So I’m wanting to ditch the bike pack all together. I’ve been using a waist pack for the last couple of years due to shoulder injury and have to say it was a great feeling not having something on my back. Now I just want to have the least amount of gear as possible. What do you and how do you carry the bare essentials? CO2 canisters,spare tube,multi-tool and water bottle? Saw some guys on the weekend with spare tube strapped to toptube but I was thinking maybe some sort of container that fits to the bottle cage, if this exists?

Yes you can get them http://www.amazon.co.uk/Water-Bottle-Bicycling-Cycling-Bicycle/dp/B00DVHI0ZG but your LBS will carry them. You are unlikely to get a pump in to one.

If you need more kit then a partial frame bag like the Alpkit Possum https://www.alpkit.com/products/possum-medium should be enough

Yes, Decathlon sell a bottle storage thing
I think I might have one tucked away in garage if you can wait a few days for me to have a look. Personally I carry a small pouch ( a shaver bag) with the essentials, a pump and tube in back pockets. Leaving the bike for a water bottle on longer rides. I have tried the container, but it was dead weight and rattled unless packed with cloth. Decathlon one is about £5.

Hate backpacks on bikes so I use an alpkit half frame bag and keep bottle cages for bottles.

Really want to keep the bottle for water and only have one cage on the bike. Seen the specialized swat cage with storage thing but £100 is well over priced.

Take a look at the Alpkit Stem Cells
Cracking bit of kit and cheap as chips

Topeak ninja is due out soon, similar to specialised swat with multitool on the bottom of the cage. Or the king cage cargo cage.

Not really liking the alpkit stuff. Thinking more along the lines of something rigid that’s tucked out the way( if this exists? Maybe some sort of DIY hack?

Frame bag-http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/abus-abus-locks-abus-onyx-2200-chain-bag/abuslock650000000000
Bottle cage bag- http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/abus-abus-locks-abus-st2012-chain-lock-bag/abuslock660000000000

On my commuter I run the gear storage bottle below the down tube, if you don’t have cage bosses there then there are the DMR clamps that let you mount a bottle cage anywhere.

You can add spacers to move a bottle out from the tube so you can fit something behind it.

A spare tube in a backpack weighs relatively nothing .. Two Allen keys a chain tool and a screwdriver.. Depends how prepared you want to be really.

Continental do a cute compact frame bag that you can squeeze in a tube, 2 levers and some patches. But the zip is rubbish and will fail.. I’ve been using that, but the zip has broken so it’s basically a tube and levers strapped to the frame.

Like the look of the Ninja but needs more storage. Got me thinking about making something DIY…..

If I’m travelling properly light I make sure that the stans is topped up in my tyres and just take a waterbottle and maybe a bit of food in jersey pockets.

What about a saddle bag? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ortlieb-medium-saddle-bag/ – there’s a smaller one and a larger one which is big enough for carrying commuting gear. They clip to a mount on the saddle rails so you can remove it leaving just the mount.

In fact, now I think about it.. Back in my youth, I purchased an army style survival kit.. It contained all sorts of cool things in a threaded water bottle type container, flints, lucifer matches, water purification tabs and some other bits..

That’s what annoys me about bike bottles, or bottle brackets to be precise.. There doesn’t seem to be a good universal /adjustable option to buy..

@mattyfez – linked to above

Quite.

I am Increasingly a fan of putting stuff on the bike, tape tubes and tools to the frame, pump clip under the bottle cage, I use a seat pack on my road and Cx bikes.

I have also started actually using the pockets on baggies, jerseys and jackets to put things in, seems a bit odd to pay for an item of clothing with pockets, and never use the things, instead opting for a bloody great rucksack…

The secret is to pare it all down to the things you are most likely to need; so top of the list is a means of repairing a flat tyre (maybe two?), next is probably sufficient tools and parts to (at the very least) rig a single gear to get home after a drivetrain disaster, then (possibly) an emergency set of brake pads…
Some water, maybe some food if you’re going out for more than a couple of hours… But really, what more do you actually need?

That’s what annoys me about bike bottles, or bottle brackets to be precise.. There doesn’t seem to be a good universal /adjustable option to buy..

What, like these storage bottles:

Which you’ve been able to buy for years. And fit in most standard bottle cages?
I have a couple myself, of course the main problem is that using one typically halves the amount of water you can carry on the frame…

Saddlebag or if you have a reverb, levers and co2 wrapped inside a tube with a toe strap to attach to the saddle rail.
Chain link and multitool go in jersey. I’d really like to get the spesh tool kit so I can attach the tool to my zee cage and the chain link and too to the headtube but £100 is all the money as I don’t need the cages and box.

Salsa Anything HD cage.

I have a full frame bag and take all sorts of unnecessary things along for the ride. I never even notice it’s there. Carrying stuff on the bike definitely makes sense.

Just added bottle cage bosses to the seat tube of my inbred. Elite add on things from Halfords. Normal cage, then one of my spare 600ml SIS bottles which has a wide neck, loads of space for a tube, tubeless repair gubbins & tools.
£2.99

I used a saddlepack before, and an Alpkit fuel pod, but these fabric things can’t cope as well with muck and bike washing.

In the summer I can relocate the gubbins and carry a 2nd water bottle now too.

I use a small roadie pump. Tube, tool, and a few other bits. All goes in an Arkel seatpack.

food and soft things like windproofs go in pockets.

Look at what roadies carry, you need the same but with bigger tubes.

