Hwy 40 Blue

Rode with a nice group of friends today, and halfway through the ride we came upon this woman sitting forlornly on a park bench, her super-expensive carbon bells-and-whistles bicycle out of commission: Flat tire. Can anyone help, she asked.

Anybody have tire levers? Me. Anybody have a valve adapter? Me. Anybody have a pump that will work with this arrangement? Me. Anybody have a patch kit with fresh glue, since this woman's spare tube did not fit her rim? Me. Anybody have a Clif Bar? Me. (Just kidding.) Anybody actually know how to change a tire? Well, we all did.

Anyway, we got her back on her bike in a jiffy, and one man in our party commented that she sure wasn't prepared for much out there on the road on her $3,000 bicycle.

I seemed to be the only one with full kit. I also always carry a multipurpose tool, latex gloves (hate to handle the chain bare-handed, yuck), a couple of Kleenex, and maybe a few other odds and ends.

Others out there, are you prepared?

Tom Bombadil

I would have had the stuff, but have never patched a tube. Big ol' thick, treaded hybrid tires don't go flat as much as road tires.

Sounds you earned a merit badge today.

rck

I carry a couple of spare inner tubes, tire irons, a small patch kit and a couple of cannisters of the gas and I carry id with my name and blood type.

cccorlew

Yes. And I hate it. I bought a super light bike and have added tones of crap:
Water bottle, water bottle cage
2nd water bottle and cage (I love the extra weight. A pint is a pound, damnit)
speedo meter
pump, Topek, dual head, w/ guage
seat pack w/ tube, patch kit (glue, extra patches, stick-ons just in case)
levers
multitool (OK, only sometimes, gotta draw the line somewhere)

In the pockets
cell
cash
credit
often a camera
garage door opener


It's all adding weight to my once-cool bike.
WHERE IS THE TEAM CAR**********?

And what's the point? A babe with carbon on the road side? What , just take her home and ask my wife if I can keep her?

Tom Bombadil

Well, if I happen upon you lying in a heap on the Badger Trail, I'll call in your info to Medflight.

Don't think I'll attempt an impromptu blood transfusion.

Jet Travis

I always carry two tubes and a patch kit just in case I meet a don't-bee. I haven't rolled a little doobee in years. I guess that could be taken several ways. Ooops.

Louis

Moderator! Moderator!................................................................................

Red Rider

I carry everything I need to change a tire or phone home but until recently never knew how to use it.

Now I know how but am very slow. At least I can do it myself & not pull a Scarlett O'Hara.

It took a flat tire & a fellow with a kind heart & tube-changing skill to make me embarrassed enough to learn to do it myself.

So do-be do-be dooo...

stringbreaker

You're a good guy it feels good to help someone out I know I did it a couple of weeks ago. I carry spare tubes and patch kit in the rack on both my commuter and road bike and my wife carries 2 spare tube also, so when we go out on the roadies we have 4 brand new tubes between us and a patch kit with frame mounted pump. I also have an assortment of allen wrenches and 3 metric wrenches open and box end and also multi tool. I'll rebuild the dang bike right there on the side of the road. It may not look as cool with that rack trunk on my sleek roadie but I'm not getting stuck with a flat

Big Paulie

It seems like I've encountered more "helpless" high end roadies in the past two or three years than in the past. What's up with that?

Just askin' ...

stapfam

If you ride a bike and want to keep riding- then you have to be prepared. Just be thankfull that you do not ride a Tandem as these things break quite a lot of bits. Especially if you are in the middle of nowhere. What is missing from this pic are the Rear Gear change cable and the cable cutters.

Problem with the Tandem is that even on rides where a breakdown vehicle is provided- They won't carry Tandem spares and if they did- You would always break down 10 miles from them.

And on top of that-The experienced Breakdown artists always know that they can always go to a Tandem rider for spares.

jppe

Good going Blue!! I have to admit to only carrying some of the stuff you mentioned that usually will get me back to the start.......but I do carry a cell phone!!

DnvrFox

Yeah - pump, 2 tubes, patch kit with permanent and temporary patches, tire levers (although I can change the tube without the levers), multi tool, quarters, sometimes a chain repair kit - although I don't know how to use it - some salve, sunscreen, cell phone, Garmin 305, sometimes a small 1st aid kit. I am considering throwing in the kitchen sink.

freeranger

I carry enough for emergencies. I haven't been taking my cell phone, but may start. I tried to help a rider fix a chain on a mtn.bike once, but was refused. Seems he was mad at his chain tool for not working (I carry a Park mini-has always worked fine, as have any I've ever used), guess he wanted to walk off his frustration! Only time I've been turned down when offering help.

gfspencer

Tube, tire lever, compressed air, tools (on the mountain bike but not on the road bike), CELL PHONE. A Garmin 305 GPS so I can tell my wife where I have broken down.

Retro Grouch 

I don't carry very much stuff with me. On road rides I generally carry only enough stuff to fix 1 flat tire. My fixed gear has bolt-on hubs so the choice was to either carry a wrench with me or to use Armadillo tires and plan on not having any flats. I chose the Armadillos so there's no point in carrying a pump either. I have a trunk bag for the tandem and I'm not sure what-all is in there but I generally carry a couple of inner tubes and a Park mini-tool kit in it. Like stapfam, I carry spare tandem length cables with me on trips too. I also carry a Park mini-tool kit with me when I mountain bike.

