Why not ditch the rucksack?

All else being equal, no-one really wants to wear a rucksack while they are riding. Regardless of how well ventilated they are you inevitably end up with a sweaty back and no amount of straps will stop them from jiggling around to some extent. But I’ve worn a Camlebak, in various forms, whenever I’ve headed out on my mountain bike ever since I bought my first Mule well over a decade ago. And the kit that it contains has slowly expanded, partly because I’m one of those people who likes to have every eventuality covered (Did someone say they had a loose cassette?) and partly because you may as well if you’ve got the room. Once I’d accepted that a rucksack is part of my core cycling kit I only ever seemed to add more stuff, never taking anything away.

Well, with the new bike I thought that it was also about time to re-think the rest of my gear. I’d previously tried to rid myself of a rucksack by switching to a saddle bag, but it only took a single ride for the thing to rip itself apart as the weight of it swung around off-road. The real catalyst for this re-visiting was a recent browse of the Alpkit website, where I stumbled across their Fuel Pod (www.alpkit.com/products/fuel-pod-small). 

Originally designed to sit on top of your top tube up by your stem, the Fuel Pod is a convenient way to have a few energy gels and a banana to hand if that’s your kind of thing. However, given its three broad, velcro straps I figured that it could be repurposed to hold most of what I need on a ride, safely secured between my top tube and seat tube (a bit like those triangular bags from the 90’s!) A few rides with this set-up seem to have proved the theory.

I went for the smallest of the three Fuel Pod options, which is just big enough to hold: a 29er inner tube; tyre levers; 15mm spanner; multi-tool; electrical tape; a couple of zip-ties; an iPhone; and my keys. So I’ve had to rationalise my equipment, but I’m hardly slumming it. I also use a traditional bottle and cage - I went with a 600ml version as this holds plenty of water for me for a 2 hour ride and is less likely to be shaken out than a 750ml option. With a mini-pump attached in the same location that’s everything I need without the sweaty back! ​

I’m loving riding in just a t-shirt again - one thing I’ve noticed is that it just makes going out for a ride feel a bit more relaxed and spontaneous. I just thought that I’d share this in case anyone else fancies doing something similar?