I love riding without a backpack, after years of riding with one it feels so much better. Just wondering what peoplehave tried and has worked?
For shorter rides a couple things in a jersey pocket, saddle pack and bottle on the bike.
For longer rides I use an Osprey Talon 6 - 6L lumbar pack (bum bag basically!) very comfy and holds all I need.
For really long days I might add a Jannd frame bag.
I only use a back pack now if I need to carry a folding spade & saw to do trail maintenance.
+1 for jersey pockets, and strapping a tube to the frame.
I did use a saddle bag for a while but found it impractical without a rear mudguard to keep it somewhat clean/dry.
Interestingly I'm going the opposite way to you: recently got a backpack and now enjoying not having to worry about packing my various jersey/shorts pockets before every ride 🙂 Horses for courses I suppose.
Frame bag!
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Small framebag - or a quick detach saddle pack if the bike gets ridden to town and parked outside a cafe or such like.
Tube and co2 strapped to frame and a water bottle, odds and sods in jersey pockets. Only have one mtb jersey with pockets and it's a faff, also one bottle of water is often not quite enough. Got a camelbak Palos on order with the intention to keep the tube and bottle as is and not put too much gear and water in the pack to stop it bouncing
'Big' rides or rides away I still use a backpack so I have room for food and drink, etc.
Local rides or anything shorter than an hour or two though I've ditched the pack and just use an Alpkit Enduro Pod - still playing with where it fits/works best...
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The Cotic specific little frame bag that Cy has collaborated on looks ace but is quite pricy.
Little bumbag for me. It stays packed so I only have to remember my keys phone and water bottle.
I don't like using jersey pockets because I can't be bothered with the pre and post ride faffing.
A small Romany child, running alongside.
A variety of methods depending on the length of the ride and how remote I'm likely to find myself.
The most awkward bit of kit is the tyre pump (I'd imagine a shock pump is similar), everything else is pretty small really. I've a Beerbabe downtube bag that fits everything (with room to spare). On the HT550 where you do need to be fairly self-sufficient I took:
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multitool (has chain breaker)
pump with wraps of Duct tape
spare innertube
Short section of chain
tyre boot ( a piece of old toothpaste tube)
powerlink
Small tube of chain lube. *
Repair kit for X-Frame mat. *
Innertube patches and glue
Small tube of sealant *
Sewing kit *
Tubeless repair kit
3 x spare sets brake pads *
Spare mech hanger *
I wouldn't take those items with an asterisk on a short day ride and then apart from the pump it would all fit in something like the Alpkit Top Tube bag/Enduro Pod.
@colournoise - one tip I've seen recently about the Alpkit bag is to get some self-adhesive velcro and stick it to the underside of the top tube. This prevents the bag from flopping about. On my Solaris I mount it at the top tube/seat tube junction, it seems much more stable there than at the head tube. On your bike it might be a bit awkward because of the gusset tube.
Bottles.Tube on seat.Pump on frame.Multi tool/puncture stuff in pockets.
if I'm out for longer I've got a little bum bag.
For longer rides I use an Osprey Talon 6 - 6L lumbar pack (bum bag basically!) very comfy and holds all I need.
Keep thinking about one of these - does the strap not dig in at all?
I use some of the specialized swat stuff on a couple of bikes. Chain tool top stem cap and multitool on the bottle cage work well just need to take tube as back up. As you don't want tools or anything hard in your back pocket as I found out when a pedestrian ran out In front of my roadie I went over the bars and landed on my back with small multitool doing more damage to me than anything else
https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized-top-cap-chain-tool-EV222429?esvt=55106-GOUKE2269134&esvq=&esvadt=999999-0-1217878-1&esvcrea=189702278786&esvplace=&esvd=m&esvtg=pla-307961804555&esvo=EV222429-NA-BLK&esvaid=50080&gclid=CPeohvnZ2NQCFY4y0wodwMkLhg and https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized-rib-cage-ii-w-aero-swat-tool-EV222420 they also have a mtb one. Best thing is you can't forget them as there always on the bike. You could also use a tool bottle/keg but most mtbs only have one cage
Osprey talon 6 and a water bottle on the bike for long rides. I take some chlorine dioxide tablets for refilling bottles from streams etc.
Rode Plymouth-exeter (nearly) yesterday with it fine.
I use a Backcountry Research Mutherload strap for tube & CO2. Multitool, phone, wallet & 500mL soft bottle in jersey pockets. Frame doesn't have a usable bottle cage mount.
Thinking about some shorts with a decent pockets or a Race Face rip strip.
The Backcountry straps are very good.I'm using an OMM bag.
Either my old Clover trials/enduro bumbag or an old Pikiona Bar bumbag, from Skala, Kefallonia. Both are over twenty years old.
The internal SWAT box on my Specialized Camber and also got some Specialized SWAT bib shorts that useful for stashing things in the rear pockets.
Keep thinking about one of these - does the strap not dig in at all?
Nope, I don't pull it massively tight, and it then sits a bit lower on your hips. I use it for all types of riding from road/gravelling to mtbing. Great bits of kit, and very good customer service. I broke the lid on one of the bottles, asked if I could buy a new one, and they sent me a new bottle and lid FOC 🙂
Judy @ www.beerbabe.co.uk will build you whatever you need frame bag wise from tiny to full frame. Full bespoke & not stupid money. Msg me on FB & I'll put you in touch for no obligation quote
I only use a backpack for long winter rides when I want spare clothing
Otherwise - pump on frame clip, multitool, spare tube and aerosol sealant couple of bolts couple of chain links in a small seat bag. water bottle on frame
Where can I get one of these back country straps? Like the look of them