bartturner

guess I have been lucky but never had a flat. I also don't carry anything, except a cell phone, to fix a flat.

I am a complete novice on this. What exactly should I carry? I assume CO2 pump and cartridge and a inner tube. But what do you carry it in? How do you attach to bike? I do most of my shopping at PerformanceBike. Not sure if anyone knows anything on this site that will work.

Thanks for the help in advance.

apricissimus 

Get something like this:


I'd also suggest some tire levers to help get the tire on and off. There are apparently some people who are able to do it with just their hands, but I'm not one of them.

operator

If you like running out of carts in the middle of a ride when you happen to have 2 flats in a row, then use c02. C02 should never be relied on as a primary air pump, this is what mini-pumps (good quality) ones like the topeak road morph is for - they never run out of air.

Carry c02 only and one day you will come back with a sob story of getting starnded in the middle of a century attempt because you were too cool to carry a real pump. For most long distance rides 2x inner tubes + instant/non instal patch kit + tire levers is the bare miniumum you should be carrying.

Other things that may be useful is hand wipes, spoke wrench/fiberfix spoke, multitool and tire boots.

tntyz

I carry a small pack of self-adhesive patches, a small pump that mounts next to my bottle cage, and a 3-set of tire levers that nest together. Easily carried in a small underseat pack.

This setup has saved the day more than once. The patches don't work so well if the problem is around the stem which happened to an old tube on my wife's bike, but worked good enough to get us back to the civilized world!

Retro Grouch 

Thank you for thinking that I'm cooler than you.

KZBrian

Patch kit and tire levers in your seat pack, and a pump.
Practice at home first to get familiar with the process.
Sooner or later it will happen. I ran over a bone fragment this year that skewered through the tread and left an entry and exit hole in the tube.

10 Wheels

Practice at Home.
90% of your Flats will be on the Rear Tire.

105* Heat Index.
Bottom me sitting on an Ant Bed. Ouch.

apricissimus 

I'm dreading the day when I get a flat when it's 10 degrees out. Hasn't happened yet (crosses fingers). Fingers get numb real quick in those temps.

operator

I don't think i've said this before but you're my hero grouch.

apricissimus 

I use a Bontrager Air Rush Road pump, which is a mini-pump that can also be used with C02 cartridges.

Thankfully I've never had to use the mini-pump by itself on the road (yet). Pumping a tire with a mini-pump sucks beyond all belief.

DataJunkie

It's not really that bad. Pack an extra layer of clothing and chemical hand warmers. Some say that an emergency blanket of some sort would help.

The one issue I had was overheating after I suddenly stopped, stripping a layer or two off, and then getting cold.

Nota

[quote=operator;7396096]If you like running out of carts in the middle of a ride when you happen to have 2 flats in a row, then use c02. C02 should never be relied on as a primary air pump, this is what mini-pumps (good quality) ones like the topeak road morph is for - they never run out of air.

...carry a real pump. For most long distance rides 2x inner tubes + instant/non instal patch kit + tire levers..."

+ bus fare, train schedule, a pocket watch, skateboard, list of ex-girlfriends living within a 10 mile radius, a Dahon folding backup bike...etc

I'd reccomend carrying at least one water bottle and some energy bars too, but I believe in traveling light.

Shimagnolo

- One or two spare tubes.
- Set of plastic tire levers, (I've never needed to use more than one).
- Mini-pump to get tire filled enough to ride to next gas station with an air pump.
- Schrader/Presta adapter, (for when I get to that gas station).
- Pack of Park self-adhesive patches.
- Pack of Park tire boots.

So far, I've never needed to use the last two items.

I don't normally carry a spare tire except on century rides, but after recently encountering
a guy on the road who was mounting his spare, I'm thinking it might be a good idea.

badmother

This is not just about "some people" but about some tyres / rims. I can do this on some combo`s, but just yesterday I broke a plastic tyrelever putting on a new tyre.

My advice is you do this sort of things yourself, as often as you can- (practice on the childrens bikes, your neighbours bike, your neighbours childrens bikes..) and then the day you really need it it is easy.

joe_5700

+1 I carry a tube, patch kit and levers in my underseat carrier. I had similar luck for over a year and a thousand miles of riding. I hadn't had a flat in 20 years. Luckily my last flat was a slow leak and was not evident until I returned home from a short ride. It was good practice in a controlled environment. Changing out your tires is also good practice.

Allen

Patch kit
Metal tire irons--I've snapped too many plastic ones to ever trust them again
A tube
A frame pump

Garfield Cat

Once you decide the pump or the CO2 cartridge, then if its the pump, the rider needs to know where to store it. If its a large pump, then it goes onto the frame. If its a small mini pump, it might go on to the saddle bag under the seat or even in the back pocket pouch of the bike jersey.

So the rider has to consider the size and type of frame. If its a small frame, maybe 48 cm with sloping top tube, there might not be enough room for a frame pump. There are all sorts of ways to get a frame pump onto a frame. Top tube, down tube, seat tube, you name it and its there.

Some have really nice looking bike frames that cost mucho bucks. Placing a frame pump onto one of those jobs is like attaching an after market thing onto a new corvette body. It just doesn't look right, no matter how good the pump may be.

Another place for a pump is the backpack like a camelback. Some like using a backpack. Others deplore its use and argue excessive sweating in the back or weight or aerodynamics.

A few stick the Road Morph down their pants in the back. Can you picture that?

Retro Grouch 

I'm not sure that's legal in Missouri.

StephenH

Pump, patches, spare tube, wrenches to dismount the wheel, plastic tire tools.

bakaster

+1

don't bother with the inner tube. if you do it right, a patch kit will work just fine and is a lot cheaper. also, there are some things like "slime" or whatever it is called which you can put in your tire before a flat to help prevent one (it should seal any small holes before much air escapes) or after a flat if it is just a small hole in the tube.

this stuff works pretty well, but if the hole is big enough, it won't be able to do anything.

Popeyecahn

Latex or non latex gloves if you like to keep kinda tidy.

Some tires you can get back on without the use of levers, brand new Gatorskins or the like are not one of them unless you have kung fu grip and nice callouses...

JanMM

Bartturner, you're not a real noob, are you? How could you be? You said clincher! I think you might know the difference between clincher and tubular, which proves you're not a noob! C'mon, 'fess up!

mijome07

I carry...

Topeak Road Morph with Gauge

Park Tool Bicycle Tire & Tube Repair Kit

Michelin A2 AirStop Butyl 700 x 25/32 Road Bike Tube

Yan 

I too carry a Topeak Road Morth. I've been using the Park Tools pre-glued patches with great success.

mijome07

That is good to know. I haven't used them yet. Some people claim that pre-glued patches don't work well.