Originally Posted by chaadster

That's a funny attitude to me. A bike without a saddle pack does not look right to me. It looks unused, just like the way they sit on the floor in the bike shop before they're taken and ridden. Virgin, is how they look, and by extension, the rider!

It's hard for me to consider a bike without a seat pack (or bottle cages) as belonging to someone who knows what they're doing (unless it's a race bike, which is understood by context). But out on the road, if you don't have anything but a cell phone, well, that just doesn't get any love from me.

It's more to do with tradition and custom than anything, and although my road kit has trimmed down over the decades as bikes have gotten better, I still think a 'real' cyclist is prepared to finish their ride, and to provide aid to other cyclists. Sure, maybe that's kind of old-timey, but that's what cycling culture is about to me: perseverance and camaraderie.

Standing on the side of the road, calling on the phone for help because one has no provisions for eventualities, is what's lame in my opinion, and it's why a seat pack is part of a 'complete picture' for me.