Never see any bags in pictures?

napoleond

What I carry hardly makes me look like a hunchback. I did a hilly, solo 106 miler a couple of weeks ago and had no problems just using my jersey pockets. They weren't even stuffed full.

iPete

NapoleonD wrote:

What I carry hardly makes me look like a hunchback. I did a hilly, solo 106 miler a couple of weeks ago and had no problems just using my jersey pockets. They weren't even stuffed full.

Some people like to carry 2x spare tubes, several levers, two days of food, enough tools to rebuild a bike, emergency blanket and another spare tube just in-case. Oh and bear repellent, you never know in those there Surrey Hills.

cattytown

CookeeeMonster wrote:

I've seen people do the exact same thing with motorbikes and scooters (60's mod type). The bikes are utterly perfect...then some fat scruff jumps on it and utterly ruins the effect...

My bike looks gorgeous till I sit on it :-)

chrisaonabike

iPete wrote:

Some people like to carry 2x spare tubes, several levers, two days of food, enough tools to rebuild a bike, emergency blanket and another spare tube just in-case. Oh and bear repellent, you never know in those there Surrey Hills.

How did you know?

Are you stalking me or what?

(though I don't need levers any more )

markhewitt1978

The only good reason for not using a saddle bag, or a frame mounted pump is for looks - trying to look like a 'pro' rider. Which ignores the fact that pro riders in races are being followed by their team car who has all the bits they might need. If I had someone behind me with spare wheels, drinks bottles, food etc, I could carry less on my bike too.

slowbike

I mostly use a small saddle pack - I say mostly because I don't have one on the TT bike, preferring to put the minimum I need in a pocket. The bikes have different tube sizes and as they're different speeds they also have corresponding chain quicklinks, so it makes no sense to swap stuff between packs, just keep one pack per bike, the duplication is in a multi-tool but who doesn't like buying tools?!
The main advantage for me is that I can get on the bike without thinking about "have I got everything" - it's already there (along with a pump on the frame).

mpatts

Personally, I hate saddlebags - always think they look like bulls t*sticles swinging in the wind.

I go for the bottle cage option as i switch between bikes a lot. I know it breaks the rules

ai_1

mpatts wrote:

Personally, I hate saddlebags - always think they look like bulls t*sticles swinging in the wind.

I go for the bottle cage option as i switch between bikes a lot. I know it breaks the rules

The bottle cage option is fine so long as you're not short on bottle carrying space. I want 2 bottles on plenty of my rides so I don't want one of my cages pre-occupied. Besides, a bottle is a higher drag cost than a saddle bag.

thegreatdivide

Left pocket – Inhaler, lip balm, a few bits of kitchen roll, maybe a gel.

Middle pocket – Rapha case (deal with it) that contains an inner tube, a C02, a few quick patches, a pair of disposable gloves, a tenner, my BC card, a single allen key and a pair of tyre levers (if riding tubs the tube and levers come out and Tufo sealant goes in).

Right pocket – iPhone in a tesco sandwich bag, another gel or a bit of food depending on ride length.

None of this is very heavy and if you wear a correctly fitting jersey it shouldn’t sag your pockets.

What more do you need to carry?

drlodge

Mikey23 wrote:

topeak saddle bag bunny here, dont like to clog the pockets up with hardware. light fits on the bag and it just stays on the bike until needed. easy solution and i wouldnt really want to be fall onto my pump

Same here, pump goes on a frame mount although I did squeeze it into the bag for a while. Due to multiple different bikes, its much more convenient to have one saddle bag per bike with the relevant tubes, chain link etc in each so I don't have to faff and worry if I have all the right equipment. Leaves jersey pockets free for phone, cleat covers, money and clothing (arm warmers, gilet etc).

ai_1

thegreatdivide wrote:

Left pocket – Inhaler, lip balm, a few bits of kitchen roll, maybe a gel.

