Carrying tools etc?

[Wyatt Earp]

Seeing you are from Natal I will chirp in with my feeble response.

They had a little ride from Nottingham road to Himeville this year.

I took with me on the bike:

 

1 Water bottle.

1 Spare tube, duct taped to my post.

 

On my person.

 

A tubeless repair kit.

A multi-tool.

A pump.

Some food.

 

All in my pockets.

 

What more does one need ?

[Clinton1]

Then don't get a Camelbak, there are plenty other options, but like I also said its something you will have for a while and can be used for other activites as well, a saddle bag will be just that, unless you plan to use it as a moonbag?

 

When researching Camelbaks I constantly had multi sport use in my head. Unfortunately as with everything as soon as you start looking for a jack of all trades you lose out on specifics in some areas. Packs ideal for running are often not ideal for riding.

 

Fully agree with your sentiment that there is hardly ever one solution that solves everything. I often think this is by design so the manufacturers can sell more! Unfortunately if you are trying to keep a reign on expenses you need to try and seek out that solution that best meets your needs and ensure you don't spend money on something you won't use. At the end of the day I am looking at the following:

 

A camelbak for around R1k that can deal with hydration and carrying tools (with some negatives in my opinion)

 

OR

 

Two water bottles at around R20 each and a saddle bag for around R300 which would fulfill the same needs.

 

I need to decide whether the pros of the camelbak are worth the almost R700 extra expenditure

[The Ghost]

Baggies, t-shirt and..... a camelbak! I have correctly stated that appearances are not the ultimate for me but there is no denying that would look a little silly

 

CamelBaks always look cool. They are cool just by their very nature.

[Caerus]

So perhaps the solution is a camelbak (for it's intended use of hydration) AND a saddle bag (for it's intended use of carrying things) is in fact the ideal solution....

 

I still reckon until I start pushing 4 hour rides the camelbak would spend a lot of time lying around not doing anything. That's probably my concern.

If I ride Giba, for a short ride(1-2 hours) I take nothing except a water bottle - NO TOOLS at all. You can get back to the trail centre within a 20min walk. Otherwise I ride with the "Camelbak" all the time, as for the beach I might ride with a patch & bomb thats it, spare tube is always taped under the seat. Get the thinner walled tubes.

 

Think of your whereabout and pack accordingly

[Grebel]

Wow, I do find it quite bizarre. When you throw back some challenges to solutions offered in an attempt to reach the ultimate solution you are immediately referred to as stubborn. It appears many on here think their solution should be immediately accepted without question.

 

Please list the negatives for a saddle bag if you would seeing as though you feel this is not a good solution to carrying tools.

 

 

I also think that their suggestions shouldn't necessarily be disgarded either for what ever reason. These suggestions are all tried and tested sulutions for the problems experienced by that individual.

 

I eagerly await your apology when ytou realise that you are just not getting it....

 

I'm not sure he's the one "that isn't getting it...." I was also surprised by your response. To me it seemed as though you didn't understand his statement. Must be an individual interpretation thing... (or you need to get off the beaten track to experience the real joy of mountain biking. It's not all about district roads, jeeptrack and perfectly manicured single track at your local bike park . But again, that is a personal perception of enjoyment...)

 

 

As I mentioned before, there isn't one single solution that will solve all your problems. You are going to have to compromise in some areas.

[The Ghost]

When researching Camelbaks I constantly had multi sport use in my head. Unfortunately as with everything as soon as you start looking for a jack of all trades you lose out on specifics in some areas. Packs ideal for running are often not ideal for riding.

 

The CamelBak Lobo was designed for cycling.

It rocks. Light, small and never in the way

[Clinton1]

Seeing you are from Natal I will chirp in with my feeble response.

They had a little ride from Nottingham road to Himeville this year.

I took with me on the bike:

 

1 Water bottle.

1 Spare tube, duct taped to my post.

 

On my person.

 

A tubeless repair kit.

A multi-tool.

A pump.

Some food.

 

All in my pockets.

 

What more does one need ?

 

That sounds about right although I'd obviusly be swopping the tubeless repair kit normal repair kit. I'd probably also have a second water battle as I psychologically hate the idea of running out of water.

