[Closed] What to put in a trail pack?

Great thread here:

http://www.trailscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=650

Couple of Powerlinks.

I always carry an energy bar and gels, and some cable ties. And powerlinks.

Great thread here:

http://www.trailscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=650

Gteat thread that one! Def a couple of powerlinks is the way to go... need to get some!

credit card and a tenner

beer and a tenner

I'm never quite sure why people carry so much stuff; tube, pump, gel would do it for me. It's riding a bike in the UK, not an extreme adventure.

spoke key. If you warp your wheel, you'll probably have to jump on it and do some tuning to get you home.

I'd put some food in there too, and some money.

Mobile phone.

If you have a chain tool just put some spare chain in there, don't bother with the powerlinks.

Crikey, take a look at the thread link... you're in for a shock 🙂

I like to be able to keep going or at least limp back if the tube/tyre/chain goes. Could go too far, I agree with keeping it minimal, but I do think about things like if it rained, or if I or a mate came off the bike. Hate being caught out!

crikey - Member
I'm never quite sure why people carry so much stuff; tube, pump, gel would do it for me. It's riding a bike in the UK, not an extreme adventure.

[i]Clearly not someone who rides in my neck of the woods.[/i]

Clearly not, which is why I don't carry all that shit.

small tube of superglue, zip ties, powerlinks, for longer all dayers an extra tube, chain oil (especially if its wet).

why do people think powerlinks is a good idea?

take a multi tool with a chain tool on it then you are sorted.

what happens if the chain breaks at one pin?

IME chains only break when they need replacing

However that doesn't stop me taking a chain tool and powerlink anyway, you never know!

What I carry and what I need are often totally separate, that is 90% of the time i leave and arrive home wearing / using exactly what I left the house in, apart from a sip of water / bight of food.

I've NEVER used a cable tie

[i]why do people think powerlinks is a good idea?

take a multi tool with a chain tool on it then you are sorted.

what happens if the chain breaks at one pin? [/i]

what happens if you buckle a link plate when the chain breaks or the powerlink pings off changing gear ?

Multitool
2 spare tubes
Tyre levers
Pump
Puncture repair kit
Chain tool
Mobile phone
Spoke key
Cereal bar (longer rides)
Couple of quid... basics really.

join it a link shorter with the chain tool or the powerlink that you also brought but if you only take a powerlink how will you get the bent bits off ?

[i]IME chains only break when they need replacing[/i]
😉 What if it breaks when you're 50 miles from anywhere?

Everything I carry, I've had to use in the past, and I've learned the hard way.

Anyone recommened packing anything else?

join it a link shorter with the chain tool or the powerlink that you also brought but if you only take a powerlink how will you get the bent bits off ?

in addition to the OP list

If it's remote enough just throw your broken bike over a wall and walk out.

Experience has taught me that a well maintained bike doesn't break, but its also taught me to prepare for anything

in addition to the OP list

i am the sort of bloke that drills holes in my spare tube to make it lighter see. 🙂

50 miles from anywhere?

Where is that then? Given that in the UK, you are never more than 70 miles from the sea, maybe we should carry some flares and a life jacket too?

CO2 canister instead of a pump for me. Perhaps a buff in case of stops when cold , other than that the
OP's list was bob on

The link above is great. I'd have much the same kit in my trail bag but I also carry an extra pair of seal skin socks! You never know.

One good one that sits in my tool kit and has proved very useful on one occasion (at virtually nil weight) is a tyre patch. If you slash the sidewall a new tube may not be enough (will bulge through). You can buy one from Park for £5. Or, as I did, cut open an old toothpaste tube...

Also, replacement mech hanger. For the first time ever I had my mech removed without permission in the Peaks a couple of weeks ago; conveniently with a spare mech hanger I was underway again in 10mins. Certainly not a life and death situation in this case, but would have royally cr*pped on my day without it!

Always the same kit (lives in my Camelbak).
Topeak Alien 2.
Leatherman Wave.
Zip ties.
Park glueless patches.
Spare tube.
Mini pump.
Tape.
Mini torch.
Buff.

