A CYCLIST'S EVERY DAY CARRY
- Mark Saroni
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
You are two hours into a long ride, deep in the Hill Country, nowhere near a bike shop — and you hear a sound. Pop. Hiss. What happens next is entirely determined by what you packed before you left the house.
This is not a "nice to have" list. This is your every day carry — the non-negotiables that live in your saddle bag on every single ride, whether you're logging a recovery spin or grinding out a six-hour key IRONMAN® session. If you're riding without these items, you're gambling. And out on the road, the house always wins.
Let's walk through exactly what I carry, why I carry it, and how each piece earns its place in my kit.
THE FOUNDATION: YOUR SEAT ROLL
Everything starts here. You want something compact, secure, and with plenty of room.
01 SEAT ROLL
Invest in a good seat roll and you'll never think about it again. Cheap out and it'll fail you at the worst possible moment. Here are two options depending on your budget and preference:
The Silca Seat Roll Asymmetrico is what I personally use. Silca builds tools for people who take their equipment seriously — the fit, the materials, the attention to detail are in a different class.
THE CORE KIT — WHAT LIVES IN THAT ROLL
02 HAND PUMP
CO2 is fast. CO2 is convenient. CO2 is also finite — you get one shot per cartridge. A hand pump is your insurance policy. If you botch the CO2 inflation, if you use your last cartridge and something else goes wrong, or if a riding partner needs help, a hand pump saves the ride.
Get one that's compact enough to tuck into your seat roll or jersey pocket, but capable of reaching road-worthy pressure.
03 SPARE TUBE
You carry a spare tube because tubes fail. Standard tube — lightweight, affordable, reliable. This is your baseline. Tubolito — if you're watching every gram or cramming gear into a minimal saddle bag, Tubolito's thermoplastic elastomer tubes are dramatically smaller and lighter. Worth the price difference for long-course athletes.
One tube minimum. Two if you're doing anything remote or long.
04 VALVE EXTENDER
Deep-section aero wheels require a valve stem long enough to clear the rim depth. Without an extender you cannot inflate a tire on a deep-section wheel roadside. They're cheap, they're tiny, and they've saved more rides than people realize.
05 VALVE CORE TOOL
You'll need this to swap a valve extender in if your valve stem isn't long enough. They weigh nothing and cost almost nothing. Earns a spot.
06 DYNAPLUG
If you're running tubeless, the Dynaplug is your first line of defense. Small punctures from glass, thorns, or road debris can often be plugged on the fly without removing the wheel, without breaking the bead, and without losing more than a few minutes.
The process: locate the puncture, insert the plug, re-inflate. Back on the road.
07 MULTITOOL
Bikes move. Components shift, bolts vibrate loose, saddles tilt. A quality compact multitool with the right hex keys, a chain breaker, and a torx bit covers the vast majority of mid-ride mechanicals. Don't cheap out here — a multitool with rounded-off Allen keys can strip a bolt that would otherwise be a five-second fix.
08 CO2 CARTRIDGES
Carry at least two. One is a plan. Two is a backup. For long rides or racing, I carry three. CO2 gets your tire to race pressure instantly — something a hand pump can't fully replicate in the field. Use CO2 first, hand pump as your safety net. Make sure cartridge size matches your inflator head (16g is standard for road).
09 SRAM AXS SPARE BATTERY
Specifically for athletes running SRAM eTap AXS electronic groupsets. A dead derailleur battery mid-ride means you're stuck in whatever gear you're in — and that's if you're lucky enough not to be in the 50/10. The AXS batteries are small, rechargeable, and a fully charged spare will get you home no matter what. If you're running AXS, this is non-negotiable.
10 CR 2032 BATTERY
Your heart rate monitor, your Garmin remote, your power meter — a dead coin cell battery can kill critical data mid-race or mid-training block. Tuck one in. Every drugstore carries them.
11 A PENNY (OR ANY COIN)
Old school? Absolutely. Still useful? Yes. A coin can remove a valve core on older systems, serve as a makeshift tire lever in a pinch, or help seat a tubeless bead when you're working without levers. Costs nothing. Weighs nothing. Carry one.
The flat that wrecks your training block never announces itself. The mechanical that leaves you stranded never happens at a convenient time. The moment you need your kit is, by definition, the moment you least expect it.
BONUS ITEMS
FOR THE RIDERS WHO COME FULLY PREPARED
A $20 BILL
Cash is a tool. A flat beyond repair, a café stop when nutrition runs out, an Uber back to the car when the day falls apart — a $20 bill has saved more rides than any piece of gear I can name. Fold it up, tuck it under your saddle rail, forget about it until you need it. Bring your own. 😁
ELECTRIC MINI PUMP
For athletes who want CO2 speed without the waste, or who need to fine-tune pressure mid-ride, a rechargeable electric mini pump is a legitimate upgrade. Compact enough for a jersey pocket, inflates a road tire to full pressure in under a minute.
RIDE WALLET WITH FIRST AID & CPR BARRIER
A compact wallet with basic first aid supplies and a CPR mouth barrier means that if something happens to you or someone around you on the road, you're equipped to respond. We train for performance. Part of training intelligently is being prepared for emergencies. I keep one on every ride.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Here's the thing about an every day carry: it only works if it's actually on the bike, every day. Not just on race day. Not just on long rides. Every. Day.
Build the habit. Pack the bag. Ride with confidence.
If you have questions about building your kit or want to know what I personally run on my training and race bikes, reach out. This is the kind of thing we cover in detail with our athletes at Paragon — because the details are what separate athletes who perform from athletes who just show up and hope for the best.
Ride on 🤘
PARAGON TRAINING · PARAGONTRAINING.ORG
What a great list! Im going shopping today!
Kathleen O’