vins0010

I have the better world club coverage...where they'll come and take you up to 30 miles with your bike. I've never had to use it...and some people might balk at paying for such coverage. However, for me, when I decided my bike was how I was going to get to/from work, I decided I'd get it. My wife and I share one, infrequently used, beater car. The coverage is a lot cheaper than another car...or a better car.

Savagewolf

I'm not sure off the top of my head. Not very many, maybe twenty. I can ride it like that if I open up the brakes, but I'm not a big fan of riding if I have another alternative. I'd rather just run it and make sure more spokes don't bust. If I had no option, then I'd bike it.

cyclezealot

what set me off. When the flat occurred , I was only 1 mile from home. I had been up to 40 miles away from home.. But, UP in the mountains , I had been as far as maybe 8 miles away from the closest bit of civilization.. Few homes even exist on those mountain slopes. Lets say my tire had blown up there at 1800 feet, as someone said, they'd not wanted to ride down a steep grade with a booted tire.
Come to think of it, I have been stranded twice.. Ever had great success changing a flat in the total dark.. I put my spare light in my mouth in order to secure light towards my repair.. That time I was saved as one other respondent wrote above. A cyclist in a pick up truck saw my situation and asked if I wanted a ride home. I took the ride. Doing a flat repair in the dark is annoying.

cyclezealot

That is real security.. My old boss seemed skeptical about riding to work. I know he'd loved to have found me late for work so he could come down on my riding. The irony thanks to California traffic, normally I arrived earlier on the bike than I did in the car..Should you have no mechanical issues, bikes are just more reliable . Stalled traffic ahead has no bearing upon us..

Machka 

I've done Randonnees in the Canadian Rockies, and there was one stretch on a particular route I did a few times, where it was 160 km between points of civilisation. There was a small shop and set of cabins about halfway along, but it was only open limited hours. And there was no phone coverage throughout the whole route, not even at the shop and set of cabins halfway along (as I discovered).

Fortunately, nothing too serious happened any time I rode that route, but I also tended to travel well prepared with a spare tire, several tubes, and lots of clothing. I also often had an emergency bivy, space blanket, and poncho just in case I had to create shelter.

So if you're concerned about walking your 8 miles, bring enough stuff with you that you'll be able to solve most problems that come along. Bring a boot, a spare tire, several tubes, a multitool, a fibrefix spoke, clothing to suit a variety of conditions ... and may I recommend a Carradice Nelson Longflap to carry it all.

Garfield Cat

Here's something from REI on PLB

https://www.rei.com/product/815753/ac...locator-beacon

cyclezealot

I have plenty of space on my touring bike to carry a spare tire. While on my race bike: space is a little cramped.. Don't get me wrong: I am not steeped in fear with this fear.. I've ridden somewhere near 100 K over the past 20 years . With all those miles: Two times , maybe I was faced with the possibility of being stranded. Still, when you are 40 miles out and you have a blow out , it just makes you think.. There is always a chance no one will be available should I find myself stranded. But, then a question.. So, why is this any different than being broke down in a car. That happens too. I'd vote bikes likely more reliable than a car. There are fewer moving parts.

bjtesch

I've been road riding for 30 years. I have only been stranded due to a bike problem one time, and I mostly ride alone. It used to be common for me to be 30 or more miles from home on a Saturday morning out by myself.

Once I bonked on the way home from a long ride, about 5 miles from home. I didn't have enough energy to walk and push the bike so I stashed the bike behind some tall weeds at the side of the road and walked cross country to a convenience store where I could call my wife for a ride.

Once I was hit by a car, actually a Post Office Jeep, and it ruined my rear wheel. I was a mile from home and the guy brought me home.

A couple of years ago I was in a crash and went to the hospital in an ambulance. I didn't get home that time until 3 days later.

When I started riding again in July of this year I was starting out with short rides. I was out from my dad's house, intending to ride out 2 miles then back and do that a couple of times. I had a flat 1 mile away, with no tubes or pump and walked the mile back home. Walking on cleats is difficult and I didn't want to trash a new set of cleats so I walked in my socks. I ended up with slight blisters due to the hot pavement. I though it was just 1 mile so I didn't think it was even worth calling for a ride.

