azza_333

Is it worth carrying duct tape on a tour in a 1st word country where every 10-15km you can find a store to buy it from? what have you used it for on tour?

Machka 

I carried duct tape once in a while in remote parts of Canada, but I haven't carried duct tape in probably a decade ... especially after I discovered that it didn't work as a tire boot.

Carry a small handful of zipties.



And ... referring back to my comments in your clothing post ... if you've got stores every 10-15 km, don't worry so much about what to bring. Chances are you're going to be able to find what you need there.


And again ... go ride. Spend the next 18 months (?) until you leave on your trip in 2016 riding and finding out for yourself what you use and need.

staehpj1

Are stores reliably that close together where you tour? I have only toured in the US, but just about every tour I have done seems to have places with no services for something in the 40-80 mile (65-130 km) range at least at times.

If you are talking about taking a big heavy roll of duct tape then no, it is not worth it. Several feet of it wrapped around some other gear item probably is worth taking. It isn't what I would consider a necessity, but a few feet of it is probably worth taking.

BTW, there is a huge variation in the quality of duct tape. I have found that the good stuff works fine as a tire boot. The best may not actually be labeled as duct tape. I like some milspec stuff that is three inches wide and olive drab in color. I used to scrounge discarded partial rolls from work, but have no idea where to buy it. I suspect that the stuff labeled gaffers tape or gorilla tape is probably a good substitute.

MichaelW

Good for fabric repairs, if you damage your luggage, waterproofs or shoe uppers.
Keeps wayward bar tape in place.
Wrangles brake and gear levers into the correct position, esp with a bar bag.

Bicycle365

I think it is worth carrying at least some. I used to carry Gaffers Tape for it's additional flex and stickyness and removeability but have now moved on to Gorilla Tape. It sticks a lot better and can even be applied to non-dry surfaces.

Dave Cutter

I carry 7 inches of duct tape wrapped around a tire lever. I've carried the same piece of tape for maybe 4-5 years.... I've never used it.

I also carry 3 zip ties, a small knife, and a tiny little micro pliers.... along with the ubiquitous bicycle combo tool. I even carry a nub of a white-lead pencil for marking tire punctures. The only thing I've ever used (outside of tire changing tools) is I used the combo bike tool once to adjust my saddle height.

fietsbob

True Gaffer's tape is a flexible cloth backing with a different adhesive, Than Duct tape. & a roll of it is about $35.


Yes wrapping a bit of Duct tape around a Tool or something you will be bringing along anyhow is no Burden.


I brought a roll of Clear Packing tape and as soon as I bought a New Map I Applied tape over the folds
so the printed image at the folds remained no matter How Often I refolded the large panel Maps ..

mev

I've used it to temporarily stabilize my frame after it cracked: 470 I've also used it to patch holes in my tent and reinforce tent poles. For extended trips, particularly through remote regions or developing world, I like have some with me. On shorter trips or more within the US, seems more optional to me - and can pick up some if necessary (though probably not every 15 miles).

nun

I carry a few feet of duct tape in my tool kit because of it's many uses; tire boot, luggage repair, field dressing etc.

I don't carry a spare tire, but if I get a rip in a side wall I know that duct tape will fix it well enough to get to the next bike shop.

raybo

I used duct tape once on my handlebars and had to replace the entire wrap job due to the stickiness left over from the duct tape. I now carry a roll of electricians tape for the those few instances where tape might be necessary.

For most other repairs, I carry sugru (FIX THAT THING | Sugru), a putty-like substance that dries hard.

mdilthey

For the 1,000 reasons I can think to carry duct tape, I mostly carry it for the 10,000 reasons I haven't thought of yet.

A dollar bill works as a tire boot, Machka. I tape it in place with -you guessed it.

mdilthey

Honestly, duct tape is worth carrying just because nothing keeps debris out of a wound better. If you fall, and you scrape up huge portions of skin (and I hope you don't), then duct taping gauze down is really all you can do. Band-aids are useless.

I used duct tape to seal up three huge wounds in my 2013 crash, and if I didn't have it, I wouldn't have been able to bike 90 miles to the nearest Amtrak station to go home.

ThermionicScott 

I always carry a little with me -- it's light and rolls up compactly enough.



By applying it this way, I was not only able to boot a tire well enough to get to work one morning, but rode it another 150 miles because I wanted to get at least 1000 miles out of the tire.

hueyhoolihan

when passing through Pensacola, Fl. on a tour, i slashed the side wall of the rear tire. completely unbootable from the inside. it needed a compression type wrap.

i had a couple feet of duct tape with me, and wrapped the outside of the tire/rim three or four times with it, disabled the rear brake and continued on to Gainsville, where i bought a new tire. a life saver.

i kept the tape wrapped like in the pic in the previous post.

rumrunn6

you might consider a small roll of quality electrical tape as well

prathmann

I've found it to be handy for quick fabric repairs (panniers or clothes) and as a tire boot. In fact there's been some inside the rear tire of my touring bike for the last few thousand miles after a tire cord broke internally and gave me a couple flats before I found the problem and covered it with a few layers of tape. I keep the tape wrapped around the box of my patch kit.

Wanderer

I carry a few yards rolled up on a common plastic straw. A miniature role of duct tape.... Have used it many times over the years.

LeeG

Not a high priority but if I were it would be Gorilla tape and not duct tape. Duct tape leaves too much of an adhesive mess for how little fabric there is.

robow

+1 on the Gorilla tape, tough stuff and sticks well. I'm not sure you couldn't build a complete tire out of it. And yea, I keep several feet rolled around a pen or pencil in my tool bag which still allows the use of the writing instrument when needed. I never leave home without it.

acantor

I carry a foot or two of duct tape wrapped around a pen, although I don't think I've ever used it.

Next time I will bringTommy tape, which I recently learned about. It has an interesting property: the act of stretching it causes it to stick to itself with a vengeance. It's also easy to remove by cutting through the layers of tape.

I recently began bringing one or two packages of Sugru. When the mirror mounted to the top of my STI shifters sheared off, I tried repairing it with crazy glue, epoxy, and finally, epoxy putty. None of these held. But Sugru lasts and lasts.

Walter S

I wrap a couple feet of it around my top tube. Takes up no room. No looking for it.

Ekdog

An air mattress I was sleeping on developed a leak in the middle of the night. I slapped some cheap duct tape over the puncture and pumped it back up. Problem solved.

LeeG

Toptubes on both my Surlys are wrapped with Tressostar tape. Locking the bike up against metal poles is no worry about sliding or scratching through to metal.

veganbikes

The real question is what can't you do with Duct Tape?

BohicaX

Duct tape and zip ties seems to work for me.