[Closed] Why don't roadies carry backpacks?

I either have everything on the bike (pump, tubes, repair kit, tools) plus pockets for snack,key, phone, waterproof, or if I'm touring overnight / commuting / need a big camera , have a really big (fits a 13" laptop) saddlebag.

I've done lots of miles with and without rucksacks, and it is just more comfy not to have one for long rides, particularly if like me, you sweat a lot.

If it is just a pootle for the sake of riding, it is easy enough to do a hundred miles in comfort without any need for extra bags - I think I stopped once for food last one, but only cos I was bored of soreen.

Don't take a backpack on the road, but given the unpredictable and very quickly changing Lakeland weather I always take a back pack with extra layer, food , tools, pump, tubes, you don't want a simple mechanical or crash to leave you a few hours walk from where you parked in the hosing rain with no mobile reception.
Be prepared?

cynic-al - Member

Rusty Spanner is in the CTC before his time!

Or is it the boy scouts well after his time?...

😀

Used to be in one, can well see me joining the other.

so get routinely ignored by roadies when out and about (not that it matters).

No sign of a first aid kit? I suppose its a risk based thing and it will probably only be needed every few years. But if you don't know how to use the kit then, its probably better not carrying anything. I'm surprised how little people care abour this. Free country I suppose.

I'm all for a small kit at all times a BIG first aid kit it you are out with less experienced riders who are relying on you for knowledge.

They're probably not far from home, or they have a phone to call their mummy to rescue them.

But seriously what do they need to carry? Water bottle, multitool, pum+ patches would cover most eventualities. Anything major, bike on shoulder and thumb out.

Back from my ride an i reckon i say about 25 other cyclists, mainly roadies. The majority were bagless, but 3 did have backpacks. One rider had a rucksack and a bag on his bars, and proceeded to run a series of red lights and use the pavement whenever it suited him. Clearly the more bags you have the more laws you can break.

CaptJon - Member

Back from my ride an i reckon i say about 25 other cyclists, mainly roadies. The majority were bagless, but 3 did have backpacks. One rider had a rucksack and a bag on his bars, and proceeded to run a series of red lights and use the pavement whenever it suited him. Clearly the more bags you have the more laws you can break

It was you, wasn't it?

it all depends on what type of ride you are going out on , i see pepole on road bikes going to and from work with backpacks on but never seen anyone out with the local chaingang with one.

It wasn't, Paul, I only had a camelbak. Ruddy windy out there and the winter has taken it's toll on Northumberland's roads.

I've had a sore back from a camelbak when on a road bike so now avoid using one

tools money phone in the toolbag under saddle
innertubes and stowaway jacket und food in jersey pockets
2 big bidons got me through the manchester 100

200Km ride = 2 tubes & 2 x Co2
Levers
Phone
1 x Kit Kat
500ml of water

100Km reliability trial today, as above sans Kit-Kat.

Never in my whole life had a road bike go wrong, everything is checked the day or night before. So no tools required.

Forgot to get to the point, you simply can't wear one when your backs flat.

Bet you've got a nice camera. Bet you never take it on road rides.

i have some very nice cameras thanks, i'm a photographer so it kind of helps.
i never take a camera when riding my various bikes it can't be that difficult to work out why.

I have a Carradice camper saddlebag, which I'm very keen on and will use any day in preference to wearing a rucksack on the road bike. I'm very intolerant of having anything on my back when I'm in the drops.

As others have said though, there's nothing I usually take out for the day that won't go in jersey pockets, on the frame and in a dinky little saddlebag. If I know I'm stopping somewhere and need a lock, dry togs, book, camera etc then that's a different sort of excursion.

🙂

i have some very nice cameras thanks, i'm a photographer so it kind of helps.
i never take a camera when riding my various bikes it can't be that difficult to work out why.

Ooohh, sarky. 🙂
Fair enough, busmans holiday etc. Funnily enough, lots of cyclists AREN'T professional photographers though.

oldgit + 1
only I have a couple of eccles cakes and a fiver for a coffee and cake somewhere on the route

you're riding a bike on a road, not scaling ben nevis.

If its cold wear an extra layer, if its not, don't. If you bollox this up and get cold HTFU and ride faster to get warm.

2 spare tubes
maps
food
gps
radio
tools
camera
shock pump
normal pump
layers

if that a joke? a radio??? what for the Archers???

not all cyclists go for bimbles in the countryside on their road bikes carrying lots of kit and stop off at the petting zoo, garden center and owl sanctury on the way 🙂

i guess they would look rather silly with a camelbak, hey has anyone designed a roadie sac yet ?

so where do they keep their waterproofs ? maybe they think it wont rain on them... i guess they want to be as light as poss...
and Harribo sweeties where do they stuff them ? 😉

In case it makes their bum look big..

See, I always carry a dictionary as well, so I know that you spell it 'sanctuary'. 😉

Went out for a small bimblette to the In Laws this afternoon.
I took a pannier.
They gave me cake to take home. I knew I was right all along. 😀

I might enjoy myself more if I visited more owl sanctuaries. Might experiment... 😉

Depends how you ride, natch, but most of my time on a road bike, whether by myself or with others, has involved tapping along at a steady, vigorous tempo with occasional breaks for tea (inside) or punctures (outside). As long as you've hit roughly the right amount of clothing on leaving the front door, and have a waterproof to put on, you're fine.

