Welcome to this week's edition of the South Bay Cycle blog. Today we're going to talk about proper Saddle Bags! Let's get you prepared for any type of ride! Saddle up and enjoy this week's blog!
Saddle bags are a very personal choice, and one that carries a lot of weight -- figuratively and literally!
But first let's find out what they are.
Traditionally, they carry:
- A spare tube
- A patch kit (for said tube)
- A tire lever or two
- A multi tool
- A dollar or two for a snack
- A form of inflation – either a pump or a Co2 setup.
We'll walk through a couple different kinds of bikes, and a couple different kinds of saddle bags to get you started!
Road Bike
- Spare tube
- Patch kit
- Tire lever
- Dollar
- Inflation
Tubeless road bike
- Spare tube
- Patch kit
- Tire lever
- Dollar
- Inflation
- The same as above, EXCEPT:
- No CO2 as the cold air freezes the sealant!
Active/City Bike
- Spare tube
- Patch kit
- Tire lever
- Dollar
- Inflation
Mountain Bike
- Spare tube
- Patch kit
- Tire lever
- Dollar
- Inflation
- The same as above, EXCEPT:
- No CO2 as the cold air freezes the sealant!
- Same as the tubeless road bike, AND:
- A multi-tool
- A master-link
Why the extra tools you ask? Mountain biking is inherently more technical and can require more on-the-fly thinking thank road biking! This is largely due to rocks, dirt, and jumps you'd encounter on a mountain bike and not on a road bike!
If your mountain biking is more tame and akin to light trail riding, then a tubeless road bike setup should be plenty!
Don't forget to check back every other Tuesday for our South Bay Cycle Blog!