I was out on a group ride something like 20 years ago and one of the other riders had a cut tire that couldn't be repaired. It could have been booted but we didn't have anything with us and they opted to call for a ride instead. Since that time I always carried a folding tire in my seat bag along with tools and at least 2 tubes. In that 20 years I never had a need for the tire so I won't carry a spare tire anymore. I will though carry at least 2 tubes. I also always carry a cellphone which would be the rescue if I was farther from home and had a problem. I've fixed lots of flats on the side of the road and then rode home, never had an actual mechanical breakdown that stranded me.

I did not know about devices like the SPOT. One of my hobbies is off-roading, another is backpacking. I may have to buy a SPOT for something like that. One time I was backpacking by myself in Utah near lake Powell, I came to a big chokestone pouroff in a canyon that I could not get around safely. I decided to turn around and go back rather than risk my safety. If I had injured myself I might have been there for weeks before another person came through.

myrridin

A dime sized hole is certainly field repairable--at least good enough to ride the bike home. Of course that doesn't mean you can push speeds, cornering, etc... However, without someone to call, transit to resort to, a 45-mile distance means carrying plastic and calling a cab.

myrridin

Previously you said the hole was the size of a dime, now a quarter... How big a hole is this going to end up being?

JonathanGennick 

Thanks, but that took me to a page offering a PLB for sale. I guess I'm wondering whether the SPOT device is one worth trusting my life to. PLBs have kind of been the gold standard, have they not? But the SPOT thing is cheaper. Which one would I want were I laying there in the trail with a cracked head and a busted femur?

Sorry if I'm straying too far off-topic for the thread.

Machka 

I really have to wonder about these things ...

Quite often, where I ride, it is very remote. Quite often I'm more than 50 km from any sort of town larger than a teeny grocery store that is closed half the time and a house. Will these sorts of coverage still send someone to get me, even though it would likely be a 200 km trip for them to get to me, and then take me a) home, or b) to the nearest bicycle shop?

Or are these sorts of coverage only good if you are cycling within walking distance of your nearest decent sized town?

cyclezealot

Some where in between. I was thinking of future possibilities..When buying tires in the past, I've had them blow up to the dimension of a quarter. But, those couple of blow outs in the past, never happened while on the road; but while being pumped up in the garage. i was told such things likely happen to new tires when there is a manufacturing defect. This latest explosive blow out. Maybe it's dimension was like 3/4's of an inch in length.. Is that more like a quarter or a dime.?

Conan

Recently I was on a ride through the county about 30 miles from home. Bam my rear wheel
locked up. My rear dr got caught in the spokes. Can't fix that and ride home. Thank goodness I had my cell phone and my buddy was able to pick me and my bike up. Otherwise it would have been a long trek home.

mechBgon

That's about what I carry... 2 spare tubes, patch kit, chain tool, multitool, pump, tire levers, and often a CO2 inflator. And a folding car. WAIT, those don't really exist Barring a really unusual failure, that covers it.

I had a chain masterlink fail a few years ago and cause a (haha) chain reaction that ended up ripping my rear derailleur in half, so I shortened the chain and single-speeded home that time. It was a hassle, but it beat walking.

wahoonc

Not enough spokes...

Aaron

Cookiemonsta

In order of what I would do depending on availability

-Repair on the spot (or go to the closest bike shop if open)
-Public transport home
-Call the girlfriend (or brother, friend)
-Walk
-Wait

In many years of cycling, a daily commute and long weekend trips, I have always been able to repair on the spot. Fortunately, the things that typically break on a ride are the things that are easy to fix. Therefore, I carry all the tools necessary to fix these simple things. I could probably get away with only taking tire levers, a minipump and a spare tube and still only get stranded like 3 times every decade. Probably because I dont do offroad.

Leebo

I got skills, tools and duct tape. A dollar bill or an energy bar wrapper make good boots.
Conan, mt bikers bust deralliers all the time. Assuming you have a hardtail or can lockout the rear shock, you can do a single speed fix. Pick a gear, shorten the chain with your chain tool, pedal. Easier if you have horizontal dropouts. Easier still, just put on a new hanger you carry with you. Busted spoke? Use your spoke wrench.

Lief

I have four bike shops in the 5km (3.2mile) commute so it shouldn't be a problem, but if I was somewhere else I would just bus, cab it or call a friend with wheels.