Anyone use one in place of a back-pack, pros, cons?

Thinking one for the bare essentials so no drink, but a couple of tubes, multi-tool, levers and co2 pump…

talk to me…

think a saddle bag might be prefable to a bumbag from the 80’s.

I’d have thought a seat pack or a plastic bag bungeed under the seat would be better for that little lot. Stop you falling on it.

[snigger mode]

he said fanny!

[/snigger mode]

[edited]
Seriously: maybe just get beerbabe to build you a frame bag to carry the stuff? http://www.beerbabe.co.uk/ourshop/prod_2894264-Front-Triangle-Bag.html Less likely to hurt yourself falling off onto a sharp bit in a bum bag if it’s all in the frame?

Although Camelbacks do provide some back protection in the event of an off.

mind you I suppose they’d be cheap enough in sports dirct or something, what the hell, go for it, it’s not a fashion show.

snigger mode]

he said fanny!

[/snigger mode]

any excuse to post this again

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBJ_FDcCwTU&feature=player_detailpage[/video]

IGMC

I think it would be inherently dangerous; a bum bag (sorry I’m not American so I’ll use English) sits on your lower back, just above your arse. Not spread out but a raised ‘sausage’ of gear; tubes, waterproof, tools? In an impact where you land on your back the bum bag could be the first point of contact between you & the ground, focused on a specific point on your spine.

Wear a hydration pack. A lot comfier and would give a small amount of protection to your back.

Or carry nowt. Keep a bottle of water near the van drop and be prepared to walk back to car park if you get a flat/mechanical.

You can’t wear a bumbag for an uplift day, they’re enduro not downhill! Durr.

I’ve got a small camelbak I wear for uplifts, it’s not cool but I reckon it’s worth it- multitool, tube, pump- saves wasting riding time or runs. Wee bit of water in a sqeezy bottle- not essential obviously but you can get dry talking pish on an uplift bus, and if you’re on a fast turnaround uplift it turns time wasted in the car park into riding time. Feels like nothing once it’s on and a good bag doesn’t move around.

Does divide opinion though! Though less so once you help people fix their bike… (though actually, some mates become even more definite that carrying kit is a bad idea, once they know someone else has stuff they can borrow 😉 )

I do have one of those little camelbak things with a pocket and a water bottle holder, which I use for short after-work type rides but I wouldn’t use it for harder riding, it’s more noticable when riding and moves a lot more.

Not for uplift days specifically but I use one most of the time for shorter (i.e up to 4-hour) rides. They are comfy, the weight is low down and you get less sweaty. I’ll usually carry wallet, camera, energy bars, tube and a small toolkit. It’s large enough that I can fit in a lightweight jacket and an emergency blanket too.

No.

what about one of those bidon shaped holders if you’ve got a spare set of bidon holes?

By bidon do you mean bottle cage mounts?

I started to use one after a shoulder injury meant a rucksack was uncomfortable,

risk of falling on sharp tools is the same IMO as a camelback,, just pack it carefully, anyway you are probably going to be hitting the ground, tree, stem,pedal etc so does not really make any greater risk in general.

no sweaty back is nice (in summer) and it is less obtrusive than a hydration pack.

of course you will need to wear goggles and an enduro lid which you may consider a drawback.

I’d have thought a seat pack or a plastic bag bungeed under the seat would be better for that little lot.

I hear you but i hate stuff on the bike when i’m riding. Just don’t like it.

mind you I suppose they’d be cheap enough in sports dirct or something, what the hell, go for it, it’s not a fashion show.

That’s it you see, maybe i’m getting old but i couldn’t give a toss about it being ‘fashion’.

Will have armour on with back-protector so don’t want backpack on top of armour and i was thinking fanny-pack on outside of armour so no danger in the event of a crash, that’s the theory any way.

It’s generally quicker to get back to the van/car than fix on a run. Get back and use the track pump/tool kit there.

wot he ^^^ said +1 go back to the van to fix it.

It’s generally quicker to get back to the van/car than fix on a run. Get back and use the track pump/tool kit there.

quicker than pushing down a downhill section? How can that be?

quicker than pushing down a downhill section? How can that be?

Don’t need to push downhill, bikes tend to go that way on their own if given half a chance. Now finding it still in a usable state after setting it off, that’s a challenge.

It takes about 10mi s to fix a flat if your going ok (guesstimate from plenty of experience) getting a bike to the end of the track isn’t that far off and you don’t have the hassle of carrying stuff. On UK dh I don’t think I got more than 2 or 3 flats on uplift

Double post

I dunno, if you flat in a convenient place or you’re happy riding on the flat then it can be faster but usually it’s not going to be ime. And it’s not really saving time to do it at the bottom, you spend most of your time swapping the tube etc so having a track pump just saves a minute or so.

And other mechanicals are even faster, a loose bolt can wreck a run or be fixed in 20 seconds, broken off mech, whatever.

