Bought a road bike yesterday to try to keep some fitness up during the winter months. I won’t be taking the Camelbak on any rides so, where do I stash my spares? Jersey pockets or storage on the bike? What’s the “normal” kit roadies carry anyway?

I just take a gel and water.

£5 note and a card

Don’t see the need for anything else

I like those Zefal tool bottles – pretty light but hold quite a lot..

What are yo hoping to carry?

A pipe and some cherry wood tobacco.

Bottle with drink of choice. Tube, tiny pump and multi-tool in middle pocket. Phone, money/card and keys in right pocket, food (if a long ride) in left pocket. Done

on the frame

bottle
pump
(2*red 1*white LED get you home type lights)

in the saddle pack:
tube
patches
glue
levers
multitool
spare chain link
first aid kit – alcohol wipes, 2* gauzeless dressing, tape
couple of quid

have used it all at some point

Tube, patches, CO2, levers, multitool, split link in saddle pack (haters gon’ hate…); mini pump in back left pocket; phone, card and fiver in Aloksak in back middle pocket; gel and bar in back right pocket; water in bottle on bike.

Jersey pockets or storage on the bike

yes, either of those, depending on your preference and amount of stuff you intend to take for the trip. I tend to put ‘static’ things like tools and tubes that I’ll only use when stopped on the bike, and have ‘dynamic’ things like food and spare layers in jersey pockets for easy access while moving.

What’s the “normal” kit roadies carry anyway?

‘normal’ varies massively between people and can be ride dependant. Normal for a 50k blast =/= normal for a 200k day out.

min:

– some water

max:

– 2 full 750ml bottles
– rain jacket
– windproof
– arm/leg warmers
– multi-tool + chain tool
– 2-3 tubes
– patch kit
– tyre levers
– pump/CO2
– keys + phone + money
– plasters + wipes
– food

Good quality jersesys are cut so that a little weight in the pockets doesn’t cause them to sag.

Summer bike:

One spare inner tube, sucked flat and rolled tightly with two tyre levers taped to it.
One gas dispenser with a cartridge in upside-down.
£2.99 phone from Carphone Warehouse in a small plastic bag with a £20 note.
Sometimes an OS map.

Winter bike:

The inner tube, a multi tool and a second gas cylinder in a small Scott saddlebag, making room in the jersey pocket for a windcheater or waterproof.

Deeply uncool as I understand these things go…..but I use a saddle bag for a tube, some levers, patches & a multi-tool.
Pump goes in the mount on the downtube bottle mounts; also scorned at by people who care about these things, I think….

My saddle bag broke a while back (user error) and I stashed everything in my jersey pockets. It was awful – dragging my jersey down, digging in & jiggling around over our lumpy roads. Sod that, I’ll take a bit of ‘uncool’ for extra comfort.

Got a mate who uses one of those tool bottles & while I think it looks neat; he moans about not having enough water on longer rides what with effectively losing a bottle cage.

Food …. lots of food.

Because if/when you bonk you’ll be a long way from home or will not be able to find a village store open

I’m guessing Ro5ey’s saddle bag is as big as mine then. Sarnies, fruit, nuts, etc. The odd pork pie.

One of those dinky little saddle packs is ideal for a tube and a few bits and bobs if not taking the kitchen sink.

A (very) small saddle bag has:
> inner tube
> CO2 cylinder and valve
> Tyre levers
> multi-tool
> patch kit
> Some small change

On the bike is a pump attached to the bottle cage bosses. The bike has two bottle cages, one will always be water but depending on weather/temps the other is either water or has a waterproof top stuffed in to it.

In pockets will be a dry bag with phone, cash and debit card. Again depending on time of year the other pockets might have arm-warmers, a bit of food, gilet. Tend to leave one pocket empty so there’s room for stuffing sunglasses in there or taking on board more food along the way.

Meant to add that if you do buy a zefal, buy the Large as it can convert into the medium sized version if you don’t need that much space..

Tiny (0.2l) saddle bag holds 2x tubes, patch kit and multitool.

Mini-pump clips to the bottle cage.

Water as required, but not usually more than 2x 500ml, if it’s a really long ride then half the fun is planning a cafe stop and I’m rarely refused a fill up.

Cash, phone, key in a jersey pocket.

Leaves 2x pockets free for other things like gillet, arm warmers and the like.

Cheers guys. Under saddle bag seems the way forward with some bits in a jersey. Ta. 😀
Soooo,what saddle bag 🙂

For winter I really like the topeak dry bag models, not quite as small but they do keep things dry.

Still wrap your tools in a bit of oily cotton rag to stop it rusting though.

WHICHEVER … saddle bag you choose.

Zip tie it to your saddle rails.

You don’t want to stop to mend a puncher to find the saddle bag has rattled off and is no where to be seen 😯

multi-tool in middle pocket

Perfect for chipping the vertibrae when the inevitable car->bike interface occurs.
Saddle bag on the road for me!

