What's in the Bag: Trail Ride Edition

stb222

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
There have been a bunch of threads discussing what to carry on longer rides, but what about the 1-3 hours range? This is likely the length of ride the majoirty of us do most often.

Over the years, I have carried less and less and my average ride is 2 hours. I carry a tube, CO2, tire lever and recently added a dart and a small multi tool that has an inflator on it. I am considering dumping the tube.

The picture from the Monday Funday CR ride had me thinking. What is in that bag for a less than 2 hour ride? Hopefully @MadisonDan chimes in.
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My bag is pretty much the same thing. It is a binary thing for me. Either I have it, or nothing at all.

At a certain point you say, "Am I doing this to be fast or just to have fun?" The biggest issue with having the full Camelback is the size and lethargy of having it. You would never go to a DH park with this on. It would screw you up for sure. But in terms of a place like CR, it just fades into the overall feel of riding a bike.

Right now I carry my bag so I have a place to carry around my water needs. I take a lot, plus some food, plus a few tools, tube, etc. You could debate if it's worth it at CR - it may be easier to bag the ride and walk back to the car. But if you park at Newman's and flat at the bottom of High Tech, that walk is far.
 
We had a "clothes saver" when @Fat Trout pulled a bandage and tape out of his pack when @mattybfat decided to eject off the side of a trail.
Had a nice bleed going, so someone was going to have to cut up a shirt.

TP isn't a bad idea. doesn't weigh anything.
 
stb222 said:
There have been a bunch of threads discussing what to carry on longer rides, but what about the 1-3 hours range? This is likely the length of ride the majoirty of us do most often.

Over the years, I have carried less and less and my average ride is 2 hours. I carry a tube, CO2, tire lever and recently added a dart and a small multi tool that has an inflator on it. I am considering dumping the tube.

The picture from the Monday Funday CR ride had me thinking. What is in that bag for a less than 2 hour ride? Hopefully @MadisonDan chimes in.
View attachment 164845
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water. a lot of fucking water. also, keys and wallet (there were thefts at CR a little while back). phone and food is in pockets of shorts. I may or may not have some first aid stuff in there, haven't looked in a while.
 
My pack tends to be an "all-or-nothing" affair as well. It's an older Vaude pack I used to like because it didn't move around on my back. But some months/years ago, part of the support bracing broke and now it makes its presence known and I don't care for it, so I need to start shopping for a replacement. It's also had a few gel packs explode inside the gear pocket, so that's not great either.

I tend to carry everything but the bloody kitchen sink in my pack... On longer rides I've added water bottles to refill the bladder.
 
MadisonDan said:
water. a lot of fucking water.
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That's what's missing since converting from Camelback to frame bag. Funny thing, I used to carry 3L on any ride but now only carry one large bottle, (I do H2O-preload beforehand). Frame bag holds everything with space to spare, but I want a custom frame bag for clothing and Nalgene space in Winter.

I should add a first aid kit.
 
I've pretty much pared down carrying everything in small portions using the bike or jersey pockets.
Speedsleev Ranger on bike has tube, two 20g CO2, inflator head and two tire levers and is dropper friendly.
1 jersey pocket is tool bag with mini tool, Wolftooth Pack pliers, Dynaplug Racer, spare plugs and tire patch
1 jersey pocket is phone, wallet and a vehicle key.
Snacks will go into any available space.
Both HT's have 2 bottle cages and fit 24oz bottles, so hydration can be adjusted for length of ride.
On the FS, 1 bottle cage fits 22oz bottle barely, so if the ride is say 3hrs or less, 2nd bottle goes in middle jersey pocket.
FS and 3hrs+ is I use a Camelbak Skyline LR, I have a version that's a few years old, so looks different. 70oz of water I think. Everything above goes in there.
Still haven't used the Lab Austere hip pack yet. Taking it, bottles and the Camelbak with me to VT, so may give it a go there.
 
I've downsized my pack overtime. I wear a hip pack that holds one and a half liters of water, a tube, and pump, levers, plug kit, and a multi-tool. I also carry my EpiPen and phone.

When I worked for camp and a coach for NICA I wore much bigger pack because I had to carry that much more stuff including a first aid kit and extra food.
 
