Commuting - How often have you gotten stuck with no way home.?

I post this under commuting because this is where a bike breaking down would be the most inconvenient. In over 65,000 miles of riding, I have broken down on my bike twice...Both times, I was able to walk to a bus stop and get home. If one keeps up good maintenance this should not be a big worry.?
Most everything might be able to be repaired on the road, except say a tacoed rim? What happened to you and what kind of inconvenience did you suffer.? I consider bike commuting more reliable than cars..Hope this is a fair assessment.? So do you think bikes are reliable.?
I have an agreement with a cyclist friend..He/I break down -we will come and rescue one another, if at all possible.

over the years I've learned to carry the tools and parts to get me through, sometimes the going gets slow, but i always get where I need to go. In the past motorist would stop and ask if I need help when I was on the side of the road doing a repair but that is happening less and less. People just drive on by as if I weren't even there. I carry 3 tubes, 1 chain, brake pads, a spoke wrench, chain tool, set of allens, a headset wrench (32mm X 15mm road wrench), a cassette removal tool and short chain whip, a set of tire levers, pressure gauge, mini pump and a back up battery operated head light. I have needed every one of these items at one time or another and they have become a part of what I carry on every commute. I haven't need to be retrieved as of yet.

mrfix, you haul an LBS with you! On tours I carry something like that, but on commute I have just a patch kit, a pump, a set of allen keys and the trusty Gerber.

My most complicated roadside fix while touring has been replacing a broken spoke and truing the wheel to a rideable condition. My commute fixes have not been even that complicated, mostly just flats. I guess I've been lucky. :beer:

--J

Ive had one show-stopper on my commute, the derailleur cage cracked and the chain jammed between cog and spokes. I needed a workshop to remove the chain.
My solution was to lock the bike up, and continue the journey by bus, then return later and pick up the bike by car (or taxi).

I suspect the most likely fix might be a broken spoke.. ANyone ever seen those kevlar threads, you can replace the spoke from the nipple, but just screwing in a kevlar thread. I have one...On a commute, no time for anything extensive. Hope this is fast... The one condition as I mentioned, that is not repairable is a tacoed rim..Watch those drainage grates.
Unfortunately, unlike my recreation rides, I usually have the mental crutch of a bus, which I can hijack and get home.
My work commute crosses county lines over which municipal buses do not cross...So that way I do not have the mental crutch to fall back on..I call the bus company frequently suggestioning a bus travel in that direction...

Juha
My commute is through the countryside with not too much around, it's 18.5 miles and my wife will never let me live it down if I call her to pick me up. Besides, my bike hates to ride in a motor vehicle, it would rather be ridden.

My concern on my commute is time. I carry a multitool, spare tube, tire levers, pump, patch kit, etc... I worry that anything more involved than a quick tube change would potentially make me late for work and could also be very uncomfortable on really cold mornings when I'm largely relying on the spinning to keep me warm-not heavy clothing. I have a "point of no return" where, if I have a serious breakdown, I have to determine if I'm close enough to simply return home (and use an alternate means of transportation to get to work-fix the problem later) or, if I'm too far, fix the problem and continue on to work even if it makes me late. The funny thing is that riding gets me to work 30 to 45 minutes early so I do have a built in buffer. I'm just a stickler for being early/on time so that I can get out on early/on time. This is my first winter commuting and I'm curious as to how people deal with serious breakdowns, far from home, in cold temps (20's and below).

:beer:

The only reliability problem I have is flats. I just grab a taxi, toss the bike in the trunk, and continue to work. I am, after all, in an urban environment. Total delay -- maybe 5 minutes or so -- no problem.

I would say that such enroute flats happen about once or twice a year. More frequently, there is a slow leak that causes the tire to go flat while at the office. These are maddengly inconvenient, but easy to deal with.

I just got my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, and expect that these will increase my flat resistance.

Paul

I think I've called my wife to come and get me at one time or another, but since I've had to ride my bike out to help her change a tire on the car, we're even.

:D

(Usually, my bike route is alongside a rail line so that if I have an irrepairable breakdown, I can hop a train or bus with my bike.)

Worse thing to happen to me on the way to work was a broken chain... Which I simply used my chain tool to shorten the link.

Worse thing to happen to me on the way home. Flat on my bike which I didn't notice til I left and then my pump died on me. My other bike commuter wasn't here so I couldn't borrow his pump and didn't want to go bother the mechanical shop here at work. I now have a spare pump in my cabinet. What I did was simply stuff old tubes in the tire and huffed it to the LBS on the way home for use of their pump. I could of gone to a gas station but didn't think it was that major deal. The tubes were working fine and the tire stayed on the rim OK.

Jay

never

over the years I've learned to carry the tools and parts to get me through, sometimes the going gets slow, but i always get where I need to go. .... I carry 3 tubes, 1 chain, ....

What did you need the chain for? Wouldn't it be easier just to remove links?

