An article titled 6 of the best: saddle bags, which appeared recently on bikeradar.com, reminded me of a post I wrote last year about how to carry everything that you need while on a bike ride.
When I wrote that post, I was using a Silca Seat Roll Premio under my saddle to carry a spare tube, tire levers, a CO2 regulator and gas cartridge, patches, a multi-tool, and cleaning wipes.
I’ve recently switched to using a Specialized KEG Storage Vessel instead of the Premio.
Photograph courtesy of Specialized
Not that there’s anything wrong with the Premio. Far from it. The Premio is an excellent piece of kit, and there will be times when I use it again.
When I go on overnight credit card tours, my Apidura Saddle Pack takes the place of the Premio, so I need an alternate way to carry a spare tube, tire levers etc. I could put them in the Apidura, but opening the Saddle Pack mid-ride is not particularly convenient. I have used a top tube bag a number of times, but found that the bag gets in the way when I am out of the saddle.
The KEG sits, out of the way, in the bottle cage on my seat tube. It has the additional advantages of being extremely easy to open, it does not need to be removed from the bike like a saddle roll, and items can’t fall out like they may from a saddle bag.
Items inside the KEG are held securely by a pocketed “tool wrap,” which also prevents rattling.
Photograph courtesy of sigmasports.com
There are always a compromises when it comes bicycle components. On the minus side, the KEG occupies a bottle cage, leaving me with room for one water bottle instead of two. Which is not a problem, as there are lots of places to refill my bottle where I usually ride.
On the plus side, I have lots of exposed seat tube where I can mount one or more rear lights.
The Specialized KEG Storage Vessel is now my preferred way of carrying flat tire repair essentials.
I give it 
Old Roots, New Routes 