Why do mountain bikers carry backpacks?

Atlaz – I suggest you go back and actually read what I said. Read what crikey says on the other thread about why you don’t need 3 l of water. Read what biker bruce above says about why you don’t need a rucksac full of tools and spares.

You came in first with the name calling and insults. 😯

Upside: Access to more fluid, storage space for tools, spares, clothes, first aid kit, airbag for spine, all contained in one place regardless of which bike I’m on. Nothing to remove from bike when lifting onto carrier.

Downside: Sweaty back, more weight on arse than if unladen.

each to their own.

Jeez – this thread was supposed to be a troll – don’t take it all so seriously

Pure fashion. Its a part of the “uniform”

I very rarely carry one. You don’t need 3 l of water, you don’t need a rucksac full of stuff.

A bottle ( or two if its hot), spare tube, pump, patches, multitool all go on the bike. Its much nicer to ride without a rucsac

I think it’s quite clear what you meant. You’re stating that people who wear backpacks are wearing them for fashion purposes only. Not because they’re more practical for them but because it is “pure fashion”. I may well be a prick but I don’t go with sanctimonious. On the other hand, you trot out the latest in a long line of dogmatic statements and then want to make out you were being reasonable all along. Anyway, you don’t like backpacks; we get that.

Personally i just dont like the taste of mud and sheep shit (along with the potential diseases) that i used to get when drinking from a bottle on muddy rides !!!!

Bottles are so lame! I always ride with ‘my freeride pack,which holds a shovel for building backcountry booters, a chainsaw for northshore, food for my trail dog, a gps, a go pro, a canon 750d, a bike stand, a mobi pressure washer, 6 ltrs of protein shake, and a bannana

TurnerGuy – Member
“One of my biggest reasons I have to take the backpack when sometimes I may not need to is the dog”
And of course plastic bags for scooping poop…

yup, always have a roll of poop bags in the camelbak so I don’t forget them. Also need to carry a small tub to put the poop filled bag in. Tried hanging it off the saddle rails before now – not pretty after bumping around.

as a regular crasher Mine acts as a landing mat 😳

NickyB is going downhill – Member
Bottles are so lame! I always ride with ‘my freeride pack,which holds a shovel for building backcountry booters, a chainsaw for northshore, food for my trail dog, a gps, a go pro, a canon 750d, a bike stand, a mobi pressure washer, 6 ltrs of protein shake, and a bannana

😆

i use one on my commute, gotta keep my sarnies safe

Picutre courtesy of onion… Can you name the bloke with the red jacket 😈

On an MTB ride I’ll use my Camelbak, can’t remember what type it is, but it comes from the hillwalking range and has about a 20 litre luggage capacity. It usually has an outer layer in it, tools, two tubes (I’m a lardy bugger), some food, camera, spare buffs, gloves if cold, basic first aid pack, polythene survival bag. Mobile phone in there somewhere too.

It usually stays packed between rides so that it is harder to forget things.

Darkside I use jersey pockets, but always find the more in the pockets, the more painful my lower back will be on longer rides, however it is always easier to forget things this way, plus items such as mobiles are more exposed to rain/damage etc. Saddle pack carries tools & such like.

This:

[/url]
Aftermath of 5 Mile Pass 2009[/url] by Pop_martian[/url], on Flickr

And this:

8)

“Why do mountain bikers carry back packs?”

Because we’ve made a choice and expressed the preference to do so 🙂

I’ve no bottle cage mounts on my frame – so I’ve no choice either.

As for the comments about “uniform” – lol. People tend to follow good ideas…. TJ – I do worry that you seem to hate almost every other mountain biker out there.

I very rarely carry one. You don’t need 3 l of water, you don’t need a rucksac full of stuff.

Depends on the weather: you do need 3l of water in summer here, you don’t in winter. I did 3hrs on the road bike yesterday with just the one bottle of water, probably could have done with a bit more but survived just fine.

Most of the stuff you carry in a rucksac you’d end up having to carry elsewhere, personally I find the rucksac far more convenient.

