Carrying While Cycling

[Rex G]

I really like the Hill People Gear Recon Kit Bag, an excellent product, but for some reason have not used it while cycling. I have tended to use my HPG Recon Kit Bags to carry things other than handguns, while keeping the weapon(s) elsewhere. (Several times, I have reassured folks that, no, there is no weapon in here. “Look, see, first aid, multi-tool, and photography stuff.”)

I forgot to mention that the Recon Kit Bag, with its webbing in the exterior, looks notably more “tactical” than the other Kit Bags.

[BillSWPA]

I do not wear spandex, but I do ride 19 miles in about 1 1/2 hours in traffic multiple times per week, and have done so for a few years. A few weeks ago I did have a fall at about 17-20 mph. The fanny pack has worked well, and was well-positioned to avoid contact with the ground during the fall.


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[Caballoflaco]

I do not wear spandex, but I do ride 19 miles in about 1 1/2 hours in traffic multiple times per week, and have done so for a few years. A few weeks ago I did have a fall at about 17-20 mph. The fanny pack has worked well, and was well-positioned to avoid contact with the ground during the fall.


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There’s various types of cyclists and I think it’s all cool. But training rides with bibs and full kit is a very specific thing.
And yes if you ride, but haven’t been deep down the hole of cyclist culture that could be something easy to miss or dismiss as it were.

The best way I can describe it is that we would give very different advice to someone who was looking to carry at a formal event in an NPE vs someone who was looking for a solution to carrying while running errands and maybe hitting up a coffee shop in casual clothes. That’s the same situation we have here.

ETA: I’m not trying to offend anyone here, just trying to help bridge a bit of a cultural divide as a dude who was a rider and worked at shops full time for quite a few years.

[olstyn]

Ironically I'd rather strap on a heater than carry a spare tube plus a way to inflate it

My solution to the flat problem: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/al...elite/p/155920

I have pulled twisted chunks of metal out of them and not had the actual tube be punctured. They're phenomenal.

[alex]

There’s various types of cyclists and I think it’s all cool. But training rides with bibs and full kit is a very specific thing.
And yes if you ride, but haven’t been deep down the hole of cyclist culture that could be something easy to miss or dismiss as it were.

The best way I can describe it is that we would give very different advice to someone who was looking to carry at a formal event in an NPE vs someone who was looking for a solution to carrying while running errands and maybe hitting up a coffee shop in casual clothes. That’s the same situation we have here.

ETA: I’m not trying to offend anyone here, just trying to help bridge a bit of a cultural divide as a dude who was a rider and worked at shops full time for quite a few years.

Interested in hearing your advice for training rides in full kit. For formal events, the gun stays in the car. My training rides with my group start at 7:30 PM and end at about 11 PM through downtown Houston. Carrying is mandatory, especially since we end so late.

[revchuck38]

Interested in hearing your advice for training rides in full kit. For formal events, the gun stays in the car. My training rides with my group start at 7:30 PM and end at about 11 PM through downtown Houston. Carrying is mandatory, especially since we end so late.

Long, late-night rides in a congested urban area are an outlier. It'd drive me to Zwift during the week and out-of-town trips on the weekends. And then we could go down the rabbit hole about whether TNWs are training.

[peterb]

There’s various types of cyclists and I think it’s all cool. But training rides with bibs and full kit is a very specific thing.
And yes if you ride, but haven’t been deep down the hole of cyclist culture that could be something easy to miss or dismiss as it were.

As an example, the governing body for pro bike racing has come up with a custom gauge to measure sock height to catch riders violating the sock height rule. Roadies notice stuff that doesn’t fit the “standard”. They may or may not *care*, but they notice.

I’ve never seen a “serious” roadie with a fanny pack.

The Camelback Chase vest/hydration pack is becoming more common for gravel & endurance racing.

I’d say that whatever you choose, stick an energy bar or other obvious bike stuff in it so that when someone asks “what do you have in that thing?” you can pull out something innocuous.

[olstyn]

As an example, the governing body for pro bike racing has come up with a custom gauge to measure sock height to catch riders violating the sock height rule.

Sock height rule? I'm assuming that's intended to limit some sort of tiny aerodynamic advantage?

Given that at the high levels, if you're not using some form of performance enhancing drugs + the requisite masking agents, you stand no chance of winning, but they barely ever catch anyone doing it, it's a bit hard to take anything the governing body for pro bike racing says terribly seriously.

Admittedly I'm just a guy who used to commute on his bike and is now trying to gain back some of the fitness level he had years ago, but I can't even care about pro cycling anymore. The last straw for me was when Lance Armstrong admitted that he and his whole team, along with essentially every other high level team, were cheating the entire time they were winning. I have paid zero attention to the Tour de France or any other pro cycling events since, and I used to love watching the Tour every year.

[mtnbkr]

Sock height rule? I'm assuming that's intended to limit some sort of tiny aerodynamic advantage?

Based on what I've read, yes. It was likened to the dimples on a golf ball in one article.

I'm so very happy I ride for the pleasure of it and am not compelled to eke out every last bit of performance. It's really getting silly and the ones that pursue it to that level look ever more ridiculous. I'm just not mentally cut out for peak performance.

Chris

[hiro]

My solution to the flat problem: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/al...elite/p/155920

I have pulled twisted chunks of metal out of them and not had the actual tube be punctured. They're phenomenal.

Yes, they're great for reliability, but they ride like shit. They're heavy and the casing is so rigid the compliance of the tyre to the road is poor.