.

Lagavulin

chuckcork wrote:

I use a Minoura bottle holder fixed to the seat...

Ooh, what's this? Of late I've been running out of fluid before my legs give up on me.
I'm a bit of a dwarf (5' 7") so my smallish frames are a bit of a squeeze for anything larger than a 500ml bottle on the seat tube cage. WIll take a 700-800 but it's a tight fit, particularly the fully compact geometry Allez.

wastelander

nolf wrote:

Don't bother with a saddle bag because they ruin the aesthetics of the bike!

Most of us manage that just by sitting on it, let alone adding anything to it

Turnbull2000

When I first moved from MTB to road, I stuck with my camelbak for a few months and was reluctant to lose it. Kept my bike bare.

Eventually saw the light and got a saddle bag and used that for several months. But now even the saddle bag is gone and everything is in my jersey or on the frame. Bike feels and looks better without the saddle bag. For 70-100 mile rides, I carry...

Jersey:

Mobile, five pound note
Jelly beans
4 x Kellog's Elevenses
2 x tube
1 x lightweight multitool
1 x aluminium tire remover

Frame:

Blackburn Carbon pump
1x Bottle

Lagavulin

Turnbull2000 wrote:

For 70-100 mile rides, I carry...
... 1x Bottle

Do you stop to refill that?

I only ask as I frequently take 1-1.25 litres with me on a 30-50 mile ride after which my pee is the wrong colour. I'm starting to think I'm not hydrating myself sufficiently pre-ride (christ knows what time I'll have to get up to do that).

P.S. is that Chris Morris in your sig? I've been watching Brasseye and The Day Today of late. Quality stuff.

unclemalc

wastelander wrote:

nolf wrote:

Don't bother with a saddle bag because they ruin the aesthetics of the bike!

Most of us manage that just by sitting on it, let alone adding anything to it

I really dread to think what I actually look like from behind on my bike... :shock:
Anyway - what to carry? Ask yourself what you should have had with you in order to get you home, when you punctured 30 miles out on either a blisteringly hot or horribly wet day and on your own...
Since that happened to me (it was hot...) I now probably take too much in terms of tools, but I get the 'fear' if I don't take it with me.
... and bananas rock

Ambermile

Everything, and I use the kitchen sink to carry it all :roll:

Actually, saddle bag has puncture kit, two cable locks, allen keys, multitool thingie, two handwarmers gel packs, 40 spf sunscreen, swiss-type penknife, space blanket, couple of chunky cable ties. Hanging under the saddle bag is the first aid kit. On the rack is a small OuterEdge pack with 1 litre bottle, nuun tablets and some (usually) jaffa cakes... in the two side packs are waterproof top/trousers, hi-vis waistcoat (50p local garden centre!), cover for the whole pack, camera, phone, microfibre towel, knife (dunno, but it might be handy one day), small adjustable spanner, rear and front lights. Also there's a 1/2 litre bottle in the rack.

Thinking about it, I could be carrying a bit too much I suppose... :oops:


Arthur

Turnbull2000

Lagavulin wrote:

Turnbull2000 wrote:

For 70-100 mile rides, I carry...
... 1x Bottle

Do you stop to refill that?

I only ask as I frequently take 1-1.25 litres with me on a 30-50 mile ride after which my pee is the wrong colour. I'm starting to think I'm not hydrating myself sufficiently pre-ride (christ knows what time I'll have to get up to do that).

P.S. is that Chris Morris in your sig? I've been watching Brasseye and The Day Today of late. Quality stuff.

Yeah, will make a stop at a garage for a refill halfway through the ride. Also drink a few pints of water the night before to get my body hydrated.

And you're right, that's Mr Morris 8)

neeb

I stuff everything in the jersey, apart from the bottles.

Left pocket - spare tube, levers, mini-pump.

Right pocket - mini-tool, food bar(s), Repair kit on some longer rides. Actually I've never had two punctures on a single day's ride, it's just that the further away from home you are the more it's worth allowing for the unlikely. I worry more about the spare tube being faulty or being damaged in my pocket than I do about getting two punctures. Maybe I've just been lucky, also I'm very careful to try to find the cause of a puncture when I change the tube and never use tyre levers to put the tyre on, only to take it off, so the chances of damaging the fresh tube are minimal.

