Is your bag heavier than your bike?

Oh my dear sweet Alex...

haha! yehuda moon FTW.

What a coincidence. A Blackberry you say.
Your bag has got to lose more weight.

dylan, you continue to amaze me. the pump!

i strapp my lock to my frame... thats 2kg
then i have a Montane fetherlight waterproof jacket
A waterproof overtrouser
doubelended allen key
spanner
tube
levers
puncture kit, just in case i double puncture.
pump in seatpost
london map

thats all i have

so why are you carrying lube around ? and a mudguard ? get overtrousers so much lighter and leave the lube at home innit :)
and chainbreaker leave that at home too lol

Btw that seat is comfy, but im not sure if its bent or not. I'll let you know.

If you're gonna do it....do it properly :)

If you're gonna do it....do it properly :)

those one are rather more expensive @ £45 :O

my pump cost my £5 to my door, 120psi, so im not complaining and i achieved the same result.

if your really interested, i fashioned a cork that sits on my bottle cage screw in my seat tube, with a slit down the side of it so water doesnt collect. the pump rests on that.

i dont really understand why you carry so much stuff. i have a bottle in a cage, a pump+multitool on the frame and a spare tube+levers under the saddle. locks if i need them go in the back of my belt, or a cable around my neck. if i need to carry anything else it goes in my pockets or i put the saddle bag on. this time of year its too hot to wear a jacket even if its raining, id rather just get wet.

if i have a problem that requires anymore tools its probably serious, and time to find a way home that doesnt involve riding. i cant stand riding with anything on my back, ive never really understood the whole messenegr bag jive, the thought of a massive bag covering my back seems silly when i can just get a nice set of panniers or a saddlebag. i can see the use if your actually a curryer but otherwise i dont get it.

with this said it is very likely i use my bike diffrently to you. i dont lock my bike in public areas, i have quick releases on all my bikes (even on the fixed!) and i dont use it to commute to a job where appearance is important.

i cant stand riding with anything on my back, ive never really understood the whole messenegr bag jive, the thought of a massive bag covering my back seems silly when i can just get a nice set of panniers or a saddlebag.

Because when you're just nipping a few miles down the road to the shops for a weeks worth of food and toiletries it's much easier to just sling on a big messenger bag than piss about with fitting panniers, removing them when you get to the shop so they don't get knicked, fitting them again when you've finished shopping and got them full of beer, bog roll etc.... They're great if you are into touring, a PITA for day to day load carrying IMO.

Boy some of you really carry a lot of crap. Talk about complicating this simple beauty of a bike. Anyway I rarely have a bag. I've always found them hot, annoying, and most of the time, complete overkill. Everything I need fits in a small hip pouch, if that. 1 mini pump, 1 patch kit, 1 bike lock. You don't need a spanner to fix a flat with a patch kit. If I'm needing to carry more, such as groceries, I take my dirt cheap basket bike.

I'm pretty sure that just my locks are heavier than my bike- Krypto New York chain and Krypto evo mini-D.

That plus the bag is def heavier than the bike.

I'm heavier than my bag and my bike :)

My sac is heavier than my bike.

Much heavier.

Have a wank then ;)

No-

I have a timmy mallet bumbags and an ALAN Aluminium.

My bumbag is lighter.

Cheers,
James

i own a charge plug.

"jumper in case it gets cold or rains, mudguard for the same reason (if rain looks likely), tools (allen keys, mini pump, spanner, lube, innertube, tyre levers, chainbreaker, etc), and wouldn't want to be caught out without them. Add into the mix various art materials, books, article cutouts, AV/musical/misc electronic equipment, a laptop, and you have a fucking back-ache."

I don't carry a jumper in case it gets cold - either wear a jacket or pedal faster.
I don't carry locks unless I have to.. I have one at home for shopping trips and two at work.
I don't carry mudguards - I mean, wtf?!
Tools - Alien2 multitool, blackburn minipump, Surly 15mm, 2 tubes = job done
Lube = WTF?! Leave it at home ffs.. you need to properly clean your chain before applying it so you're not likely to do this on the road are you?

Dunno about your work shit.. I carry fuck all. Do you NEED it all? I mean really NEED to carry it? Judging by your other crap I reckon there's ways you can cut down.

My bike is heavier than my bag, but not as heavy as me. So I like to give my bike a rest some times and carry it in stead.

Grobag FTW!

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can of Pitstop and maybe a spare base layer for this changeable weather, hate having stuff on my back. Mini evo if stopping anywhere.

i cant stand riding with anything on my back, ive never really understood the whole messenegr bag jive, the thought of a massive bag covering my back seems silly when i can just get a nice set of panniers or a saddlebag. i can see the use if your actually a curryer but otherwise i dont get it.

Having stuff in a bag on my back is so much quicker and easier around town, especially if going shopping, although I agree with you on the sweaty back thing - I hate that. I did use a pannier for about 6 months and it was the most godawful thing I've ever done to my bike. I hated the way it affected the bike handling and almost came to hate commuting as a result. Going back to my courier bag was the best thing I've ever done after that. Having said that, I'm keen to try a saddle bag at some point...

I tend to carry loads of redundant crap, including 2 dSLRs inc. lenses and flashguns just incase I see something nice. Plus incidental stuff like extra clothes, extra sprockets and tools to change them, coats and chargers for all my electrical gear (camera, iPhone ect.). It's really fucking my back up but I honestly use most of them pretty frequently. Apart from maybe the sprockets.

I'm getting loads of back pain though, and whilst the Chrome might be a decent solution the lack of padding and the stress from single shoulder use is really starting to piss me off. I might stitch some extra padding into the back, or buy an ortleib rolltop to better distribute the weight. Any advice?

I'd love an Archie's, but it'd have to be custom and I don't have the moneys, or a big leather saddle bag, but I don't think it'd be able to fit all my things in. Damnit.

alex you probably just need to change your stem length, and don't carry frickin lube - or is it not bicycle lube?

Extra sprockets?! WHy don't you just ride gears ffs

More reliable than grip shift.

Nah but seriously, I just keep them in my took kit so I know where they are. It's not like I'm going 'fuck, this hill is steeper than I though... Hold on I've got an 20t somewhere in here!'

Mine quite often is. I carry a bunch of tools, lights, and spares (tubes etc) in a toolbag, couple of dozen arrospoks and then clothes/misc things in a shoulderbag, both inside one of these ...

Think I've found the issue

ALex, you live a different lifestyle to a lot of people, and that is your problem. It has very little to do with the tools, but more to do with laptop, locks, other stuff etc. People who say they don't ride with a bag clearly are not a student or someone who can't just leave stuff at work.

I think the laptop and locks are the most weight though, and chances are they are probably the most important, so just deal with it.