Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Too much crap

A spare tube, tire levers, CO2 inflater and 3 cartridges, patch kit, small segment of chain, crescent wrech, multi-tool, presta/schraeder adapter, lock, water, lights if I expect to be out late, wallet, keys, phone, a little something to eat, anchor, condoms (to keep my fingers dry when it rains since I have fingerless gloves) On occasion I also have a camera and a small tripod or some books or a clean shirt for my destination. The problem is that all this crap weighs a lot. I can appreciate that some people go out with a phone and nothing more. But I want to and do use my bike in a more utilitarian fashion and actually use it as something other than a toy. I feel that most of this stuff is necessary because if I have a mechanical or a flat on the road I have to fix it or walk. The majority of the time I can't or won't call someone to pick my ass up. It just weighs so damn much. So do the rest of you carry this much? Got any suggestions to lighten the load from more experienced city riders?

Sincerely,
Heavy In Cincinnati mmmKay?
(HICK)

doesn't sound *that* heavy...

you could try a saddlebag [i've heard Carradice mentioned for large saddlebags before]

alternatively... ditch most of the stuff and get a bus/taxi home if anything goes badly wrong...

fsnl
sparky

put it all in the condoms and swallow it. you wont feel the weight anymore!

If you dont care about looks I would consider getting a rack with a basket.
I used that setup for years. the basket was fixed to the rack with cable-ties
and it never came loose even with heavy loads. Its really flexible because
you can put almost any type of bag or rucksack in it. oh and its
cool to overtake people with your "girlie shopping bike" :)

Weight is an issue.
I find in the winter I am loaded with the weight of extra clothing along with various other items. Even today, I am heading out on a 70F day with a messenger bag full of stuff by choice. Sure I have a cage again, but I'd rather ride. After my move I'll be back riding even more than before. But, weight is an issue. I try to incorporate some of it into the bike itself, like those little saddle bags under the saddle, holds the tire irons, a CO2 inflater, extra cartridge, fresh tube. I can also stuff a couple bills or a credit card in there, when I want to go light. I leave it on the bike, so it is always there, and it's part of the bike. I then have the panniers to fill with junk, and depending on the day I fill them full or not at all. One of the big things I've found, was the hydration stop I would do, getting a couple bottles of water for work. I also find I like to ride with one pannier, well when it's loaded it tends to pull to that side of the bike.
One of the reasons I do like summer riding, is the freedom of riding without a bunch of stuff. As it gets cooler I start looking at the temps, and what I might need to stay warm. It's just part of the lifestyle. (Isn't there a line from a movie, I think the Godfather, "This is the life we choose?") Sure there are pluses and minuses. I have thought of getting away from the bike, but I miss the riding and the health of it, so I put up with the the inconveniences that come with this lifestyle.

A rack & basket is really nice. Keeps your back from hurting & getting so sweaty, too. Only problem I've had is jokers stealing my bungee cords.

Holy Crap... you need to prioritize and take only what you ABSOLUTELY need.... but I like sohi's suggestion.

I have:

Tire levers
Wrench
Bike multi-tool
1 Tube
Patch kit

I stuff it all in a mini-wedge pack.

I carry my ID and some cash with me in my jersey pocket. I have a frame pump on my bike frame.

you won't need the condoms. if a girl ever saw you with so much baggage, she might think you have issues. ;)

Good point.

Cellular phones are used to communicate with Satan, take a hammer and dispose of that noted item. There combination tools you can get.

Buy a smaller bag. I used to be the same way. If i could fit it, i took it with me. Now i still take what i can fit. But i can fit alot less.

Combination tools are already on the list. I carry everything with me. It weighs more, but I'm ready for anything. It also makes it easier when I need to work on my bike at my home, since I know everything is in my bag already.

Current List :

2 spare tubes, patch kit, pump, multi-tool, 15mm wrench, 15mm socket wrench, cresent wrench, mini-pump, lock-ring tool, alan wrench (forget size, fits my seat)...

