HydroG33r 

How much did you spend on the $20 bill? I'm more serious about biking than you are, so I have 3 x $1,000 bills (in case I break down and need a new bike). I also waited patiently until I got a killer deal on them online; only paid $3,000!

locolobo13 

When I was a teenager my Dad told me to always carry a dime in case I needed to make an emergency call home. Now I carry the phone.

noglider 

Great deal.

When I was in something like sixth grade, my stepmother said I should always keep a spare $10 in case I need a taxi or something. I'm 52 years old now. I've upped it to $20, and I still do it. I pretty much use it as an alarm system: when I go to my pocket, where I keep all of my other cash, and I don't have enough, I dip into the spare $20. Then I use that as a reminder to go to the ATM. Then I replenish the $20 so it's always there.

Leisesturm

Is this pump cute enough for you? I'd do her, but YMMV. Has a gauge built in. Seriously, if you are as... erm... adroit, with a pressure gauge, as you are with a CO2 chuck, you may find the investment in a gauge less productive than you imagined. You didn't lose the pressure over 8km, you lost it at the time you filled the tire. I have no trouble imagining that half your CO2 charge went into our atmosphere making the AGW situation fractionally worse for your efforts. I recommend you chuck the chucks and master a mini-blaster and call it very good.

H

Leisesturm

How do I put this kindly... I mean your stepmother was/is a great lady... of this I am sure... I'm not knocking her advice... but... and I can say this, I'm 54. Times have changed. It's great that you realize that cab fares have risen with inflation but... didja notice that they all take credit/debit cards now? Seriously, you don't want to ride in a cab that doesn't <shiver> you might wind up at an organ harvesting chop shop or something. I mean the stalls at the farmers' markets take credit cards. They have these cuuute little swipe things that attach to Smart Phones and do the deed via wi-fi hotspot. Tres cool. Just saying...

H

alan s 

I carry both a pump and CO2. Either can fail, but both failing at the same time is unlikely. Also, CO2 is great if you're in a hurry or during bad weather. You can have two flats in one ride, so CO2 alone may not be sufficient. Final resort is a cell phone or cab if all else fails, but since parts of my commute are in fairly remote areas, I could have to walk my bike some distance. Not fun on a cold rainy night.

noglider 

I s'pose you're right, but I still feel more secure carrying a little cash.

dynaryder

Not everywhere. DC just required CC readers as of 1 Oct,and many independent cabs have gotten extensions. And getting this passed through the council was a big deal.

Bikeforumuser0011

Wow! Houdini in person, who would have thought?

Bikeforumuser0011

+1 on carrying both. I mainly say that now that I broke down, and bought my mini pump.

Bikeforumuser0011

+1

Bikeforumuser0011

Interesting, and of course, for me they have it in pink!

Bikeforumuser0011

+1 for the rag. I should toss one in my roll (when I actually get a physical tool roll).

lunacycle

My tool roll is an old cotton sock, which doubles as a rag.
In the sock I keep the following items for commuting:

Crank Brothers multi tool (w/ chain tool and spoke wrench)
Spare tube
Spare folding tire (lightweight 700x23mm road tire)
15mm wrench (only if I'm riding the fixed-gear)
little 3" crescent wrench (for adjusting fenders)
tire levers and patch kit w/ schrader adaptor, small length of chain, and a dollar bill
Lezyne mini pump (the kind with the little hidden extension tube) -- An excellent pump!
An old drivers license (for identification)
a few small zip ties

I ride with a messenger bag, so storage space is not a big issue.

AlmostGreenGuy

Okay. I found a shot of my tool roll contents from last spring. There's a spare link and quick link inside of the patch box. I've since upgraded to a higher quality tube. The cheapo disposable shower cap is for my Brooks saddle. The multitool is something I threw together last winter. It's a hodge-podge of tools from a couple of cycling multitools. It contains only the tools that are needed to service my Salsa Vaya. Nothing extra.

Bikeforumuser0011

I like the shower cap idea, never thought about it. My Brooks B18 Lady in Raspberry is on its way, and the shop includes one when you order Brooks saddles from them, nice little perk. I just got my Minnehaha Barrel bag in the mail, and I like it but my mini pump is just an inch or so too long for it. I haven't tried the barrel bag yet. Gotta wait for the Brooks to come and then I will go from there.

Medic Zero

Me too. Rema's and vulcanizing cement is the way to go.