-s

I have had to hop a bus twice in the last 2 years. Once when I hit a patch of double edged razor blades strewn across the bike path, which cut a 2 inch gash in my tire too large to boot, and once when I forgot my pump and got a flat about a mile from the nearest bus stop (the furthest point on my commute of course). I have ridden numerous broken spokes, fixed scads of flats (not in the last 2000 miles though thanks to the armadillos), and had a cleat come partially off my shoe making it impossible to clip out! I have had one close call that was my fault just after I started and other than that have had amazingly few problems. I am lucky enough to have 3 bike shops near my commute route.

Slider
2 years ago I was climbing a long hill in Mass. fully loaded, panniers, trunk bag and bar bag. I snapped a chain and it went under the rear tire and locked the tire, before I could bring everything to a stop, the chain got all ground up and bent in 3 different places, there wasn't enough good chain to wrap and re-pin, I had to cut the chain off and walk the last 4 miles of the ride. That was the last SRAM chain I ever used and the last ride I took without carrying a spare. Pushing a bike up hill is one thing, pushing a loaded bike is another.

Twice so far. The first time was because I didn't know squat about bike maintenance. The chain slipped off the inner ring and got stuck between the chain ring and BB and I couldn't get it undone.

The 2nd time I hit a patch of something on the road and my tire got trashed bad enough that repair it with a patch kit.

As a commuter never there is always a bus stop close by. One pleasure rid last summer I got a tear in my tire between two Small towns about 15 miles from home and 6 miles from the nearest bus stop. I tried to patch it but only got about 1/2 mile before it blew out again. I started walking back toward Snohomish about 1/2 mile into my hike a guy pulled over asked me if I needed help. This guy was so nice he drove back a couple of miles to get his pick up threw my bike in and though he wasn't heading for Everett he took me all the way home. Bought him a couple of pints for doing it I even offered gas money but he wouldn't take it. It shouldn't happen again I usually carry some home made tire patches that I didn't have that day now there are 2 in each bike bag I own!

I better check my patch kit..Rode to work tonight. A tire boot is usually in my wedgie..Pretty sure it is there...Change off bikes, maybe all contents don't get swithched..Pretty sure the boot is there.
Do boots always work..Have you all had blows outs so bad, they would not work...?

Where do you get boots for bicycle tires? I tried making them years ago. The most successful one I had consisted of a piece of heavy duty kitchen aluminum foil held down with duck tape. Puncture holes that are of any size tend to need a boot or sand will work in causing another flat even if the patch is well placed over the hole.

Where do you get boots for bicycle tires? I tried making them years ago. The most successful one I had consisted of a piece of heavy duty kitchen aluminum foil held down with duck tape. Puncture holes that are of any size tend to need a boot or sand will work in causing another flat even if the patch is well placed over the hole.

I recall I bought the packet of 'Emergency Tire Boots' at Performance Bikes, seems like I recall seeing them at several larger bike shops...They are about 3" by 2" in size. Says they work on all tire sizes and pressures. Seems they would work ok, unless the cut is hugemongous..Surely, better than dollar bills or grass...Never had to use them. Hope never do..But I would think an essential piece of equiptment.

Where do you get boots for bicycle tires? I tried making them years ago. The most successful one I had consisted of a piece of heavy duty kitchen aluminum foil held down with duck tape. Puncture holes that are of any size tend to need a boot or sand will work in causing another flat even if the patch is well placed over the hole.


No need to buy them, just make them yourself. For permanent tire casing repair, a piece of denim (from blue jeans) or dacron (sail cloth) should be glued into the tire casing using contact cement.

For on the road repairs, almost anything can be made to work. Candy wrappers off the side of the road, dollar bills, etc. But you can make very good durable heavy duty boots from your old tires. When you get ready to discard a worn out tire, use a knife to cut 2-3 inch sections from the tire. Then use scissors to cut off the bead on each side. The result is a perfectly shaped boot. One old tire will make more than you and all your friends can use in a lifetime.

Dave

A real good boot my homemade kind get a ton of mileage out of them and it makes good use of old tubes. Just cut a section of old tube then slice through the skin and lay it flat then wrap with strapping tape(after wiping out all the powde on the inside) Cheap easy and they hold up for a long time.

What would be the difference between breaking down on your commute and breaking down 230 kilometers from home while on a 600 kilometer brevet?

Either way, you've got to have the tools and know-how to get the bicycle operational to be able to get back home, so therefore I'd have to say that after nearly 50000 miles, and 13 years of cycling, I've never been stuck with no way home on any of my rides.

If I encountered a 'worst case' scenario where the bicycle was beyond the repair of what I brought with me, I suppose I would either have to walk, hitchhike, or attempt to catch a passing Greyhound. Even if it took a long, long time . . . I wouldn't be "stuck".

What would be the difference between breaking down on your commute and breaking down 230 kilometers from home while on a 600 kilometer brevet?

Either way, you've got to have the tools and know-how to get the bicycle operational to be able to get back home, so therefore I'd have to say that after nearly 50000 miles, and 13 years of cycling, I've never been stuck with no way home on any of my rides.