 

Fully agree with the choices just a matter of how to carry it. I'm not a fan of having things poking into me in my back pockets. Perhaps I must give it a go and see how it feels. I also worry about damage to the expensive cycling shirt caused by tools etc. Suppose I'd need to buy a protective pouch for those then anyway so we are back to deciding on value

[rouxtjie]

Wow, I do find it quite bizarre. When you throw back some challenges to solutions offered in an attempt to reach the ultimate solution you are immediately referred to as stubborn. It appears many on here think their solution should be immediately accepted without question.

 

Please list the negatives for a saddle bag if you would seeing as though you feel this is not a good solution to carrying tools.

 

You see its not as simple as why is the saddle bag worse for carrying tools...here it goes. If you are using a saddle bag and not a camelbak you are carrying your water/juice around in bottles. Ride through poo and there is a good chance of it getting on your bottle...this is the same for mud and dirty water, this applies if you are doing a 10km ride or a 1000km ride...stront is stront. Over and above this, you can also start lekker warm on cold days and discard the kit into your camelbak as things get warmer, you cannot do this with the saddlebag. Also doing the ice thing in bottles doesn't work as lekker as a with a bladder, bit this is just the tjerrie on the top. Camelbak ftw

[Delilah]

MTB

Helmet (always!!!)

1 or 2 waterbottles, depending on distance and temperature (replace bottles with a CamelBak for races)

Multitool

Tubeless repair kit

Minipump

When riding very early or late, small lights to be visible to cars/bakkies/tractors/etc.

Snacks if needed. I hate gels.

 

EDIT: Don't like having bulging pockets, so will only carry small items like tissues and snacks on my person. The rest goes in the saddle bag, except the pump which has a bracket. It is faster for me to access tools carried in the saddle bag than have to take off, and rummage through, a CamelBak - that I use just in races and just for hydration and cellphone (in case things really go pear-shaped!).

Edited July 2, 2012 by Delilah

[The Ghost]

[Clinton1]

I have not discarded any ideas and have considered all presented. I ask questions, or indeed just question some of the advice given, so that I can get the person to argue their case and see if it stands up well. You tend to get far more usefulness out of a topic by countering what the person says rather than just agreeing with it.

 

We have ended up with two seperate discussions here, in my opinion. The one is hydration, which I fully agree is better suited to the camelbak when riding long distances but can be remedied far more cheaply with some bottles. The second, is carrying tools. Now unless I get a large camelbak it seems most still resort to attaching spare tubes, bombs etc to seatposts and the like, with the camelbak being used for extra clothing and the like (now this is not a factor for me at all as we have just gone through the middle of winter and I am yet to ride with anything more than shorts and a cycling shirt).

 

A negative to the saddle bag which no one has mentioned, probably because they do not use them, is the bag swaying from side to side while standing and pedalling. I know from the past that this can annoy me. It was for this reason I was considering the clip on ones but then I risk them breaking.

 

It really does seem you cannot find one item that fulfills all your needs

[scotty]

Here you go, no bike pouch, shirt pocket, water bottle type holder required.You can take whatever you want and ride long or short

[Delilah]

A negative to the saddle bag which no one has mentioned, probably because they do not use them, is the bag swaying from side to side while standing and pedalling. I know from the past that this can annoy me. It was for this reason I was considering the clip on ones but then I risk them breaking.

I have tried a number of different bags and all had their drawback - too wide chafes, too small, too large, swaying, drifting to one side, rattles (aaaarghhh!!!! would never be able to live with a clip-on!!!), etc. Found the perfect one, but of course it is not available in SA or on CRC: https://www.serfas.com/products/view/116/referer:products|index|bags-tools|page:2

 

This bag is the perfect size for MTB use, stays put and centered, things don't fall out when you open it, it is easy to open and opens wide, is not so wide that it chafes, does not rattle. I love it!

[Wyatt Earp]

Here you go, no bike pouch, shirt pocket, water bottle type holder required.You can take whatever you want and ride long or short

 

Cool, there is even place for a boom-box

['Dale]

Here you go, no bike pouch, shirt pocket, water bottle type holder required.You can take whatever you want and ride long or short

 

:lol:

[scotty]

Cool, there is even place for a boom-box

That's the idea. Unless you a top 10 contender, why not enjoy the ride