Spare tube or patch kit?
 

I'm curious what some of you more experienced folks take with when riding. I have a hybrid and I do a lot of limestone trails, a little bit of street and a little bit of more off-road when I get a chance. My longer ride so far have been about 40 miles round trip, which means I'm as far from my car as 20 miles. I bought a "Second Wind" pump (co2/manual combo) and discovered the other day that the manual part of that is at best a hell of a good workout and at worst useless on my tires. I'm curious what you folks "in the know" pack with you:

Traditional Patch Kit with glue, scuffing tool

Adhesive backed patches ("glue-less")

A spare tube!

I have a medium sized aero-wedge seat pack and a tube takes up a large portion of it's space, so I'd like to avoid carrying one unless on your folks advice it is definately the best way to go. Whatcha think?

Rob

I carry a spare tube, full traditional patch kit, and a full size frame pump. I will only use the spare tube if i snake bite the tire, and it is not patchable.

For my mtn bike, i'll use a mini pump (8"), Its not to bad when putting in 40lbs in a tire, but there is no way to get 60+ lbs out of it. I have never had a problem putting in 120 lbs in my road tires with my full size frame pump.

On my Mtb I take all three and a mini pump.

On my road bike I take a new tube and a Patch kit and again a mini pump.

Mini pumps are basically a get you home measure on a road bike, but this thread has tweaked my curiosity.

Garage forecourt air pumps are Schraeder but I wondered if there is a device that would adapt them to enabling them to inflate Presta Valves (Small device which would fit a saddle bag hopefully)

I ususally carry two tubes and a patch kit.. If tube has done its time- I usually do not worry about repairing it.. Especially on way to work. I am in a hurry, no time to waste... Seems once in awhile repaired tubes do not take and have to change them soon after a repair.. Certainly don't have time on a work commute to repair tubes twice..
The second tube, I often carry in my jersey pocket..

On my road bike I cary a spare tube, patch kit, and frame pump.

On my commuter I carry a spare tube, patch kit, and mini-pump.

Tube, patch kit and full-size frame pump

Get a biger wedge if you need to. The frame pump will mount under the water bottle cage. A quality frame pump is really worth its weight in gold!!

Are you folks not big fans of co2 pumps? I liked the idea of the second wind setup because it's small enough to put in the seat pack, a 16g co2 seems good enough to fill up a tire, so I can carry two of those, and then the pump also has a manual attachment if I'm unlucky enough to go through both co2s. I thought this was an ideal setup until the other day when I actually used the manual pump. I think my wrist is still sore (SLIGHT sarcasm).

Rob

Sure, there's an adaptor. I buy them at my LBS for about $1.25 US. You could screw one onto a valve stem and leave it there, or toss it into your saddle bag. I've seen them in Nashbar's catalog, among others.

I carry a tube and some glueless patches on all my bikes. Hint: toss a couple of alchohol swabs in with your patch kit. You can buy them cheaply at the drug store. They're with the diabetes supplies. Use one to clean the tube before applying a glueless patch. Glueless patches tend to be a little finicky.

On my MTB, I carry a mini pump attached to my camelbak.

On my racer I carry a CO2 inflator.

On my tourer I carry one of Topeak's wonderful Morph pumps. If I am touring I also carry a CO2 inflator. The CO2 deal is great for a fast roadside repair.

Be careful with those garage forecourt (I assume that means "gas station") air pumps. They move a lot of air very fast and will blow out a bike tube zippity-boo!

(5) or (6) pack of Park (PK-1) glueless patches, a spare tube, second wind w/ 2 C02 cartridges on the road bike.

Same on the MTB and commuter, except, since like you I have found second wind pump function to leave something to be desired, I carry a mini pump on these to bikes.

CO2 is a racing thing, you can save enough time to get back in the race and not be a total loser.
For non racing, reliability is more important than speed. If you get a batch of punctures, then you may need more than 2 inflates.
If you are going to be 20miles from anywhere, that is a very long full days walk, carrying your bike. Ive had to carry a bike 8miles after a tyre blowout. I could possibly repair it now with a piece of ductape, tyre boot or dollar bill (stronger than pound notes!!) , but Id still need a fresh inner tube to carry on riding.

I normally carry 1 spare inner and a couple of adhesive patches. I swap the inner as a first resort, and leave any patching till I get home, then use a proper patch kit. There are some damage that you can't repair, then you have to junk the inner, but most of mine have a handful of patches.

A spare inner is really not optional. I would never ride without one, or two on a long tour.

For commuters, its possible to keep extra spares at work, so you dont need to be overburdened on your journey.

Michael - a dollar bill!? Whats the trick? Sounds like a good one to know.

Well y'all have convinced me, I'll be carrying a spare and maybe look into a frame pump. Unless anyone knows of a mini pump that I can fit in my seat bag that can do a 50-80 psi 700/30 hybrid tire in less than an hour of manual pumping...

Rob

A FIVE or TEN is better.

A). they have more threads per inch, and

B). You can buy things with a fiver or ten...you can't buy nothin with a dollar (USD) and less than nothin with Canadian.

Two tubes, glueless patches and the pump. If I flat, I just switch tubes, and patch at home. If I run out of tubes, THEN i do roadside repairs. I carry two tubes (for DF, four for the recumbent) because we have Goats Head thorns that can get through anything. when a car spins tires off the shoulder, it can scatter thorns all over the road. You often puncture both at the same time when riding through them.