I ride with a camelback every trail ride. It has:
-water
-pump
-tube
-bacon strips and tool
-stans dart tool and darts
-patch kit
-2 oz. stans sealant
-presta to schrader adapter
-multi tool with chain breaker
-large zip ties
-small zip ties
-tire levers
-folding plyers/leatherman knock-off
-valve cores
-wolftooth chain plyers with 2 eagle quick links
-emergency cash
-wallet
-keys
-phone
 
Whether I'm riding for two hours or ten hours, I carry exactly the same shit in my Camelbak. Though if I know I'm doing a shorter ride I probably won't put as much water in, and if I know I'm doing a longer ride I'll carry extra Clif bars.

That said, I've recently done a few ride sans Camelbak, and man, it's amazing. I have these local trails where you are always close to the car, and I ride there when I'm on call for work. I bring a bottle, my phone, and my car keys, and that's it.
 
Like many people it’s also an all or none for me as well. When I got my Hardtail last October I only brought 2 bottles of water and a snack bar on my first ride. Decided to take it for a quick test ride at Ringwood(didn’t even put Stans in the tires yet- pressure was on the high side to avoid air leaking out) as I had just finished completing the build. What started out as a half hour test spin turned into a 3.5 hour 26 mile Ringwood/Sterling combo, and got me hooked on that route. I thought after that probably was not the best idea but luckily no issues. Except for that one time, while mountain biking on rocky/tech trails, I wear a back pack that includes various tools, tube, Stans, bacon strips, Pump, first aid kit(weighs almost nothing) and is important to have riding rocks at an aggressive pace as well as miles out in the wilderness(think Wawayanda for example). Some say it’s overkill but that’s a personal choice. I think for easier flowy trails, not thought about as much. When riding my local flow trails I only carry my phone and a bottle of water.

The latest fad is the hipster(I mean hip😂) pack and finding ways to store tools and supplies on/in the bike and in the hip pack. I get it, lower center of gravity. But then again, can’t a dropper help with that at times.

This is a question for any experts- back protection. Depending what type of backpack and how it’s filled wouldn’t a back pack provide some type of back protection? Hip pack - if anything wouldn’t falling back force the center mass of the body to re direct to the mid, upper back and neck?
 
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Victor I said:
This is a question for any experts- back protection. Depending what type of backpack and how it’s filled wouldn’t a back pack provide some type of back protection? Hip pack - if anything wouldn’t falling back force the center mass of the body to re direct to the mid, upper back and neck?
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Even with a larger pump and gear, I beleive my camelback hawg has prevented injury in an off-bike experience. But having nothing on your back is so liberating I don't like to go backwards. Speaking of which, I used a hipster pack in 1986, and no thank you!
 
one piece crank said:
Even with a larger pump and gear, I beleive my camelback hawg has prevented injury in an off-bike experience. But having nothing on your back is so liberating I don't like to go backwards. Speaking of which, I used a hipster pack in 1986, and no thank you!
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True, Fanny packs are in again but now are called hip packs. When it comes down to it, everyone has different wants and needs. Ultimately whatever works for the individual.
 
stb222 said:
There have been a bunch of threads discussing what to carry on longer rides, but what about the 1-3 hours range? This is likely the length of ride the majoirty of us do most often.

Over the years, I have carried less and less and my average ride is 2 hours. I carry a tube, CO2, tire lever and recently added a dart and a small multi tool that has an inflator on it. I am considering dumping the tube.

The picture from the Monday Funday CR ride had me thinking. What is in that bag for a less than 2 hour ride? Hopefully @MadisonDan chimes in.
View attachment 164845
Click to expand...

Ha I have a ridiculously big backpack I wear for all my mountain bike rides - but basically it's just for water. There's a park multitool in there (btw rusted to shit - why don't they make these things completely out of stainless?) and a 26" tube. I used to throw snacks in there for longer rides but don't even do that anymore.
 
rick81721 said:
Ha I have a ridiculously big backpack I wear for all my mountain bike rides - but basically it's just for water. There's a park multitool in there (btw rusted to shit - why don't they make these things completely out of stainless?) and a 26" tube. I used to throw snacks in there for longer rides but don't even do that anymore.
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Stainless would cost way more money. Because material cost and "harder" to fabricate.
 
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