Sorting through my bike bags (saddle bags, restrap frame bag, small rucksack camelbak etc) and trying to find the best setup for carrying all the essentials, ideally on the bike, before I head out for a local loop. I always use a water bottle, but can never get the right balance for minimal kit and carrying phone and keys. I either overload the bike, or take minimal stuff and end up with a puncture/mechanical. Be good to see any STW bag setups for ideas, or if there is a thread on this already. Many thanks in advance.
My gravel set up as below
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Top tube bag with snacks, keys and wallet. Tool keg on downtube with inner tube, tool and dynoplug. Pump on frame.
Phone goes in back pocket generally.
That's really useful, nice bike and setup too. I didn't consider a tool keg and I have room for one. Cheers s1m0n
Here’s my normal Gravel set up. Tube under seat, snacks and gels and arm warmers in top tube bag and a tool keg under the down tube, I’ve just added a lovely little handle bar bag for my coffee kit.
Run my Krampus slightly differently with an oveja negra superwedgie framebag which still allows me to carry a bottle, holder under down tube for extra water or my cook kit for a coffee.
I’ve got a LifeLine Tool Storage Bottle (£3.50 from Wiggle) with £10, tube, levers, canisters x 2, links, patches, zip ties and latex gloves. It goes in a bottle cage, doesn’t rattle and has proven to be completely waterproof so far.
I really don’t like a jersey with back pockets so use an old RaceFace Rip Strip for a pump, ID, phone and hip flask. All super stable and you don’t notice it’s there.
I have a frame bag on both my gravel and 29+ , the kind which allows for two bottles still. They weigh very little but you can carry enough for a full days ride without a pack.
Have a seat pack too for tools, just to keep them all together.
It’s a win win.
I have one bottle in the frame and a smallish saddle bag, it contains multi tool (with chain tool, tyre levers, Allen keys, spoke key etc), spare tube, self adhesive patches, tie-wraps and insulation tape. I have smallish decent rechargeable lights too as you never know when you might need them.
In my jersey back pockets I have a shower proof jacket, buff, pump, phone, bank card, snack and keys. Or I can carry all the above in a 3 litre bar bag with room to spare.
The above is good for a 100km gravel ride pretty much all year as I have a decent selection of clothing so tend to dress appropriately to the weather. As long as I can top up my water bottle. I might take a second water bottle and/or water purifying tablets if I'm going to have to refill from streams (clear fast flowing obviously).
Pretty minimal but does me.
Edit:- I also carry a chain power link and maybe a spare set of brake pads.
I used a tool bottle on my Scalpel when I completed my Cairngorm Loop last year, it never budged and I managed to even squeeze in a 29er tube, multi tool and pump. I was pretty impressed with it.
I can definitely see the appeal of taking more kit for a brew or more warm clothing but you can get carried away and end up with a lot of kit you don't use. When I used to ride my mountain bike more I used to have a big CamelBak, loads of spares and tools with 2-3 litres of water in it 😬
Roadies seem to have the old minimal kit idea dialled.
You can add a fuel pod or top tube feed bag for eating on the go. Ime this is more for if you are riding long distance and trying to make good time (ie a race). As it minimises any food stops.
For gravel, I've got tube and multitool in a seat pack and shortly to have tubeless tool as bar end plugs. Food in pockets, phone mounted to bars. So a saddle bag alone is an option for local loops I think.
This leaves me with space for 2 bottles.
However, I've just broken my tool and not used a tube in 2+ years tubeless on this bike, so think I could ditch the tube and saddle bag for local riding and just buy a multitool that hides in/on the bike somewhere. But I havent found the right one yet. If you like this approach I thought the Granite ones looked good, with tubeless and chain tools in the bars and the tool in the (carbon) steerer, so I bought the tubeless repair one but my bars don't have long enough straight sections to take it or the chain tool. The steerer one would fit but without a chain breaker it doesn't answer the whole question.
TL;DR sorry, thread semi hijack, mounting tools to bike an option? If so, any recommendations from anyone else?
I mostly use a partial frame bag. I can still fit two 750ml bottles in with that. If I need more (according to route/trip) then I'll add a small bar bag and/or a small seat pack.
Pump is fitted to the frame. I carry one spare tube and a patch kit, multi-tool and levers. A spare chain link too.
Gravel bike I use a tool bottle, I remove the inner odds and sods tray and can fit a pump in there, along with lots of random stuff such as tape, Leatherman, straps, tubeless repair, spare AAA batteries and contact lenses, a tenner. I velcro a tube under the top tube.
On my singlespeed I have managed to squeeze a 29er tube and basic repair kit into a large (but still small) Castelli saddle bag which is probably the nicest saddle bag I've ever seen. I can't fit a pump in there but impressed with the Ninja P pump that fits inside your seatpost (27.2mm >)
Cx bike: Stereotype hipster handlebar bag in winter, tool pouch on saddle and Zefal bottle cage caddy thing as well.
Spare waterproof, phone, inhaler, masks etc go in bar bag, tubes & co2 in saddle pouch all other tools in the caddy as this gets moved from bike to bike quite often. I use brooks handle bar bag for extra hipster points , mrs kilo has the restrap one which is nice but a bit smaller. Might lose them in summer when there’s less need for spare layers etc.
