Ditching the saddle bag

Hi guys, i’m going to ditch the saddle bag. I want to look more pro… and its one of the rules for a roadie.

I normally carry my phone, ID, credit card, £10 note, gas, tube, patch, mini pump, and couple of gels and couple of bars.

Do you have any tips on how to carry this? I’ve seen people use plastic bands, caddy sacks, see-through sandwich bags.

For reference, my outdoor rides are 3-5hrs long and 80-160km.

Ralph’s cargo bibs? They have the pockets along your thighs, pretty useful but the material is a little more weighty than your typical bib shorts.

You probably already know this but even without pockets you can tuck your gels up the legs of your bibs so that they rest on the top or side of your thighs.

There is also this:

https://silca.cc/collections/packs-on-body-1/products/borsa-minimo-ag-americano

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I use this, which is tube, Co2, lever.
Phone and money in middle back pocket. Gels on the right, bars on the left.

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He did say he wanted to look more pro! And on a sliding scale with pro on one end and fred on the other, cargo bibs are decidedly on the fred end of the slider.

But I do love 'em!

But, if you want to ‘look pro’…clearly there is only one solution…you have to get somebody else to hold all that stuff & drive in a car behind you. So, don’t be a total fred. Go down to your local day labor camp and toss the keys to one of those hardy souls.

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My friends have a different tactic, they ‘forget’ to bring stuff and I always seem to have extra gels etc. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Either buy an adapted water bottle and stick everything in there, or make your own.

Alternatively, to look pro, you could just use a saddle bag:grinning:

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lol, yeah for sure. Most people have a tube… can just stop one of the passing sunday riders!

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I am the pack, pack mule in our area… :stuck_out_tongue:

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No-one cares about the rules, if you need a saddle bag, use one!

But… Use a ridepac https://www.velopac.cc/product-category/ridepac/ to put your phone, ID, credit card and cash in. Put the gels in your jersey pocket, use a holder https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vittoria-ZCASE-Case-Bottle-Black/dp/B07NPK56DJ that goes in your bottle cage for the tools.

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Since I bought a Garmin head unit and now am able to upload routes into it (the other’s don’t have navigation) I’ve been upgraded to “Sherpa”

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All of that easily fits in your jersey pockets.

Or use a tool ‘bottle’ in one of your bottle cages.

Surely attaching things like tubes to your bike directly looks less pro than having a saddle bag. Unless you are an enduro rider.

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If you really want to look pro you have to hire a driver to follow you around in a logo-emblazoned car with nutrition and a spare bike :wink:

ETA: looks like @Brennus beat me to it with this answer, sorry!

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Does this rattle a lot less than the normal bottles?

Ziplock bag for phone, ID, and cash

Tube and CO2s go in a saddle bag for me. Tried carrying them in a pocket for a while but it looked worse to have a giant bulging pocket than it did to have a small bag

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+1 for this! It’s a clever & handy solution! And if you tape spare tubes under your seat…or if all your bikes just have approximately the same tire size…the tool bottle is easy to switch between bikes.

It all depends on your definition of “looking Pro”!!! If it’s clean lines, and no saddle bag, then chance it with just a credit card for a train home in the event of a mechanical!

I must admit I like not having a saddle bag, and for shorter rides that I’ll only need one bottle, I have a wide necked bidon that I get everything I need into. I get 2 tubes, 2x CO2 and adapter, multitool, Nokia 3310, rear mech hanger, chainlink, keys and £50 emergency cash into a 500ml bidon. Longer rides, option is saddle bag or stuffed rear pockets. Saddle bag is definately more Pro!!

£50 emergency cash! It’s expensive round yours😄

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Ancient Chinese Proverb:

“With little stuff, comes many steps”

-Author wise, but unknown

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I can’t stand the search for stuff before a ride - if it’s mountain I’ll need A, B and C and if it’s road I’ll need X, Y, Z - always something to forget.

So for me, a complete kit saddle bag is a luxury. Every saddle bag has its own appropriate tool, tube, C02, etc. It’s on the bike and I know I’m good.

For spare cash, phone, keys, I use the Silca phone wallet thing. It also doubles as a nice traveling wallet when you got to go abroad.

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If we want to look really Pro, we call a taxi rather than a train in the event of a mechanical!!! :smile:

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