Top tube or frame bag a no no?

Ive got a stem mount bag which is great on longer rides I also have never been a fan of carrying things like my phone in the back of my Jersey. If i take a tumble an cant get back id much prefer to be able to ring someone.

Im probably going to get mocked but meh. Pump and multitool are discreet frame mounts. Tube CO2 keys an phone in the saddle pack and long rides munch in the stem bag.

Things like Gels or other generally soft stuff im fine with in the jersey so arm warmers etc.

Leaving aesthetics aside for a moment....it is a very handy place to put an external battery for keeping your Garmin ( or phone ) charged on very long rides...wish I'd thought of it when I rode the Dragon Ride Gran Fondo recently.

I ride 60-70 miles often and if im solo i i take my leyzene micro caddy with a Co2 canister, tube, multitool patches and my debt card and some change,  in my jersey if im solo another tube, Leyzene presure drive Co2 pump. Phone then gels and energy bars, i prefer to wear my Gabba in most condtions i have caught out in horendous weather on top of the beacons and gabba coped amazingly,

and 2 large bottles on the bike with sis energy drink in them which is great stuff

Y'all are carrying too much stuff .

60 miles:

Food = breakfast before, banana on the bike, 1x get-me-home gel.

Drink = 1 normal size bottle, 2 if it's really hot or if racing.

Spares = levers, tube, CO2, micro-multitool and quicklink, all fits in a pouch the size of my ancient iPhone.  Add stick on patches and pump if puncture paranoia sets in. 

Clothing = gilet most of the time or Hotpack if rain paranoia sets in.

Plus phone, emergency tenner and debit card of course.

All of the above in jersey pockets. 

The more storage space you have the more stuff you'll carry, the heavier and harder to ride your bike will be, the slower you'll go, the longer you'll be out so the more stuff you'll need (repeat).

Bit like mountaineering - go fast and light or be prepared to hire sherpas...

If anyone's looking for a compact top tube bag I highly recommend the XLab Rocket Pocket. Looks really sleak and blends the stem into the top tube. Odd though I am, I actually prefer my bike with it than without. Kinda looks naked and spindly otherwise

For a below-the-seat solution the Lezyne Road Caddy is spot on; it's tiny - just enough for a tube, tyre levers, chain links, CO2+valve and a couple of hex keys - and attaches to the seat rails rather than the post which keeps it ridigly attached.

I use my two cages for water. At the moment I can carry 1750 ml in them, and 2000 ml is the maximum they'll take.

It sounds like a lot, but I use all of that 1750 ml on a 60 mile ride. I'm going to try the collapsible bottles to enable me to carry more fluid.

The other solution is buying it when out, but as a solo rider that necessitates the kind of portable or 'through-a-hatch' establishment that you find more on the coast.

I bought a medium-sized Topeak saddle bag today after having a micro-sized one for the last three years.

I've had a road bike for nine months, and my longest rides are always 50-60 miles now. As the weather improves so till will my 'average-maximum-distance', to coin an ugly phrase.

The doubling or-so of my bag's capacity will enable me to carry more food and gels, vital on long rides. I find that anything up to forty miles or so can be done with basic food and water, but as you start popping over half-centuries more often, so your need for supplements increases. It's a bit of a bugger because foodstuffs can be made cheaper at home, but it's hard replicating an isotonic drink or the kick of a gel.

All of this blather (sorry, I'm excited about long rides in the year to come ) is a preamble to asking a question.

Does anyone use the 'collapsible' bottles that are £3-ish? If so, are they effective at staying sealed, and are they unobtrusive when carrying after use?

I made a mount which fits to the seat bars, welded up a stainless bar to hold my large canvas saddle bag, it doesn't sway when ridden, held firm but easily removed at the end of a ride.

What's all this about rattling saddle bags? If you can't solve that problem, I'm quite astounded some of you can figure out how to get on a bike.

Bulging jersey pockets are far more unsightly than a small saddle bag.

