MikePFlyFish

I have to admit, everything I've read and watched (YouTube) these last few weeks on bikes, components, maintenance, upgrades, tool kits for trips, has got me kind of intimidated. Even things like seats (now saddles), and tires, and brakes have got me worried about venturing too far from home. In my youth, we would be miles from home with nothing...turn the bike upside down to put the chain back on, fix the master link, maybe use a Swiss Army knife to adjust the brakes? Now bikes seem so advanced and sensitive to any variance from perfect setup....I feel like I need to bring a tool chest along with me when we finally get to start riding in the spring.

10 Wheels

Where do you Ride?

10 Wheels

2,000 mile month.
Carry Everything I might need.
5 Spare tubes, One Tire. CO2 and a Pump. NO CELL Phone. Rain Jacket. Front and Rear Lights for DAY Safety. Marine Air Horn to Stop Dog Bites.

MikePFlyFish

Nowhere yet. Just purchased a bike over the Cyber Week sales and it's waiting for me to pickup at the local shop.

rollagain

Ah, the Wonder Years, when the only bike tools you needed were a large flat-bladed screwdriver and a crescent wrench. Loved it.

Don't worry so much; just ride and enjoy yourself. If you can't stop worrying, enjoy yourself anyway; just don't ride farther than you can walk home.

urbanknight

Aside from flat tires, other mechanicals are rare, and nowadays we have cell phones and rideshare apps.

MikePFlyFish

Or farther than being able to walk back to the car I guess.

@10Wheels - Holy cow! 2K mile month? I only did 5K miles in the last year on my car!

10 Wheels

2009 Tour. I beat my Car every year. 15,923 miles that year.

10 Wheels

veganbikes

They have always been saddles...LOL. I wouldn't worry, all you really need is maybe a flat repair kit and a multi tool and a phone or some money. If you keep your bike maintained or let the shop do it regularly you shouldn't have many problems. A well cared for bike with new parts when needed and proper torque and care of bolts and bearings and such you will generally be fine. People do worry a lot and unless you are touring or riding really long distances into less populated areas you don't need to carry a whole lot and really more importantly you need to know how to use what you carry. Otherwise just call a willing friend or rideshare or take a bus or rail or something like that.

Enjoy the bike ride the hell out of it and relax everything will be fine.

rsbob 

Please don’t be intimidated by The Real Fred’s unreal tool box on the back of his bike. He is the exception and not the rule. There are just a few easy to use basics which will fit in a small pouch (under the saddle bag) which you should carry. There are a few threads about essential tools you should carry. What I have carried for the past 30 years which have never left me stranded:
- 2 tire levers
- multi-tool with Allen wrenches, flat and Philips screwdrivers
- patch kit
- spare tube
- dollar bill (if your tube gets a large cut - fold the bill inside the tire to cover the cut)

of course you will need a tire pump - there are some mini-pumps which can fit in a jersey pocket. Or you can get a CO2 inflator and a couple of tubes.

The most important thing is to practice removing your wheels and taking the tires and tubes off your bikes before you get a flat an have to in the wild. It will make all the difference.

All of that stuff fits in the bags under my seats:






There are plenty of YouTube How videos on removing and patching tires. View those and practice.

veganbikes

It is a shame those bike pictures were taken from the wrong side would love to see the top one especially. However they are both pretty but I do love a bike in Celeste green. Remember the rules always take it from the drive side unless the non-drive side is really spectacular and align you valve stems at 12 o'clock and the cranks usually at 3 o'clock or with the chain stay though I can forgive that one if you are using the crank to hold the bike up with say a helmet or bottle or something like that. Really the drive side is important and is the sexiest part of the bike.

A note on CO2 it is good extra back up to have just in case but a pump will do you better. CO2 is a smaller molecule so it will leave the tire faster so generally you will need to remove air and repump when you get home and will probably have lost some air depending on your ride. You can still take it as it is quick to inflate tires (though does get cold so don't hold on to the canister with naked hands) but a pump is always good to have. A bigger pump is easier to use and honestly when you are stuck by the side of the road easier to use will trump mini pump in your back pocket always but a mini pump can still work and is better than nothing but a Topeak Road Morph G is a life saver and for a brief unfortunate bit was my floor pump as well as I couldn't decide what pump I wanted and my old cheap whatever pump had gone kaput. A dark couple weeks but worked well.

