Baggage

ajoten

So when I go out for a long road ride, I just shove loads of gels, flapjacks and waterproof if me back pockets, big bottle of water on the frame. So why do I normally see MTBers out with a rucksack? Is it just to stop things bouncing out of one's jersey?

cooldad

Probably a Camelbak or similar - has a hydration bladder in it.
Or may be just a rucksack.
http://www.camelbak.com/

cooldad

And lots of MTB'ers don't use jerseys with pockets. Need lots of space for tools, pies etc.

Northwind

Mine has a proper pump and tube, multitool, mechhanger, usually a light waterproof and sometimes a heavier one too or a warmer layer. Gets to be a lot of stuff to carry around in pockets.

ddraver

It started way back in the mists of time when MTBers were fed up of getting ill from imbibing germs, or just swallowing mud/sheep sh*t from spattered bottles - When bike specific bags that kept the weight nice ,stable and comfy on our backs, most of us never turned back...

Plus you re going alot furhter off the beaten track on a long MTB ride so you need to take some more exotic spares than is needed on a road ride - There is limited chance of being able to get a bus/taxi/otehr half/mum ride home of something goes wrong - and these quickly overwhelm (or get bounced out of) jersey pockets - saddle bags have their own problems too

Northwind

Also I've very rarely gone for a ride with people that use bottle cages, that didn't at some point involve someone losing a bottle.

cooldad

Or landing on top of you when you go over the bars, just to add insult to injury.

Mojo_666

Most people seem to use hydration packs of varying sizes, I have a big one which can hold 3 litres of water in a bladder, 330mml pump, tools, mechhanger, puncture kit, tubes, zipties, waterproofs, pads food, iphone keys wallet sunnies, extra lights, batteries. Pretty much anything you might need (I may not carry all of that all the time mind) I can also strap a helmet on to it. I also have another pack which can can 2 litres and a puncture kit and micro pump. A pack keeps things neat stops things slopping about, it also means it is always pre packed (except a water change) so things do not get forgotten, it also mean you don't get a water bottle covered with crap and chemicals which is what happens when its mounted on a tube.

But that's just my preferences mind, do what works for you.

ajoten

Interesting, cheers chaps. I'd never thought of the poisoned bottle thing, wish I had while getting in a tiz choosing a bottle cage of a colour that complimented the frame.

Having a spare mech hanger is well hardcore. And if past experiences are owt to go by, perhaps it's worth carrying a couple of spare (human) ribs in me ruckie too.

ddraver

No rocks in the road andrew...

I ve ripped mechs off riding perfectly innocent trails when I ve been concentrating too much on ribbing my mates, not the trail!

felix.london

I still use a bottle in a cage. Not a great fan of Hydration packs. Met a couple of people who have become very sick because of not cleaning them correctly (their own fault I guess) so think I'll take my chances with the sheep poo

My 550ml bottle does limit my range til I need a refill to about 2.5hrs riding though - that's in the summer. Obviously get further now the weather is cooler

Mojo_666

felix.london wrote:

I still use a bottle in a cage. Not a great fan of Hydration packs. Met a couple of people who have become very sick because of not cleaning them correctly.

No difference for bottles, bladders and bottles need to be treated the same.

cooldad

My bladder gets emptied and stuck in the freezer. Problem solved. Only ever put water in it.

felix.london

cooldad wrote:

My bladder gets emptied and stuck in the freezer. Problem solved. Only ever put water in it.

haha! Good system - very clever!

I'm more of a homemade-isontonic man myself and the bottle goes in the dishwasher

Although when I get the DH bike I think I'm gonna have to jump on the hydrapack bandwagon as DH and cage/bottles really don't go together - literally, I don't think there's mounts or space for a bottle

Northwind

ajoten wrote:

Having a spare mech hanger is well hardcore

Nah, not really. Takes 2 minutes to change one if you've got a spare, but it's a huge hassle if you break one and you don't. And they weigh nowt. (I've got 3 in my pack I think, for 3 different bikes)

Mojo_666

cooldad wrote:

My bladder gets emptied and stuck in the freezer. Problem solved. Only ever put water in it.

+1 to that.

S-M

I carry a cheap foldable tyre in mine as i had a blowout once around 5-6 miles from home and it SUCKED BALLS to walk back

diy

My hydration pack saved my back once after a big off. I went A over T and hit the deck hard enough to burst the water bag. Gave me a proper soaking but probably took quite a bit of energy out of the fall.

Walkertalker

These are one of the best on the market, no need to look for anything before you go out just grab the hydration pack and go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5QQDHtk5IY

d3matt

S-M wrote:

I carry a cheap foldable tyre in mine as i had a blowout once around 5-6 miles from home and it SUCKED BALLS to walk back

I carry some tyre repair patches from Park for those incidents. Not needed to use them yet, but they look like they'll work great.

S-M

I need to look into these tyre patches a little more, cheers!