[Closed] What is it with these massive rucksack/camelbak things ?

Most of the kit that is carried is due to people not being confident in their bike build/maintenace skills.

If your bikes given TLC and checked over, 99% of the time it will OK.

The majority of it is down to prior bad spannermanship.

TJ dont let them get to you. Ask any old school mtb'er and they will have now become SSers and dont buy into this loads of gear required crap. Simple gear with just enough simple kit to sort any trail problems or as we say up north "common sense tha nars"
KKF you where spot with your OP are you from these parts ?

That 1.5 litres is insufficient.

Depends how far you are riding and how much you need to drink, surely!

apparently according to some you must carry a rucsac as you must carry 3l of water and loads of tools and spares - even for a couple of hours in the local trails.

Yes, I'm sure that is an accurate assessment of peoples views in this thread, and not a strawman in any way at all...

Ok

here is the challenge. Remembering its a local ride give me a scenario that I would not be able to cope with with my kit [i]and preparation[/i] but that you would be able to with all your extra kit.

I'm off to shops but will look back later

I reckon it's all down to personality. Some people are disorganised and/or chancers - others like me tend to be over organised or expect the worst.

Amongst my mates I am known for being analy organised, but if I am doing a 3-4 hour ride into the wilds as well as food and camera I would always cater for:
* possibly not being able to get water - hence a 3l bladder
* multiple punctures
* mech hanger failure (has happened twice)
* weather worsening so need extra layer, gloves, hat
* an injury that needs a first aid kit
* an injury that leaves me unable to walk out so warm/waterproof clothing needed

I am more often than not on my own so cannot rely on others to supply what's missing.

I have a camelbak which I keep as light as possible. What I dont understand is riders spending a fortune on saving 100grams from the bike then loading up 5kg in to their back pack.

Multi tool
Pump
Repair kit (tubeless)
Chain link

here is the challenge. Remembering its a local ride give me a scenario that I would not be able to cope with with my kit and preparation but that you would be able to with all your extra kit.

Meteor strike?

TandemJeremy - Member
Ok

here is the challenge. Remembering its a local ride give me a scenario that I would not be able to cope with with my kit and preparation but that you would be able to with all your extra kit.

I'm off to shops but will look back later

TJ - only saw your post after finishing mine. A local 1.5 hour ride for me could take me a 45 min walk from a public road. So minimum 2l water, and as per previous post I want to cater for potential injury so I can't walk which means hat and extra layer and nibbles, plus mech hanger failure and chain break

Remembering its a local ride give me a scenario that I would not be able to cope with with my kit and preparation but that you would be able to with all your extra kit.

I think the OPs original viewpoint could be down to bad spannermanship tbh.

Scenario …..
You drift of the way marked trail at the trail centre and end up lost out in back country trails. You come to a clearing at the edge of a forest where ten naked women are dancing around a fire. Now don’t you wish you had packed more then one condom in your large rucksack/camel back.
(only applies to single speed gods as women love a single speed man)

just outa interest, where is it better to have the extra weight on the bike or on the body? (back pack/jersey pockets)

[img] [/img]

I was only nipping to the shops 🙁

Now don’t you wish you had packed more then one condom in your large rucksack/camel back.

Never heard of recycling?

stumpynya12 I live in Lancashire, home of Fred Dibnah, tha' knows.

TandemJeremy....hes down with it and knows the score.

Trent Steel, you understand now, great.

anotherdeadhero...promise me you will buck up, good choice on tyres and Bonti bottle cages though. Fence needs treating.

😉

If your bikes given TLC and checked over, 99% of the time it will OK

...and the other 1% will be when you've left your big rucsac at home with all your tools

what tortoise said - I don't carry stuff for the 99% rides I carry it for the 1%.

