Basic Essentials To Carry
 

I finally bought my new bike on Sunday, 2008 CAAD9 5, (pictures to follow). I am looking for advice on the basic essentials that need to be with you on a ride. This could be anywhere from 5 miles to eventually 100 miles (I Hope).

Thanks,
Mike O.

Try a search for "seatbag". There are a bunch of threads that people list what they carry and why.

Pump or CO2
Tube and/or patches with a tire iron
Phone
I.D.
House Key
Water
Food if it's a long ride

That's the bare essentials for me.

multitool, tube, patchkit, pump, water, food, money, phone.

my usual carry is: 1 tube, 1 quick patch kit. 1 CO2 inflator w/ 2 cartridges. basic folding tool (allen keys, and a couple screwdriver heads), and tire levers. If I'm on a bike that's recently been overhauled I carry a few extra tools with me for fine adjustments of derailleurs and such. If I'm solo for a longer ride I may take a second tube.

phone, keys, ccard, ID, insurance card, a little cash go in my jersey pockets. If I get thrown from the bike, especially solo, I want to be sure I have my ID and phone on my person.

it's been pretty foggy here lately.. i finally broke down and bought a red sigma micro r blinky...

I carry:

CO2
Tube
I.D.
House Key
Water
Clif Bars
Condoms

A quarter under your biking shorts right where your thigh is just in case you need to make a phone call.
That's it.

I always carry:

• Spare tube.
• Tube patch kit.
• Small multi-tool for bikes.
• Tire levers
• Mini-road morph pump.
• Water bottle or two.
• ID, Health Insurance card, Credit Card, $20 cash.

It all fits into my small seat wedge, except for the pump which attaches under my port-side chainstay, and my water bottle(s), which obviously fit to the frame.

They still make pay phones?

My saddle bag contains one tube (used to be two tubes when I had a big ugly saddle bag), two tire levers, debit and ID cards, and a cell phone...sometimes gum as I find that it helps to keep my mouth from drying out while riding. I carry cash in my back pocket usually. I have a frame pump mounted to my top tube. I carry two water bottles regardless of ride length...just because.

edit: forgot that I carry a multitool as well.

They're getting rarer by the day. I had 8 at my facility but the contractor removed them because they were averaging less than $2/day. That's $2 total for all 8.

I still carry 2 quarters with me. One of the best local climbs has very little cell service but there are pay phones at the bottoms of each road up and one at the top. It's .50 though.

Frame pump and water bottles on the bike.

Tube + 1 tire lever, multitool (which I disassembled so it fits into a tiny little case with glueless patches and a little tape), food, cell, ID, State Parks pass, and some $ all go in the jersey pockets. I rarely even use a seat bag anymore.

In my bike I usually carry a saddle bag with a tube, 2xCO2, small inflator, tire levers, and multi-tool. On longer rides I will add a mini pump and extra tube or patch kit. In my jersey I always carry my iphone and a small wallet (a few bills, ID, credit cards, and a few discount cards, e.g. punch card for coffee shop ;)). If I'm riding to/from work I'll carry my home/work keys. If I drove I'll carry my car's valet key. If the ride is going to be longer than 2 hours I'll usually carry a Platinum energy bar (or a few if longer)

Check these two out for a bit more info

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=123871&highlight=seatbag

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=386639&highlight=seatbag

tire levers, tube, patch kit, air pump, co2, spokey, multi-tool that fits most of your bike's screws/nuts/bolts.

For short rides: water bottle, tube, 2 tire levers, GOOD pump (I carry a Zèfal HPx), keys, ID tag, cash, phone.
For longer rides I may add 1 tube, patch kit, some allen wrenches, spoke wrench, small Swiss Army knife, another water bottle, something to eat.

Tube, 2xCO2, small inflater, plastic lightweight tire levers, patch kit in the ultra small Fizik bag. In my jersey I carry wet ones single, drivers license, $10, cell phone, energy bar or gel pack or gel shots, Assos climaJet vest if it is very likely to rain. Since I found out that Viagra is/will be banned for doping, I take 1 Viagra with me in case I need to dilate my blood vessels to go even faster.

Good call on the condoms. They can be used to carry a liter of water in an emergency.

;)

Gels, glue patches, 2 tire levers, spare tube, mini pump, photon LED, money, phone, CO2, house keys, small multi-tool.

water and a sense of adventure. :twitchy:

Water bottles, iphone, CO2/inflator wrapped with a pair of latex gloves, pre-glued tubular tire, multitool, and a few singles ($)!!! If going longer than 40 miles, I'll add a powerbar or 2.