Middle pocket – Rapha case (deal with it) that contains an inner tube, a C02, a few quick patches, a pair of disposable gloves, a tenner, my BC card, a single allen key and a pair of tyre levers (if riding tubs the tube and levers come out and Tufo sealant goes in).

Right pocket – iPhone in a tesco sandwich bag, another gel or a bit of food depending on ride length.

None of this is very heavy and if you wear a correctly fitting jersey it shouldn’t sag your pockets.

What more do you need to carry?

Define "very heavy"? - That's much more weight than I want in my middle pocket given the choice...and I have the choice.
I also don't fancy having a pressurised CO2 canister in my pocket in a crash. The chances of a failure are tiny but still, don't fancy it.

Missing:
Mutlitool (maybe you can do many jobs with a single allen key but I'm sure there are a few important ones missing)
Keys
For preference I'd have a pump too. (CO2 is fine in an emergency and on shorter rides)
Space for a windbreaker
Space for arm/leg warmers if needed
Space for used gel packs, used food wrappers


My pockets:
Centre pocket: phone in sandwich bag, windstopper gilet or jacket if needed
Right and left pockets: just keys on a short ride (moved to saddle bag for longer rides), Food on longer rides (cereal bars, bananas and/or gels as needed)
That still leaves plenty space for arm warmers if needed and somewhere to stuff empty wrappers on long rides

Used to carry cleat covers but now use keep-on covers with my Speedplays so no need.

apreading

My pockets:
Left - nothing unless I take some arm warmers and am not wearing them
middle - nothing
right - nothing except on the VERY rare occasion that I take an mp3 player (about 6-10 times in the last two years)

Saddle bag: spare tube, tyre levers, glueless patches, multitool, 2xCO2 canisters and chuck
Tribag: phone in a sarnie bag with £20 note, keys, gel, snackbar (if gel/snackbar are warranted)

On longer rides I will take a rack bag with proper pump, waterproofs or gilet, real food, wallet, lock etc.

arthur_scrimshaw

mpatts wrote:

Personally, I hate saddlebags - always think they look like bulls t*sticles swinging in the wind.

I go for the bottle cage option as i switch between bikes a lot. I know it breaks the rules

I think this could be a great idea for kickstarter, a seatpack designed to look like an enormous pair of balls. Made from lycra it would match bibshorts, sure to impress following traffic?

ai_1

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

mpatts wrote:

Personally, I hate saddlebags - always think they look like bulls t*sticles swinging in the wind.

I go for the bottle cage option as i switch between bikes a lot. I know it breaks the rules

I think this could be a great idea for kickstarter, a seatpack designed to look like an enormous pair of balls. Made from lycra it would match bibshorts, sure to impress following traffic?

Great idea!
Not the best shape to fit stuff in though!

Biomech

I have the scicon Carbonium

My saddlebag arrived this morning (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-aero-wed ... addle-bag/)
But I really like the look of that Scicon, I might get that too as it's in the sale :P

I have no aspirations to "look pro", but as a photographer and designer with slight OCD, the way something looks is equates to the way I "feel" for it, so if my bike doesn't "feel" right, it puts me off :P

Biomech

A lot of people say they carry 2 CO2's - can I ask why? I've just received my first, they say they will do 100psi and my tyre maximum is 120. Do you use 2 per flat or just 2 in case you et 2 flats?

My longest ride so far is 20miles - and 4 of that was because I took a wrong turn :P So my kit currently is for getting me home rather than getting me another 50 miles.

apreading

I carry two because a) there is room in the saddle bag, b) I have never used it in anger and worried I might get it wrong! and c) you might not have successfully repaired the puncture (especially if there are multiple punctures as well as obviously d) there is a chance of getting another puncture.

I also carry a normal pump most of the time and on the odd occasion that I punctured, used that...

cattytown

Running 25 tyres on a 23 rim I doubt a single will get close to 100 PSI

Paul.

jgsi

davidmt83 wrote:

Topeak medium wedge contains:

Topeak Micro Rocket Pump
Park Tools patches
Park Tools tyre levers
Schwalbe Tube (in box)
£20 (don't mug me!)

