Commuting - Remember to bring EVERYTHING!!

I started commuting again I have a decent sized commute. I forgot to bring extra links and a chain tool for my S/S , and the chain broke I spent a lot of time walking to the bike shop. Always remember to bring extra parts and tools or you will get stuck! hopefully everyone has a great commute

Oh yes I always carry extra tubes, tires, chain tool, links, chain, spokes, BB tool, BB, and a portable work stand. You just never know when that rare breakage happens.

I started commuting again I have a decent sized commute. I forgot to bring extra links and a chain tool for my S/S , and the chain broke I spent a lot of time walking to the bike shop. Always remember to bring extra parts and tools or you will get stuck! hopefully everyone has a great commute

For that kind of thing I bring 7 quarters. Bus fare. I'm never more than a half mile from a bus stop on my commute.

Oh yes I always carry extra tubes, tires, chain tool, links, chain, spokes, BB tool, BB, and a portable work stand. You just never know when that rare breakage happens.

What, you don't carry spare brake and shifting cables? What do you do when your front brake cable breaks while going down hill? :p

I always tow my car behind me, so I never have this problem.

For that kind of thing I bring 7 quarters. Bus fare. I'm never more than a half mile from a bus stop on my commute.

Wow bus fare is cheap in Denver. Where I'm from, I would need 12 quarters!

I started commuting again I have a decent sized commute. I forgot to bring extra links and a chain tool for my S/S , and the chain broke I spent a lot of time walking to the bike shop. Always remember to bring extra parts and tools or you will get stuck! hopefully everyone has a great commute

Friend of mine and I went on a Saturday Century ride. 50 miles in on a 24% grade I snapped a chain. 50 years cycling experience and neither of us brought a chain tool. 6 hours later...well you get the idea. I don't go to the end of my driveway w/o a chain tool, links, spoke wrench, multi-tool, etc. anymore. My commutes are always great, hope your are from now on. :)

Wow bus fare is cheap in Denver. Where I'm from, I would need 12 quarters!

ha! all i need is 2 quarters, or 4 if i want a day pass.

I always tow my car behind me, so I never have this problem.

personally I like to tow a spare bike to insure I am never stranded

personally I like to tow a spare bike to insure I am never stranded

Nice! But do you ride the other bike or use it for spare parts? :D

I tow a small welder and generator in case I get a frame crack.

I carry a small folding bike in my messenger bag as a spare.

Each bike has its own permamently affixed tool kits and spare bike parts bag. Except for my race bike. That just the basics.

ha! all i need is 2 quarters, or 4 if i want a day pass.

Ha! all i need is, free! They even have bike racks on the front of the buses.

It doesn't matter how many tools or supplies you carry. When you break something, that will be the one day you forget to bring the right stuff. I actually keep a decent supply of tools, tubes, patch kits in my seat bag while commuting. Over the past year, I haven't had to use any of that stuff once. The only supplies I've had to use along the way is spare batteries, and I have had to replace those several times during rides over the winter.

Yeah there is no bus that runs from my house to school :P so it would be like an all day walk to get back home :) I wish they had AAA for bicycles

I drive and park to keep the distance manageable. Knowing me, it's only a matter of time before I jump out and notice there is no bike with me.

I drive and park to keep the distance manageable. Knowing me, it's only a matter of time before I jump out and notice there is no bike with me.

Yeah I am kinda stupid that way to I really don't care about distance I just ride

Yeah there is no bus that runs from my house to school :P so it would be like an all day walk to get back home :) I wish they had AAA for bicycles


AAA will pick you up if you have the recreational vehicle coverage.

LOL It does not specify that the recreational vehicle must have an internal combustion engine.

AAA will pick you up if you have the recreational vehicle coverage.

LOL It does not specify that the recreational vehicle must have an internal combustion engine.

lol I like how you think

I always tow my car behind me, so I never have this problem.

UM cars break down more often than bikes. It would be smart to carry your bike in the car in case of breakdown, not the other way around ( :) ) and I do know your comment was sarcastic. :)

What, you don't carry spare brake and shifting cables? :p

Spare cables zip tied right next to the existing ones. Duh.

AAA for bikes (http://www.betterworldclub.com/?source=adwords+bwc&gclid=CNuYoa7B4pICFQPHPAodGldNeg).

Personally, I carry my destination with me. That way, when I break down, I'm already there!

I have my butler follow me on his bike, with a spare bike for me on his shoulders- in addition to the complete tea service for 4 persons, should I come across a group of lovely ladies in need of tea.

I actually carry a pretty extensive (and heavy) toolkit every time I ride. I have almost never had to use these tools on my own bikes (and I have been riding for decades), but I do stop to provide roadside assistance to others. I'm not an extrovert by any means--my motivation is to do anything to promote cycling, commuting and utility cycling in particular.

Tomorrow, this is what I'll have with me:
http://www.parktool.com/images/products/productimages/spr_RK-41_2005923_25040.jpg
Bought the bag, stuffed it with my own tools, part time wrench at a LBS near here. ;)

But this thread is a good reminder that I need to stick a short chain segment into my seatbag kit and some of those quick-links.

You guys are funny. How often are you really going to break a chain to justify always carrying a chain tool and spare links? Honestly...

When I'm commuting, I'm always close to public transit, so I don't even bother to carry a spare tube, just an Alien in case something starts working loose. When I'm riding recreationally, I take a spare tube, levers and the Alien, and that's it. Anything worse, I can hike it. I can't see breaking a chain, not if you're maintaining and monitoring it for wear and replacing as needed.

I carry two small plastic boxes and a pump with me. Inside one plastic box is two combo-wrench/tire tools that can accommodate both the front and the rear nut size, a mess of patches, rubber cement and a metal scuffing tool. The other has basic first aid items like bandaids and disinfectant. I'm thinking I could actually probably combine both of those together...

I can walk, take the bus or use my cell-phone if anything worse than a flat happens. Really, if it's worse than that - it's likely either something I can keep going with, or the bike needs to be worked on in a proper shop (ie. at home).