roadside tool kit?

IC.J.Patten said:

What do you carry with you while cycling for quick roadside repairs?

How far are you going? Around town I don't carry much.

Quoted message said:

Tire patch? (self-adhesive or with seperate glue?)
Hand pump or CO2-type inflator?
Spare spoke or perhaps a FiberFix replacement?
Any multi-tool recommendations? (Park used to make a good one)

CO2 is a bit [censored], a good pump is a Zefal HPX or similar.

A spare spoke should be unnecessary. Google broken spokes, but authors
such as Jobst Brandt, Sheldon Brown (aka. Capt Bike), Peter Chisolm (aka
Qui Si Campagnolo) amongst others can explain why this is in the main
unnecessary.

I have an alien which serves well, but the tyre levers tend to break.

Quoted message said:

An old flight instructor of mine who served in the Gulf war used to carry
three things in her civilian flight survival kit: "GPS, cellphone, credit
card!" 🙂

Condoms? Sorry I've only ever known stewardesses. 😉

Quoted message said:

Chris

C.J.Patten said:

What do you carry with you while cycling for quick roadside repairs?

Tire patch? (self-adhesive or with seperate glue?)
Hand pump or CO2-type inflator?
Spare spoke or perhaps a FiberFix replacement?
Any multi-tool recommendations? (Park used to make a good one)

An old flight instructor of mine who served in the Gulf war used to carry
three things in her civilian flight survival kit: "GPS, cellphone, credit
card!" 🙂

Chris

Road bike- One spare tube, a patch kit (with glue), CO2 inflator with
spare cartridge, and ibuprofen.
MTB- As above except replace inflator with minipump.

C.J.Patten said:

Hey Pete.

I only have one bike now - a 2003 KHS Westwood folder with 20x1.95's.

Any way I can determine if I need tire levers without taking the tires off?
(I'm new to this style of tire...)

C.

Hi, just carry a set of levers, they don't take up much room.
Here is what I carry:

A good multi-tool, I like the Crank Bros
Micra 17, which includes a chain tool and spoke wrenches. Here take a
look:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=0350&sku=5971&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

Throw in a spare tube, a patch kit, a set of tire bars, an inflating
device*, a spare master link or pin, you're all set.

* I have a Topeak Road Morph pump on my older bike and I carry a CO2
inflator with my Lemond. I always carry at least 3 spare CO2
cartridges. I seldom get flats, with either bike, but if it was a more
regular occurence, then I would carry the Road Morph pump on both
bikes. All of the above, except the pump, fit in a medium sized seat
bag and adds 2lbs to the bike.

I keep a piece of duct tape stuck to the bottom of the bag. It can be
used as a tire boot, if necessary. Optional items, include band aids,
tylenol/aspirin, and a foil packeted disposable eye glass cleaning
cloth.

Life is Good!
Jeff

"Jeff Starr" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Hi, just carry a set of levers, they don't take up much room.
Here is what I carry:

A good multi-tool, I like the Crank Bros
Micra 17, which includes a chain tool and spoke wrenches. Here take a
look:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=0350&sku=5971&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

Throw in a spare tube, a patch kit, a set of tire bars, an inflating
device*, a spare master link or pin, you're all set.

* I have a Topeak Road Morph pump on my older bike and I carry a CO2
inflator with my Lemond. I always carry at least 3 spare CO2
cartridges. I seldom get flats, with either bike, but if it was a more
regular occurence, then I would carry the Road Morph pump on both
bikes. All of the above, except the pump, fit in a medium sized seat
bag and adds 2lbs to the bike.

I keep a piece of duct tape stuck to the bottom of the bag. It can be
used as a tire boot, if necessary. Optional items, include band aids,
tylenol/aspirin, and a foil packeted disposable eye glass cleaning
cloth.

Thanks for the kit breakdown Jeff!

I'm just blown away with the feedback I'm getting on this!

I used to own a seat post which had a pump built in.

Anyone know of a seat-post pump on the market today?

Chris

I carry:
Patch kit (the kind with glue)
Frame pump
Tire levers
Ascent multitool (cheap, but contains many tools and has worked
excellent)
$20 bill
Fruit+grain bar, when I haven't eaten it recently
5 LED blinkie light

Everything but the pump goes in my Performance Transit Midi wedge pack,
and there's still room for a phone, keys, and gloves.