I’ve lapped people pushing down fort william with mechanicals, so that’s basically a run and a half wasted, and riding down is always better than walking down… if you’re getting 8 innerleithen runs it’s a shame to only ride 7.

I suppose it does depend on your approach to the day, I want to wring every last run out of an uplift but other folks do prefer to take it easy, and fair enough.

Surely putting the pack at the front would work fine though. Worth a go if you can be arsed.

I’ve usually got a multitool in a poacket. Only had one flat and managed to limp back and get it changed at the van before the next uplift set off.

Gaffer tape tube to seatpost, multi tool in one pocket co2 & keys in the other.

Or do what roadies/xc riders do, shove it all in your back pockets.

I have one for riding motorcycle enduro that has several compartments and is well padded, it works well and is comfortable. Mine’s a UFO but Kriega also make some really nice kit.

I occasionally use it on the MTB and really see no problem except that is clearly (^) a major fashion faux pas.

You’ll be wearing an open face helmet with googles next!

I don’t really mine wearing a pack and used to wear a back with body armour when in the Alps (water, food plus tools comes in handy when getting away from the resort).

Way back in the day, before packs were common place I used to use one and found it pretty good. It didn’t move about too much so wasn’t too annoying.

The other option is to just hope that someone else wears on and shove your stuff in theirs!

I can count the number of times I’ve had a mechanical that meant I couldn’t get back to the car easily while on an uplift day on the fingers of one foot.

You’re worrying about nothing, don’t embarrass yourself.

I bought one of these

from Charlie the Bikemonger holds everything you mentioned and works great.

t’is what all the cool kidz will be riding this summer…

Speeder – Member
I can count the number of times I’ve had a mechanical that meant I couldn’t get back to the car easily while on an uplift day on the fingers of one foot.

You’re worrying about nothing, don’t embarrass yourself.

Agreed.

Puncture? Fine, roll down to the car park (admittedly a **** when you puncture near the top of Ft.Bill, but i’d still rather head down than carry extra gear and fix it up there)
Gears? Keep on truckin’
Brakes? Gonna be an interesting ride, but you wont have anything useful in your fanny pack.
etc

In two years of uplifting I’ve only ever had to walk down once. You can more often than not get a downlift if you are near the top of the track.

A fanny pack works for skiing so why not for ‘uplifts’ ? If you rotate the bag to the front on a chair lift it works just fine, I know I’ve done it.
Alternatively get a frame pack made by Judy at http://www.beerbabe.co.uk make from recycles inner tubes & brewery malt sacks, just the job.

My mates took the piss when I took my camelbak to BPW. Until my gear fixed three of their bikes. Reckon I lost at least one run helping/standing around while they used my tools. F-all went wrong with my bike so it worked against me really. That said I can’t stand getting dehydrated so having water on tap (I’m here all week, try the veal) is worth it alone.

I know it’s different strokes n all that, but that’s not how my riding works. If someone has a problem we’ll catch them halfway or at the bottom, everyone I ride with is happy to make their own way down when they have a mechanical. As for drinking, we’ll all just take on what we need at the bottom. I don’t know of an uplifted track in the UK that would demand a halfway drink

I can’t be arsed rummaging around in the bushes for a bottle of water especially if a bus is pulling up. I also can’t stand the number of discarded bottles scattered around uplift centres, for a supposedly environmentally sympathetic user group we’re a selfish bunch of pricks.

You’ve lost me now. Open van, grab bottle/tools, sit, chat, close up, get back on uplift. No rummaging or discarding involved.

Suggestion up there:

Keep a bottle of water near the van drop and be prepared to walk back to car park if you get a flat/mechanical.

Easy to forget bottles left somewhere near the van drop.

My pack has a back protector in it so obviously I’m going to wear it for uplift days. But even if it didn’t, why would I care about having a bit of weight on my back when all my riding is gravity assisted? It’s not like you need to fill it completely with water or food or tools or clothes, you’re not going into the wilderness!

Don’t need to push downhill, bikes tend to go that way on their own if given half a chance. Now finding it still in a usable state after setting it off, that’s a challenge.

Either you or I are missing something here…are you suggesting riding to the end with a flat?

Which one do you use scotroutes?

I want to wring every last run out of an uplift

+1 this

The other option is to just hope that someone else wears on and shove your stuff in theirs!

consider your kind offer accepted

😉

Either you or I are missing something here…are you suggesting riding to the end with a flat?

Absolutely. Go to a DH race and see how many of the 300+ riders have a huck sack on.

But even if it didn’t, why would I care about having a bit of weight on my back when all my riding is gravity assisted?

Riding and hitting features as fast as I can is the last place I want to feel extra weight on my back

Yep, no packs for uplift days. I might stick a water bottle in the cage that’s on my bike just to save missing a run to get a drink. I’m hoping for 15+ runs at the Pearce Cycles uplift at Hopton tomorrow. I managed 15 last time on my hardtail, so more should be possible on the enduro bike.