A huge proportion of mountain bike rides involve vastly less continuous effort, a much bigger range of pace uphill and therefore more waiting, a lot of hanging about looking at stuff, having rests and talking rot etc. Getting chilled is a far greater problem.

If youre not stopping you don't aiways need a waterproof. Today was torrential, but the jacket I put on to keep the wind out was good enough to keep me 'not bothered' when the roads flooded.

Elaine - I carry a waterproof except in high summer. Little Montane featherlight thing. It goes in a jersey pocket.

🙂

I have sacked off wearing a waterproof too. It has been horrid the past week with three club rides in pouring rain, seem to have got by OK wearing a windproof jersey with merino baselayer and synthetic mid layer. I was soaked when I got in but not cold.

and Harribos ? i guess you guys have those energy tablets mixed in ya water bottles too then.
harribos must be stuffed in the helmets too me thinks...lol
do you guys get alot of stick ? from traffic .... please dont hold onto car wing mirrors wen waiting at traffic lights or zebra crossings... hahahahhha 😉

and Harribos ?

It's easier to say why use a camelbak on a mtb. It's because off road when its bumpy you do not want to be reaching down and having to hold a bottle whilst riding twisty singletrack. Sticking a tube in your mouth is much easier. Roads are nice and smooth so one handed riding is much easier.

However why mountain bikers need such huge camelbaks and insist on filling them with so much crap is beyond me.

I'm experiencing the same kind of feeling that non-cyclists must get when I talk about riding a mountain bike; I just don't understand how it can be so hard to grasp that riding a road bike is not about transporting crap around the countryside.

First aid kit? On a road bike? What do you take when you go shopping, an operating theatre?

You are coldest for the first 10 minutes, then warm enough if you are dressed right. A waterproof can go in a pocket, or even get stuck up the back of a jersey.

Wierd things, mountain bikers....

I went to a party at an Owl Sanctuary once.
It was a hoot.

I'll get me waterproof, it's in that pannier over there.

What planet are all you 'new money' mountain bikers from!
I assume you do realise people have been riding bikes on the road (and off-road) long before your beloved water buffalo rucksack was invented!

bottles on an mtb get covered in mud (and sometimes dogshit which can be bad news)

elaine - those elrctolyte tablets are very good especially on hot days but pricy, myprotein.co.uk does bulk packets for much less

Oldgit

200k with only half a litre of water? That's some serious dehydration you're rockin there.

That's the reason I where a CB 'cos you can't ride for 3+ plus hrs without taking in fluid & fuel. 2ndly if I'm out all day across the hills then I need to be self-sufficient & that means carrying a lot of gear. You wouldn't go for a day out walking on the hills poorly prepped.

Anyway I'll do what I do & you'll do what you do, let's not worry about it too much hey.

[i]That's some serious dehydration you're rockin there.[/i]

I do wonder how anyone ever manages to run marathons without their 3 litre Camelbaks...

has anyone designed a roadie sac yet ?

Water stops.. 🙄

Water stops? ....and how much water are these people taking on at each stop?

Enough to keep hydrated depending on exertion level. A drop of only a few % in fluid levels can cause huge drops in performance & bring on potentially life threatening conditions. The info is all out there on the inter web & it's well proven.

yeah on hot days your water will run out...must be lots of stops at the petrol garage...more water please or do you just go through the car wash to hydrate agin lol. 😉

[i]Enough to keep hydrated depending on exertion level. A drop of only a few % in fluid levels can cause huge drops in performance & bring on potentially life threatening conditions. The info is all out there on the inter web & it's well proven.[/i]

Amazing.

How we ever managed to exercise without carrying water about with us I just can't imagine.

Maybe, just maybe, the human body has the capacity to manage a little bit of fluid loss without [i]potentially life threatening conditions[/i] occurring?

Or maybe you believe the hype?

Or maybe you arent working hard enough? 😉

There is mountains of evidence out there that show fluid loss can lead to a significant drop in physical. Try it maybe & see if it makes a difference. If not then no worries but if it does well there is no need to thank me 😉

Tell me if you'd like to read some of the science regarding hydration and exercise...

+1 crikey

I've read plenty & had plenty of experience in the field.

Try this for starters...

http://www.sportsscientists.com/search/label/dehydration

The key idea is that thirst is a perfectly evolved mechanism for fluid replacement; evolved over millions of years..... Regardless of what the energy drink manufacturers would have you believe.

Seriously, and all point scoring in internet arguments aside, it's interesting to see how we have had our opinions manipulated by adverts and marketing with regard to fluid during exercise.

There is also the whole cramp = electrolyte loss concept which is wrong too...

( in the interests of true STW argument, I should point out that my job involves monitoring and correcting electrolyte and fluid imbalances)

I carry at least 10 L of water with me on a hot day. It's the only way. One day I only one bottle. That day was 11/09/2001, and we all know what happened then.