While I don't use a top tube bag myself, I've nothing against those who do.

Start riding Ultras. We laugh at the rules because the rules have never ridden 400+ miles straight with no stopping. When they do that, we'll obey them.

OK, if we are comparing here goes:

Small case (a re-purposed pencil case for me) with tubes, tools, keys and cash in middle pocket.
Pocket pump also in middle pocket.
Rain jacket and mobile phone in left pocket.
Food in right pocket.

If I'm wearing arm warmers and want to take them off they go down the front of my bibs.

Things change a bit for longer rides as I like a 3rd bottle which goes in my middle pocket and my jacket gets left at home. The same goes for longish rides in the dark where my batery takes up one of my bottle cages. These are unusual examples for me and I'd get a little saddle bag if they were more regular.

Food in left pocket, rain jacket in the middle, phone/keys/ID/cash in right pocket. Spares in the saddle bag. For a while I did keep food in a top tube bag, because when I first joined a club the group pace was a little quick to be fiddling around with jersey pockets. I also used it as a litter bin for a while. Screw everyone else.

It just depends on how much you care about what other people think.

I'm with The Rules on this. I'm not a fan of bags on any part of the bike if I can help it. Even small saddle bags seem to flappy for my liking. and having something on the top tube sound horrible.

That said, do what you want.

All that stuff you have in your top tube bag or seat pack should really be kept in the support car, just don't get caught drafting

Why oh why question the rules? If you want bags, do it properly, get a mountain bike and some baggies.

What else will you do with those lovely rear pockets?

Not 'my' rules, qwerky.

I have a top-tube bag for long distance solo rides ~140 miles, but I find they get in the way of my knees, so try not to use them.

I've stopped using a saddle bag too; too rattle prone...

Ha, I'd be in fashionista hell. MTB helmet, shoes & cleats & a Trek pack that fits in my bottle cage. I tend not to like seat packs as they restrict seatpost space for lights too much.

Stick a basket on it for all I care, so long as you're riding your bike.

I struggle to see why you would need one, quite apart from the aesthetic considerations. You have 3 rear pockets to put food and anything else in, and/or a saddlebag. It's surely not that much of an issue to reach behind you?

Please don't turn road biking into the equivalent of mountain biking, where one has to take the kitchen sink in an over stuffed Camelbak on every ride 'just in case'.

Nothing wrong with a top tube bag, mine has a see through waterproof compartment for my phone so i can show a map on it, useful if i am in a new area. I don't tend to use it all the time because out of the saddle my knees graze against it and not all rides are into the unknown.

I'd rather carry stuff in my Lezyne Caddy Sack rather than rattling around in a seat bag any day. I just have a spare tube, levers and co2 pump in there.

Carrying tools, pump etc on the bike rather than on your person is necessary for safety. Fall down and you get an Allen key or something sticking into your kidney, unless it is not in your pocket in the first place.

I find I've the right size saddle bag to fit everything that I don't need to immediately access. It's slightly more aerodynamic that a frame bag (...probably), swings about less (...maybe) and is a bit lighter on its own - but if you find you need both, then go for it; it IS your bike.

'The Rules' are pretty esoteric, and largely tongue-in-cheek. If you're greatest desire in life is to be considered a devout and faithful Velominatus, then ditch the bags pronto (including the one on the saddle saddle). If, however, you have other concerns in your life, nobody will come after you with pitchforks for loading your bike up like Santa's sleigh. Probably not even REALLY silly people.

I've started using a top-tube bag for longer rides because it gives me somewhere easy and accessible to store energy chews/jelly babies/ energy bars. I don't want to keep unwrapped food in my jersey pockets, and I don't feel comfortable unwrapping food while riding (safety and potential, though unintentional, littering).

It definitely means that I am more regularly taking on fuel, which is a very good thing.

I guess it breaks the Rules (as does my saddle bag for tools/tubes) but I don't care! Anyway, it means that I don't have to stop and queue at food stations at events - I just keep going as I have my nutrition with me.