Pocket:

Phone
Keys
Food

Seriously, that could all go into your jersey pockets and have room for the gilet and armwarmers to get stuffed in when warmed up after 20 mile.

ai_1

JGSI wrote:

davidmt83 wrote:

Topeak medium wedge contains:

Topeak Micro Rocket Pump
Park Tools patches
Park Tools tyre levers
Schwalbe Tube (in box)
£20 (don't mug me!)

Pocket:

Phone
Keys
Food

Seriously, that could all go into your jersey pockets and have room for the gilet and armwarmers to get stuffed in when warmed up after 20 mile.

Of course it could....that's not the point.
Why should we aspire to stuffing our pockets when a saddle bag does so much better a job of it?

Those who dislike saddlebags keep going on about how it's possible to fit stuff in your pockets. That's not why I or most others, it seems, choose to use a bag. I use a bag because in my opinions it's a simpler, more comfortable, safer and more practical solution for carrying the essentials.

thegreatdivide

cattytown wrote:

Running 25 tyres on a 23 rim I doubt a single will get close to 100 PSI

Paul.

So you have no experince but you doubt it anyway. Well it does.

cattytown

OK, I did try with a conventional 16g cartridge and conti GP4000s tyres on archetype rims, and it got to about 70.

I do not believe there were any mistakes in my inflation technique.

That do you?

barrowmatt

I'm a saddlebag and frame mounted pump guy. Personally I don't have any problem with the look,I can't see it! I can't say i've ever noticed whether or not passing cyclists have one or not. I also have a frame mounted pump which is a decent size because it works. I tried a few pumps I had in the garage and 2 'micro' pumps didn't really work at all. In my bag I carry 2 tubes, tyre levers, multi tool, lock. I carry phone/card/money/keys in my pocket in a dry bag as I wouldn't want these left on the bike when I pop into a shop/toilet.

In my opinion if pros had to be self sustainable they would use saddle bags, surely it's the most comfortable and aero option.

The idea of having a hard multitool or case in the middle pocket on my spine isn't a nice thought in the event of even a fairly innocuous off.

thegreatdivide

cattytown wrote:

OK, I did try with a conventional 16g cartridge and conti GP4000s tyres on archetype rims, and it got to about 70.

I do not believe there were any mistakes in my inflation technique.

That do you?

How did you know it got 70psi?

cattytown

thegreatdivide wrote:

cattytown wrote:

OK, I did try with a conventional 16g cartridge and conti GP4000s tyres on archetype rims, and it got to about 70.

I do not believe there were any mistakes in my inflation technique.

That do you?

How did you know it got 70psi?

Garage experiment - checked with a gauge.

danlikesbikes

cattytown wrote:

OK, I did try with a conventional 16g cartridge and conti GP4000s tyres on archetype rims, and it got to about 70.

I do not believe there were any mistakes in my inflation technique.

That do you?

I too use 16g but get nearer to 110 from mine. Thankfully I'm quite lucky & not had many but had changed a few for others too (who foot the coffee bill in return)

Personally I'd check your suppliers chart and if your getting lower than suggested send them back, as I've got more out of a 12g one than 70

cattytown

Tyre/rim size?

lotus49

Tool bidon and jersey. That is all.

drlodge

lotus49 wrote:

Tool bidon and jersey. That is all.

Useless on a long ride when you need both bidons, which is most of the time for me. Unless of course you have the ability to mount 3 bidon cages as on my Condor

Biomech

Bidon...? heh (looked it up)

Why do you cyclists call everything something else? Why is a water bottle a "bidon"? And why say "cadance" instead of RPM?

Anyway, I went out yesterday for a little one, (12 miles), I had a saddlebag arrive, but I though I'd see what the deal with the jersey pockets is - I was quite surprised actually, lots of room, didn't know I had anything in them and it was a lot more convenient diving into pockets instead of a bag. - that said, I only took my phone, keys, rain jacket and a Snickers bar. I don't think loading up with tools and pumps would be something that I would want