Tube and CO2 on seatpost.
In back pocket Pump
and shaver case with..
multitool – SKS tom 18 job from Decathlon
gear cable
Leatherman Squirt
brake pads
tubeless repair patches and glue.
Park Tyre patch thingy.
Chain quicklinks

Yet to be caught out and about as minimal as I can make it.
Don’t think I can ride any lighter – could I?

Depends where you ride and how far from extricating yourself you are.
Weather is also massive factor.

One hour ride in local woods in summer = spare inner tube and pump.

You could take nothing.

Never bothered carrying a gear cable. Do you need patches and a tube plus pump and co2?

You could get rid of about half of that!

Co2& pump

Tube, patches, & tyre boot.

Multi tool & leather man.

Brake pads- check before you leave.

Depends where you ride and time of year.

Been doing this long enough to have needed survival bag and ability to give a grid ref for other people. So now tend to shove in a map regardless of how local.

Also done a long cold icy self extract with a popped shoulder in a place I’ve ridden for 20 odd years and would otherwise have been complacent about. So in cold or with kids we now shove in a scratty old down jacket (packs small and light, can be used over broken or wonky limbs).

None of that gear needs a big pack. I wouldn’t take brake pads or CO2 on a day ride.

I’ve started riding my local woods carrying nothing. The one day I puncture and have to walk I’ll regret it, but it means I can just get out without thinking for an hour or so.

For local rides of up to 40 miles or so I’d just take a pump, multi-tool, lever and a spare tube (all attached to the bike). At this time of year I also tend to ride with my SPOT tracker too though.

Tube,tubeless repair kit,powerlink,mini pump,multi tool.
All fits in my back pocket.

That’s loads for most riding. Is that 2 pumps? Gear cable and pads seems excessive. You can ride with those failed. Two multi tools as well. Probably OK kit for an all dayer so you can keep riding without ruining your day but hardly the bare minimum.

Glueless tube patch kit in pocket.

5mm allen key in pocket.

Pump on frame.

Done me fine so far, touch wood.

Foil blanket always at the bottom of my camelbak. Not needed it in 7 years thankfully. Oh and a loud marine whistle no moving parts.

About the same as wally for me plus first aid kit and a gel or similar. I really ought to carry a tubeless fix kit but assume I could tube it if I had that big a hole.

No point getting stranded. I don’t get to ride enough to put up with a screwed up one for the sake of 100g or whatever extra spare parts.

Often ride with nothing including no helmet. Managed for my whole childhood doing the same. Amazing!!!

Imagine riding without a camelback! 😉 It can be done!!!

Gear cable – no reason why not but with a screwdriver you can lock the mech and SS it home. Been stuck with a twisted chain that links couldn’t fix without a chainbreaker, but never needed a leatherman type of tool. Could bodge a chain fix with it, maybe. Perhaps if it was below zero it could be useful. A tiny pocket knife maybe for a bikepacking trip, not for local rides – same for pads.

I used to ride with the kitchen sink in my camelback but have now ditched it. My list is:
Tube, patches, tyre levers and multi-tool in a small saddle bag
Pump mounted on the frame
Phone, cash and train pass in my pocket
Bottle in a cage

This also minimises faff as everything is on the bike and good to go.

OP why take all that crap, but no survival bag type thing? Why look after your bike and not yourself?

I usually ride within about 1hrs walk/jog of civilisation so I take nothing, quite happy to walk back, which has happened once in about the last 5 years. Of course take my mobile though.

Local woods/trail centre blast I take nothing, only had to walk/jog back to car twice in the last year. SS and tubeless help a little.

Longer and/or more technical/remote rides- a tube or two, pump, multi tool, spare links, tyre boot and cable ties.

Crank Bros 19 multitool (includes chain breaker)
Patches / Chain powerlink
Tube (x2 if long ride)
Pump
PHONE
£10
Drink/Granola bar
Goretex pack-light if forecast isn’t 100%
PHONE

Gerber/Leatherman if going out all day

Out of all this things, I think that the phone is the most important thing. If you crash and break a bone or worse still, something unfixable on your bike then you can get help.
If I’m taking a CamelBak, I always take an extra layer. Having been caught on the top of the North Downs in a cold NE wind and no shelter fixing multiple punctures once, I vowed never to leave without one again!

Most of that crap is tiny useful stuff that fits in one 25 year old metal puncture box. I forgot about Iboprophen tablets. My point was a little subversive – don’t fret about bike weight when you carry several pounds on your back.

Days out:
Tube
Pump
multitool (hexus)
gear cable
mini leatherman thingy
one pair brake pads
puncture repair patched and glue
chain quicklinks
Zip ties

Local woods:
tube
pump

Taking on board your point about weight of bike vs weight on your back (or belly) I think there’s a minimal set of kit you should take with you. Quite how minimal depends on where you are riding, if you are at a trail centre then you can get away with very little but if you are on the high fells or moors then you should have a lot more – see Andyv’s lists as an example. The time of year makes a difference as well.

Obsessing over saving weight then having to rely on others to help you out isn’t particularly clever. Sure, minimise kit and weight but having to wait for mountain rescue in wind and driving rain isn’t particularly pleasant if you don’t have shelter or protection of some kind. Think how cold you get waiting for a mate to fix a puncture even in summer …

I’d add a space blanket, first aid kit and some form of group shelter between a group as well as a dry bag with a small selection of spare clothes.

Road bike:

Tube.
Multitool with chain tool and tyre levers.
£2.99 topup phone in a plastic wallet.
2 x CO2.
Cash.
Sticky patches.
Chain link.
Bottle.

Plus, when on the mountain bike:

Space blanket bag.
Camelback.