I have more than one bike and they all get ridden. I don't have multiple sets of tools. I enjoy the convenience of having a rucsac packed with my essential tools/spare clothes that I can sling on my back regardless of which bike I'm going to ride. I used to try and fasten everything onto the bike or stuff it in jersey pockets but it made going for a ride a faff. I used to have a bottle in a bottle cage but I got fed up of the taste of sheep doo dah (and I never had enough to drink). I used to have a little saddle bag but I got fed up trying to squeeze my tube/waterproof and house keys in it, never mind mech hangers, chain tools and the like. I used to wear a bum bag back in the day but realised I looked a bit of a tool. The answer was a rucsac but that bounced all over the place when riding. So, I bought a "proper" hydration pack and love it.

That said, I DO love riding without a rucsac.

If your bikes given TLC and checked over, 99% of the time it will OK

TLC or confidence doesn't stop punctures and smashed mechs.

anotherdeadhero...promise me you will buck up, good choice on tyres and Bonti bottle cages though. Fence needs treating.

Its not my fence to treat 🙂

You're slipping up though - you didn't notice the bar ends and risers, or the weeds in the gravel 🙂

davidrussell - Member

If your bikes given TLC and checked over, 99% of the time it will OK

TLC or confidence doesn't stop punctures and smashed mechs.

No, what stops that is "skillz dat pay da billz" tubless stan's and picking the right line, next. 8)

KKF I knew it !!! Freds a legend in our house and almost a Yorkshireman 😉

pastcaring - Member

just outa interest, where is it better to have the extra weight on the bike or on the body? (back pack/jersey pockets)

Depends - long non technical rides its on the bike - more efficient as you are not moving the weight of the rucsack around and the COG is lower

Short techy ride - you can make a case for on your back as the bike becomes lighter and can be moved around under you more easily.

I ain't buying that as all my kit plus my bike is lighter than my mates bike

No, what stops that is "skillz dat pay da billz" tubless stan's and picking the right line, next.

😳

wwaswas - Member

what tortoise said - I don't carry stuff for the 99% rides I carry it for the 1%.

indeed - me two which is why I carry everything I need for trailside repairs that I can forsee.

Smashed mechs - you carry a spare? I can and have SSed my bike with what I carry.

so apart from condoms no one took up my challenge? i was hoping for better - you might even have proved me wrong 😉

i snapped a frame in half and fixed with a shoelace a piece of electrical tape and one of my 2 spare tubes.

carried on riding for a few days (i was in the alps), and used the other spare tube.

I couldn't have done that with only 1 tube, no string, and only a few scraps of electrical tape...

TJ - you still haven't answered mine. What happens if you're on your own, crash, can't walk. Need to keep warm and hydrated while you wait for someone to come and get you - assuming you are in a phone signal area.

I don't really get what people carry in their bags either, but then I don't really do long rides and am more of a fair weather rider so no need to have jackets stc. If it rains halfway through my ride I'll just get on with it though rather than having to have a waterproof! I fit all my stuff in my £10 tescos hydration pack, I would like a bit more room for a proper camera in the future though.

tbh I hate wearing a bag when riding as it feels restrictive and sweaty, but the alternative is horrible looking frame/saddle bags and bottle cages, which just don't look very gnar now do they?!

TJ - you still haven't answered mine. What happens if you're on your own, crash

He aims for the ground with his head!

Well people should bear in mind a couple of things:
not everyone rides around a muddy field or in swinley. First rule of going out in a mountain is that you ALWAYS carry a waterproof and a fleece as it can go from blazing sun to freaking cold in 5 minutes (you do remember the first time we met TJ don't you).
Second, flame job bag is about as spot on as possible. Maybe the shock pump is OTT, but the rest is good.
My local trai lis a 13 km rocky descent. TO get to the top of it it's about 70 min climb. So I don't want to push down the road because I got a pinch flat or a bent rear drop out in the first 5 minutes.

Same what about you're miles away from the car, and after 3-4 hours of climbs you brake something or have a mechanical. Or all of the sudden it's start to rain?

Didn't see it captain. Sorry

I don't have a phone either but its very rare that I would be on my own in an area where there would be no passers by. edit when the weather is poor enough that exposure would be an issue

Hydrated is no issue - you will not suffer from dehydration in a short time and I carry water. 3 days I think is the time you can go without water.

if its cold and wet I carry a waterproof - and I might get cold but not to the point of dying. Someone would know where I was and when I was due back.