Jersey pockets. Done.

Find a mini-multitool with a chain breaker on it. At least you can get home with a snapped chain or mashed mech then. Mine is tiny, but at least it’s there.

Jersey pockets.

Middle pocket gets one of these pocket pouches in with a CO2, multitool, some patches, tyre boot, and chainlink in it.

Side pocket gets one of these with a tube and levers in it. If I really need to carry more stuff (which I hardly ever do) then I have the option of strapping it to the saddle rails. If it’s a properly long ride I might want to take another tube and some food.

Other side pocket get a phone in a zip lock bag with enough room left for a little food or gilet/warmers (though if I go out wearing them I’ll hardly ever take them off.)

Soooo,what saddle bag

😡

In a trailer.

All in jersey pockets.

Middle pocket with zip – phone and keys
left pocket – very small bag with tube, tyre lever and CO2
right pocket – water bottle (ride track bike and never ride more than 2 hours!)

In the team car or one of your domestiques..

Water as required, but not usually more than 2x 500ml

Nice to finally see someone adhering to the rules!

Perfect for chipping the vertibrae when the inevitable car->bike interface occurs.

Meh, the tube will probably cushion it and the compression injuries will take my mind off it anyway

You only need two things really. A copy of ‘Cyclists Pocket Guide to Antagonizing Drivers’ and a helmet camera to capture reactions for social media.

Saddle pack (tiny one) just fits a tube, tyre levers & co2 cartridge plus inflators along with a small multitool & emergency tenner. Food/clothing if needed goes in jersey along with phone (in a Lifeproof case). Keys in key safe so don’t need to take them. Really don’t like lots of stuff in jersey pockets, have hurt myself crashing with a mini pimp in there, some bad bruising in the kidney region.

Jacket, phone, keys, money, food go in jersey pockets.

Pump, 2 tubes, tool go in saddle bag or in a spare bottle on short rides where I don’t need much fluid.

Smallest saddle bag you can get away with. Normally dictated by your pump if you put one in there. Mine is an unbranded one. Topeak have been good for me in the past.

Really don’t like lots of stuff in jersey pockets, have hurt myself crashing with a mini pimp in there

🙂

Lezyne Road Caddy is one of the neatest seatpacks I reckon :

these ones

I get a tube, levers, multitool, nitrile gloves, some patches and glue in mine.

Small pump on the bottle cage, 1 or 2 bottles in the cages. Phone and food/clothes in back pockets

Scott make some nifty little saddle bags, just right for a spare tube and a multi tool. They hang on a W clip under the rails and have a velcro strap for round the seat post though they sometimes need a bight stitching in as they are too long for the velcro to meet up.

Small saddle bag, yes I know it’s against the rules but frankly, I don’t care. I have 1 on each bike to save me swapping them around.
In it there is:
Spare mech hanger
1 tube
1 tyre lever
1 multi tool
1 CO2 cartridge
1 inhaler

What’s in my pockets varies on the length of the ride but normally:
1 mini-pump (but only if the ride is over 3 hours)
1 gel (more for a longer ride but I almost always have 1 even though I rarely use it.
Phone, credit card £10 note, train pass.
Clothing as needed, arm warmers, gillet, etc.

I have one of those little caddy things in a bottle cage with a couple of tubes. CO2 canisters and a multitool in a jersey pocket. Quick link on my key ring.

Job done.

If you’ve got a Fizik saddle, look at their clip-on saddle bags.. I’ve had one for the last 4 or 5 years and it’s been great. Wasn’t that confident when I got it but it’s never missed a beat.

Small and clips onto the saddle. Not fallen off yet.

I use a saddle bag for a multi tool, tyre levers, patches and a tube. Pump goes on the frame, it’s a Road Morph so that I can actually pump my tyre back up after a flat in less than an hour, with a gauge (CO2 would be fine if you’re pretty sure you won’t have multiple punctures/carry a couple of bottles).

A lightweight waterproof and perhaps some legwarmers can go in jersey pockets, along with credit card, £10 note, phone and keys. If you need more spare clothes than this, you’re wearing the wrong clothes when you set off. Gels or cake/flapjack can also go in your pockets or you can tape gels to the top tube.

I use the Lezyne “loaded” caddy bag, has separate compartments for and comes with multitool/chainbreaker, puncture repair kit and levers. Then there is a money stash and enough space left over for 2 tubes.

Lezyne loaded caddy medium

Pump with the 2 water bottles (for a long spin), then on the jersey it’s phone on the left, gilet in the middle and any grub on the right as I’m right handed.

Don’t forget to work on your grimace for when friendly forum mtbers wave at you.

Spare tube (two if I’m on the CX bike), mini pump, phone and a fiver (phone and fiver in waterproof pouch), all in jersey pockets.
I only take a drink if the ride is going to be more than a couple of hours, and then I use a small 1 1/2 litre Camelback, don’t know what its called.