You can put pumps on bikes, In XC races you also see a fair amount of stuff strapped or taped to the saddle and seatpost. not always pretty but it works.

Pedro’s tulio qr toolkit for me. Replaces rear skewer. Tube, CO2 canister(s), glueless patches, couple of energy gels, a few pounds and a chain link in a storeage bottle. Anything else goes in back pockets

Tube and brake pads taped to the saddle rails or seatpost, chain links taped inside the brake levers. Multitool and CO2 in my pocket on my ‘winter SS’ (same bike as my summer SS, but in winter it only does ~20mile loops so no need to to take every conceivable spare as it’s never more than a 90min walk).

Not much more on my summer bike, but I’m more accepting that I may need a camelback (and prefer a lighter bike for getting rad on).

Here’s a summary 😀

There are quite a few mounting options for carrying stuff on a bike. The list below works from front to rear (roughly) and for each location lists options in increasing capacity. Not every location may be available on every bike depending on a multitude of factors. I could well have missed something out and I haven’t mentioned every manufacturer of every piece of baggage.

There’s a distinction between soft (S) and hard (H) luggage: soft luggage tends to attach with some form of strap, either velcro or buckled; hard luggage bolts to the frame or otherwise has some semi-permanent mount point. The mount points tend to be manufacturer specific. Both mounting styles have their advantages and disadvantages. Hard luggage tends to be associated with commuting and road touring, soft luggage tends to be associated with off-road touring/bikepacking but there’s no hard and fast rules.

1. Forks
1.a. Cage mounts (H) These are things like the Gorilla Cage and Salsa Anything. They need a couple of mount points built in to the fork. Suitable for weights up to about 1.5Kg.
1.b. Pannier rack (H) Do require the mounting bosses but if you have these on the bike then you will get 7-10 litres of storage on either side plus a rack on the top.
2. Handlebar
2.a. bar bag (H) Needs a mount point to be fixed to the bar/stem junction but the bag itself can then be removed if you are away from the bike so handy for valuables and things you need quickly when on the bike. Ortlieb and Topeak make these.
2.b. Handlebar harness and bag (S) One of the “big three” bikepacking bags: a harness mounts between the handlebar and fork crown and a dry bag is strapped to this, 8 – 20 litres capacity. Alpkit,Apidura, Wildcat and others.
3. Stem
3.a. Bottle cage (H) There are replacement stem caps that take a bottle cage mount. If you have a long stem then there are also mounts to fit there.
3.b. Stem cell (S) Small fabric bag that fits either side of the stem/head tube. Useful for on trail necessities. Alpkit and others make these.
4. Top tube
4.a. Fuel pod (S) Small fabric bag that sits on top of the top tube either just behind the stem/head tube or just in front of the seat post. Because it sits above its main attachment point it can’t be used for heavy kit. Useful for on-trail snacks, hence the name.
5. Down tube
5.a. Bottle cage (H) Unless your frame has cage bosses you will need to use either a Zefal Gizmo or a pair of DMR clamps (both methods cost about £5) to put a cage here.
5.b. Downtube bag (S) Not many of these about but basically a long fabric bag slung below the downtube.
6. Main triangle
6.a. Bottle cage (H)
6.b. Partial frame bag (S) Useful if you also need a bottle cage in the main triangle, 2 – 5 litres capacity. Alpkit, Apidura, Wildcat.
6.c. Full frame bag (S) The second of the “big three” bikepacking bags. Can take a lot of kit, especially useful for small, denser items to help keep the weight central. Alpkit, Apidura, Wildcat.
7. Seat post
7.a. Bottle cage (H) Use something like the Zefal Gizmo to create a mount point. Can mount to the front of the post but this does depend on the size of your legs!
7.b. Post mounted bag (H) Not common, Carradice SQR bags are the most obvious – leave the mount on the seat post and the bag clips in/out of this. About 15 litre capacity.
7.c. Post mounted beam (H) Mounts at the base of the seat post and extends horizontally to the rear, bags mount on to this. Topeak.
8. Saddle
8.a. Saddle pack (H) A mounting point is fixed to the saddle rails and the bag clips to this. Each manufacturer has its own clip/mount system, 1 – 4 litres. Ortlieb, Topeak.
8.b. Saddle bag (S) Varies from the classic roadie sized bag up to those large enough to carry enough for a weekend. 0.5 – 15 litres capacity.
8.c. Saddle harness (S) The last of the “big three” bikepacking bags. Two systems are common: the first is an integrated harness/bag design the second is jut a harness allowing any dry bag to be used, this method also allows the dry bag to be removed and packed/unpacked off the bike. Both use straps around the saddle rails and upper part of the seat post for fixing. 5 -20 litres capacity. Alpkit, Apidura, Wildcat.
9. Rear stays
9.a. Pannier rack (H) Similar to the front rack/panniers but can take larger bags in the 15-20 litre range.

I’ve got/use most of the above (at different times obviously) so there’s no one “perfect” solution. For my commute I use a downtube mounted gear bottle and a clip on seat pack; for shorter ITTs I’ll use a partial frame bag, a fuel pod and maybe a saddle harness/bag; for longer tours it’s the bikepacking big three; for road tours stopping in B&Bs or hostels it’s a seat post mounted bag; road tours and camping it’s panniers.

Deuter Front Triangle bag, or a saddle pack

I haven’t used my saddle pack in a while, as I find it quite handy being able to lob everything in a bumbag. Also, easy to have stuff on different bikes then

The added benefit is that a bumbag fits a cheeky hip flask in