What’s in your pouch?

[Megabeth]

I have a friend that carries more “personal items” (e.g., chapstick, sunscreen, little mirror, etc.) than actual bike equipment in her little underseat seat pouch. I nearly lost an eyeball from rolling them so hard after seeing that. I advised that she might want to consider a spare tube, at the very least…which brings me to this question:

What do you carry at all times with you in your seat pouch (or backpack or pannier)? What do you recommend someone have at all times…and what’s “nice to have”?

As a side story, we had a friend have her seat pouch stolen in Clarendon (ironically we were mere steps away eating lunch). She shrugged and basically said that the only things in there that would be useful would be for a cyclist…and a cyclist wouldn’t do steal another cyclist’s pouch in the first place. So, the thief was the one that ended up getting screwed in that deal…

Topic

[Emm]

Commuter Bike. All in my purple Po Campo bag, usually within a bike-themed zipper pouch my friend made me to keep things organized:

• Spare tube
• Patch kit
• C02 cartridge (1x half used, one new one)
• 2x tire levers
• latex gloves
• advil
• Alien II bike tool
• wrench to get my wheels off when I ride the flat bar commuter, I remove this when I ride the road bike commuter
• spare hand/toe warmers during the winter

Weekend Road Bike (saddle bag & front handlebar bag added on long rides)

• Spare tube
• Patch kit
• C02 cartridge
• 2x tire levers
• latex gloves
• advil
• Alien II bike tool
• 2x tampons
• House/car keys
• Couple brightly colored zip ties
• quick link
• A little bit of cash, & my credit cards, ID and metro card

Jersey pockets:

• sunscreen
• absurd number of cereal bars and bananas

[musclys]

@Emm 177662 wrote:

Jersey pockets:

• sunscreen
• absurd number of cereal bars and bananas

I thought bananas go in your bib shorts pocket.

[Steve O]

My saddle bag has in it (I think)

• 2 tire levers
• tube
• patch kit (patches, glue and a couple glueless patches in case the glue has dried out)
• multi tool/chain tool
• spoke wrench (although I think I noticed that my multi tool has this built in, so I might have removed it for redundancy reasons)
• latex gloves
• first aid items: bandaids and mini-wipes I think (I haven’t checked this for a while, but I know something is in there)
• zip ties

I like the Advil idea; will likely add to the first aid items.

Re: zip ties – Emm and I were riding last Saturday, and we salvaged someone’s ride with her zip tie. The rider’s rear basket rack mount had broken. It took a couple minutes and a committee of all three of us, but we eventually determined that the zip tie was just long enough to secure the basket so the rider could go on her way.

I actually don’t carry anything at all on my vintage 3-speed toodler bike. I’m usually just in the neighborhood when I ride it, so in a worst case I could walk it home I guess.

[bentbike33]

@musclys 177665 wrote:

I thought bananas go in your bib shorts pocket.

Is that a banana in your pocket, or…ah, nevermind.

[streetsmarts]

What pump? If I may ask?

Yes, I heard somewhere about duct tape (maybe from camping/hiking) – and instead of carrying a whole roll, use a stick/pencil etc. and wrap some around it for use for whatever.

Also per Erin & Steve’s posts below – Zip ties – great idea!

[LhasaCM]

Let’s see, I generally have (or at least think I have) in a pannier:

• Spare tube (or two) for my bike, plus one for the trailercycle.
• Small multi-tool set
• First aid kit (mostly so I have disinfectant/wipes/bandaids for the occasional “daughter was swinging on the bike racks while I was locking up and took a fall” need)
• Pump (Lezyne Gauge Drive HP, I believe)
• After last year’s Purple Line ride with Bobco, I got a small Schrader/Presta adapter to be able to use the random gas station/rec center air pumps out there.
• Patch kit or two (from random giveaways)
• Combination tire lever/15mm wrench (3wrencho from PDW) plus a few spare tire levers
• Rain poncho/jacket of some sort
• Spare socks
• Chain (connects to the frame lock – for locking the bike up to an object as opposed to making someone carry it away)
• A few zip ties (which reminds me, I need to toss more in)

This time of year, I tend to also have spare/different weight gloves or a hat, in case I chose poorly when I set off.

[n18]

Look for a pump that would fit inside a water bottle, and 120+ PSI.

Also, don’t buy a multi-tool without a chain tool, since you need the latter sooner or later. Here are some options with decent reviews/quality: $19, $13.

Kleenex or gloves is probably the most forgotten item when packing flat repair stuff.

[LhasaCM]

@LhasaCM 177675 wrote:

Let’s see, I generally have (or at least think I have) in a pannier:

• Spare tube (or two) for my bike, plus one for the trailercycle.
• Small multi-tool set
• First aid kit (mostly so I have disinfectant/wipes/bandaids for the occasional “daughter was swinging on the bike racks while I was locking up and took a fall” need)
• Pump (Lezyne Gauge Drive HP, I believe)
• After last year’s Purple Line ride with Bobco, I got a small Schrader/Presta adapter to be able to use the random gas station/rec center air pumps out there.
• Patch kit or two (from random giveaways)
• Combination tire lever/15mm wrench (3wrencho from PDW) plus a few spare tire levers
• Rain poncho/jacket of some sort
• Spare socks
• Chain (connects to the frame lock – for locking the bike up to an object as opposed to making someone carry it away)
• A few zip ties (which reminds me, I need to toss more in)

This time of year, I tend to also have spare/different weight gloves or a hat, in case I chose poorly when I set off.