Stuff that also gets taken each ride.
Mobile/camera.
GPS (cheap PAYG android phone).
Water (either bottle or bladder depending on length of ride).
Cereal bar(s).
Emergency tenner.

slainte 🙂 rob

[i]Where is that then? [/i]

50 miles from my house and anyone I know. How would you get home with a bike that doesn't move?

why all the arguing over powerlink AND chain tool? I just take a Hexus 2 and a powerlink.

Multitool (with chain breaker, spoke key and tyre levers)
Spare tube
Small puncture kit (swap tube on trail then fix any punctures on a rest break if on a long ride)
Pump
Powerlinks
£10 note + card
Phone
Couple of small cable ties

if the dog is with me then a handful of gravy bones for her.

And of course water for both of us.

Depending on how remote and length of ride I'd have the above plus:

Waterproof
Map
GPS

50p, a penknife and a woggle

As with cricky I am astonished how much shit people carry

Multitool ( includes chain tool)
3 sram links, 3 links of chain ( only cos the tandem chain druns fixed centres)
2 cable ties
m6 and M5 nut and blt
tube
Patches and glue
Pump
energy gel

Pump on the frame - everything else in a small seat pouch.

That is a very comprehensive setup - I have never needed more, all get you home repairs possible, why carry more

Multitool
2 x tubes
pump
Food
Insulation tape (small end of a roll)
first aid kit
Random collection of bolts, jockey wheel and other little things

I've not used the first aid kit for years though so am starting to think about taking it out.

House keys. Otherwise the very end of the ride is going to suck.

depends if you are wanting to limp home or continue on your ride as planned (i am in the ride as planned camp). If option B i take what ever i would need to keep going AND enjoy my ride, even down to spare gear cable, spare bit of chain, jockey wheel (needed this twice in 3 rides!!), chain ring bolt, mech hanger, plus pump, tube, tubeless repair push thru strings, spare socks/gloves/base layer in a dry bag, 2l of water/drink, couple of ceral bars, phone and money.

[img] [/img]

I agree with pieface, a chain is only likely to break if it's at or near 0.1mm 'stretch'. Having said that, a powerlink or equivalent (I like Connex) is light.

Some of you carry loads? I use a tiny saddle bag and carry:

Lezyne pump on the frame

allen keys (individual ones in the sizes I use)
glueless patches/tiny sq of sandpaper
3 tyre levers (plastic covered metal)
a tiny bottle of oil
all wrapped up in an old sock to give the chain a wipe periodically and apply a drop of oil

I don't want to labour the point, but this does tie in nicely with the old folk nails idea. It's just riding a bicycle in one of the most developed and densely populated countries in the world. I've been riding from before the time of multitools, camelbaks, mobile phones, quick links, and so on, and have as many broken down miles from anywhere stories as anyone else.
Busted freewheels, destroyed rims, broken frames; if its that bad you walk, or get a bus, or hitch a lift, or sit in the nearest farmyard until your dad gets home from work to pick you up.
Whatever, carry what makes you feel safe, but don't pretend its extreme adventure; people have been riding there for 60 odd years..

Travelling a bit light there yunki, this is how I roll...

[img] [/img]

Along with...

Water
Snacks
Multitool
Pump
Tyre levers
Chain tool
1 or 2 spare tubes dependent on length of ride
Spare layer if weather requires one

If doing some epic wilderness big mountain shredding (I'm just trying to wind crikey up here), I might take a mini first aid kit, a space blanket, a buff and a gilet too.

Have also learned the hard way to pack a sandwich bag with some bog roll.

I'm not really comfortable unless I have my support team with me these days..
this was taken round the back of Swindon Tescos..

[img] [/img]

I seem to be in the usual category of:

Hex multi tool
Chain Breaker
Power Links
2 full links
Spoke Key
Tyre lever
Pump
Patch kit
Some business cards
Maybe a spare tube

All fits in a convenient 4x6 magazine pouch.

