Repairs on the road with a fixie?
 

On a bike with quick release tires, it's easy to fix a flat since the only tools you need are bike levers. When on my mountain or road bike, I'd always have a multitool, flat kit, and a spare tube. On a fixie, however, the wheels are secured with axle nuts and require wrenches to disassemble. When I first started riding a fixie, I was carrying around a 15 mm wrench in my bag to suppress my paranoia of getting a flat and not being able to do anything about it. I eventually stopped lugging the extra weight and just ride, hoping my tires don't get punctured...

How do you deal with getting a flat when you're out and about on a fixie?

I have one of these multi tools that has a 15mm on it

Amazon.com : Bell Ultra-Tool Multi-Function Bike Tool : Bike Multifunction Tools : Sports & Outdoors

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424424

No isht, right?

Two options come right to mind:

1. Stop being a whiny cahnt, and carry a tool.
2. Call yer mom to pick you up.

I usually skip a tire lever and carry one of these, PDW 3wrencho:

https://www.ridepdw.com/sites/defaul...cho_coated.jpg
Or I'd find a stubby combo wrench. Or I'd cut a standard combo wrench in half and have two, one open ended for some pedals, too.

I carry a small adjustable wrench, tire, levers, and pump.

I carry one of those PDW 3renchos^^ and one of these below to help put the tire back on without ruining my thumbs, it may look flimsy but it's far from that:

http://images.cdn.bigcartel.com/bigc..._jack-1-wm.jpg

I definitely need one of those (he's sold out).

I gotta big gas open end/socket wrench... cuz WRENCH

http://www.gearwrench.com/MagentoSha...RNT_MAIN_5.jpg

I carry a small crescent wrench.

My fixed gear road bike is equipped as all my other road bikes w/ a Flats Kit (tire levers/tube/patch kit/ID/health insurance card/$$) and pump.
For the FG a 15mm Campagnolo "peanut butter" wrench I've carried for decades.
Flats happen, be prepared or walk.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424428

-Bandera

tools, man...

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/...ad-asplode.jpg

Park Tool SS-15 Single-Speed Spanner

This is what I carry. I wrap a glove around the end to really crank down without hurting my palm. 15mm pedal wrench also doubled as cone wrench for when I needed to repack my hubs at 3am! Buy it now too with a pair of tires from Performance Bike and get free shipping, not a bad deal :)

Lol.

That PDW tool is slick, there's a similar design from Park which also has a cone wrench and bottle opener : Park Tool SS-15

Got that SS-15 after I watched an airport security dude put my Craftsman 15mm against a ruler then toss it in the confiscated bin.

I used to carry an adjustable crescent for my fixed gear and faux gear bikes, now I've got one of these.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...7L._SX522_.jpg

+1

I <3 the peanut butter wrench!
For the price, I wouldn't buy new or NOS but who knows, you could get lucky like I did and get one from a swap meet for $1.

Great score, mine came in the brown zippered tool kit bag w/ my '68 Paramount, been on every FG road ride since then.

-Bandera

I. Can't. Even.

they rule.

Think of a witty reply?
Repair your own bike on the side of the road?
Climb hills?
Make a tasty burrito?

:roflmao:

OP, you can carry no tools and worry like hell about getting a flat, or you can carry the appropriate tools and fix the flat. If that's too complicated, take the bloody bus. Sheesh, if you're worried about the weight of a small spanner, go join a roadie forum where such things have no more effect on performance than they do here but where they seem to be more important.

Besides, if you can't fix a flat without removing the wheel, you really aren't trying very hard, it's only when you try to change the tube that you need to pull the wheel.

What do you use for a pump? A decent pump or do you have a ton of CO2 cartridges or one of those stupid mini pumps that puts about 30pound in your tube before giving up?

Europa,
What pump do you recommend?
I carry a small adjustable wrench and a Parktool multi but don't have a portable pump.

The topeak roadmorph G is one of the best out there

Topeak Road Morph

http://www.wigglestatic.com/images/topeak-TRP3G-med.jpg

On the Europa, it's clipped under the drink bottle holder in the traditional fashion, on the Hillbrick, I've zip tied it under the carrier. If this image works, you can see that it folds out to floor pump configuration though it's obviously much smaller. It comes with a pressure guage and pumps my tyres up to 110 pound in not much more time than a real floor pump. They are pricey by more than worth it.

Yup. I carry a spare tube, that VAR bead jack, and this:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/peanutbutter.jpg

And your trusty silca impero? :lol:

Indeed:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/fixed-frame/2014.jpg

I just got me one of these:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424485


All you have to do is find an outlet......oh wait......crap.

Another vote for the PDW 3wrencho, I love that thing, sometimes I just hold it in my hand because it feels so nice.

Also another vote for the Topeak Road Morph. That is probably the best frame pump on the market for the weight and features. You spend less time pumping and are more comfortable doing it.

If you want something smaller, that is more of a pain to use but is better than most of what is out there, the Topeak Race Rocket is a great choice. It has a hide away hose so you don't bend your presta valves and is small enough to not totally fall out of your jersey pocket (though it isn't super tiny) and they make a carbon version if 82g is too heavy.

If you have an aversion to pumps you can use a CO2 inflator or get a hybrid design that does both.

I also highly recommend checking tire pressure before each ride and pumping at least once a week but sometimes more or less depending on your tires. I also would suggest getting a good puncture resistant tire like the Continental Gatorskins (if you are really paranoid the Hardshell version is even more resilient).

However this knowledge imparted on you can be used on a fixed gear bicycle or a geared bicycle or anything in between and not just "fixies, bro"

Not many 12 volt gum trees in the Aussie bush.