I take hardly anything… 😆
[/url]
Camelbak Kit[/url] by MilkieKula[/url], on Flickr

dear o dear, if i want to carry more water than is scientifically proven to be needed and a few bits of kit in my pack then i don’t care what anyone thinks, it’s what works for me.

I fill my bladder up, grab the pack off the hook in the shed and off i go, simple and easy.

haha…brilliant.

The weekly “You’ve made a different choice to me therefore are wrong thread”.

If anyone’s interested, I wear/carry whatever the hell I like.

A nice simple, small, light weight camelback with 2L of juice…

Pump
Tube
Multi-tool
Tyre repair boot
Patches
Couple of energy bars
Cash
Lightweight windproof

Thats it, grab the pack, fill up, ride out…

Like most people I have tried various options, saddle bags etc, but it just makes life easy to have it all in one bag…

Tried bottles too, be they just get covered in crap.

Horses for courses….

This is mine; there is usually 3l of water, a packet of nuts and some sweets in there too.

[/url]
CamelBak Contents[/url] by Flamejob[/url], on Flickr

Can I also add, that I dont want kit in my jersey pockets stabbing me in the kidneys when I have an off, therefore I use a camelbak.
I’ve used:-
saddle bags – things fall out
Bottle cages – bottles fall out
bum bags – good, but cut into your waist
jacket / jersey pockets – either falls out or digs into your back
Panniers – wouldn’t fit too well on my FSR and would just weight the bike down.
Camelbak – rides up a bit on steep techie stuff and can get a bit sweaty in summer, but its the best solution for ME.

Claire with the pics of riding stuff like that made me chuckle. I rode 37 miles in Nidderdale on Saturday and didnt take a rucksack full of stuff.

It baffles me why people have so much stuff, but, each to their own. As long as their enjoying themselves.

Flamejob – Three spare mech hangers? 😯

The need of a shock pump baffles me 😆

I bet 98% of people finish their rides and empty most of that 3l of water from their packs.

Come on, if you need 3l you havent hydrated correctly before hand.

I initially moved to a hydration pack because my mates would never take water and would ask for some of mine when we stopped, making me their pachyderm. So when I changed, they were left with the option of a sip from my spittle covered bite valve, go thirsty or put the effort of carrying some water in.

But since I’ve found it very preferable, it’s easier to drink small ammounts regularly and have all the little bits & bobs I might need stashed.

I had a fall and landed on my mule type rucksack which effectively caused an osteopath type manipulation on my back, cracking me around the rucksack, and left me with a nasty kink in my spine which took a few more cracks from an actual osteopath to free up.

But it is useful for carrying emergency tools/tube and I use mine to transfer fluid between my bladders 🙂

I bet 98% of people finish their rides and empty most of that 3l of water from their packs.

I leave it there for next time. And just because it holds 3 litres doesn’t mean you have to put 3 litres in it.

Why would I want to increase the unsprung or partially sprung weight on my bike when it can be avoided?

I always look at people with saddle-bags and stuff stuck all over their frames and assume they’re German. Dunno why. Maybe its the hideous 1980’s style lycra they generally tend to be sporting?

I’m never usually properly hydrated when I go on a ride as I live a normal life and don’t measure my fluid intake throughout the day.

Plus that and I’m usually hungover on a Saturday/Sunday and water helps me feel better. 😉

I’ve always used a bag as I like to keep stuff in it. It keeps my back warm, I can put a warm jumper/coat in there and if I decide to pop to the shops on the way home I can put my shopping in there.

Thus I am better than you all.

Weight on the bike : passive weight
Weight carried by you : active weight
simples………

I dont like hydration packs.. dirty icky rubbery tasting ick..

am I wierd for carrying waterbottles in a backpack?

I don’t like carrying stuff on the bike for alot of the riding that I do..

will I have to give up riding..?

yunki, if it tastes funny you’re doing it wrong.

Scienceofficer:

Flamejob – Three spare mech hangers?