I could easily put more in there, but if I have to do more to my bike than is required w/ these tools, I'll probably have to be ordering parts off the net before I can do anything...

I actually can go bag free as of about 2 weeks ago. I strapped my pump to the downtube, got a under the saddle bag with tubes, levers, alien tool and a patch kit. And got my lock mounted to the frame. That combined with what I keep in my pockets and I am fine. I have noticed a BIG difference in my commute every morning, as well as a lessened back pain. I don't even know why I was carrying so much $hit anyway.

Phil

I have a similar set-up in my Chrome - but for meeting up with friends and just riding around the city I drop to almost nothing. I have a mini u-lock which goes in the back pocket, wallet in the other pocket, $2 in dollar bills in front pocket for emergency flats thus I'll need the money to hop a train or bus (Hurrah for Chicago transit's allowance of bikes on buses and trains) and that's it. There's usually a bike shop within some kind of walking distance if I'm just out and about so there's an alternative.

Another alternative is a seat wedge, slap the CO2 inflator with one preloaded catridge, a tube or patch kit and maybe a set of allen keys. Pretty simple.

Ok, so wait, I think I see some repetition here.

"2 spare tubes, patch kit, pump, multi-tool, 15mm wrench, 15mm socket wrench, cresent wrench, mini-pump, lock-ring tool, alan wrench (forget size, fits my seat)..."

2 tubes is good, but I carry one (unless I forsee crappy roads) and a set of the Park wonder patches - they work great and are tiny.

You also list a pump and a mini pump. Hmm, just keep the mini or get a CO2 and a couple cartridges.

Then with the whole 15mm wrench thing. Are you using this for your hub cones? Another wrench for your axle nuts? And then a crescent for what? I carry a peanut butter wrench with me at all times; fits my locknuts and thats all I worry about. I can't think what you would need a crescent for, to adjust a headset you would need an awful large one. My suggestion - keep your 15mm cone wrench, wrap tube around the other end for padding, and carry that.

Then, a lockring tool? I haven't ever had a problem with mine, but I check them meticulously. The only time I have ever carried a lock ring wrench was at a skidding contest - I brought a chain whip also for that event.

So it seems to me that you have a lot of stuff, but if you honestly use it all, then by all means carry it.

I only ever have mechanicals when I don't remember to bring my tools. Go figure.

i carry:

1 set of metric allens
1 set of american allens (the only one i need is the 5/16, but why not have the whole set?)
1 park pedal/headset wrench
1 adjustable wrench
1 15mm crescent/box end wrench
1 10mm crescent/box end wrench
3 metal tire levers, 2 plastic "michelin" levers
1 spoke wrench
1 chain tool and spare links to a chain i don't use anymore, but in a pinch, it'll work.
1 screwdriver
1 water bottle
1 presta/schraeder valve adapter
1 pump
3 spare tubes, one used to be a 650c, but now they're all 700s, i'll have to look into what happened to the 650 tube...
1 bottle 50SPF sunscreen
1 map of the SF bay area (not a very good one, but it gets the job done)
1 cateye opticube 3led headlight
my workshirt
a sweatshirt
sunglasses
the remnants of a rotten, mushed banana smeared on the inside of the large pocket.
when it starts getting chillier around here, and the chance of rain increases, i'll pack my rain jacket, and probably just wear the sweatshirt.

i keep my tools in a small, zippered pocket on the very front of my bag. the sunscreen, map, glasses, and light go in a velcro pocket just under the zippered pocket. the tubes go in a zippered flap pocket on the inside of the main bag. everything else goes into the regular bag. if i end up riding my roadie to work, i usually put a pair of comfy shoes in the bag too.

i put my U-lock in my back pocket.

when i go on long, recreational rides i don't bring the work shirt. everything else comes with me. i would try to pair stuff down, but i honestly don't mind carrying all the tools, and everything else is more or less necessary. i need to pick up one of those small glueless patch kits from work though...if we have them in stock. here's a pic of everything.