A buff in one of the side pockets on the waist belt
I also have a waterproof that has been molded to the outside pouch of my pack, rarely use it though.

Some of the guys I ride with don't carry any spares or tools.

Couple of them got to the top of Crook Peak only to find one had a puncture and no spare tube or puncture kit.

Gutting as it's about 1.2km diagonal decent from the top of the peak here:

[img] http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-crookpeak-189x189 [/img]

Maybe now they will take some puncture stuff!

nowt wrong with travelling light - i.e. pump, spare tube bottle of water. But there is a difference between get you home and carry on with your plan.
To just get you home a pump and tube is probably suffice. But (as I've always prefered) to carry on riding you need at least, multi tool, spare chain links/powerlinks, tyre boot, brake pads, cable, patches,some food, plenty of fluids, extra layer/waterproof. For trips into the (real)hills also advisable to carry a small first aid kit, foil blanket and a hat.
All this about we live in the mostly denseley populated areas and your only ever 2 feet from a bus to take you home is cr@p IMO. Lets just say you and your mate decide to ride from Settle over to Arncliffe and back on a Wednesday, as the trails will be quiet etc.Not exactly middle of no where but not exactly Briggate either. Descending Arncliffe Cote one of you hits a chunk of limestone and goes a over t. lands funny and can't ride - what are you going to do ? Sit there waving your pump and spare tube ? or, make sure he's comfortable, warm etc.while you wait for the emergency services.

So really it depends on if you ride round the back of Argos or back of Skiddaw.

make sure he's comfortable, warm etc.while you wait for the emergency services.

agree with the whole post..

I think this can be quite an important part of my thought process when packing..

other than food, water, tubes, links and multi-tool I always carry a good waterproof and extra layer if I'm heading somewhere remote.. (which is every ride pretty much.. relatively speaking)

I broke a leg and hip in my 20's at the foot of a cliff within a mile of a busy town centre..

I waited nearly 12 hours overnight in a January storm before I was found and rescued.. I was very lucky in that it only added a few days in intensive care for hypothermia treatment onto my hospital stay.. it may have been avoided if I had kit for keeping warm and could have ended much differently..

[img] [/img]

Sorry guys - I am not buying it. even in Scotland its hard to get more than 7 miles from a road, in England its about 3. The kit I carry will mean I can ride out after any damage to the bike that is repairable - I do not need anything more.

Its not an extreme sport, you are not ( 99% of the time) miles from anywere. You are riding your bike in the UK

Brake pads? cables? mech hangers? Tyre boot? How badly prepared are your bikes that you need this stuff.

I have never needed more than the minimal kit I carry - there simply is no need for it

there is a difference between get you home and carry on with your plan

Yup, this ^^^. For what it's worth: multitool with chaintool, there's probably a few links in the bag too, 2x tubes, pump, couple of patches, phone, £20, jacket in winter, water and food (if out for more than three or so hours).

tyre boots is not about preparation you ****!!! its about bad luck and rocks!! Mech hanger the same! Sometimes you talk sense, other times (like this) absolute bollocks!

Never split a tyre, never bust a mech hanger in decades of riding. Hard to see how you could bust a mech hanger and not the mech anyway. SS to get home.

Tyre boot - improvise!

It just makes me laugh that people will spend ££ to save a few grammes off their bike then carry a load of stuff that is not needed.

Hard to see how you could bust a mech hanger and not the mech anyway.

Erm, they are designed to do exactly that though. Seen it happen numerous times.

Is it really something to get all het up over though guys?

I'm afraid I can't get my head around the whole 'Sky is falling in' attitude that sees people carry stuff for that odd unlucky occasion. It's a safe, non-extreme, non-dangerous way of getting out into the countryside: 'Pony Trekking by bike' is a TJism that captures things well, and yet seems to have developed into some kind of adventure requiring a big pack and tons of extraneous gubbins.

I see no epidemic of people getting stranded overnight in the wilds of Surrey, no base camps being established on the slopes of Rivington, and bones do not litter the trails of the UK...

