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What to carry in saddle bag.

by snsb
Sun, Sep 20, 2015 13:10
6

I am new to cycling and as I increase the distance I ride and therefore the distance from home I would like some advice please. I carry in my very small saddle bag :-
Inner tube;tyre lever;Co2 inflator;tool kit;tie cables;plastic gloves(ideal for putting chain back on)money & phone.
What other essentials should I include ?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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6 comments

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petertaylor123 | 9 years ago
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Call me silly and 'ocd', but instead of a plastic bag, i stuff my spare inner tube in a pair of latex gloves.
It keeps the tube in good condition and it also saves my bar tape and levers from getting covered in all sorts of gunk when changing wheels/doing repairs.

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snsb | 9 years ago
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Thanks guys excellent suggestions. I will act on all of them.

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2 Wheeled Idiot | 9 years ago
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sounds like your saddlebag is about right, sometimes on long rides I carry an emergency gel should I forget to take anything at all and need some food. Also I have wrapped a fair amount of duct tape around my lezyne mini pump so almost anything can be fixed.
Also wrap your tube in a plastic bag (like a freezer bag) to keep it dry and stop it from being worn out by friction shuffling things around.

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kev-s | 9 years ago
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Gaffa tape and cable ties x4, most unforeseen problems can be fixed with these

wrap the gaffa tape around something flat that is plastic so it takes up little room and peels off easily

Spare split link connector is also a good thing to carry in case your chain snaps etc...

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sergius | 9 years ago
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For me, my (minimalist) saddle bag contains a spare tube, a multi-tool, tyre levers and a pack of the Park glueless patches.

One little hint is to bring all the stuff into the house for a few hours to dry them out and then seal up each part in a airtight freezer bag. It means that stuff packs easier into your saddle bag, and stops the metal parts getting corroded and grotty.

I use a Lezyne micro pump which fits under a bottle cage on both my bikes. It will get a tyre inflated enough to get you home (60ish PSI) without killing yourself. I take the view that if I get a puncture (last 5000 miles have been puncture free thank god), my ride is already ruined, so I'm only really bothered about getting back home.

Spare tube + patches gets you past the dreaded double puncture as well.

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Chuck | 9 years ago
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What you've got there looks pretty sound to me. I just add a pack of Park glueless patches and an emergency gel. You might consider a small pump* clipped to your frame too if you don't carry one already.

*Not too small though, if you actually want to be able to get your tyres back up to a decent pressure!

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