EDIT: wow...that picture SUUUCKS! i also wanted to say that i should really start carrying 26x2.125 presta tubes...or get the patch kit.

Sounds like some of you guys are carrying the whole Snap-on Truck w/you. I keep it simple. Tire levers, patch kit OR tube (depening on the bike), 50 cents for air at the nearest gas station, keep my presta adaptor on the wheel so I know where to find it, small Leaterman tool, lights stay on the bike, water, wallet, phone, keys and lock. If things get bad huff it home. Keep your ride tuned up and you shouldn't have to carry all those tools!

I stopped reading after the condoms on your fingers. Jesus dude get a friggin clue.

Sounds like some of you guys are carrying the whole Snap-on Truck w/you. I keep it simple. Tire levers, patch kit OR tube (depening on the bike), 50 cents for air at the nearest gas station, keep my presta adaptor on the wheel so I know where to find it, small Leaterman tool, lights stay on the bike, water, wallet, phone, keys and lock. If things get bad huff it home. Keep your ride tuned up and you shouldn't have to carry all those tools!

keeping the lights and presta adaptor on the bike isn't really an option when you have more than one bike. i keep all my bikes tuned, but sometimes i ride with people who don't, and accidents and things happen, chains break, adjustments need to be made mid-ride occasionally. once, my seat was a shade too high and too far back on a 70mile ride, but it was perfect for the shorter rides that i had been doing prior to that. if i hadn't had my allens, i would've been out of luck and my back and my knees would've suffered. with all the bikes i have, it's easier to just keep all the essential tools for each bike in my bag all the time, that way, i dont' have to futz around for 10 minutes before every ride trying to figure out what i might need. some of the neighborhoods i ride through are kinda rough, so walking isn't really an option if i want to make it home with my bike. i've never carried condoms for my fingers though, that's just a little ridiculous...

a BMX friend of mine carries pretty much every tool in a little fanny pack. he has like, two socket wrenches, with extenders, 15, 17, 18, 19mm sockets, crank arm puller, cone wrenches, chain tools for 1/8" and 3/16" chains, spare bearings, spare links for just about every chain, spare brake cables, spare tubes, spare brake parts, spare nuts...i thought it was a bit excessive at times, but in the time i rode with him, he used every tool in his kit at least once while we were on our rides. **** breaks. and it sucks if you're 10-20 miles from home with no phone and you can't fix it.

Ok, so wait, I think I see some repetition here.
Yeah, there is some...


"2 spare tubes, patch kit, pump, multi-tool, 15mm wrench, 15mm socket wrench, cresent wrench, mini-pump, lock-ring tool, alan wrench (forget size, fits my seat)..."

2 tubes is good, but I carry one (unless I forsee crappy roads) and a set of the Park wonder patches - they work great and are tiny.

I always forsee crappy roads, and carry the glueless Park patches as well... I buy the tubes in threes - one is already gone. I've been stuck w/o a tube too many times to count, or woke up and realized that I had a slow flat and no tube on my way to work. I carry lots of tubes. Whatever.


You also list a pump and a mini pump. Hmm, just keep the mini or get a CO2 and a couple cartridges.
Sorry, drunken mistake... The floor pump stays at home, the hand pump travels with me.



Then with the whole 15mm wrench thing. Are you using this for your hub cones? Another wrench for your axle nuts? And then a crescent for what? I carry a peanut butter wrench with me at all times; fits my locknuts and thats all I worry about. I can't think what you would need a crescent for, to adjust a headset you would need an awful large one. My suggestion - keep your 15mm cone wrench, wrap tube around the other end for padding, and carry that.