Right now I'm not carrying a separate tool rool, I always have my large saddlebag on my bike or with me and everything is in there. I've organized it with a cardboard box almost the same dimensions as the interior, but this leaves some little nooks all around between the box and sides of the bag and then interior of the box for cargo. In there I've got:

* A Columbia River Knife and Tool G.U.P.P.Y. tool
* tiny keychain flashlight (I've got a helmet headlight and in winter a detachable flashlight on the handlebars)
* bike multi-tool that is just Allen wrenches and a chainbreaker (forget which brand/model)
* patch kit and a spare Presta nut
* spare Presta/Schrader adapter (there's ones on the two mounted tubes as well)
* two tire levers (one metal cored)
* high pressure mini-pump with gauge
* spare tube
* small drop cloth (waterproof surgery cloth, about 1' square to either kneel on in the rain or lay out my tools on when working roadside)
* Gerber leatherman-type pliers multi-tool
* pen with some duct tape wrapped around it (pen mostly for marking location of punctures in tubes)
* couple sheets of paper in a small ziploc bag
* spare handkerchief in a small ziploc bag
* rubber gloves in a small ziploc bag
* Park emergency tire boot
* small cloth pouch with a couple of dollars in quarters (for gas station air pump), a few one dollar bills in case I need to take the bus, a couple of chain links and a twenty dollar bill for emergencies.
* small first aid kit
* couple of power bars

Everything except for the tube and pump is tucked between the walls of the cardboard box and the sides of the saddlebag. The tube and pump are in the bottom of the main compartment of the bag.

I used to carry around a tool roll with most of the above, plus an 8mm and a 10mm wrench, small pair of scissors, Fiberfix spoke repair kit, permanent marker, and a Phillips screwdriver, but I never seemed to need any of it, and once I organized my saddlebag I didn't really need the tool roll either. When I go on longer rides I sometimes toss the wrenches and Fiberfix in the saddlebag too. I've limped home on broken spokes on my commute before and there are buses that I can take if I had too.

randomgear

One thing I should add to mine is a small bottle of alcohol gel hand sanitizer, such as purell. It does a good job of removing grease from your hands after messing with a chain if you don't use thin latex style gloves or if the gloves rip. As I found out a couple of weeks ago, fine bourbon doesn't work very well as a degreaser; but it's pretty good as a social lubricant.

Of course, in the winter, it might be best to just wipe your hands with a towel and wait till you get to a warm destination before using alcohol to degrease with.

MEversbergII

Medic, what saddle bag is that? Sounds huge!

M.

blackhawknj

In my tool bag are
1. 6" adjustable wrench-no quick releases on my 3 speeds.
2. Patch kit-never found the glueless patches satisfactory.
3. Tire levers
4. Several pairs of thin rubber gloves for handling the chain, etc.
5. Small pump
6. Reflective leg bands
7. Leg light
On my belt I carry a Leatherman tool and a Buckk 100 folding knive.

roashru

i normally dont have road hazard issues but keep all of this in a small round handlebar/saddle dufflebag

1- patched tube
1- new tube
2- 15mm combination wrenches
2- used chain missing links
1- 6 inch adjustable wrench
2- 2x3 tire boots cut from a plastic cat or dog food bag
1- small dual stroke hand air pump fully disassembled and lubed with high temp synthetic oil
1- key-chain #2 philips screwdriver
1- key-chain #2 straight screwdriver
3- plastic tire levers
1- chain tool
1- quart zip bag of paper towels
1- tire pressure gauge

Medic Zero

It is! I use an 18 liter capacity Zimbale. Comparable to a Carradice Nelson Longflap. All the stuff I listed above fits in-between the box and the outer wall, with the exception of the pump and spare tube. That leaves almost all of the space inside as a big main compartment that is enough room for either my lunch or my scrubs and underclothes or a sweater. I've also got a Carradice Cape Roll attached to the top of it, so I can actually put my sweater there if I choose/need.

One thing I forgot as part of my tool roll: some zip ties!

This is the bag on my commuter:



It was just fine before the addition of the box inside it, but it does stand up when it is empty now, and the box really helped with keeping all the gear I carry around organized. The side pockets are convenient for storing my; phone, wallet, keys, watch, and glasses case.

There probably should be some easy way to distinguish between saddlebags at one end of the spectrum where they might not even be large enough for a spare tube, and ones at the other end of the spectrum where you can carry something the size of a watermelon. It seems a little odd to use the same word for both, especially since the former can basically tuck almost completely under a saddle virtually disappearing, and the latter often ride behind the saddle and can extend beyond the sides of the saddle as well.

https://www.zimbale.com/Front/Product...te_no=AA000000

MEversbergII

Well now that's spiffy. When I think seat post bag, I think of the little ones that could maybe hold a wallet.

M.