For big days out I tend to take;

Multi-Tool (Hexus)
Old Leatherman for pliers
Tube
Puncture repair kit
Pump
Small bottle of chain lube
One set of pads
Survival Bag
3 Person group shelter
Food
A few gels

I have the group shelter after getting caught with a guy going down with Hypothermia whilst doing the three peaks, another guy in the party had one and by using the bag to cover the ground and the shelter over the top of us we were able to get him warm and changed despite some near horizontal rain. For the sake of a few hundred grams it’s worth it.

During local rides I’m starting to err towards less stuff, just bought a osprey lumbar pack and intent to go with pump, tube a gel or two and the multi-tool 🙂

Surrey Hills native, so never far from civilisation (I can understand carrying more if you’re miles from anywhere), but I carry:

– CO2 pump and tube attached to seatpost
– Hexus multitool with chaintool
– paper money of whatever denomination is to hand and a credit card
– phone
– keys
– bottle on bike, with spare sachets of High 5 powder if it’s a long ride/hot day

Done. Never understood carrying brake pads and stuff, do folk really stop halfway through a ride to change them? I check mine before, and if they get that bad I just deal with the shit braking for the rest of the ride!

On my local loops in fair weather I’ve just started taking just water, mobile, snack and a couple of allen keys.

If the tubeless gods stop smiling on me, then a long walk is just the price that will have to be paid. On most of the loops I can stash the bike somewhere and leg it more directly home for the car/supplies.

Having once pushed my MTB for 5 miles to the nearest LBS after multiple punctures…, even when living in the south I carried more than most.

Now living in Scotland I carry pretty much everything to cover a breakdown of either me or my bike. And after every breakdown/emergency I take ‘stock’ and consider ‘what-if’.

For example, now carry a Beanie-Hat after one meant that we could stop the bleeding from a riding buddies face after he’d OTB and it was too cold/wet to get any bandages/tape to hold…

And (multiple) tubes, co2*2, pump and patches – have all been used on a ride after splitting a rim.

shaver case – good one. Have a few old ones of those, ideal.

Done. Never understood carrying brake pads and stuff, do folk really stop halfway through a ride to change them? I check mine before, and if they get that bad I just deal with the shit braking for the rest of the ride!

big difference between a 2 hour ride around the local woods and a 3day ride in the hills.

I tend to try and drop some of the extra crap when close to home – but still end up with a heavy bag!

How about

and packed within:

First Look: Montane Minimus Jacket Packs To 'Size Of Apple'

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/biking-bum-bags

big difference between a 2 hour ride around the local woods and a 3day ride in the hills.

I did caveat my post by saying that I understand it’s different if you’re in the middle of nowhere. But, and call me a cynic, I doubt the average ride by folk on here is 3 days in the hills without a phone signal, slaughtering goats to survive.

I’ve done some longish rides – 60+ miles in South Wales, 100 miles at CyB, as well as many 50 mile rides locally. I’d still not think about carrying brake pads myself if trying to “travel light”.

2x tubes
1x puncture kit
1x pump
1x shock pump
chain quick link
multi tool with chain splitter
spoke key
chain lube
spare gloves
cheap plastic over coat (even if I set off wearing a coat)
spare neck tube buff thing
2l bladder for long rides, 500ml bottle for short.
a few gels and an energy bar.
Should add a first aid kit and foil blanket really.

All in the backpack all the time, so take on almost every ride unless I’m doing an hour in the local woods, then I only take my keys and phone (steel city run etc… in greno woods are only 15min walk from home).

2x tubes Only 1 for me.
1x puncture kit
1x pump
1x shock pump
chain quick link
multi tool with chain splitter
spoke key
chain lube
spare gloves
cheap plastic over coat (even if I set off wearing a coat)
spare neck tube buff thing
2l bladder for long rides, 500ml bottle for short.
a few gels and an energy bar.

How can you fully enjoy a ride if you are carrying THE kitchen sink? Remember those salad days when we used to go out and play on our bike? Now we carry the detritus of life around with us. Literally.

In ALL my rides I’ve only been left stranded once. I fooled with shock rates and the chain growth ripped my rear mech and hanger off.

Two tubes? Maybe if you are on a big ride and not running tubeless. If on any ride with friends there will be a pool of tubes. You can even share the load/kit- everyone carries a specific item between everyone.

I really don’t notice I’m wearing the bag after 10 mins of riding, can’t say its massively better without it, except for when it’s really hot and then I’m glad to have the 2l bladder with me.

I’m just in the “rather not get stranded and don’t care about carrying and extra 300g of stuff” camp.

Each to their own like though.

I found my pack (itself) was getting heavier and heavier. Riding the same trails but without a backpack feels ace. I cant wait until summer -you dont have a damp back and feel ‘free’.

I try to secrete as much ’emergency’ stuff on the bike as possible. So pump is on frame and I use a small seat pack for multitool, tyre levers patches, tube, spare derailleur hanger etc. I strap things under the saddle in a small self seal bag, keep a length of chain in the seatpost together with chain links, and I keep a gear cable and zip ties inside the handlebar (lock on grips allow easy access).

For stuff in seatpost and hadlebar bar I use a suitably sized plastic bag with string and tab securely attached so I can pull things out easily.

If I need a backpack I keep it as small as possible. The larger it is the more it will encourage me to pack inside.

Someone should invent a dropper that can also be used as a pump. 😛

If I need a backpack I keep it as small as possible. The larger it is the more it will encourage me to pack inside.

This is me. Probably why I drive round with 2xsleeping bags, a duvet, a blanket etc when theres only me in the car..

I like the ” gear cable and zip ties inside the handlebar” idea.

+1

I have zip ties and a few spare spokes in handlebars