Dan

"C.J.Patten" wrote: (clip)Anyone know of a seat-post pump on the market
today?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Several years ago a machine shop in Marin County would make you one for
$50--you furnish the seatpost. I could research it if you are interested.

C.J.Patten said:

Quoted message said:

A good multi-tool, I like the Crank Bros

Quoted message said:

I'm just blown away with the feedback I'm getting on this!

We've discussed this before, not too long ago. I still think you're
better off carrying separates than an all in one multi-tool.

Discussion is here:

http://tinyurl.com/9e9ox

If I'm just off out to the shops or the pub then I don't carry
anything, but going further afield I clip a small underseat pack onto
the saddle. It contains:

Spare innertube
Spokey spoke key
T Bar with appropriate hex and screwdriver bits
Chain tool head unit
Powerlink
Park pre-glued patches
Park tyre boot
Couple of cable ties

Plus a small mini pump clipped to the bike.

That lot will all fit in a very small and unobtrusive pack, and will
get you (and anyone else you encounter) out of most routine cycling
mishaps.

"Bob"

--

Email address is spam trapped.
To reply directly remove the beverage.

The offer's appreciated Leo but don't worry about it.

The one I owned made use of the seat post itself as the body of the pump
with the nozzle just below the seat and the handle being a T-handle that
folded flush at the base of the post.

The other one I knew about was more like a small, conventional pump that
"hid" inside the post itself and slid out as needed. (it may have had "guts"
built into the post but I recall a hose coming out when needed)

Chris

"Leo Lichtman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"C.J.Patten" wrote: (clip)Anyone know of a seat-post pump on the market
today?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Several years ago a machine shop in Marin County would make you one for
$50--you furnish the seatpost. I could research it if you are interested.

C.J.Patten said:

What do you carry with you while cycling for quick roadside repairs?

In addition to the usual tube, tyre levers, cable ties and multi-tool, I
carry a spare seat post bolt for each of my bikes.

--
Brian G

C.J.Patten said:

What do you carry with you while cycling for quick roadside repairs?

Didn't we just do this one a few days ago? [ok, that was on urc - I see
this is cross-posted to rbm]

Quoted message said:

Tire patch? (self-adhesive or with seperate glue?)

Park Super Patches. I've got out of the habit of carrying a spare tube
because I've been lucky lately and not needed one, so I've come to view
a spare tube as bulky, dead weight, but some comments others have made
recently have made me rethink this matter.

Also some have suggested carrying a tyre boot would be a good idea, and
I can see the sense in that.

Quoted message said:

Hand pump or CO2-type inflator?

Hand pump - it never runs out of air... though a gas cartridge would be
a nice toy to have.

Quoted message said:

Spare spoke or perhaps a FiberFix replacement?

Not something I carry, but maybe I should. I'd consider it a lower
priority than a tyre boot.

Quoted message said:

Any multi-tool recommendations? (Park used to make a good one)

I have a Specialised multi-tool. The allen keys and chain-breaker are
not bad, though the spanners are worse than useless (and now broken),
the screwdrivers aren't great, and it has several other bits that I
don't use, eg spacer shims for disk brakes. The bottle opener is handy,
though. On the whole, I reckon a small, carefully chosen selection of
individual tools might be more fit for the purpose and no heavier to carry.

Quoted message said:

An old flight instructor of mine who served in the Gulf war used to carry
three things in her civilian flight survival kit: "GPS, cellphone, credit
card!" 🙂

Phone and credit card go without saying. Never had a need for a GPS -
never been that lost. Yet.

d.

Peter Headland said:

Most (possibly all) tyre/rim combinations do not need tyre levers. (Cue
lots of people who simply don't know how to remove/fit a tyre without
levers saying that their combination is "impossible".)

I freely admit I am not able to fit/remove a tyre without levers, even
though I am well aware it is possible in theory. But I am happy to pack
a couple of levers in my emergency kit so it's no big deal for me.

d.

Pete Biggs said:

I have a regular spoke taped under a chain stay on my tatty old tourer,

Surely, if your rear wheel is dished, you need at least two spare
spokes? (ie of different lengths)

Or am I misunderstanding something?

d.

Diablo Scott said:

Now you'll need it in triplicate.

....or "How to invoke the p*nct*re fairy"

d.

Zoot Katz said:

Oh, and a corkscrew because you never can tell when it might
save the day and endear you to friends or strangers.

I have a bottle opener rather than a corkscrew.

Quoted message said:

After my last ride, I think I'll add a mylar survival blanket.