Each to their own, and as I have said, carry what you want to.

once again tj, proving to be the retard that you are

EDIT: thanks for the edit crikey.. 🙂

I was just extolling the virtues of carrying a spare layer and a waterproof.. I was out on dartmoor this time last year and the weather turned leaving me very cold and wet.. If I'd had to then walk the 20 odd miles home.. maybe in shock if I'd had a fall.. I'd be fubared..

Why cruz heckler?

I am not the only one who thinks this. why carry a load of stuff " just in case" that you are never likely to need?

I think its completely laughable to carry all this stuff. there is nothing that I cannot fix with my minimal kit that you could with your extensive kit

Why the abuse?

because its always your way or the highway

Um, apologies, and edited out, but I hope you see my reasoning.

A big part of not carrying the kitchen sink and all is that the safety of any enterprise is dependent on what's between your ears. If you are a way away from 'civilisation', be sensible, don't trash your mech, don't batter your tyres and so on.

I walked the Snowdon Horseshoe a couple of years ago and took less than most take on a bike ride..

Nonsense - as cricky says yo can carry want you want. I just find it amusing that people convince themselves they are doing some sort of dangerous extreme adventure when they are riding a bike around the local paths and thus they need a huge amount of kit and spares.

So go on cruzheckler - give me a situation were I would be wishing I had the huge kit you carry.

lol.. it's true unless you live in Canada or summit...

I commute twelve miles each day on the mountain bike.. just along the river mostly..

I keep a spare tube at work in case. Rather than bother fixing a tube at work, I just replace it should I need to so that I can get home in a timely fashion.

I carry the minimal.. I eshew multitools and carry just the three allen keys I am likely to need.

If you are a way away from 'civilisation', be sensible, don't trash your mech,

Ridiculous comment.

And how have you miserable old snobs managed to connect people carrying too many spares with them thinking they are undertaking an "extreme sport"?

Do people carry lots of spares when they go base jumping or something?

🙄 does not suffice to convey my disdain

I must be dead. No mobile phone, no GPS, No helmet much of the time, minimal kit. Just common-sense.

And how have you miserable old snobs managed to connect people carrying too many spares with them thinking they are undertaking an "extreme sport"?

Because they have convinced themselves a load of kit is essential for riding their bike around the trails!

OH MY GOD, I CARRY LOTS OF STUFF, TWO PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET TELL ME I'M A FOOL, WHATEVER WILL I DO.

i know, i'll list everything i carry

multitool
swiss army knife
puncture kit
mini pump
fork pump
tube
pliers and brake pads
chain tool and POWER LINKS!
spokey
zipties
food
water
fleece (in wintertime)
waterproof (in wintertime)
coupla nuts and bolts
oh, and money and phone

i appreicate the whole "back in the day, we never took tools, and anyroad, our wheels were square and made out of wood" but i'm not riding in the past. i also don't anguish over the weight of my bike, nor the weight of the contents of my pack. i do think the bag itself is pretty heavy though 😆

What would you do if you broke your back then TJ? You'd not be wwalking or riding out.
I take: Powerlinks, tube, set of brake pads, puncture kit, tool, normally a Jacket, although I'm normally wearing it.

Oi! Less of the old thank you... I'm in the prime of my life despite my apparent ability to laugh in the face of danger...

[i]What would you do if you broke your back then TJ? You'd not be wwalking or riding out.
I take: Powerlinks, tube, set of brake pads, puncture kit, tool, normally a Jacket, although I'm normally wearing it.[/i]

Neither would you, although you'd have a bigger pillow while you waited...

cruzheckler - Member

because its always your way or the highway

Aye and your way seems to always attack people on a personal level.
Good arguments by the way, but you lose the minute you call somebody a retard because they dont have the same opinion as you.

after reading this thread thoroughly I have revised my philosophy on the subject and will now just be carrying Haribo and housebricks.. 8)

you bores take what you like - I shred the gnar, not the gran; that means I'm literally millimetres from death whenever I ride but I don't take any stuff with me, 'cos I'm cool and I'm already carrying the hopes of a generation in my bag 8)