If I am somewhere remoter I am with others. In winter when exposure is an issue I would have a fleece with me.

so - I would be cold wet and miserable - more so than you but not to the point of danger I would have thought. Very very unlikely scenario but possible. An extra jumper would mitigate but not eliminate teh risk

Juan - and on that trip ( high on the mountains in poor weather) I had a rucksac with full survival kit for me and others. I could have survived an overnight up there

3 days of doing nothing until you die, yes. Working hard on a bike, you'll start to feel the effects of dehydration much, much sooner.

andituk - in the context of

CaptainMainwaring - Member

.......... What happens if you're on your own, crash, can't walk. Need to keep warm and hydrated while you wait for someone to come and get you ..........

Hydrated is not an issue then - warmth is tho I accept

No, what stops that is "skillz dat pay da billz" tubless stan's and picking the right line, next.

I cringed for you when i read that...

I guess all the guys puncturing on the fort bill DH runs all year just didn't pick the right line then. And before you start I know they dont carry a bag or a repair kit but you seem to be suggesting that you can ride or fettle your way out of any mishaps on the trail.

another strange stw thread

i'm going to clarify my last statement actually.

You seem to be suggesting that you can use fettling and riding skills to [b]avoid[/b] any mishaps on the trail. I agree that bike prep and line choice is going to reduce the risk, but not eliminate it.

Its all about the risk, how likely are you to need lube/tools/water etc in any given situation. Personally I'd rather overpack and not need it, even if that does make me look like an MBUK fanboi.

Juan, the first rule of MTBing is telling someone your route and the ETA back. Make sure the person you tell has half a brain, if your 3 hours late they should call International Rescue.

TandemJeremy is right, 3 days without water, survial is a lot to do with "wanting" to survive, and commonsense, it dont get that cold over here, even in the hills, i seldom go out without the right kit and survive, just press on the pedals a bit harder to keep warm 😆
[img] [/img]

Its all about the risk, how likely are you to need lube/tools/water etc in any given situation. Personally I'd rather overpack and not need it, even if that does make me look like an MBUK fanboi.

You're all jehboys! I go to the other extreme. The other week I made the 3 hour drive to Wales without even taking a front wheel. Spares... pfft!

The single speed slant on it.
Simple little light weight bike,well maintained with very little to go wrong. Just enough kit to get you out of the shit and anyway we don’t exactly ride the wilderness in this country now do we gentlemen. But if folks want to carry loads of kit then let them, at least they are out cycling and having fun Yahoooooo Weeeeeeeee Wayhayyyyyyy

What's all this about how long you can go without water or before hypothermia sets in? I'm not worried about my ultimate survival, but I've been cold, wet, hungry and thirsty plenty of times before and don't really feel like I need to set myself up for it just so I can avoid carrying a Camelbak. There's no prizes for being more uncomfortable than you need to be and I can't really say a Camelbak has much impact on the ride.

it dont get that cold over here, even in the hills

I used to think that, went out on my "local" spin across the moors near the Cat n Fiddle. It started off drizzling and within 30 minutes I can barely hold onto the handlebars. Wasn't prepared, see. I knew I could do the ride in 1 1/4 hours so didn't worry about big gloves, hat, waterproof etc. Yes I did get home in one piece, but had to shower with my clothes on until I was warm enough that I could actually get undressed.

TJ, I admire your survivalist spirit, but when the weather turns in or I have to hang around mending a mechanical, I want to be warm and comfortable and not "surviving". If that means I carry a rucsac with a jumper and waterproof in, rather than having them zip tied to my frame or stuck down my shorts, then that's no bother with me.

There's no prizes for being more uncomfortable than you need to be

Very true, unless you view attention on a forum as some sort of prize 🙂

@thesouthernYeti

Wheelie round the trail?

This thread is very close to going full retard.