I think I've had a similar experience to your last ride... The moment I
decided carrying a survival blanket would be a good idea came as I stood
at a control at 5.30am on a 300k ride a month or so back. It's not so
much a question of survival as just being warm enough to be able to
start riding again after you have stopped.

d.

davek said:

Zoot Katz said:

Oh, and a corkscrew because you never can tell when it might
save the day and endear you to friends or strangers.

I have a bottle opener rather than a corkscrew.

The Swiss Army Knife is your friend...

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Kinder surprise! What's the surprise? Your children are now dead.

in message <[email hidden]>, C.J.Patten

(') said:

What do you carry with you while cycling for quick roadside repairs?

Tire patch? (self-adhesive or with seperate glue?)

Spare tube, first. Also patches, but my general policy is to shove a new
tube in at the roadside and to fix punctures in the warm and dry.
Obviously if you have more than one puncture on the same trip... I use
'Tip-Top' patches (feather-edge, with glue) and find them very good.

Quoted message said:

Hand pump or CO2-type inflator?

Hand pump. Blackburn Airstick. With a slow puncture it gets you home;
with CO2, once the gas runs out you're stuffed. CO2 is for racing only.

Quoted message said:

Spare spoke or perhaps a FiberFix replacement?

I've never yet broken a spoke, in over 100,000 miles of riding.
Consequently I don't carry a spare. One of these days, of course, I'm
going to look a fool.

Quoted message said:

Any multi-tool recommendations? (Park used to make a good one)

I carry a Topeak Alien 2. On the good side, it is compact, good enough
quality, and has a very wide range of tools - everything I've ever
wanted except a crank tool. On the bad side, it has three small losable
bits - the torx head, the 8mm allen key head, and the little pedal
spanner. I've already lost the little pedal spanner - which is no great
loss as it isn't anywhere near big enough to be really useful, but it
still irritates me.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

[ This mind intentionally left blank ]

in message <[email hidden]>, C.J.Patten

(') said:

Hey Pete.

I only have one bike now - a 2003 KHS Westwood folder with 20x1.95's.

Any way I can determine if I need tire levers without taking the tires
off? (I'm new to this style of tire...)

Suck it and see.

However, a set of plastic tyre levers aren't very big and don't weigh
very much. And fixing a tyre in the rain at dusk on a cold night is so
much grief anyway that making it harder for yourself is stupid. Take
the levers.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Das Internet is nicht fuer gefingerclicken und giffengrabben... Ist
nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. Das mausklicken sichtseeren
keepen das bandwit-spewin hans in das pockets muss; relaxen und
watchen das cursorblinken. -- quoted from the jargon file

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

However, a set of plastic tyre levers aren't very big and don't weigh
very much. And fixing a tyre in the rain at dusk on a cold night is so
much grief anyway that making it harder for yourself is stupid. Take
the levers.

Especially since a lot of the multitools seem to have the levers built in!
Done.

After a short ride this AM, I'm going to peruse some bike shops just to see
what they've got for pumps etc.

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 09:57:31 +0100, <[email hidden]>,

davek said:

Quoted message said:

Oh, and a corkscrew because you never can tell when it might
save the day and endear you to friends or strangers.

I have a bottle opener rather than a corkscrew.

Canadians can, and do, open bottles with anything. Why would I need a
bottle opener if I've already got tire levers, keys, crescent wrench,
table top, luggage rack, etc? Corks are trickier.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

After my last ride, I think I'll add a mylar survival blanket.

I think I've had a similar experience to your last ride... The moment I
decided carrying a survival blanket would be a good idea came as I stood
at a control at 5.30am on a 300k ride a month or so back. It's not so
much a question of survival as just being warm enough to be able to
start riding again after you have stopped.

I spent an hour laying on the ground waiting for an ambulance. Luckily
I wasn't alone so a riding partner put his sweater under me and
covered me with his jacket while I was in shock. Had I been alone it
could have been long cold wait until somebody found me.
--
zk

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 09:43:44 +0100, <[email hidden]>,
davek <[email hidden]> wrote of mult-tools:

Quoted message said:

On the whole, I reckon a small, carefully chosen selection of
individual tools might be more fit for the purpose and no heavier to carry.

As you pointed out, many components of the multi-tool are inferior in
quality or utterly useless. In addition, if you loose it, you've lost
everything in one fell swoop. Individual tools are easier to
manipulate and you're not carrying things you don't need.
--
zk