How to carry your kit

[phil-b]

There is a lot of lists for beginners of what to take with you on a ride. Water, clothing tools and tubes ect.
But how do you carry it all. A camelbak seems to be a popular choice. But I do not like wearing backpacks when riding if I can help it. I just feel they make my back sweat to much and I get too hot and uncomfortable.

What are the best ways to carry the kit on the bike or is a backpack really the best option. Is a backpack something I will just get used too over time

 

[vickster]

Rack and topeak trunk bag with fold out panniers . I won't use a backpack if going more than about a mile to town or the shops on one of the bikes that doesn't have a rack

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi
Seat pack or saddle bag, bar bag, frame triangle bag, tool bottle.
There are loads of options in loads of sizes!

 

[phil-b]

I forgot to say I have a mountain bike so it has no rack or even the points to mount one

 

[vickster]

There are a number of solutions that go on a seat post, looks like you have loads of that showing

Water is easy to carry, just stick it in a bottle

Can you not get racks that go on MTBs and mount with p clips?

 

[cyberknight]

Are you carrying stuff for commuting or leisure rides?
For commuting you could either look at a backpack or a seatpost rack.

For leisure rides you could get a saddle bag or triangular bag that fits into the main frame , you can also get little bags that strap to the top tube .

For commuting i use a pannier rack + bags, on leisure rides i use a saddle bag to carry a couple of spare tubes, multi tool, instant patches, c02 inflator with a mini pump attached to the bottle rack .2 bottle racks , 1 with a water bottle , 1 with a water bottle with the top cut off so i can bung a windproof jacket in it or anything i take off like armarmers etc .
Jersey with 3 pockets on the back which i would have the phone in the middle with a £5 note , i can bung the gilet etc in the same pocket , left and right pocket
have a piece of kitchen towel each for sniffles etc along with food /nibble of choice .
The above for me is enough for a club run 40-60 miles if you include a coffee /cake stop where i can top my bottle up if needed .
Summer time i would exchange the 2nd open topped bottle for 2 full bottles.

Assuming your riding the bike in the piccie you could get a camelback in a bag and store stuff in that , i think you can ones that have a gap to hold it off your back (?) as i found normal backpacks give a very sweaty back .
.

 

[Gez73]

I use a Rack and bag and have managed to squeeze a saddlebag between bag and seatpost. There are some quite sustantial post mounted options too. As long as your seatpost is not carbon, you should be fine, Gez

 

[Jody]

Depends where we are going and for how long. Any decent ride away from civilisation and i pack all my stuff up in a camlebak. 3ltrs of fluid and spares, tool, money etc. Never really had any issues with one and the sweaty back is just something to cope with for not having to wipe crap off a bottle to take a drink. For shorter local loops then I just take 1 tube (sometimes), a multi tool in my pocket and a 750ml bottle on the frame. It's enough water for 20 ish miles and a couple of hours.

 

[ScotiaLass]

On the hybrid I have a rack bag and Altura panniers - if I'm cycling for leisure the rack bag is enough to carry drinks, snacks and tools - if shopping, the panniers are required.
On the MTB I'm usually on trails and depending if local or further afield, dictates the backpack I take.
I use a good pack with wide padded straps as it's more comfortable as I have arthritis in the neck/spine (profile pic shows the orange straps of my larger backpack).
I've got used to it over the past couple of years and don't even notice wearing them now.

 

[DRM]

On both my mtb & road bikes I have a wedge saddle bag with spare tubes, tools, puncture repair kit & spare batteries, if I go any distance on the mtb I use an ex mod camelbak as I don't want filth from the front wheel all over my water bottles, on the roadie I use water bottles.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Also

Carradice SQR system for click on and off ability.

Carradice generally for quality bags that fit to saddle loops.

 

[Sharky]

As long as you have a Plan B, travel as light as you can. My back up is a mobile and knowing there is always somebody at home who would drive out and pick me up. In 50+ years, I think I've used plan b just 4 times.

 

[MartinQ]

Are you on / off road on your mountain bike? If you're off road, a rucksack with water is generally preferable to frame mounted water bottles so they don't get covered in crud. Other than that,you should be able to shove all relevant kit into a seat mounted pack (many sizes / designs) or if this is going to get covered in crud (off road), stuff it in the rucksack.

 

[Dave 123]

https://www.alpkit.com/bike-luggage

 

[mjr]

I'm using an 13 litre Alpkit Airlok Xtra as a rack top bag again. It sometimes gets strapped to the front of the handlebar if something else is on the rack. There's a tapered version for saddle mounting but it will wear through if you don't put it in a Koala or put some sacrificial tape on it where it rubs on the seat post and saddle.