Monday, July 24, 2006
Tip#3: On your bike
Load inner tubes, repair kits, lighting, tools, food, and water onto the frame of the bike, thus doing away with the need to carry extraneous weight in your pack. This helps keep things organised in the frenzy of quick transitions and sprint level events, and can make a huge different to your comfort level over longer bike sections. All that weight off your back is borned by the bike now - water bottles in bottle cages, heavy tools in saddle packs, and even inner tubes taped to the frame.
One item of interest is the towing system. Modified retractable dog leashes have become de rigeur over the last two years. However, these can make for pretty cluttered seatposts, especially on smaller-sized bikes. One solution is to use smaller leashes - the Flippy series in 'Small' is a perfect example - that can be tucked in above or below a reasonably sized saddle pack. The other solution is to do away with the saddle pack completely, and instead rely on Bento Box-type storage devices that attach along the top tube of the bike frame.
Load inner tubes, repair kits, lighting, tools, food, and water onto the frame of the bike, thus doing away with the need to carry extraneous weight in your pack. This helps keep things organised in the frenzy of quick transitions and sprint level events, and can make a huge different to your comfort level over longer bike sections. All that weight off your back is borned by the bike now - water bottles in bottle cages, heavy tools in saddle packs, and even inner tubes taped to the frame.
One item of interest is the towing system. Modified retractable dog leashes have become de rigeur over the last two years. However, these can make for pretty cluttered seatposts, especially on smaller-sized bikes. One solution is to use smaller leashes - the Flippy series in 'Small' is a perfect example - that can be tucked in above or below a reasonably sized saddle pack. The other solution is to do away with the saddle pack completely, and instead rely on Bento Box-type storage devices that attach along the top tube of the bike frame.