Handlebar bags are quite useful I have one on my commuter now and sometimes bung one on my 29er if I want carry a jacket etc.
You can add a fuel pod or top tube feed bag for eating on the go. Ime this is more for if you are riding long distance and trying to make good time
LOVE my top tube feed bag. It's not even about making good time over distance, it just makes it so much easier to fuel properly, i.e. little and often. I would go as far as saying it was a game changer for me as I was finishing long rides feeling much fresher.
Tool bottles similarly so, they just minimise faff at the start if the ride, especially if you have one per 'discipline' e.g. road/gravel/MTB.
Partial frame bag, tool bottle and a normal bottle for me. The partial frame bag has been on the bike from day one, whether a lunch/all-day/multi-day ride. Tools and spares wise, I carry the same again - why fanny around?
But, when I did get the gravel bike I bought/assembled another tool/spares kit that would always be on the bike, and then I've another set in my Camelbak for when on my MTB's.
You can add a fuel pod or top tube feed bag for eating on the go. Ime this is more for if you are riding long distance and trying to make good time (ie a race). As it minimises any food stops.
Do you not have pockets? I hate top tube bags, get in the way when out of saddle.
Tool bottle under down tube with glueless patches, tyre boot, tubbless repair kit, multi tool, tyre levers, quick link, spare brake pads. Spare tube either in tool bottle or strapped elsewhere like seat tube. Usually have a space blanket somewhere on bigger rides too.
Water proof in jersey with food and phone/credit card.
2 water bottles
For tools and snacks, I have camel chops blimp handlebar bag on gravel bike and alpkit top tube bag on full sus mtb.
Another half frame bag user here. 7 velcro straps for rattle free support, weight high but central, leaves space for 2 x bottles, holds enough to make a pack redundant and more comfortable to shoulder when crossing streams. Can also be switched over to my hardtail with the same contents bar the inner tube and speedlink. Can't fault it.
Thanks for all the useful info, appreciated. Good to see all the different setups, think having all the gear in one place makes sense to swap between bikes easily. Hope you're all enjoying some riding time at the moment.
Small restrap frame bag
How far / where are you going? 🤓
For day trips I find a seat pack (spare tube / tools etc), half-frame bag (waterproofs / extra layer) top tube bag (phone/snacks) is a great start. Use bottle cages for drinks.
For longer, non-overnighters I'd maybe add a small dry bag for extra warm clothing to my handlebars and a couple of stem pouches for food.
Once you get into camping/overnighters then you have to look at stowage for sleeping bags, tent/shelter and maybe stove/food.
Spares-wise I'll carry a spare tube, small bottle sealant, CO2 + pump, tubeless repair kit, spare valve, multi-tool, chain-link + chain tool. Longer trips I'll carry a few links of chain plus a gear cable.
And dovebiker turns the dial to 11! Even got room for his cat 😂
A Pedros Tulio in place of the rear skewer - obviously not an option if you have a through-axle out back. That's got most items including a chain tool.
Wildcat Cheetah (sits in the top tube/seat post junction) with small tin of spare bolts, mech hanger, super glue, etc.; Tyre levers; small FAK; phone and card/cash. Pump is mounted by the bottle cage.
Food is either in shirt pockets or I use a Stem Cell type bag if I need more.
Edit: there's quite a few threads on this subject: "site:singletrackworld.com tool bags"
having all the gear in one place makes sense to swap between bikes easily.
I try to avoid this.and prefer for each bike to be self-sufficient. MTB I'll normally wear a pack which has the necessary kit in. My bikepacking bike has its own kit.
At this time of the year you might want to consider what might happen if you have an off,even if you are somewhere local and fairly busy you could be waiting a long time if you need an ambulance
https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/are-you-prepared-for-the-worst/
I can't imagine a from the door Gravel ride that requires a bag. I'm not into strapping stuff to my bike anyway but for almost all Gravel rides I have a tool bottle with tube, pliers, links, chain tool, multi tool and patches on the seat tube along with a pump. Piece of cake, phone, wallet and keys and, if the weather looks variable, a gilet in Jersey pockets. The bike stays nice and light and doesn't get the shit rubbed out of the paint. If I'm doing something silly in winter I might take a space blanket in a pocket.
On my MTB, I have a Syncros matchbox tool cage which has all the basics, then a tube and Co2 inflator in a saddle wrap. I also have a little pump on the bike. Everything else goes in bib short or Jersey pockets. For changeable weather or longer rides I'll use a backpack.
Although I've given a few options up above (along with others supplying a wide breadth of choices), which some seem to dislike. My default option for riding local is to take nothing more than a water bottle and a phone. After doing it by mistake one time (I forgot to swap kit from one bike to the another) I found it very liberating. I've even been known to just go for a ride in whatever I happen to be wearing with no kit, saves a bunch of time and helps minimise the chance of the wife giving me a last minute job to do.
See if you can borrow or buy second hand some different bags and see which you prefer. Everyone's different and no one option is right for everyone all the time.
Over the years I've got more minimal, carrying most things I need in jersey pockets and occasionally a small front triangle bag or for longer rides an old Jandd half-frame bag. I did get hold of one of the Carradice Zipp Roll bags the other week though. I was looking to carry cooking gear and a few other bits. Haven't tried it out yet but seems nice quality and well thought out.
Loads of options and ideas worth experimenting with before finding the ideal setup, many thanks