- Location
- London
if you use a saddlebag (or maybe you mean just one small underseatpacks) you aren't ultra minimal.I would be one of those you see with very little with them. I basically carry two full water bottles, a pump and a small saddle bag that has a spare tube, patch kit, bike multi-tool and a packet of Gu along with my phone, ID and house key. And you would be correct that I am usually riding a loop that never takes me more than about 5 miles from my home. I'll do the 10 mile loop twice on most days but have been known to do it three times. There is a 12 to 13 mile loop that I intend to do once I feel I can tackle the additional hill climbs on that route but it essentially follows the same general loop with some added detours. I have gotten flats before and I will fix them on the road so I can ride home. The only time I was forced to walk was when a small piece of stick somehow got lodged in the lower pulleys of my rear derailleur and I ended up snapping the entire derailleur off completely. No amount of tools would have allowed me to fix that one on the fly. But years ago when I first started riding on the road with my new road bike after years of mountain biking I would continue to carry everything in a backpack simply because that was what I was used to. I did a few rides with an attorney I knew from work who also rode in my area and when he saw me with the backpack he said "That's very mountain." I said "So what" and he repeated "That's very mountain." I didn't ride with him after that. I don't have patience for roadie snobs.
And you say you have two water bottles - top marks.
I used to lead lots of rides - I once notoriously refused water to a roadee wannabee/fakenger who had come out with just one bottle in order to save weight/fit in with some "rules"