I've never seen a seat bag on a fixie in NYC. What do you all do when you get a flat in NYC (or any city)? Do you carry the levers/pump in a bag and not on the bike?

Seat bags get stolen. I usually walk to the nearest shop, or just hop the bus/train.

I have wondered this myself. I know NYC is not as bad as the myth, but it still seems like a good idea to spend a very short time patching on the street corner.

I carry two tubes, levers, patch kit and a CO2 pump in my messenger bag, so you'd never see it on my bike.

But that's in Minneapolis. Don't know what NYC people do, but I imagine a lot of them do the same thing as me.

theres a shop in every neighborhood and fortunately everything in nyc is in walking or short subway distance so no need to really carry anything other than a lock and chain.

pfft. NYC ain't dangerous anymore than where you're probably living. Ditto here.

Me, I carry a patch kit just like any sane person. I think I've been lucky enough to never have cause to use it on my tires in the field though I have helped others with it.

2 tubes, irons, multitool and a co2 pump in my bag also. And Armadillos + mr. tuffies on my bike. There is a hell of a lot of glass on the roads here.

Don't leave anything on the outside. Always carry with. And always carry..."Murphy's Law" says it's that one time that you don't have it that you will need it!

I had an interesting flat tire experience just this evening. Hit some flak going across the Manhattan bridge, thought nothing of it, kept on. Hours later, staggering out of a party at 2am, I wheeled my bike around to get it out of the building, but instead of that nice springy feel I heard "THUNK"

...so I got to change out a flat tube while drunk tonight. Very sobering experience, glad I was prepared...otherwise I'd still be sitting in the damn subway :D

I usually carry a tube, patch kit, levers, and mini pump in my bag. All of this stuff takes up very little space. I could never understand people who don't carry anything and would rather pay a shop ten bucks than do it themselves

I carry everything I heed in a backpack. If you leave it on your bike it won't be there when you need it.

One day I got a flat in both tires used both my spare tubes. 3 blocks later I got another flat, You know the one on the seam of the tube that you can't patch. A $2.00 metro card got me home.

Tony

one tube, an alien multitool, one hand pump, and a co2 pump in a pouch i carry in my mess bag. finding an inconspicuous place to change out the tube on the streets can be tough here.

In terms of what I have in my bag, I carry way too much. One of my pockets is dedicated to tools wherein I have a multitool, a swiss army knife/tool, a different little bitty multitool that has 8 mm and 10 mm box wrenches on it (the reason I got it), a spoke wrench, patch kit, mini pump, zip ties, some tape, an extra chain link, 15 mm box wrench, and probably a couple of things I'm not thinking of.

Sounds like you need an adjustable wrench, instead. They're not the best for repeated maintenance, but as far as carrying 3 wrenches around, they can't be beat.

Nah. Firstly I wouldn't ever want to rely on an adjustable at 8mm. Besides, the 8/10 tool is little bitty and also includes some hex wrenches (which admittedly I have on the Topeak), a chain tool (ditto), and a bottle opener (woo!). All in a small all aluminum package.

It doesn't add much weight and I've already dedicated that pocket to tools, so it doesn't bug me.

Tube, levers, glueless patches and CO2 bottle in my messenger bag.

I ride on Armadillos so I won't need the patch kit, and I carry the patch kit so that my Armadillos never let me down.

I wonder if I should carry two tubes in order to make double sure I never need them.

man, I live downtown, I got my first flat under the GWB last summer and **** if I dont carry a full patch kit now. That walk home completely sucked. There migth be a shop on every corner, but they are all closed late on sunday night.

dave

Careful - every time I carry two tubes, I get one flat. I think it's trying to tell me that one spare tube is the natural order of things.

hmmmm. of the last three times I've had a flat, I've had a double flat twice. When you ride Armadillos and Toughies both I think that it is pretty likely that whatever flattens one of your tires is going to get the other one too. In my case it was a couple broken Jack D bottles on the Manhattan Br once and a long skinny bit of steel coming up through a grate another time. I'm pretty firmly in the two tubes camp because I don't really want to walk 12 miles on my cleats at 2 in the morning in the winter if you know what I mean.

what's wrong with patching? i know it can be a pain in the a$$ sometimes, but it's rare that i can't fix a flat with a simple patch kit.
now winter at 2am, i understand...

Patching works, is way cheaper and a whole lot less waistful. My current rear tube has 3 patches and holds air as well as my front tube with no patch. It depends on the patch kit though. When I was back in Switzerland this winter I bought a patch kit there and the glue just would not stick right. It was the same brand patch kit that I use to get growing up there, back then it always worked. Maybe they had to change the glue composition because of some EU regulations?

I prefer tube replacement on the road becuase it is quicker and I have **** to do. Don't forget to find the sharp in the tire. Patching at the house is fine, there is time to kick back and wait for the glue to dry and work the patch in.

I ride Tubulars so it is easy for me.. Get a flat ..keep riding.

LOL :D

S/F,
CEYA!

Roll, thump, roll, thump, roll, thump. "Oh, crap I have to lean over for this hard turn"! :)

I'm with the right reverend on this one.

I have broken down in some "scary" places in NYC and have never had any trouble. The worst was probably in the middle of a big housing project somewhere in the outskirts of Brooklyn. I have never had any trouble - in fact I often get offers of help or people stop to chat about bikes while I work on changing the tube.

I carry a saddlebag on the bike - yes, you have to remove it if you leave your bike locked anywhere or it will get stolen. Sometimes I just stick the saddlebag with the levers, tubes, etc. into my msgr. bag so that I don't have to deal with taking it off and putting it on.