IA – Member
tools, tube, jacket, camera, food and water where else am i gonna put it?
On the bike and in pockets.

you must have **** big pockets! 🙄

i still don’t know the point of mtbing? ❓

i know this OP must be trolling.. but its fun to join in 😀

See more and more people doing 4 mph on their full sus MTB’s, shin guards et al. Look like Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Are they going camping or what with all that stuff? Just no need at all for all that luggage and kit.

Its not as though are riding hardcare “shredding the rad” like Lopes/Peaty etc.

Ive done 6 hr + MTB rides without the need to have a 25 litre+ bag on my back.

they are riding hardcore, they’re riding to the bits you dont know about and can’t handle… especially being a XC-mincer who is riding slow enough and gentle enough to ride for 6hrs + with no fluids, or never riding hard enough to need spares or food 😆

Water is what governs whether I take a bag or not
I can only get a 500ml bottle on my bike so if the ride is any more than an hour, I’ll take a Camelbak

KingKongsFinger is a hardcore roadie painfest lover, therefore anything he says must never be taken seriously. Ever.

Time for a little bit of cross pollination I think. I don’t like using a back pack but like to be prepared. for short rides I use a small tailpack which takes tube, multi tool, patches, energy bars and zip ties.

For a longer ride (here’s the different bit) I use a Carradice bag which straps to the saddle and is big enough for all the above plus a waterproof jacket, sandwiches, camera etc. It has a mesh on the side bit enough for a second waterbottle (a litre one sits in the bottle cage with pump attached). The Carradice is 5 litre capacity so big enough for most trips but if necessary there is a 15 litre bag as well but I’ve never used that on a mountain bike.

Amazing the useful bits of kit we tourers have tucked away 🙂

Or
-a small bag with the correct kit thats actually required

Define ‘required’. Depends what you’re doing…

-a good quality rigid SS that whilst struggling with 6ft drop offs will do everything else expected of it in all conditions and not break down.

If you mean ‘do’ in the sense of ‘will mince slowly’ over anything remotely fun… 😀

-a large cake to eat whilst waitng for the techno freak brigade at the top of all the climbs.

Personally I take great delight in going uphill faster than rigid 24lb single speeders on a 36lb free ride sled… happens more often than it doesn’t… we’re not all unfit!

But heh as long as we are all cyclists what does it really matter…..

Indeed 🙂 Live and let live!

There are no bottle / pump rack mounts on the Orange, so its Lobo for short rides 1 litre reservoir, Mule for longer rides, 3 litre res. Multitool, shock pump, tyre pump, 1 tube, 1 puncture kit, 2 sets of tyre levers, set of quick links for chain snaps.Longer rides a chain comes along. Energy bar and gel stays in the pack all the time weather i need it on that ride or not. Sometimes a bottle of lucosade sport gets thrown in.
On long rides my butty box goes in the mule.
Then in go waterproofs.
So do i need the big pack? i’d say so.

Conversly the On one has bottle and pump mounts, and a saddle pack with 1 or 2 spare tubes in. On longer trail centre rides the mule or lobo will come along dependant on projected water needs.

Sometimes on hardpack bridleways and tow paths its just the litre bottle in the rack, pump on the bike, a tube in the seat pack and a butty stuffed in. No lid. No pads. No armour. Shorts and tee shirt.
Ferking big grin.

you must have **** big pockets!

I am 6’4″, there’s plenty space in them. As I said, only generally a 120g waterproof in one pocket. Sometimes a phone in one too, and some food. I take a bag when I want my SLR to be fair.

who gives a sh!t what they are carrying, each to their own. im normally doing 40-50 milers, where am i meant to put my water,tools,tube,food,jacket etc…get a life and get riding..

In what way would it be better?
By pockets, I mean jersey back pockets Normally just contain a montane featherlight and whatever food I’m having. No weight on my back and much better temperature regulation with a clear back.
Bottle on the bike, multitool and tube taped to the seatpost (or saddleback). Pump mounted by bottle cage.
Big rides I will take a bag mind.