If I encountered a 'worst case' scenario where the bicycle was beyond the repair of what I brought with me, I suppose I would either have to walk, hitchhike, or attempt to catch a passing Greyhound. Even if it took a long, long time . . . I wouldn't be "stuck".


EXACTLY!

Try hoisting a car onto your shoulder and hoofing it on down the road!

Taco a wheel--throw the bike on your shoulder and walk.
Get "stuck" in the snow--throw the bike on your shoulder and walk.
Caught in a traffic jam/blocked road--throw the bike on your shoulder and walk.

No other vehicle in the world is as useful, versatile, and reliable.

Dave

On my birthday this year I was riding into work and I got a flat on the front.
I am usually pretty well prepared so I wasn't worried. I patched the tire and
continued the commute. About a half a mile down the road I decided I wanted
to add a little more air to the tire. I got off and started to add air when I
busted the valve on the tube. The tube wouldn't hold air and I didn't have
a spare tube. I called my girlfriend to come and get me and I decided to work
from home that day.

I always carry a spare tube now.

...I wanted to add a little more air to the tire. I got off and started to add air when I busted the valve on the tube.

I always carry a spare tube now.
Me, too. I'm hard on tire valves, myself, so I try to use CO2 when I can. I think it's that wiggling motion when I use a pump that weakens the valve stem.

I was out on a weekend training ride about 30km from home when the handlebars on my bike started to feel decidedly odd. A closer look revealed that one of the bolts on my stem had stripped and the handlebars were no longer supporting any weight without slipping out of position.

First thoughts were to ring someone to pick me up or ring for a taxi, but I then realised that I had forgotten to bring my mobile phone (doh!) and that I only had a little amount of money (like enough to buy a can of drink). I was wearing cleated shoes and cycling clothes, so walking 30km back wasn't looking like a comfortable option. I also had no lock to lock my bike up while I looked for help.

On the plus side, I did have allen keys. But as the bolt was stripped down around 50% of it's length it wasn't looking good.

I started walking towards the nearest town and asked around whether there was a bike shop there, but had no joy (I was considering asking the owner for some help even if I had no money with me - I had at least some identification of who I am). Finally I ended up taking a longer and closer look at the stem and found that by swapping round the bolts and using a small piece of wood as a shim to help increase the grip of the semi-stripped bolt I was able to secure the handlebars enough to carefully ride home.

The upshot of all this is that I am now waaaay more careful to ensure that I have mobile phone, credit card, cash and ID with me on every bike trip.

I've had to call the wife taxi once in 6 years of commuting - had a flat and the pump wouldn't pump.

We were rescued one other time on the tandem when we had a tire blowoff and it would no longer stay on the rim. Fortunantly we were on a organized ride and within a couple minutes we got a spare tire from another rider.

Having walked a couple miles in cycling shoes before, my experience says that that is about as far as I could go without becoming a blistered mess.

therefore I'd have to say that after nearly 50000 miles, and 13 years of cycling, I've never been stuck with no way home on any of my rides.

Even if it took a long, long time . . . I wouldn't be "stuck".

Well, yeah, unless you're cycling in a *very* remote area you can always walk to safety and call for a ride, or catch a bus, or something. I'm assuming the original poster, and the other respondents, already had this in mind, though. I take the original question to ask about no easy or convenient or not really costly way home, or something similar.

The absolute worst I would face around here would be being delayed for hours, or being really miserable, or both, if the bike crapped out and I couldn't ride. That's if things got so bad I was willing to bang on farm house doors, or huddle in a barn. Sometimes I'm a ways away from anyone, and it gets cold here, but no one would mistake my surroundings for the backdrop to a Jack London story.

I was on a ride in which *three* spare inner tubes got shredded. Had to call for help there (and swore to carry not just extra tubes but patches from then on, too). Otherwise-- crashes aside-- I've been able to fix things.

In addition to flat tire repair equipment, I carry a spoke wrench, an extra spoke, a chain tool, a section of spare links, multi-tool, and headlamp. The headlamp functions as my backup riding light, too. I pack rain gear, too, whenever I go out in the winter. I'm not just worried about snow or sleet. If I have to stop and make repairs the rain gear will keep me warm while I'm sitting there. Otherwise, in addition to being cold and unhappy I'm more likely to try to rush. Then I risk leaving tools behind or not doing the job right.

I was on a tour once, and my rear tire shredded. Foreign country. I didn't, during that leg, have a backup. I stayed up late sewing the tire back together, and kept going the next day. If I hadn't been able to make the repair I would have been stuck for a day or so until my friend drove (all day) to get me, or I managed to call a bus line that would have stopped out there. I've had tighter scrapes backpacking, or just riding in traffic, though.

Some guys ride in rural Alaska, Canada, or in Greenland. Now there you're looking at real trouble if your bike goes down and you can't get riding again...

Once with a separated shoulder. Had to ask a guy in a parking lot for a ride to the hospital.