caloso

Yesterday I stopped to try to help a rider who was walking her bike along the road. She had a tube and a patch kit but no pump. And as it turned out, no 15mm wrench to get her nutted rear wheel off. But she did have a phone so I left her to continue walking until her friend could pick her up.

I wonder if she's on this thread.

wphamilton

One could patch a tube without taking the wheel off ... I tend to forget about that since I usually replace and rarely patch on the road.

Giant Doofus

Ha! Well, it wasn't me. I wouldn't have had the patch kit or the tube either! Nevertheless, I still think mine is a fine plan: Lock the bike to something secure and catch a bus or call a friend. It's the same thing I'd do if my car broke down. (With one difference: when I get it home, I do actually know how to fix my own bike. I'm just unwilling to do it on the way to work.)

I think it's worth remembering that what seems like a perfectly good plan for one commuter (carry a full tool kit) might not be the universally best plan for every commuter. I know my route, my bike, the expectations of my job, and my friends well. I've never needed to use my plan, but I'm confident that it will work for me.

Someone up-thread said that going out for a ride without carrying the equipment and having the know-how to change your own tire on the roadside makes you a drain on society (or something like that). I disagree. I grant that getting yourself stranded with no way to get to work or get your bike fixed leaves you in a miserable spot and might make you a burden on others. But that's not what my plan does at all. It doesn't leave me stranded. It just changes the location of my bike repair work.

Mark Stone

But . . . but . . . but . . . repairing a puncture is so easy - less than 5 minutes and you're on your way. I guess your boss is OK that you're late for work waiting for your friend or the bus?

caloso

Yeah, I know. But frankly that would have raised the hassle factor and the flatee didn't seem all that concerned about walking until she could get picked up.

tjspiel

It's up to the individual to decide how to best plan for mechanical failures. I myself once opted not to repair a flat and instead head to the train station that was a block away. I've also had a flat on an unplanned ride after work that left me far away from any public transportation. I could have called my wife but that would have meant waiting around for her to get there, her taking the kids away from whatever they were doing and driving 20 minutes to pick me up and another 20 minutes back, after which I would spend 10 minutes fixing the flat.

Instead I took the 10 minutes there on the spot and was able to continue my evening with a slight inconvenience to myself but to no one else.

I look at this way. Most drivers would think it unwise to drive someplace without a spare tire even though cars rarely get flats anymore and a good number of drivers wouldn't try to mount the spare anyway. However, they might someday get a flat far away from any immediate help. At that point it's too late to decide to bring a spare tire and jack if the car isn't already equipped with those.

The thing is as long as the spare is there, you have the option to change a flat or not. Having a small pump and spare tube doesn't obligate you to deal with the flat on the spot. It just makes it possible.

EDIT:

I would never suggest that knowing how to change a flat or carrying a spare tube is an absolute must nor is anyone a burden to society for electing not to do so. Helping others and allowing yourself to be helped is a way of bonding with friends or loved ones. Helping or accepting help from a stranger builds a sense of community.

Giant Doofus

Ah, that's the key. My original post outlined why fixing a puncture isn't so easy for me: IGH, roller brakes, enclosed chain case, Schwalbe marathon plus tires (*really* hard to get on and off the rim), plus I'm in a dress and heels.

Also, this plan works for me because I don't have a boss. My meetings are always scheduled so that if I'm running late and get a flat and have to catch a bus, I still get there in time.

See what I mean about not having one universally right plan for commuters? This plan works *for me*.

alan s 

No one is saying there is a "one size fits all" plan. You could throw your bike in the trunk of a cab and arrive at work earlier than normal. Point is you are not stranded -- and are footing the bill for your choices -- not burdening others to bail you out for a flat tire.

wphamilton

Ah, that's a similar phenomenon to which I alluded in my first post. You're rolling by someone walking a busted bike, but they don't really want any help. As if walking the broken bike is the plan from the start, and they have it all in hand.

I had suspected that the embarrassment was too great for them to accept help. But now, after my discussion with erig007 I realize that for some people maybe it really *is* the plan, and they really do prefer the walk to fixing it on the spot. It shouldn't be that much of a revelation, but it is.

I-Like-To-Bike

I commuted over 5000 miles/year for 12 years in a row (5 years in Germany and 7 in Iowa) without having to fix or change a flat while on the road. I did have to fix an occasional (maybe once a year) slow leak that flatted while at home or at the work site. Commuting bike equipped with 622 x 47mm regular Schwalbe Marathon tires. I still always carry a pump, spare tube and patch kit anyways with no hassle.

mgw4jc

Insanely long thread for a yes or no question.

I carry a pump, tube and patch kit, but my most recent blow-out was a hole in the tire, not just the tube. When attempting to inflate the new tube, it came out of the hole in the tire sidewall and would have popped quickly. I phoned in a ride from the wife and got new tires as a result.

One cyclist passed me while I was waiting and asked if I needed anything. I waved him on. I wouldn't necessarily have been embarrassed if I did need help, but rather felt bad for interrupting his ride.

tjspiel

Depending on how bad the hole is, a folded dollar bill between the tire and the tube (over the hole) can get you home.

Mark Stone

Ouch, I missed those details . . .

jralbert

I gotta say, it's this kind of thing that makes me wonder a bit about the sudden popularity of IGHs. They're touted as 'zero-maintenance', so folks pick them up imagining it'll be like a car: it just works whenever you need it. Just like a car, though, when things don't work you quickly discover that the system is very complicated, and requires a lot of tools you don't have. No roadside fixes for you; get ready to pay the shop rate. You can't even change your own tire unless you're packing wrenches. So people get sucked into the "bike as unfixable objet d'art" idea, and lose the once-common ability to perform at least basic roadside maintenance. Electronic shifting brings the same fear for me: at some point, that system will b0rk, as all firmware-driven electronics surely must, and no matter what tools I have I'll not be able to fix it. I really enjoy the relative mechanical simplicity of a derailleur-geared bicycle.

