What's In The Bag?

Most of us road bike types ride with a seat bag in which we carry, at a bare minimum, stuff to fix a flat tire. For some folks, that's enough; however, I'm not the type to go bare bones when it comes to roadside repair capability and all it takes are a few hex wrenches. More often than not, my stuff comes out to help other people who are tool-less (sometimes clueless, too, but that's another post), but I'm always glad to have what is needed to get myself or another rider back on the road. Even if you don't know how to perform a repair, you should have the supplies and tools, as somebody will be often be willing to help you.

I decided to inventory the contents of my bag, just as it was on my bike:

Car key, truck key, house key

3 Hex wrenches: 4,5,6 mm; these fit about everything except pedals. I prefer carrying them to a multitool and you can buy a complete set for $3.00. Leave the rest in your tool box.

SRAM Quick-link: I've carried it for 4 years and have never broken a chain. It must be good luck.

Lip Balm -a backup. I hate to get caught without it

2- tire levers

Microflate Inflator

2 CO2 cartridges

1 tube, dusted with talc and wrapped in cling wrap

I usually carry 2 tubes and 3 CO2's on longer rides. In fact, I need to add the spares, now, for the season.

Darwin's query:

Leave town for 100 miler and have a flat 5 miles out. Do you want to ride the 95-miler with no back-up?

Didn't think so.

glueless patches

1- set contact lenses

Personal info; id, insurance and emergency contact

Money: I keep $10-15.00 'emergency money' deep in the bag and a little 'spending cash' close at hand for things like food and drink on the road or a round at the Pub on Wednesday night. The stash in the picture above is a little heavy on dough at almost 80 bucks. I tend to stick in a five or a ten without checking the balance, so I'm returning most of that cash to the safety of my pocket before next Wednesday night!

When it comes to mounting on the bike, it's best to keep your bag affixed snugly to your seat and seatpost. This reduces any rattling of contents and also helps prevent the appearance of the rear-view style-point killer that might be called the "old dog" look.