BugDude

I ride paths through a wilderness park and another that parallels a long straight toll road. These two paths connect. The bike trail beside the toll road is separated from the road with a high chain link fence and the other path is through wilderness. If you break down out there and can't repair your bike, you're walking it back to your car. There's no vehicular access except at each end of the toll road (10 miles apart) and the park trail connects in the middle of that and it's 7 miles long.

I go out 12 - 15 miles and turn and go back to where I parked. There's no way for anyone to get to you out on those trails if you break down. And recently I've seen several people out on the trails broken down fixing their bike.

This got me thinking about the need to have the tools and supplies to address things like flats. So when I picked up my bike from a tune-up yesterday I also got a frame mounted pump, spare inner tube, a patch kit, and I put together a small tool kit of my own (since I have a ton of tools from working on cars). I put this stuff in my trunk bag and have watched a ton of youtube videos on basic bike field repairs.

Riding around my neighborhood in the mornings having to walk it back home or call my wife to come get me wouldn't be a big deal. Fifteen miles out on a trail with no vehicular access got me thinking real hard. If you ride a bike long enough, something is going to happen. It's just the luck of percentages. Anyone else find themselves in this type of situation? Do you carry enough stuff to fix your bike? I've only been riding since Feb and am curious. Thanks.

doctor j

Yes, most of us carry some spares and tools to fix flats and perform minor repairs. You might want to try the frame pump at home to air your tires before a ride a few times to get accustomed to it. In addition to a spare tube and patch kit, I carry a Park Tool tire boot perchance I get a gash in a tire. That has happened to me twice, and each time, I've used a boot to get me home. You are headed in the right direction.

alcjphil

The best way of dealing with mechanical problems out on the road is to deal with them before they happen. That means doing regular maintenance on your bike and replacing worn parts before they fail. Flat tires happen, whatever you do,but they are much more frequent if you ride your tires until the cords are showing through the tire tread. I was a commuter for 25 years, riding as much as 9000 km per year for my commuting alone. In all of that time I only had to call for a ride home twice. Once was a quick release skewer that broke because I had failed to properly tighten a locknut after servicing a rear hub and the other was due to a head on collision with another cyclist on a bike path. The first was preventable, the second wasn't really a mechanical problem at all. So, in perhaps 220,000+ kilometres of riding I was stuck twice and one of those times it was my own fault. Take care of your bike and it will take care of you. If you just ride until things break, things will

rydabent

Your best defense against this is two fold. First early in the riding year do a complete maintence check and lube. If you cant do it yourself, have a good bikeshop do it. Second you should have a trunk pack, and carry as much and many tools and repairs as you feel necessary to be able to fix a large percentage of problems that crop up.

wphamilton

Within reason. For sure I want to be able to fix a flat if the "call of shame" option is out of range.

For perspective, over the last five years I've commuted about 20,000 miles. I've called twice for tire troubles, early on. Once, when the CO2 fizzled and once when the tire was too worn to even boot. Both were easily avoidable: I got a small hand pump now, and buy new tires before the threads are worn through. I've needed to tighten a slipped seat post, adjust the DR's and brakes and other minor stuff like that, so I recommend a small multi-tool. The only other potential show-stopper was a rear derailleur pulley falling apart and I would have needed spare parts or a chain tool to rig that (I was close enough to coast home). I think that the chain tool is useful but very optional. That's about it unless you're touring.

My wife got more calls for injuries than mechanicals, so to be brutally logical it would make more sense for me to carry a first aid kit than a more extensive tool collection.

SouthFLpix

I carry 2 spare tubes, a multitool, a pump, and co2 cartridges. On multi-day rides I also carry a few spare spokes and the tools necessary to replace a spoke and true a wheel.

Usually, the biggest concern is getting a puncture. Even with a broken spoke or say a broken shift cable, you can still keep riding. I've never broken a chain. I've heard of it happening, but it must be pretty rare.

Retro Grouch 

If you can fix your own flats, you are at LEAST 95% self sufficient relative to bicycle break downs. Even 95% is probably low. If you want to ride farther away from your car than you're comfortable walking back, you need to be able to handle a tire puncture (maybe 2).

Beyond that, the more that you worry, the heavier your rarely used tool and spares pack will become. Once I get my bikes sorted I seldom carry any other tools for riding on the road or common trails. When I used to do real mountain biking I carried a few tools because we rode hard enough that, almost always, someone among my group would break something during the ride. I once broke my chain at the farthest point of a mountain bike trail. When I got out my chain tool, I discovered it's pin was AWOL so I lowered my seat and "flintstoned" back to my car.

BugDude

Thanks for the replies. I see guys riding all the time with nothing more than a little sack about the size of my fist hanging from the back of their seat and just wondered what they would do if they got a flat out in the middle of no road access. At the same time, I've got a trunk bag with panniers that fold down and didn't want to be carrying 20 pounds of unecessary crap either. But I got the bag for a reason, and I'm carrying it around anyway, so I might as well use it for functional stuff.

I get my bike tuned up and serviced about every other month. I give it the once over before I head out on a ride outside the neighborhood. I used the pump I bought last night and it works great. Very easy to use. I also figure having 1 extra tube and the patch kit should cover me in the event I had 2 flats (which I would think would be rare). I also carry a basic first aid set-up just in case. And a charger bank for my phone. My thoughts go back to being 7 miles from my truck or another road at any point in my weekend rides. I feel a lot more comfortable knowing I can handle most things that could happen even if they're unlikely.

Thanks for your input.