Probably for the same reason, I'm firmly on the 'pump' side of the pump/co2 debate. A pump is simple, won't run out, and will basically work forever; co2 is consumable, limited (screw up once and you're out of co2), and expensive. I've had every kind of flat on all manner of tires, and never been failed by the frame-mount Road Morph that rides on every one of my bikes.

wphamilton

12 years without a flat on the road is pretty impressive. With that record, without changing anything else on the bike, I probably wouldn't carry a pump either or even a tube. Just the bare minimum, glueless patches levers and a co2 cartridge. Since I'll have tools anyway, I can't see not carrying at least that.

I could never get away with that though. I've been known let my pressure get down to half before getting around to airing the tire up (700x25 these days), one bump away from a pinch flat. Or a slow leak goes too far. There's more than one way to skin a cat I guess.

Giant Doofus

I went into the IGH/Roller Brake thing with my eyes wide open. I knew exactly what it meant in terms of roadside repairs, but decided in favor of the bike in spite of that. I'm in a lot of stop and go situations, often having to come to a sudden stop right at the bottom of a hill, which means starting up again from a dead stop when I didn't have time to downshift before the stop. Being able to shift into a low gear without pedaling is very helpful in that situation. I ride in all weather, so having hub brakes is great. I wanted tires as close to bomb proof as I could get, and the Marathon Pluses give me that. My bike isn't simply beautiful to look at (though it is that too); it's also like a reliable work truck. And all of the features that make it that way are also the things that make it hard to fix a flat roadside. For me, the trade-offs are worth it.

I'm really hoping I can match I-Like-To-Bike's 12-year record!

Edit: Not making a roadside repair doesn't mean I'm going to pay the shop rate. I'll fix the bike myself. I'll just do it at home or at the co-op if the repair is more complex.

noglider 

My rule is to bring tools and supplies if I'm going to be more than two or three miles from home. Last year I got a flat two miles from home and was pretty annoyed at the walk home, but I managed.

When I'm staying in the city, though, I can hop on a subway with the bike, so I can relax my rule a bit. I haven't even gotten a flat since moving here in August, and I've been riding tubular tires!

krobinson103

Whatever it is if I have time I fix it on the spot. Kids at hone mean no time for repairs.

vol

So, again, is it fair to say: it makes little sense to carry a pump without also carrying either a spare tube or repair kits, if you always make sure the tire is full when leaving home, and you ride only one asphalt city streets? Because it seems the only scenarios when a pump alone helps in case of a flat is, either you didn't pump enough air before the ride, or there is just a very, very slow leak?

metz1295

i'm so confused. how is this a debate. i can't think of a single reason not to have tire repair equipment on a ride. it weighs very little and takes only 15 minutes to switch out a tube. by comparison, if you can walk a bike with a flat tire at 4 mph, you've used the same 15 minutes. oh, and you still need to fix your flat. so unless you're planning a ride that's less than a mile, it's valuable to carry tire repair equipment with you.

CommuteCommando

I once got on the train with a tire that had gone flat over night with plans to fix it on the train. A newby with a big box bike got on and was all over himself with amazement that I was fixing a flat right there on the train. We talked bikes for the next forty minutes or so, with me explaining how to fix a flat, and the importance of knowing how. Somewhere in there I remember suggesting he pack a 15mm.

Back to CO2. An other disadvantage is that you will not run out of cartridges with a pump. I still use CO2 and buy the cartridges in bulk for $1.15 each and pack three.

vol

Wish I were there, too.

noglider 

Correct. A pump alone is nearly worthless. You need levers. You also need a spare tube or a patch kit or both. A length of duct tape or Gorilla Tape is a good idea, and you can wrap it around your pump or something.

erig007

It is a debate because situations are different. I see no reasons to bring a repair kit in my case. The way i have modified my bike to protect against thieves it will take me at least 20 minutes to remove a wheel. I believe it will be a while before my tires puncture even though there is some randomness part in it. (I haven't had a single flat yet since i increased the protection level) With my previous road bike i was having 2 flats each week. Got 2 flats in a row with my current bike with previous tires during the first year of use and 0 with my current tires. And since i use the same bike year long in winter at 0F/-10F/-20F there is no way i'm going to repair a puncture outside. My current pannier has all its secondary pockets full already and i don't want having to remove more things from the bike every time i park my bike somewhere. My bike is designed with reliability in mind (the manufacturer designed the bike to whistand Canadian winter) (I'm taking what i would call the "tank" approach (slow but steady) vs the Ferrari approach (fast but unreliable)) so my tires are wide and my top speed isn't high and with or without a flat in progress my speed doesn't change much.
It is simply another approach, your approach is the one i was having before and i prefer my current approach it is less hassle in my specific case. But in your case, yours is probably as valid.

vol

Thanks noglider for addressing my question! Thanks for the advice!

As I mentioned above, I found it a hassle each time when I parked the bike outside for 20 minutes I had to remove the pump (in my case it's tightly strapped with velcro tape or bungee balls) and carry it with me for fear of theft, then reattach it when I'm back, esp. in view that I had done this so many times but never got a flat in 3-4 years except once at home. It's not heavy, of course, but chances seem to be that I'll thank God once every 5 years that I had carried the pump with me. But yes, I'll definitely follow the advice to learn how to repair a leaking tube or change tubes (mainly the rear tire is the tricky one).