You forgot the camera.
Any ride long enough to need food is long enough for a camelback.
A short blast on the race bike then a bottle in the cage and a tube in the pocket is fine. Not an option on the fs as it wont take a cage. Horses for courses.

I find it quite amazing what people carry for a short local spin but its up tto them

Me? I like to keep the weight down and on the bike

Bottle and pump on the frame, tube, multitool and sram links and patches in a small seat pack. food / waterproofs ( if needed – I rarely carry them) in pockets.

I can’t imagine doing any ride without at least 1.5l water, tube, tools, pump, mobile, hat – Camelbak Mule.

On a long ride would always take 3l water, an extra tube and puncture repair outfit, small first aid kit, food, extra layer, camera in addition to the above (doesn’t everyone?)- Osprey Talon 22

Wearing a pack has also saved my back on a few pileups

I know it’s feeding the troll, but anyway….

They are defo missing the point of MTB’ing.

Why is having a camelback, etc. missing the point of MTBing?
The whole point of MTBing is self-sufficiency and being prepared.

So, I like to carry a pump, a couple of spare tubes, some tyre levers, a phone, maybe a map, a banana, and 2 litres of water, my keys, and a multi-tool – where else am I going to carry it?

I was ‘drawn into the lifestyle’ as you put it 23 years ago, and the reason I enjoy it is because I am prepared and don’t need to flag down passing cyclists when in need of an allen key/pump/inner tube/chocolate/phone – all things I have been asked for by terminally underprepared people in the past year.

key/pump/inner tube/chocolate/phone – all things I have been asked for by terminally underprepared people in the past year.

3 times in the last 2 months i’ve saved someone else’ ride by the spares i carry in my kit.
I was asked if i had a tube or puncture outfit yesterday at Lee Quarry, but the guy gave up and pushed down to meet a lift home after seing how badly snakebit his rear tube was.

IA – you have properly turned into an XC jeyer haven’t you? I remember the days on the RSP, flat pedals, casual clothes “never going to clip in”, “never going to have lycra” to this “tube taped to seatpost” “put it all in pockets” racer boy stylee 😛

This is the MTB Bike I ride (on any off road scenario, be it the Transalp Challenge/local MTB race/Trail centre or a potter round the local trails) Santa Cruz Blur, 100 mm rear travel, front SID’s 100 mm ish travel.(SID’s have lockout incase of a sprint finish to the line)

Flat carbon bars slammed down on the headtube, no spacers. No ghey bar ends either. Stans ZTR tubeless, rest is XT. XTR is a waste of money for the weight saving and only for PRO’s or people sucked into the “lifestyle”.

This is what equipment i take on all rides, spare tube (with a square piece of tyre sidewall taped to it) This tube is taped to the underside of my 100 mm carbon stem (Bonti xxx no degree rise).

Under my Flite transalp titanium (height difference from saddle to stem, frickin major)is a small bag (size of a typical singletrack brain, large orange)containing 2 CO2 cartridges and valve adapter, cable ties,2 tyre levers and chain spliter)

In my jersey pocket, mobile phone and smack gel (for emergencies).

Dependant on duration of ride (always non stopping, warp factor 8,no dabbing on tech bits and downhill like Mammouth Mountain)

I take one bidon or two mounted on carbon cages, one in my rear jersey pocket if ride is expected to be longer than 4 hrs.

What does annoy me somewhat is that especially on our Thursday night rides, many of the others have no kit at all, knowing that they can use my toolkit/tyre levers and “borrow” an inner tube

ajantom – Member
The whole point of MTBing is self-sufficiency and being prepared.

no, it’s ‘pratting about on bikes’.

and it’s lots of fun.

Can anyone explain why 3 l of water is needed for a ride of a few hours?

I can carry everything I have ever needed in decades of bike riding on the bike.

What more than a multitool, tube, pump, patches, sram links, m6 and M5 nut and bolt?

One bottle for normal rides, two for long hot rides when no water is available.

The whole point of MTBing is self-sufficiency and being prepared.

Err, what?