In all my years of riding the following have happened
punctures - many
snapped chain - check
split tyre -check
bent mech hanger - check
snapped gear cable - check
crash requiring re- alignment of brake levers/stem etc. - check
getting hungry - check
getting thirsty - check
weather taking turn for worse- check
going A over T and landing on head - check
been involved in a crash where we had to keep someone comfortable/warm etc. - check(but thankfully only once)
been so unprepared i've had to walk home - just the once when I toally trashed my front wheel

No it's not an extreme sport(although thats debatable when you watch certain riders) - it is, however, about getting out into the country side which can vary from the local park to the scottish Highlands. If I was walking round the local park I'd probably be wearing pumps or brogues jeans and a t-shirt and have two dogs and my grandson(2) with me. If he's lucky i might have a few sweets in my pocket and the dogs might have brought a ball. If I was doing the Three Peaks i'd leave my grandson at home probably be wearing my Karrimor boots etc. I'd have food for me and the dogs and plenty of other kit in my day bag.
So again - what you take depends on where you are riding.

People who head off in to the hills unprepared with a gung ho 'I've always been alright with a stick of chewing gum and a copy of the Times' attitude realy p##s me off.

Being self - sufficient has always been one of the key elements of mountain biking. As a result most of the kit is compact and light enough to not take up much room at all.

[i]People who head off in to the hills unprepared with a gung ho 'I've always been alright with a stick of chewing gum and a copy of the Times' attitude realy p##s me off. [/i]

Me too...

..and I would argue that my attitude is not like that. I would consider myself far more able to cope precisely because I don't try to carry everything I'll ever need every time I go out. The best way to become blase and complacent is to have a big bag full of all the stuff I can ever need and to carry it on every ride I ever do.

Quite apart from being a monumental waste of energy, carrying all that stuff is a very easy way to get into trouble.

Many, many, many years ago, in fact when I was just a lad, we drove to Snowdon to walk up it. We were as well equipped as we could afford with boots, coats, butties and a flask. As we got high up the thing, we ended up trying to walk in knee deep snow and after a bit of macho nonsense and a number of scary scrapes we opted to get down and go to the pub. I learned the best outdoor survival lesson I've ever got that day; don't be a dick.

It doesn't matter how much crap you cart around the countryside, being sensible is the one thing that will keep you safe above all else.

My over-riding theme is that it is just riding a bike and should be treated as such.

I will stress, as I have done throughout, that you should take whatever you want to, but I don't subscribe to the current fashion of big Camelbak stuffed with the contents of a mini bike shop.

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seen too many hanging off the dog and Lymes disease is not nice, so my first aid kit contains a tick tool

Pump, tube, multi tool, phone, patches, tyre levers, sometimes some energy gel/bar. That's your lot

Just me with the bog roll then? don't ask to borrow any

lol.. crikey, come on, how could you ever need to take a set of brake pads? why not load the bike with a spare wheel as well.. ? roflmao!

I usually take just enough

how could you ever need to take a set of brake pads?

obviously not done much riding in the Peak District when its wet. And considering how much space they take up .

Toilet paper?
Grass will do.
...and been riding in the PD for 25 years and not died yet...

Ok here goes...
road ride = (all fits in one jersey pocket,other two will have a rain cape and something to eat *yes I know its anMTB tube in the pic but you get the idea)
[img] [/img]
local MTB ride =(all fits in rear pocket of jacket if i don't take a camelbak)
[img] [/img]
proper MTb ride = (fits nicely in a camelbak mule, and still leaves space for a jacket a beanie hat, malt loaf, powerbar, tangfastics,chocolate, hip flask, wallet)
[img] [/img]
The tin contains spare gear cable, tyre boot, chain/power links,pads, patches,a fiver.

Not much really

Nothing, but then I ride with Ray Mears, Bear Grylls and Andy McNab.