I've been riding/racing for 20 years. I ride 7000+ miles annually without a saddle bag. I can always fit anything I need in my jersey pockets. In my area (NY area) most racers eschew saddle bags. I never cared for them, mainly because I just like a seat free of anything hanging off it.

I personally think saddle bags look idiotic, but who the hell cares what I think or what anybody else thinks for that matter? Everybody does their own thing and that's fine with me. I have discovered that riding behind a guy with a saddle bag seems to be the thing NOT to do on a ballistic group ride where you don't want to get dropped because the guy in front of you allows a gap to open. Not universal of course (there are some pretty fast guys with saddle bags) but a reasonable rule of thumb. In my considerable experience.

And nothing is absolute. I'm sure if I wound up on a ride with Lance, he'd have a saddle bag : ).