Oh – and completely forgot about the newest addition to the pannier until I got out to use it this afternoon: I also carry with me a small broom and dustpan.

[hozn]

@n18 177676 wrote:

Look for a pump that would fit inside a water bottle, and 120+ PSI.

That’s a lot of pressure in 2018! Are you running 18mm tubulars!?

@n18 177676 wrote:

Also, don’t buy a multi-tool without a chain tool, since you need the latter sooner or later. Here are some options with decent reviews/quality: $19, $13.

The genuine article (Crank Bros) only costs $5 more. I’d suggest it’s likely worth it in this case, my knockoff pump experience notwithstanding.

https://www.amazon.com/Crank-Brothers-Multi-Bicycle-19-Function/dp/B00067W7CG/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1524230121&sr=1-2&keywords=crank%2Bbrother%2Bm19&th=1

[huskerdont]

@streetsmarts 177669 wrote:

What pump? If I may ask?

Yes, I heard somewhere about duct tape (maybe from camping/hiking) – and instead of carrying a whole roll, use a stick/pencil etc. and wrap some around it for use for whatever.

Also per Erin & Steve’s posts below – Zip ties – great idea!

Mine is a Crank Bros Sterling LG. Has a nice gauge on it that goes to 100 psi, and is the only mini pump I’ve had where I can attain road-bike-tire pressures.

[streetsmarts]

Wow, I just checked out that multi-tool. That’s amazing!!
and a Torx driver for disc brakes!!
HA. I have disc brakes. I can …ummm… sorta adjust them. but someday maybe I’ll know what that’s for (adjusting calipers? just using a word I know is part of the disc brake system!! )
Chain tool included is cool. thanks!!

[hozn]

@streetsmarts 177698 wrote:

Wow, I just checked out that multi-tool. That’s amazing!!
and a Torx driver for disc brakes!!
HA. I have disc brakes. I can …ummm… sorta adjust them. but someday maybe I’ll know what that’s for (adjusting calipers? just using a word I know is part of the disc brake system!! )
Chain tool included is cool. thanks!!

Yeah, I have never heard of anyone needing to adjust their rotor bolts, which is the classic application of the T25 torx. So I used to think that was a waste of space on a tool, but some bikes/groups also use the T25 for the bolts (esp. titanium bolts) that hold that caliper to the fork/frame. I could see needing to adjust those (e.g. caliper was rubbing rotor).

[mstone]

@hozn 177691 wrote:

That’s a lot of pressure in 2018! Are you running 18mm tubulars!?

The genuine article (Crank Bros) only costs $5 more. I’d suggest it’s likely worth it in this case, my knockoff pump experience notwithstanding.

https://www.amazon.com/Crank-Brothers-Multi-Bicycle-19-Function/dp/B00067W7CG/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1524230121&sr=1-2&keywords=crank%2Bbrother%2Bm19&th=1

+1 on the crank brothers tool.

For a pump I like the topeak morph series. I want a gauge because I suck at guessing the pressure, I want a hose because I’ve managed to rip the valve off a tire with an old school stick pump (that’s a hard thing to patch), and I want something that I push against the ground because that’s a much more practical way to generate pressure than doing butterfly curls. I don’t really care how big it is since it goes in a bag. (Full disclosure: I do also have a co2 filler for times when I don’t have a big bag.)

[Emm]

@mstone 177708 wrote:

+1 on the crank brothers tool.

So I was just in the market for a new multi-tool after somehow losing half of mine (…it got lost in a box somewhere when I moved a few months ago). I ended up with the Alien II tool even though the crank bros one was cheaper, lighter, smaller, and came in pink. The crank bros tool lacked a knife, which oddly enough is a tool I’ve actually used alot of in my multi-tool. From cutting zip ties or their ends, de-tangling random crap that’s gotten caught in parts of my bike, and other random stuff that’s occurred while I’m out for a ride, it’s been a useful thing to have. I’m sure I could just pack a tiny pocket knife too and save on weight and bulk, but then that’s just one more thing for me to forget.

[mstone]

@Emm 177709 wrote:

So I was just in the market for a new multi-tool after somehow losing half of mine (…it got lost in a box somewhere when I moved a few months ago). I ended up with the Alien II tool even though the crank bros one was cheaper, lighter, smaller, and came in pink. The crank bros tool lacked a knife, which oddly enough is a tool I’ve actually used alot of in my multi-tool. From cutting zip ties or their ends, de-tangling random crap that’s gotten caught in parts of my bike, and other random stuff that’s occurred while I’m out for a ride, it’s been a useful thing to have. I’m sure I could just pack a tiny pocket knife too and save on weight and bulk, but then that’s just one more thing for me to forget.

I usually have a mini multitool with blade and pliers with me, whether on a bike or not.

[Author]

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