Tom Balmer

I carry Topeak's Einstein (sp?) mini pump. It's small enough to to in my medium wedgie and has a two-stage action that moves a lot of air at low pressure. Then you can lock out a portion of the piston so the same pump stroke allows you to "top off" a road tube to 90psi, without your arm turning to lead before you're done inflating the tire. It has a cute little compartment on the end to hold a few glueless patches (never use 'em!), and an amazingly useful tire lever integrated into the pump body. Accepts Schrader or Presta valves so it's useful if you happen to want to lend a hand to someone with a flat on their K-Mart Cruiser on a group ride.

I don't know if this particular pump is still available, but there are probably other two-stage minis out there.

Tyres usually split somewhere close to the bead, with a tear a few inches long. You can repair them as a get-home measure with a tough substance which can contain an inner tube.
Adhesive tyre boots (from Park Tools) just stick inside over the ripped zone.
Ductape is stuck onto the inside surface, from bead to bead.
Currency is placed inside the tyre from bead to bead.
The bead will hold the tape/bill in place, but make sure it doesnt interfere with braking.

For frame pumps, Zefal HPX is the benchmark. Available in different lengths to fit.
For hybrid tyres up to 80psi, a medium sized minipump will do, mounted at a waterbottle cage.

I bring a small pump and a spare tube or two. I can't stand patching and when a tube costs 5$ for a cheap replacement why bother patching.

A few questions about pumps - and related.

For my 50-80 PSI recommended 700/30 tires, do I need a guage, or would a guage be useful? I've kind of been getting the impression that a guage is good for road bike tires where the over 100 psi pressures may be difficult to judge by feel. Is that correct?

I would like to stick with a mini pump to fit in my seat bag if possible, for theft resistance (I detach my bag & bring it with me), simplicity and convenience. I've spent a few hours reading various reviews on pumps on mtbreview.com and it seems like MTB tires are no good with mini pumps due to their size; road tires probably prefer a dual stage mini pump due to their high pressures. What type would I need for a 50-80 psi hybrid tire, which is not really high volume or high pressure? Is dual stage a waste of $? All I know is from experience, the mini pump part of my second wind sucks, and I'd hate to buy another pump that wasn't significantly better than that.

Any recommendations? I'd like something that locks on schraeder, and it will be a backup to co2. Guage - not sure if I need it, that depends on what you folks say.

The ones I was considering from the reviews were "Crank Brothers Dual Stage mini pump" (regular w/o guage, and alloy with guage which is more of a frame mount). Zefal, Blackburn FP-1, or Topeak (Morph series) frame mounts if I decide to go frame mount over seat pack. Any other notable mini's?

Rob

I carry three inner tubes, under the seat tied securely with toe clips straps, a case of patches with glues and about 8 CO2 Catrideges and CO2 Pump, and sometimes on a gut filling, I would sometime carry my my mini double action Blackburn pump,
If I gota flat and I am in a hurry, I just change the tubes, and go on with my ride, if not and I am just riding my bike on a liesurely ride, I will patch the hole

We have OODLES of goat heads, and I have had excellent luck with Specialized Armadillos on the road tires.

Spare tube and patch kits on all my bikes, mini pumps on hybrid and MTB,and Topeak Morph on the road bike, sometimes a folding tire as well. I just change tubes and do the patching at home, unless I have a second puncture, like the time I pinched the new tube installing it.

You're not kidding, we don't even have a paper dollar anymore just the "Looney" dollar coin, so you're up to at least a fiver!

On a similar topic, has anyone had problems with patches being too big for a 23mm tube. The kind I have are exactly the size of the tube flattened out, and sometimes the edges won't stick. Are there patch kits with smaller patches just for the smaller tires?

On long rides, two tubes, three CO2 cartridges. On rides of less than, say, 100 km, one tube and two cartridges. I can't be bothered with a patch kit. If I need to fix a flat, I need to fix it now and not when the cement sets. I've never found an instant patch worth the rubber it's printed on.

aerobat Good question.I can never get patches to hold on 27 in. tubes for the same reason and will be waiting for the responses.Also any tips on patching technique will be appreciated.I was thinking of trying to cut the patches smaller to maybe just slightly larger than the puncture yo see if this would help

I carry 1 tube, some glue and several patches. I also carry a mini pump. I know that minis aren't the best solution but all I want is something to get me going again. I use my track pump when I get home. (Or drop in at the LBS.)

For road riding, I take my trusty Zefal HPX4, a spare tube (get out of jail free, one time) and a patch kit. If it's going to be a really long ride, or if I'm going with other people, I might take two tubes. No thorn problems in my riding area, thankfully.

As far as pressure goes, a guage is probably not needed if you get accustomed to what your target pressure feels like. Just don't stop until the tire is good and hard, because a soft tire puts you at increased risk of pinch flats on small rocks, pothole edges, etc, and then you'll be kicking yourself for not working for that last 20psi ;) And I would know, having put myself through that more than once! ;):rolleyes:

Spare tubular, 2 CO2 cartridges and frame pump.
(also repair kit, but god help me if I need to repair
sewup on the road!).

Marty