I like to hold one of my lock-nuts in place while I unsrew the other. That's why the 15mm wrench and the 15mm socket. The crescent wrench is for anything that I can't fit (actually comes in more handy at work - Xerox likes to use 1/2 mm sizes on their nuts) - it also might come in handy someday if I see a cute girl stopped by the side of the road and nothing I have fits the offending part... I actually still need to buy a set of cone wrenches...


Then, a lockring tool? I haven't ever had a problem with mine, but I check them meticulously. The only time I have ever carried a lock ring wrench was at a skidding contest - I brought a chain whip also for that event.
This is the lockring tool I have :
http://www.hozan.co.jp/cycle_e/cycle_catalog_e/bb_pedal/img/C-205.jpg
It is very sweet. It is the best lockring tool I've ever used. The main reason I keep it with me is, well it's pretty. It's sublime. It's the best tool I have....


So it seems to me that you have a lot of stuff, but if you honestly use it all, then by all means carry it.

I only ever have mechanicals when I don't remember to bring my tools. Go figure.
You just pretty much summed it up there - I don't always use these tools. They aren't something I need every day. It's the days that I need them and don't have them with me that are a problem. I don't mind the extra weight....

I'm in the middle of a pretty good book about a couple of guys that took their road bikes 3300 miles, from Bangladesh, thru India, Nepal, Tibet to the middle of China, completely unsupported, in two months. This is what they packed for tools, in addition to a frame pump, six spokes, a spare washer for the pump, patches and an extra tube and tire. It kinda put in perspective for me what I really need to carry on a bike.

http://www.koopmann.lightup.net/crane/picture_29.jpg

For the people who don't realise it...I was joking when I said I carried condoms and an anchor.

For the people who don't realise it...I was joking when I said I carried condoms and an anchor.

I thought you were serious about the condoms, overlooked the anchor. I personally have a permanent anchor attached to me in the form of a spare tire around my waist.

When I go out, I usually have a light on the bike, and then I clip my lock to my belt if I'm going to leave my bike somewhere. I have a cell phone, but that's only because I don't have a land line. By the way, I live in a pretty small town, and I'm sure I could find someone to pick me up or just walk home.

For the people who don't realise it...I was joking when I said I carried condoms and an anchor.

Sure you were.... :roflmao:

Seeing as I just walked two miles, carrying my bike up and down a very hilly mountain bike trail, perhaps I should carry more than a hydration pack and my car keys:)

as i've become more experienced, i've learned to carry the things i wish i had but didn't when i was in a bind. i'm commuting in a city, so there's always a bus or the light rail to get me home, so i guess i'm not prepared for everything. but these are my "essentials" that never leave my bag:

pump
spare tube
2 wrenches (i've change the bolts on my bike that didn't fit one of these two sizes)
light
corkscrew (you never know)
lock & keys
light rain jacket (usually)

everything else is either being worn or in my pockets; my bag with these things, a book or two, maybe some cd's, my lunch, and whatever random personal effects i feel i need that day usually weighs about 8-10 pounds. my commute is pretty short (just under 5 miles) but this weight hasn't ever really bothered me. so there's my input.

ditch it all

oh man, I carry a tube, tire lever, and a small frame pump in my bag. My Ulock goes into the back of my pants... and thats it. I never thought to carry anything else.... then again I live in the city, so if anything REALLY bad happens on my commute, I can just lock up my bike, and hail a cab.

I posted about this particular subject recently. I always carry 2 tubes with me now due to a recent mishap with a tube after a flat on my way to work. If not both for you then one for you and one for some helpless attractive female with a flat. Who knows it may happen some day. Here is my list of crap:

2 tubes
tire levers
pump
15/14 mm combo wrench
chain tool (small enough to carry so why not?)

This all the stuff I cary and I'm in new york. Save the space for cargo (like sheet music from the library or film cans).

notebook/ems holder thing double as a pad
lock
rode morph pump
phone
wallet
keys
petzl tikka
spare tube*
patch kit*
allen keys*
crescent wrench*
swiss army knife
tire levers*
bike clips*
and all the stuff with the * fits in a very small bag

1 steel tire lever (no room for broken levers when you only have one).
1 patch tube kit
1 master link
1 6mm hex wrench for adjusting bar height per whims (ahhh; gotta love threaded).
1 minipump.
1 20 $ bill in the handlebar when the above 5 items just cant get the job done.