I've got to say that carrying the mini-tool kit has caused as many problems as it has solved. A couple of times I've tried making seat adjustments on the road and snapped a seat binder bolt or even the whole seat binder collar. The last time that I broke a chain mountain biking I found the pin for my Park mini chain tool AWOL forcing a 3 1/2 mile Flintstone ride back to my truck. I think that it's better when I do my bike maintenance at home.

Incidentlly, I'm writing this from home so, obviously, I've always found a way to make it back.

Red Rider

My friend's hubby, former CAT 2, says those folks "...have more dollars than sense."

In my case I was reluctant to change a tire because I didn't want to get my hands dirty or break a nail.

Now I place a higher value on doing it myself than on depending on the kindness of others.

Red Baron

[QUOTE=Hwy 40 Blue]Rode with a nice group of friends today, and halfway through the ride we came upon this woman sitting forlornly on a park bench, her super-expensive carbon bells-and-whistles bicycle out of commission: Flat tire. Can anyone help, she asked.

Anybody have tire levers? Me. Anybody have a valve adapter? Me. Anybody have a pump that will work with this arrangement? Me. Anybody have a patch kit with fresh glue, since this woman's spare tube did not fit her rim? Me. Anybody have a Clif Bar? Me. (Just kidding.) Anybody actually know how to change a tire? Well, we all did.

QUOTE]

Was She Blonde?

Just Kidding, As a side, I get a kick out of being a ' Aw-shucks, Mam- It ain't no trouble' aka "Hero" - At our age fess -up who isn't?

Hwy 40 Blue

Red Baron, she was a blonde. And cute. Maybe 25. (At least all the men in my group clustered around, eager to show off their mechanical skills.)

And Jet Travis, I had initially spelled it doobie, then realized what I'd done and returned to Romper Room spelling.

Retro Grouch 

My kind of girl! Why should she clutter up her bike by carrying all of that junk around with her? She got her bike fixed and made it home didn't she?

Little Darwin

I carry too much by almost any measure.

I have 2 full water bottles whenever I start a ride. Sometimes I carry additional liquid in the form of bottled water or juice.

I carry a set of plastic tire irons. I can replace both of my tubes before I need to patch, and can do a few patches... I haven't had a flat on the road since I got back into riding a few years ago.

I carry a CO2 inflater and a Road Morph pump...

I carry a Crank Brothers multi tool that can do almost anything including the chain and spokes... I have never used anything except for what I could have done with a few allen wrenches for minor adjustments.

Even though I don't need it, I sometimes carry a small adjustable wrench and a couple of screw drivers, just in case someone else needs them.

I just stopped carrying a pressure gauge... I did carry it for quite a while even though my pump has one built in.

I have 6 Gu packets I just started carrying. And I usually have an energy bar or two, except for the one time I was riding with a friend who went hypoglycemic.

On a couple of longer rides I carried enough powdered gatorade to make a couple of gallons... I didn't carry it for the one ride I went on where the rest stops had nothing but plain water.

Albuterol in case of asthma attack (not yet needed on a ride, and very rarely used otherwise).

Small first aid kit.

Oh, and I usually carry two cell phones and a camera... along with my wallet so I have credit cards and cash.

I use a trunk bag to carry everything.

I just realized that I do have a couple of those reflective space blankets, and I should probably start carrying one when I ride.

Do I win?

With all of this, I have in the past year given the following help while riding:

1) a glueless patch to another rider so he would have something if his spare tube sprung a leak. He did have everything he needed for his first flat.

2) Gave a family walking along the MUP some water out of the bottle I hadn't used yet. One of the daughters had been thrown from a raft on the river, and the company policy was that anyone thrown from a raft couldn't complete the trip. Shortly after I rode away, I saw the rangers driving along to help.

I almost always stop or slow down to offer help to anyone that looks like they need it.

Sure seems like I could carry less, but I probably won't. I like the peace of mind that being prepared brings.

further

On my new bike I'm trying to keep the weight down so carry only enough to fix a flat. And a cell phone to call for help. On my old bike, a Trek 520, I carried half the shop. I keep saying I'm going to get one of those ID dog tags but haven't yet.

Floyd

I carry what I need to fix what needs to get fixed in a common emergency.. flats and stuff that "may" vibrate loose... ya never know when ya might need it.
peace

The Weak Link

I think it's Acute and Chronic Carbon Fibre intoxication.

I have a saddlebag that has enough stuff for me to overhaul a small engine.

I was anxious to get out and ride this week, and went on a course that tooke me over endless potholes and glass fragments. It wasn't a very good ride, truth be told.

I got home and discovered my saddlebag was sitting on top of one of the trash-cans. I had forgotten to attach it to my bike.

I'm not cute, blonde, 25, or anything. I just would have sat there out on the road until I got arrested for vagrancy.

And the cops would have made fun of my carbon fiber bike.

George

I just carry enough to get back home. The bike weight 34# without water I don't need anything extra.