The funny thing about cargo pants is that very seldom are they actually transporting any cargo. What a strange flex it is indeed to walk around flaunting your capacity for cargo, without ever moving anything from one place to another. I think they should call them pockets-pants, because most of the time, it seems to be pockets for the sake of pockets.
They make cargo bibs now, which are regular bibs with pockets. I think that’s because so many riding shirts stopped having pockets. The need for storage persists. The pockets are a moveable feast.
I’m one of the problematic ones who mostly gave up on road jerseys and their ample storage. I don’t really know why. I never made a conscious choice there. I just started wanting to wear looser fitting shirts, to feel less serious on the bike. But then of course, I faced the question of where to put my stuff.
Bags are pretty popular places to put things. Handlebar bags. Frame bags. Saddle bags. I’ll be honest. I sort hate them all. I don’t wanna hang stuff off my bike. I don’t want to deal with straps. I don’t want to listen to them rattling around. Yes. Yes. I know. There are good ones that don’t come with those irritations.
Many mountain bike frames now have in-frame storage. Frankly, I find this bewildering. We’re just gonna chop a piece out of one of the very important round tubes that keep this contraption together? I’m sure it’s fine. It doesn’t feel fine.
My solution to the problem is just to bring less stuff with me. Always less stuff. Does this mean I sometimes get caught out with one less layer, or one less food bar, or one less tool than might be ideal? Yes. Definitely yes. Most of the time I get away with it though.
What about you? How do you store stuff when riding? Are you minimalist or a maximalist? Finally, are you wearing cargo shorts right now?
Wearing shorts with more pockets than I can use as I type this. 4 out of 5 of my bikes have some sort of fixed rack with various style of bags attached. The 5th, my phat bike has a main frame triangle bag-strap version. I gave up “fast” a long ago. Bike picnics and coffee outside adventures are pretty common ride themes for me these days. Can’t carry a four-course meal in jersey pockets.
I’m a medium-ist, though I hate to refer to myself in anything that ends in -ist.
When riding a mtn bike, I bring too much stuff and I wear a backpack. I vaguely remember a Grimy Handshake column years ago that addressed this and Ferrentino made an off-hand remark (or maybe he didn’t) about big backpacks make you a better person. I think we should always strive to be better people. I always usually always have enough food, enough water, that extra layer or jacket, the tube, the pump, the tools, the spare part(s) to get me out of the woods. Usually always. And some readers so I can see what I’m doing up close.
When riding my (gravel) road bike, I have less. Seat pouch for tool and tube, C02, plugs. Dumb little top-tube/headtube bag to rattle my phone, a bar, chapstick. No jersey pockets usually. I dunno, I don’t really feel like not having all my schnaedle is what is going to help me survive on the road. Looking like a normal person so as to not get hit by a ranch truck is more key to a happy ride in these parts, and that works really well. The ranch truck drivers wave at me.
I like my jersey pockets. Carry food, money, phone, mini pump. Also a place to stuff warmers when I pull them off.
Only bag on bike is for spare tube, patch kit. I only have freight capacity on my bike touring rig.
I’m somewhere in the middle also. It’s rare these days that I wear a jersey with pockets, so I slowly but surely have been adding stowage to my bikes. This is in the form of handlebar bags and small capacity frame packs to mostly hold snacks and extra layers as I can’t tough out those first cold miles like I used to. No backpacks (hydration or otherwise) either- everything extra gets carried on the bike itself, including the cellphone. I also work really hard to keep things from rattling around- silence is golden.
I’m with you, Robot as a minimalist, but I still can manage whatever. I too despise having things strapped to my bike and it even took me a long time to get into using water bottles. On bike I have my tools (OneUp EDC steer tube holder) OneUp pump on/in frame, and a water bottle. In my pockets are my phone in a Muc-Off essentials case that is also home to a eyeglass wipe, tire boots and plugs, keys, meds and snacks. Rides beyond 2-3 hours or really hot days, I’ll wear either an Austere Labs or Bontrager hip pack with additional water, food, etc. Lastly, I like internal frame storage, but I would not be heartbroken without it.