RCMoeur

Gets mighty warm on I-10 in these parts in August. And then hopefully a drenching monsoon storm. Seems like most Southern Tier (or similar) riders come through in the spring and fall to catch the nicer weather - not so many in the summer. But at least the humidity out here in the summer is slightly lower than that found east of the 100th meridian.

10 Wheels

I have had Five Rides with 3 Flats. I also loan tubes for Riders that Only Carry One Spare Tube. Had Two rides where the tire was Torn.

10 Wheels

We did that ride in The Heat of a Hot Summer. CA 112*F was the Hottest.

Frkl

One obvious solution would be to just not put up with bikes that have all this complexity. I don't.

You could get a Rivendell, if you like the style and have the funds, or you could get a really nice used bike from the mechanical era of cycling, say into the late 1990s (at this point, there is enough in common with current bikes that finding replacement parts isn't difficult). I don't know the US market but in Europe there are numerous brands that sell new bikes rigid or with suspension (if that's your thing), rim brakes, mechanical shifting, quick releases, and hex fasteners, all of which means that a simple multitool, 2 tire irons, a pump, and a spare tube are pretty much all you need day to day. And these bikes are easy to understand and work on yourself.

I carry have a Park MT01 on my commute (and you should always have a pocket knife, of course). This is about as simple as it gets and honestly and I have never not been able to fix things enough to get there and back. I carry a bit more when in the woods or countryside, but it all fits in a small saddlepack. I can't remember when the last time I got a flat on my commute bike was, so I have gotten lazy about carrying a tube and pump day to day.

PeteHski

In what way are they sensitive? Can't say I've experienced that. Modern drivetrains are largely set and forget. I also have a lot less (practically zero) flats with decent tubeless tyres. All I carry on rides is a mini multi-tool, mini-pump, tubeless repair kit and a spare chain link. On very long rides I might carry a spare tube.

BTinNYC

The cycling world changed while us Rip Van Winkles slept. Interchangeable parts is a memory. Some derailleurs have electric motors and batteries that need charging. Hydraulic disc brakes!

That being said, my new bike has been a pleasure both for riding comfort and ease of maintenance. I'm sure yours will be too.

A small kit with 3 hex keys, a spare tube and a mini pump got me through year 1 without a hitch.

RB1-luvr

to the OP, start with short rides, just a couple of miles. Your confidence will increase with each added mile (hopefully). I hope riding becomes an enjoyable time for you.

seypat

I can understand what the OP is saying. It's not just riding your bike anymore. You have to worry about what clothes to wear, what lube to use, whether to wave or not, FTP, Strava, etc. What happened to just riding your bike on a nice day?

I had a dream a few months ago. I'm 57 years old. In the dream, a (former) BF member and I were out riding bikes. We were adults, but dressed in the clothes and riding the single speed bikes from my early youth. We were just having fun exploring the countryside and having an adventure. It was a great dream. I sometimes wonder what that dream was telling me. It also makes me think of this song. Just keep it simple, folks.

https://www.google.com/search?client...id:lxp2NrlcPYU

Chuck Naill

[QUOTE=seypat;22740826]I can understand what the OP is saying. It's not just riding your bike anymore. You have to worry about what clothes to wear, what lube to use, whether to wave or not, FTP, Strava, etc. What happened to just riding your bike on a nice day?

I had a dream a few months ago. I'm 57 years old. In the dream, a (former) BF member and I were out riding bikes. We were adults, but dressed in the clothes and riding the single speed bikes from my early youth. We were just having fun exploring the countryside and having an adventure. It was a great dream. I sometimes wonder what that dream was telling me. It also makes me think of this song. Just keep it simple, folks.

I like your dream and am that person who just enjoys riding. I can't wait to get on the bike today.

PeteHski

It's not so much that modern bikes are really more complicated (in some ways they require less maintenance e.g. sealed bearings, less cables, electronic gear indexing, tubeless tyres, 1x drivetrains etc). It's actually the information overload on forums like this that makes everything appear more complicated. You can still just ride if you want to.

seypat

The problem is the commitments you have to make and the decisions you have to make after that. Drivetrains don't mix and most of the stuff isn't backwards compatible even within a brand. That makes it complicated. So, you either become a SRAM, or Shimano, or Campy rider. Once you've made that decision, you go from there and live with it. I can see how someone can be intimidated.

livedarklions

Don't turn the bike upside down to put the chain back on (on its side is fine), and you'll be ok. Like pretty much everyone is saying, if you have the stuff you need to fix a flat with you, you're probably better off venturing far than you would've been in the "good old days".

livedarklions

I think nostalgia lets us forget times we had to walk our bikes really far.