Can anyone explain why 3 l of water is needed for a ride of a few hours?

Can someone explain why anyone gives a **** about this ?

TandemJeremy – Member

Can anyone explain why 3 l of water is needed for a ride of a few hours?

it isn’t, my bag happens to have a 3litre bladder, but that’s just the one it came with, and it means that it’s nice and flat when it’s only got 1litre innit.

my bikes live in the cellar, my bag and all it’s bits live on a hook under the stairs, that way i can pick up all my bits in one go, irrespective of which bike i’m taking out. (bluepig, prayer, inbred, bmx, road)

i don’t see the need to buy 5 chaintools, and leave them all taped to my different bikes.

TJ i’ll burn 6-9 litres on an 10 hour ride. some folks i ride with will barely finish a 2l bladder – its just about how pissed you were the night before how much fluid your body requires.

Thats where Nuun’s come into their own – hydration carried in easy format. or am i just being suckered into the hype.

Can anyone explain why 3 l of water is needed for a ride of a few hours?

depends how hard you’re working/how hung over you are etc.

I’ve certainly gone through 3l in 4 hrs or so on hot, demanding rides

Ewan …..don’t you mean live and let mince 😉 Orrrrr its great on here and you can feel all the lourve flowing between cyclists.

Rain snow and especially shine, i sweat like a rapist in the dock, and i know how bad the pain in the lower back caused by dehydration is, by bitter experience 20 miles from the car.
I aim at a litre per hour minimum. There aint a lot of places to refill when out and about unless you are lucky enough to find shops or a pub

kingkongsfinger – Member
This is the MTB Bike I ride (on any off road scenario, be it the Transalp Challenge/local MTB race/Trail centre or a potter round the local trails) Santa Cruz Blur, 100 mm rear travel, front SID’s 100 mm ish travel.(SID’s have lockout incase of a sprint finish to the line)

Flat carbon bars slammed down on the headtube, no spacers. No ghey bar ends either. Stans ZTR tubeless, rest is XT. XTR is a waste of money for the weight saving and only for PRO’s or people sucked into the “lifestyle”.

This is what equipment i take on all rides, spare tube (with a square piece of tyre sidewall taped to it) This tube is taped to the underside of my 100 mm carbon stem (Bonti xxx no degree rise).

Under my Flite transalp titanium (height difference from saddle to stem, frickin major)is a small bag (size of a typical singletrack brain, large orange)containing 2 CO2 cartridges and valve adapter, cable ties,2 tyre levers and chain spliter)

In my jersey pocket, mobile phone and smack gel (for emergencies).

Dependant on duration of ride (always non stopping, warp factor 8,no dabbing on tech bits and downhill like Mammouth Mountain)

I take one bidon or two mounted on carbon cages, one in my rear jersey pocket if ride is expected to be longer than 4 hrs.

Is this a joke or did you really feel the need to describe in detail the components of your bike that you have things strapped to? You failed to mention what brand jersey you wear, pray tell; I must know.

David – fair enough but most folk ride a lot shorter than that do they not?

I am quite happy to live and let mince on this but it does amuse me the amount of kit some folk carry.

paying hundreds of pounds to save a few grammes on the bike then loading up with all sorts of uneeded kit and huge amounts of water.

Im fully aware that each extra litre is an extra kilo, but i NEED it.
And anyhow the Orange is near enough 40 lbs, im 16 stone, so what the hell is an extra half stone to a stone on my back gonna matter in the grand scheme?
Plus the more i drink, the lighter i get!

“I find it quite amazing what people carry for a short local spin but its up tto them”

One bag and its got your kit in it. period. if nothing else its training weight.

TandemJeremy – Member
Can anyone explain why 3 l of water is needed for a ride of a few hours?

One bottle for normal rides, two for long hot rides when no water is available.

Some folk rider harder/longer than you 😛

Can anyone explain why 3 l of water is needed for a ride of a few hours?

depends how hard you’re working/how hung over you are etc.

I’ve certainly gone through 3l in 4 hrs or so on hot, demanding rides

Ditto. I drink a LOT anyway. I got through about 1.5l on a nignt ride last night….