If i'm gonna venture more than 40 or 50 miles from my door, i'll carry a spare tube or two, and some ID.

Nothing else; ever.

You know your packin too much when you bring CAR keys on a BIKE ride.

If it wants to go-for-ride, it needs to fit in here.

dobber - those glue-less actually work?

what's with the spare socks?

I won't use anything but the glue-less. Or BET in a pinch. Never got the hang of the rubber ones. Plus the glueless are skinnier, so you don't get that annoying 'bump' every time the wheel goes around.

My 2c

dobber - those glue-less actually work?

what's with the spare socks?

The glueless patches work pretty well (so far, knock - knock). The key is preparation. Clean, clean, clean. Wipe the area with alcohol. Your fingers to. Use the edge of a knife to peel and place the patch.

I've got about a 1000 miles on a patched tube, cause I'm to lazy to change it.

The sock holds the spare tube (nothing sucks more than finding a hole in the spare). And doubles as a nice rag when needed.

I use the smallest bag i could fine and have a tube,pump,co2,patch kit,multi tool,spoke wrench,levers,presta adapt.MKRG,your wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over doing it.

If it wants to go-for-ride, it needs to fit in here.

that's a great set-up dobber. i've never thought of putting everything in a converted water bottle before. a good idea.

use the smallest bag i could fine and have a tube,pump,co2,patch kit,multi tool,spoke wrench,levers,presta adapt.MKRG,your wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over doing it.

But what do you do if it's night and you're going to the bar/grocery/restaraunt and you don't want to get run over or get your bike stolen? Eh? Can you hear me now? :)

I guess you drive your car? Sheesh, aren't we striving for simplicity here? Besides, you aren't going to fit much for groceries or beer in your bag with all that junk.


But what do you do if it's night and you're going to the bar/grocery/restaraunt and you don't want to get run over or get your bike stolen? Eh? Can you hear me now? :)

But what do you do if it's night and you're going to the bar/grocery/restaraunt and you don't want to get run over or get your bike stolen? Eh? Can you hear me now? :)

I dont ride at night and i dont stop on my bike so i dont need a lock. I dont do bars and go out to eat in a car. Now,can you hear me? Didnt you ask about having to carry to much crap?

"I dont do bars and go out to eat in a car. "

why dont you just go out to eat in a restaraunt?

If it wants to go-for-ride, it needs to fit in here.


Did that bottle come like that, or did you have to split it and add the middle coupling?

who's got some creative ways of carrying a u-lock? i had mine mounted on the frame for a while but it rattled too dang much, and a longer one won't fit in your back pocket (not mine anyway).

"who's got some creative ways of carrying a u-lock"

not exactly creative, but the back pocket works well.

...of course, if your lock is so big it doesnt fit in your backpack....

Did that bottle come like that, or did you have to split it and add the middle coupling?

http://www.ransbikes.com/ITRBags.htm

well i've got a long one (heh) so it feels like it's about to tip out of the pocket back there.... did somebody mention clipping it onto your belt? that makes sense too...

shhh.. can you hear that?

its the sound of a baby carradice pendle being born... so cute, cuddy, functional, and waterproof. all he wants is to carry around your bike junk, well balanced beneath your brooks saddle.

snuggles !

carry your stuff with style

I can see we all ride different so we all carry different stuff,different ways. I dont ride to go somewhere,just to stay in shape and a little fun. No camping,stopping,locking,eating,hanging around. I go,turn around and come home.

Did that bottle come like that, or did you have to split it and add the middle coupling?

Just chopped in half with a box cutter. Coupling is one used for joining waste line plumbing.