Liam's On Bike Spare's Breakdown

Do You Put Any Spares On Your Bike?

As part of this mini series on the spares and tools I carry on the bike, I’m covering what I keep specifically on my bike for daily riding and racing. This is part two, with part one being my Ride Wallet setup, or what I put in my bib pocket when jumping on any bike.

Keep in mind, I am always carrying my Ride Wallet. This on-bike setup is more of an addition to that. The Ride Wallet is for quick fixes: tire plugs, one CO2 head, one CO2 cartridge, a multitool, an AXS battery, and so on. The on-bike kit carries the more serious stuff, or the things I do not need within a few seconds, especially while racing.

What I Pack:

For the most part, this setup stays pretty similar across all of my bikes. On the gravel bike, it goes in a saddle bag. On the XC bike, it goes in an accessory mount bag. On the enduro bike, it lives in the downtube storage.

The staples are a TPU tube, usually the WTB version, sized for whichever bike I’m riding, whether that is gravel or XC. I also carry two CO2 cartridges, a tire boot, and a Ziploc bag with chain links, zip ties, a CR2032 battery, one shop towel, and sometimes a small water filter.

Between the on-bike kit and the Ride Wallet, I can get out of about 95% of mechanical jams on the trail.

What It Goes In:

On the gravel bike, everything goes into a small saddle bag. I’ve searched up and down for one that fits just right, does not bounce around, and tucks cleanly under the saddle. My go-to is the Lezyne Micro Caddy, which fits the full list of spares above.

On the XC bike, I recently found this Friend and Fiend accessory mount bag. It is a small brand out of Bellingham that I came across on Instagram. I’ve used the Wolf Tooth and Crankbrothers strap mounts before, and both work great. I also used to take a Trail One stem bag and wrap all my spares inside that so they were less exposed to UV, dust, and trail grime. But this accessory mount bag is cleaner, easier to pack, and keeps everything tucked away nicely.

Occasionally, I’ll use an Evoc frame bag for huge backcountry rides. That lets me carry everything above, plus a small HydraPak water filter.

The enduro bike is the easy one. With downtube storage on most modern enduro bikes, you get a lot more room to fit everything. My bike comes with a Revel pouch, as most do, so I can pack that full. What’s nice is that I can also fit the water filter and even stuff in my small KETL windbreaker.

Final Thoughts:

So those kits, paired with my Ride Wallet, are the daily essentials. The on-bike kit lives on the bike, and the Ride Wallet lives in my pocket on every ride.

But sometimes, you need to be extra, extra prepared for big missions or multi-day rides. So part three of this mini series will cover the larger hydration pack setup.