Bag, rucksack, pack?

mickisup

Have a basic rucksack that does a good job carrying the essentials for my usual 30-40 mile rides (MTB and ROAD). However when I see other ROAD riders they appear to be riding 'light'. What is the secret here, are small rucksacks 'acceptable', what other options are there, any recommendations? Thanks

amaferanga

What are you carrying that requires a rucksack?

ForumNewbie

Most road cyclists travel very light with all essentials in small saddlebag and/or back pockets of shirt. Backpack means sweaty back, so when I want to carry a bit more when commuting forinstance, I have a rack on my bike with a rack pack on top. Some use panniers, but I prefer a smaller rack pack.

mickisup

not a lot, but small pump, tools, snack and not much else! So the pump is probably the largest item. I will look into a small saddlebag then.

fgaffney

I use a medium Topeak Aero saddlebag to carry tools, levers, 2x tubes, CO2 pump plus 2x cannisters and for work I add my Deuter Race EXP Air rucksack to carry my change of clothes, waterproof jacket and food.

This works well for me and keeps the bike light when I'm not on my commute and my back sweat free when I am.

simon_masterson

You should be able to fit all that stuff in your jersey pockets and a seatpost wedge (or any other luggage you might have on your bike); hence a backpack isn't necessary.

It's not a huge problem if the backpack is small, but it will give you a sweaty back and impair the use of your rear pockets. I don't like wearing one personally, but some people don't mind. Big ones will cause problems for your rear visibility, though, but some road cyclists will wear them anyway because they can't bring themselves to put luggage on their bike. Therefore as a rule I recommend no backpacks at all; you either don't need one or there's a better way of carrying the load.

pdsalmon

I use a tool bottle...but this does restrict the amount of fluids you can carry.

I call in at a shop if I run out of water though.

Mikey23

small saddlebag carries my emergency kit. have a seat post armature thingy with a topeak slot in bag like so:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... tAodxWsAIA

adds some extra weight to the bike but makes little odds at my speed. a friend of mine lived out of it for a weeks cycling holiday in france

Corporate Camper

Mikey23 wrote:

small saddlebag carries my emergency kit. have a seat post armature thingy with a topeak slot in bag like so:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... tAodxWsAIA

adds some extra weight to the bike but makes little odds at my speed. a friend of mine lived out of it for a weeks cycling holiday in france

I like the look of that! I want to do a bit of touring, starting by riding from London to Bruges, and I want to do it on my Road Bike rather than my tourer (mostly because I don't have a tourer). Is there enough room in there for a pair of shoes, set of clothes and a washbag?

Mikey23

a set of shoes would be pushing it, but change of clothes, wash bag, phone, wallet, passport ... quite amazing what you can get in there. there is a lattice type thing on the top and i would slip a pair of flip flops on the top. also i have gore rain top which would go on top. it seems that you cant put the mounting arm on your seatpost if its carbon though. mine isnt and stays on my bike permanently. brilliant if you are hotel cycling and nice on sportives to have changes of clothing in the back. if i could work out how to load pix i would put one up of it in the recent rattler

mickisup

Just to say thanks to everyone for their replies to my question.