Little zip pocket - house keys, single banknote.

The middle pocket is usually for the shades in case I want to take them off, unless rain or cold is likely in which case an appropriate extra layer goes there. Sometimes also a map.

The cleat covers go in both left and right pockets, until I've eaten the food when they both go in the right pocket.

jon_e00

quick thanks to all the posts here, very handy!

nickwill

For 3-5 hour rides:
Seat pack: micro tool, self adhesive patches, 2 tubes, phone and a fiver.
Pockets: 2 or 3 gels, energy bar, windproof or gilet or waterproof depending on the weather.
On the bike:2x 750 bottles with energy drink.
That's about it.

Mark Alexander

Rob Johnson wrote:

I'm new to road riding and although I've been mountain biking with a camelbak for years I'm not sure what to take and how to carry stuff on the road.
At the moment I have a puncture repair kit, inner tube, tyre levers, mobile phone and a allen key set in a saddle pack which is only half full so rattles annoyingly. I carry a mini pump on the frame. Any food / energy bars go in the jersey back pocket.
On the mountain bike I carry all that plus a chain tool, chain links, zip ties, first aid kit and shock pump (obviously not needed on the road). But actually I'm far more likely to be far from home if I get a mechnical on the road bike so I'm interested on hearing what everyone else takes.

depends on the bike and the ride

standard training/club ride.
2x tubes, pump, phone (in plastic bag), i'pod, cash, gillet/warmers) depending on weather conditions. depends on the bike as to where i cary it all

Commuting/fixed bike
camleback with 2x spanners inner tube pump phone cash keys

TT'ing
rucsack with all above, change of clothes magazine towell (to cry into after being slow) and the kitchen sink

salsarider79

I'm still on the lightweight thing. I take this on rides of 10-100miles, and not had a problem yet.

1xTube
2xTyre Levers
1xRear Light
1xSpare Rear Light
1xPump (frame mount)
2xBottlecages (Currently one as I broke one, but not sure how...)
2x750ml Bottles (Currently one, as I only have one cage)
Some money in Saddlebag
One or two snacks in back pockets
Keys
Sometimes a front light too.

My saddlebag without money, weights 454g. How cool is that?

jon_e00

salsarider79 wrote:

I'm still on the lightweight thing. I take this on rides of 10-100miles, and not had a problem yet.

1xTube
2xTyre Levers
1xRear Light
1xSpare Rear Light
1xPump (frame mount)
2xBottlecages (Currently one as I broke one, but not sure how...)
2x750ml Bottles (Currently one, as I only have one cage)
Some money in Saddlebag
One or two snacks in back pockets
Keys
Sometimes a front light too.

My saddlebag without money, weights 454g. How cool is that?

where do you store all that? have you got a link to the exact bag?

damage36

Ambermile wrote:

Everything, and I use the kitchen sink to carry it all :roll:

Actually, saddle bag has puncture kit, two cable locks, allen keys, multitool thingie, two handwarmers gel packs, 40 spf sunscreen, swiss-type penknife, space blanket, couple of chunky cable ties. Hanging under the saddle bag is the first aid kit. On the rack is a small OuterEdge pack with 1 litre bottle, nuun tablets and some (usually) jaffa cakes... in the two side packs are waterproof top/trousers, hi-vis waistcoat (50p local garden centre!), cover for the whole pack, camera, phone, microfibre towel, knife (dunno, but it might be handy one day), small adjustable spanner, rear and front lights. Also there's a 1/2 litre bottle in the rack.

Thinking about it, I could be carrying a bit too much I suppose... :oops:


Arthur

Effing Nora! I hope that includes some sarcasm.

For me, I use a saddle bag even though its ugly as I don't want to crash and have some keys in my kidneys. I've got a monstrous one atm, but plan on a slimmer racier one for next summer. I carry...

In the bag:1-2 tubes, depending on the amount of tubes I've used up with punctures on hedgetrimmed roads on thin summer tyres. Mutlitool with 2 tyre levers, phone in plastic bag, ID, £10, puncture repair kit. A couple of geobars. Keys. Front light (looks shit on the bike in the daylight)

In the jersey: couple of geobars, a shower jacket .

on frame: minipump , 2x750ml bottles (one water, one PSP) rear light and one hunk of a cyclist.

DMG