Retro Grouch 

Have you tried removing and replacing a tire yet? There's a bit of a knack to that. If you've never done it before, I'd be for practicing that at least once at home. It's so much more fun to learn when you have a cold beverage handy than outdoors in the sun or the rain.

Whenever I've gotten 2 flats on the same ride, the second one was in some way my own fault. I've pinched the tube under one of the tire beads, didn't inflate my tire enough so I got a subsequent pinch flat, or failed to find and remove whatever caused my first flat.

KevinF

You can easily fit a patch kit, a CO2 inflator, tire levers and a multi-tool into those little seat packs, no problem. As said above, the ability to fix a flat will almost certainly get you home. I usually care a spare inner tube and a patch kit and a multi-tool.

caloso

This.

BugDude

Good point. I've changed tubes on my kids' bikes many times but not mine. Much easier to do in the garage the first time just for getting the feel for it.

GP

I carry this:



If I go on a long ride (>60Mi), I'll put another tube in my pocket and carry a mini pump.

BugDude

Good point. I haven't looked at them closely but when the guys whiz by me they look like they'd hold 1 tic tac, a car key, and a 1 dollar bill and be stuffed.

I'm sure I carry way too much stuff on my weekend longer rides (they're long for me being a noob). I carry 3 water bottles, several snacks, a towel, and all the stuff I mentioned above. I probably look like I'm going on a camping trip, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Perhaps I'll lighten up as I progress.

caloso

I don't normally take food for a 30 mile ride, but everyone is different. And I guess I could see three bottles for a 30 mile ride in Florida.

But a towel?

BugDude

I stop at the halfway point and use it to dry off my face, head, helmet, and glasses with. A smallish waffle towel I get in the golf section of the sporting goods store. I started using them on the golf course playing golf in the summer. Glasses and sweating like a dog dont' mix. I fold one up and stick it in my trunk bag. I'm a 293 pounder on a bike in Florida heat and humidty...I sweat like crazy.

As for food, I've bonked before...Ive struggled with hypoglycemia so I dont mess around with it.

Wilfred Laurier

Like mentioned above, a CO2 inflator and one or two cartridges, along with a multi-tool and one folded up tube (and/or a patch kit), is about the size of your fist. Most bicycle multi-tools have allen keys, a few small wrenches, a couple screwdrivers, and a chain tool, all folded up swiss-army style. I carry a small pump and a CO2 inflator because CO2 inflators have a finite number of inflations before you need to buy new cartridges, but they are so convenient that I use them first and save the pump for the third flat on a ride.

One thing that concerns me about your original post is that you raided your automobile tools to build your bike tool kit. While you have your priorities straight, I hope you are aware that every modern bicycle has exclusively metric fasteners, and using an imperial tool that seems close can strip the head and leave you walking.

BugDude

I restore antique Volkswagen Bugs (hence my screen name and avatar)...all metric.

Wilfred Laurier

Ahhhh... sometimes I dream of finding an old Bug somewhere tropical and importing it to Canada. Now I know I can work on them with my bicycle multi-tool!

BugDude

They are increadibly unique from other cars and also incredibly simple once you have working knowledge of them. I have a 62 Canvas Sunroof bug and a 63 Canvas Sunroof bug, and I just sold my 71 Superbeetle Convertible. When I'm not riding a bike, playing golf, target shooting, or playing guitar I'm rolling around on the garage floor under a Volkswagen. Constantly doing something on a Bug, and when I run out of stuff to do on mine I buy another one, work on it a few months, have some fun with it, then sell it. If I had a huge garage space I'd have kept a lot of them. But I only have room for 2 extra cars. The two I still have I'll never sell.

BobbyG

I do the "Frame-Pump Charleston". When pumping a tire or my Airzound Airhorns with my frame pump, when the effort increases to a certain point, I bend at the knee and place my knees outside my hands and use my knees to help pump. It looks like I'm dancing the Charleston (or the Funky Chicken). It really helps get to the higher PSIs.

cyclist2000

That is quite a bit of servicing for a bike. Hopefully they are free tune-ups. Once my bike is setup, I normally just inflate the tires each day I ride, this is to prevent flats from under inflated tires. This is my most common cause of flats. Before long rides I may check the tires for glass cuts, that labor a piece of glass working its way through the tread.

BugDude

Yes, free tune-ups the first year. After that I'll probably take it a couple times a year.

CliffordK

Each person is a little different. And situations are different whether you are 5 miles from home, 100 miles from home, or 1000 miles from home.

I classify potential problems as what will leave me dead beside the road vs ability to limp home.

- Flat tire - dead beside the road.
- Broken Chain - dead beside road.
- Broken Spoke - Usually Limping.

Just about everything else falls into the limping category. I've repaired a backpack using stuff that I found beside the road.

So I try to have a chain tool, spare tubes and patch kit, pump. Lights. Swiss Army Knife. Plus at least one screw-on presta adapter.

I can generally get tires on and off without levers (although the Swiss Army Knife can help in certain situations).

cyclist2000

I normally make minor adjustments on the road with my mini tool, like seat height and tightening things. Unless it requires a torque wrench (like carbon components or Ti bolts).

I always try to make a mental note of items that feel funny when I am riding. After the last ride, I needed to tighten the crank and replace 1 pedal. I like to work on these when I get home.

I don't normally have problems on the road except flats.
I am like Clifford that I carry a mini tool, spare tube, patch kit, and pump or inflator or both. I also bring a chain master link.

My mini tool has a chain tool and I have used the mini tool to work on my bikes at home so I am familiar with it in an emergency.

On my tours I bring a kevlar spoke, folding tire, a few tubes and a leatherman.