RayMetz100

I've been riding for about 3 months and have a cheap mountain bike. I've been dumping about $100 a week into repairs and gear for this hobby so far. My longest ride has been 45 miles and I hope to ride through the Seattle winter about 50-100 miles per week. I want to take a 100+ mile bike touring vacation sometime soon.

My bag has these tools:
pump
Bike Lock and cable
chain oil
2x 26x2 tubes
1x 700c x23 tube ( I borrow a road bike sometimes)
presta/sharader converter
tire irons
5x allen wrenches, 2.5-6
chain tool
#1 philipps
small and med flat screwdrivers
adjustable wrench
needle nose pliers
Bungies x3
power bar x3

I also have a bottom bracket wrench and crank puller, but I don't carry those on my bike.

What are some of the other tools you recommend to carry for commuting/touring style riding?


Thanks!

Ray

RayMetz100

Pic of my bike. 2000 Specialized Hard Rock

antokelly

hi ray good tool kit,
that will no doubt get you out of any trouble ,did you add puncture repair outfit in that list swiss army knife is always handy to have.
when i'm on my touring bike i always carry a good tool kit housed in a tuppa ware container .good luck with the cycling hope you get a good tour in shortly.

Doug64

I find a pair of latex gloves for the times you have a flat on the rear tire handy. I've never been able to remove my rear wheel without getting chain oil on my hands. I keep box of them in my shop for the dirty jobs like cleaning chains and painting.

Note the "blue" hand.

imi

+1 for thin gloves for road repairs... and the puncture kit of course

On tour I have a couple more things:

Wire cutters for brake/gear cables. You maybe have a cutter on your pliers?

Spare brake and gear cable(s) I carry just one of each on if there are bike shops along the way.
A few cable end-caps as well as a few spare nuts and bolts.

Spare Shimano chain pins or SRAM masterlink depending on need.
Even a spare pin for the chain machine.

Spare spokes

Cassette removal tools in case you need to replace a drive side spoke.
I carry a NBT2 tool and even a fiberfix so I can do a quick roadside fix, then replace the spoke at camp if there's not a bike shop with "proper" tools close by.
This means you'll need a spoke tool as well

Light oil for other parts

+1 for a swiss army knife as well. Actually the small screwdrivers I have on my knife mean that I don't need screwdrivers in my tool bag. And the knife is of course used for tons of other stuff on tour.

edit: oh and Zip ties and Duct tape!!

otherwise, very good list

sstorkel

How much of this stuff are you carrying on every ride and how much stays at home? On every ride, I take:

- One spare inner tube
- Patch kit
- Tire boot
- Pedro's tire levers
- Topeak RoadMorph pump
- Multi-tool (Crank Brothers) with metric Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, chain tool, and a spoke wrench
- Park CT-5 chain tool
- Spare master link for chain
- Cell phone
- $20

When touring, I add:

- Chain lube
- Full-size 4mm, 5mm, and 6mm Allen wrenches
- 4-5 spare chain links
- Spare tire
- Another spare tube
- Another 1-2 master links for chain; they're easy to lose
- FiberFix spoke
- Full-size spoke wrench
- Leatherman tool (knife, pliers, wire-cutter)
- One brake cable
- One derailleur cable
- Park RW1 headset/pedal wrench (if I'll be shipping the bike home)
- Presta to Schrader convertor
- A couple of zip ties
- A few spare spokes
- A few feet of duct tape

Honestly, other than the tire-changing stuff and chain repair tools I haven't used most of the stuff...

BigBlueToe

On tour I bring a Stein cassette removing tool and some spare spokes. I've had a tour spoiled by broken spokes. I also bring the kevlar emergency spokes because they weigh almost nothing. I bring a spare brake and derailleur cable because they're light, but not a cable cutter. I'll just loop the loose ends and ride until I can get to a bike shop. I bring a couple of spare bolts - especially the ones that hold on my racks - and some Loctite. They're light. I bring some Park boots but not a spare tire; I just make sure my tires are good before I leave. If they're suspect I replace them. No pliers for me. They would be nice but I've never really needed them and they're heavy. I have a Phillips screwdriver and chain tool on my multi-tool. I always bring my Swiss Army knife. It has a screwdriver as well as the knife blades (for slicing meat, etc.) and the can opener.

Tourist in MSN

I also carry a saddle cover and a couple plastic bags. My saddle covers are not waterproof, I put a water proof plastic bag over the saddle and then the cover over that, the cover protects and holds the plastic bag in the right place. This probably is not needed if you do not use a leather saddle. Yeah, this is not a tool but packing it in the tool kit is a way to make sure I have it.

Quite frankly, my ride around town list is much shorter than your list. I just carry the:
- saddle covers for rain
- plastic gloves (see note below)
- multi-tool with allen wrenches and screwdrivers, up to and including 8mm
- pump
- tube
- tire levers (3)

Things like powerbars are not in my tool kit, but for a long ride they might be in a pocket or wedge bag.

Agree. You can usually ask and get a few from a visit to the dentist, some fast food stores also provide them for their staff and they will usually give you a few pair if you ask. If you have a latex sensitivity, some of the ones at fast food stores are not latex. My dentist office also has nitrile for their latex sensitive staff. I eventually caved in a bought a box at the local drug store since I used them for other messy stuff around the house.

My tour list varies with length of tour and where I will be. On a tour last year, I actually had a left side bottom bracket cup start unthreading on my bike. Thus, I am even adding that (heavy) gear to my long tour kit, even though I probably will never need it again.

rodar y rodar

You carry all that just commuting and other around town rides? I guess it can`t hurt, but it sounds like a lot to me. All my bikes have a small under the saddle bag that stays there permanently with one tube (two if I`m in the midst of a "bad flat month"), pack of self adhesive patches, two tire levers, individual allen wrenches that I`m likely to want for that particular bike, small screwdriver, and a master link. I also make sure I have a pump (don`t have specific pumps dedicated to each bike). Going on a tour I pack a little more, but still not as much as most of these lists. Generally: another tube, regular patch kit, chain lube, rag, spoke wrench, chain breaker.

That`s for weekend tours- I`ve never done any long trips, but I doubt I`d carry much more anyway. Also, I`ve never broken a spoke- if I were more prone to wheel problems, I`d be toting around extra spokes and a cassette cracker also. And if I had a mobile phone, I`d probably carry that too- phone booths are getting scarce these days.