Why Is This Bike So Heavy?
I think I’ve tracked down the culprit:
Which contains . . .
Clothes:
- Fleece
- Endura Humvee trousers. Look almost like regular trousers, but with far more pockets.
- Day-glo Nike Sphere base layer. It’s that time of year where it looks cold, then it’s not, and vice versa.
Waterproofs:
- Altura over-shorts
- Maddison jacket
- Couple of plastic bags to protect the saddle & handlebar tape if I have to leave the bike outside in the rain
Paperwork:
- Client file (pen inside)
- Glasses in a hard case.
Tools:
- Park Tools multi-tool
- Tyre levers
- Puncture kit
- Crank extractor tool
- Spare tube
- 3 regular cable ties
- 3 re-usable cable ties
- 1 leather strap & buckle
- 10" adjustable spanner (a.k.a. The Attitude Adjuster)
Lighting:
- Head torch - for use in night-time puncture repairs. Never had to use it. Yet.
- Spare front light. You never know - BOTH the ones on the bike could fail.
- String of red LED fairy lights - hang out the back of the bike.
- Spare batteries in a small plastic bag to keep ‘em dry
Security:
- Kryptolock Series 2 D-lock. This is the main lock for the bike
- Kryptoflex cable. This secures the front wheel, saddle, and anything else I can thread it through.
- Padlock for the cable
Fuel (not shown - already consumed!):
- Bowl of pasta & sauce
- Banana
- Apple
- Bagel
- Flapjacks x 2 (nomnomnomnom!)
Comms (plugged in to charge / used to take the photos)
- My iPhone
- The Firm’s Blackberry
Miscellaneous:
- Six Actionwipes. No idea why I have SIX - I think I must have just grabbed them from my office drawer at some point.
So there you go - a lesson in how to pack light.
Your mission now: go and empty your saddle bag / panniers / rucksack / whatever and see what YOU’VE been lugging around with you!
You carry a crank extractor?
Are you sure a pair of headset wrenches isn’t tucked away in there too…?
Doesn’t everyone?
And a BB tap, wheel-building rig, brazing kit, powder coating plant, pipe benders, a selection of lugs, spare saddle, and an emergency if-both-sets-of-brakes-fail-at-least-this-yacht-anchor-and-chain-will-stop-me. Oh, and a kitchen sink for washing my hands in afterwards.
In the 70L Basil panniers of my Pashly Roadster Sovereign there resides:
A rain jacket
An extra sweater
A Kryptonite D-lock
That’s it. Number of tools = Zero. My Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres have never got a puncture.
If I should ever have a breakdown I am certainly not going to get myself dirty trying to repair it. If I am not close to one of Toronto’s 71 bike shops I’ll lock up the bike and take the subway to wherever I’m going. Then later I’ll take the bike onto the subway to a bike shop to get fixed.
I don’t carry tools on the Brompton - as any fule kno, the best Brompton repair kit is the number of a local taxi company, the address of a local bike shop, and copious ready cash.
I do on the other bikes, just because I’d sooner get on with the ride. and not many bike shops open at 6:10am on the commute…
I met a bloke out riding the other day who had a loose crank.
I couldn’t help because I’ve dumped the tool and fitted all my bikes with self extracting crankbolts. Only need an 8mm Allen key to tighten them and I carry that anyway.
Oddly enough, that’s why I carry the crank tool - if one comes loose, you end up completely knackering it if you carry on riding on it. So as soon as you hear the creak of doom, stop & tighten it.
It still amazes me that with all of our technology we still seem to think our locks have to weigh about 25 pounds to be able to secure our bikes. Seems we should be able to come up with something better and we could all cut our cargo weights by a significant amount.
I see a lot of cyclists who would benefit from losing 25 pounds off their body!