I didn’t know there was a need to justify why we carry what we do. But here goes:

I have two bags – one tiny one which I only use for very short blasts and one large one, presumably of the type causing the OP such offence (but it was second-hand). I refuse to buy another. I generally ride alone, and (as above) will easily get through 3L of water on a decent ride. I carry links, chain splitter, first aid kit (yes I have had to use it), keys, phone, rain jacket/winter warmer jacket, food, pump and generally 4-5 tubes (before I went tubeless). I would usually use most of them on a ride. I don’t tend to change what I carry as I would only forget something in the rush to get out if I was constantly changing the contents to suit the ride.

Apologies OP, I’m not changing, I don’t like the very long tedious walks.

Can anyone explain why 3 l of water is needed for a ride of a few hours?

Can you explain how you can tell how much water someone is carrying in a camelbak and how far they are riding just by looking at them?

Here’s a thought:

Everyone is different. There should be no ‘uniform’, as the spectrum of how and where people ride mountain bikes is so varied.

If you want conformity, join a road club.

😉

ononeorange +1. Exactly what I do. Even on shorter rides could be a 45 min walk to the nearest road. And what if you can’t walk because you’ve seriously hurt yourself? Hence need for hat and extra layer.

As for the water, the generally accepted reccomendation is 1l for every hour of exertion – any less you get dehydrated and loose efficiency. I drink a lot of water – healthy, doesn’t cost and has no downside apart from peeing a bit more ofter

mmh – waterbottles in cages on frames. I can see now why TJ et al are always moaning about dogshit on trails. At least it’ll kill the taste of that nasty east coast water.

Jersey pockets? my tops don’t have pockets, as I don’t want to cycle about the countryside in gimpy lycra splattered with wannabe pro-biker logos. Taping stuff to the frame or saddlebags are for the for the sort of people who wear Paramo.

One drybag with small toolkit, 2 spare tubes in a mesh bag, puncture kit, spare SRAM chain link, few zip ties and a pump with gaffa tape wrapped round the body. If it’s likely to be windy or showery, then I’ve got a little Montane windshirt that goes in as well. It all lives in a Camelback Mule, along with a bladder that may or may not come along depending on the length of time I’m going out for, right next to my helmet and gloves at the back door. Saves enormous amounts of faff if I decide I want to go out for a quick spin round the local trails.

kingkongsfinger – Member
This is the MTB Bike I ride (on any off road scenario, be it the Transalp Challenge/local MTB race/Trail centre or a potter round the local trails) Santa Cruz Blur, 100 mm rear travel, front SID’s 100 mm ish travel.(SID’s have lockout incase of a sprint finish to the line)

Flat carbon bars slammed down on the headtube, no spacers. No ghey bar ends either. Stans ZTR tubeless, rest is XT. XTR is a waste of money for the weight saving and only for PRO’s or people sucked into the “lifestyle”.

This is what equipment i take on all rides, spare tube (with a square piece of tyre sidewall taped to it) This tube is taped to the underside of my 100 mm carbon stem (Bonti xxx no degree rise).

Under my Flite transalp titanium (height difference from saddle to stem, frickin major)is a small bag (size of a typical singletrack brain, large orange)containing 2 CO2 cartridges and valve adapter, cable ties,2 tyre levers and chain spliter)

In my jersey pocket, mobile phone and smack gel (for emergencies).

Dependant on duration of ride (always non stopping, warp factor 8,no dabbing on tech bits and downhill like Mammouth Mountain)

I take one bidon or two mounted on carbon cages, one in my rear jersey pocket if ride is expected to be longer than 4 hrs.

Well Phaaaack me aren’t you a phackin hero!

Oh, and Jase…

Good troll – probably the best one for a few months!

Ditch jockey: Jersey pockets? my tops don’t have pockets, as I don’t want to cycle about the countryside in gimpy lycra splattered with wannabe pro-biker logos. Taping stuff to the frame or saddlebags are for the for the sort of people who wear Paramo.

+1!