I’ll field this one 😉 I carry 3 mech hangers because each of my bikes uses a different one due to standards, and I’d feel a right knob if I broke one and checked my bag and only had the hanger for one of the other ones. And it’s kind of inevitable that if I only carried one or even two (especially 2!) this is exactly what’d happen because lady luck is a right bastard.

In the shed I have 3 hooks:
1 – short ride, bum bag with pump, 3 tyre levers and 1 inner tube. Bottle will go on the bike / in the bum bag.

2 – medium ride / race – backpack with 1.5ltr bladder, pump, toolkit and 2 inner tubes.

3 – long ride – camelback mule, waterproof, toolkit, 2 inner tubes, spare brake pads, tyre repair, puncture repair, food, shockpump

All loaded and ready to go to reduce my faff time to a minimum.
I tried tubeless and didn’t like it, I’m a sweaty bar-steward so need lots of fluid.

Because their handbags keep slipping off their shoulder?

Usually I carry 6 house bricks and some lead flashing.
Tackleberry ain’t got nuffink on me.

Pure fashion. Its a part of the “uniform”

Well, I’ve heard some right old drivel on STW in my time, but that’s in the top 5!

For me, the Camelbak is one of the best inventions in MTBing, on par with lock on grips, disc brakes and suspension.
I remember carring tubes and spares in a (rattly) seatpack, pump on the bike and a waterbottle, and it was a right PAIN IN THE ARSE!
With a Camelbak I can drink easily when I like without taking my eyes off the trail, I don’t loose my bottle on the first rocky descent, if I fall off I don’t fall on pockets full of metal things, I can take a nice lunch out with me rather than sachets of chemical muck, I can strap my camera to the front and have it ready to use in 3 seconds flat and if it looks like rain, I can carry a jacket, I can pick up whichever bike I like and not have to transfer all my kit over etc etc….

If you don’t want to carry a pack, fine. Don’t. Sometimes I go for a short blast with a tube and a gas cartridge in my pocket and a bottle on my bike and it’s great, but to call it ‘fashion’ is, well, utter BS. Sorry, but it is.

And so what if it is fashion? What would be wrong with that anyway?

I give up……… 🙁

Is the answer the same as “why do roadies shave their legs?”, ie because they do?

i used a saddlebag at the weekend. the zip got muddy and wouldn’t open or close. each time i used it i had to spray it with energy drink from my bottle to open it! ridiculous thing!

yunki, if it tastes funny you’re doing it wrong.

that’s exactly what this guy used to say to me…

PeterPoddy – Member

Sometimes I go for a short blast with a tube and a gas cartridge in my pocket and a bottle on my bike and it’s great, but to call it ‘fashion’ is, well, utter BS.

It’s not just fashion… But I reckon TJ’s part right, for some people it’s part of the uniform. I’ve been riding a lot with a younger kid recently and the list of things he needs to go riding is ridiculous… And it’s because everyone else he rides with has these things. He’s never tried using bottles and seatpacks etc because to him it’s just not what mountain bikers do. Bet you money he’s not the only one.

So yeah, sometimes it’s fashion. Maybe I’d have been the same, I remember needing a flexstem 😳

The whole backpack wearing thing has come about through neccesity, and then becomes almost a “culture” As already stated on here, MTB’ing takes you to slightly rougher places than a road bike so you may need more spares.
Hell I knew of old roadie guys who beleived that you could do 100 miles with no water or food, those guys would just go and ride, with a spare tube and tyre levers stuffed in an upside down bottle with the top cut off. When I worked in a bike shop that supported this macho road riding culture, it wasn’t unusual to have to take the shop van out and scoop up these riders as they had bonked massively and were dribbling like babies at the side of the road. We used to joke that we heard the bang at the shop when they blew.
I feel, probably like most, that I’d like to be able to return from a ride if I had a mechanical or was even injured. I’ve been on a group road ride where my front wheel was knackered by somebody elses pedal. I spent 2 hrs walking back as I had no spoke tools with me. Never again I thought. Hence the backpack.