Everyday Carry
10-26-18, 11:51 AM
#1
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Everyday Carry
Hi everyone,
Just wanted some thoughts on some EDC stuff i am buying
i'm about to start a longer commute (still short by regular standards ~8 miles) than expected and decided on some of these based off reviews and stuff;
BLITZU Gator 320 USB Rechargeable Bike Light
Continental 60mm Presta Valve Tube x1 (budget constraints)
Topeak Road Morph G Bike Pump with Gauge
as for a patch kit and levers
my local shop has some cannondales levers and some regular patch kits
budget is not too big
if there are any other suggestions
they are most welcome
Just wanted some thoughts on some EDC stuff i am buying
i'm about to start a longer commute (still short by regular standards ~8 miles) than expected and decided on some of these based off reviews and stuff;
BLITZU Gator 320 USB Rechargeable Bike Light
Continental 60mm Presta Valve Tube x1 (budget constraints)
Topeak Road Morph G Bike Pump with Gauge
as for a patch kit and levers
my local shop has some cannondales levers and some regular patch kits
budget is not too big
if there are any other suggestions
they are most welcome
10-26-18, 12:01 PM
#2
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Pedros levers are the gold standard. Personally, I don't bother with patch kits at all. I'd say throw in a multitool, and make sure you have both front and rear lights if you're going to be riding in the dark.
10-26-18, 12:32 PM
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The light comes with both so im good there gonna upgrad the back one in a month or so as well
any suggestions on a multi tool?
10-26-18, 12:44 PM
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10-26-18, 12:57 PM
#6
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(for reference) It's way more roomie than it looks. Fits 2+tall cans(in my case NRG drinks, because I don't really drink anymore)and then some.
10-26-18, 01:06 PM
#7
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I'd go with CO2 rather than a pump. Loose the patch kit. I like a peanut butter wrench or a stubby 15mm combination wrench and a 6/5/4 mm, Y shaped allen key. Never had need for more than that on road. Keep it in your commuter bag rather than strapped to bike in a little pouch. Personal preference don't like **** hanging off my bike. Also if you don't have fenders, an Ass Saver takes up no space in your bag and comes in handy.
10-26-18, 01:23 PM
#8
aire díthrub
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My bike EDC:
1x Zipp tube
Lezyne trigger speed drive c02 inflator
1x 16g c02 cartridge
2x black pedro’s micro levers
Snap-On 15mm ‘midget’ combination wrench
Tekton ball-end 4,5 & 6mm hex wrenches
Meqix patch kit
1x pre-sized stainless brake cable
1x Connex 3/32 masterlink
1x presta to schrader adapter
$20 bill
as a commuter myself, I understand the need to be properly prepaired, but also not wanting to drag a bunch of stuff along. This is what I consider essential for day to day commuting. If your commute is quite long, or you are prone to flats, I would strongly recommend some type of frame mounted pump. I’m not recommending you buy all these specific things, but a basic maintenance and flat kit is pretty essential. Personally, I despise multi tools because they are just a PITA to use, especially on the side of the road in the cold or wet. Also, you’re likely to never use 90% of the tools it has. So concentrate on a few tools you know you’ll need for the most basic repairs for your bike specifically and purchase those. I promise it’s much better having a few properly selected purpose fit, quality tools, than an over priced, near useless multi tool. I choose to carry a few actual hex wrenches, because it’s all i need. Beyond that, I think you’ll find most folks basic kits are pretty similar.
Im not sure I can give any worthwhile recommendations on how to carry your tools, because everybody is different and their riding is different. I personally, carry my kit in a small leather brooks frame bag. I think any quality saddle bag or frame bag will do. If you ride with a backpack or shoulder bag, you could just throw your kit in there. The best advice I can give though, I to sit down and think very carefully about what exactly you’ll need for your bike, but keep it simple. Just want you need to change a tube/fix a flat and do a few small repairs/adjustments on your bike if necessary.
1x Zipp tube
Lezyne trigger speed drive c02 inflator
1x 16g c02 cartridge
2x black pedro’s micro levers
Snap-On 15mm ‘midget’ combination wrench
Tekton ball-end 4,5 & 6mm hex wrenches
Meqix patch kit
1x pre-sized stainless brake cable
1x Connex 3/32 masterlink
1x presta to schrader adapter
$20 bill
as a commuter myself, I understand the need to be properly prepaired, but also not wanting to drag a bunch of stuff along. This is what I consider essential for day to day commuting. If your commute is quite long, or you are prone to flats, I would strongly recommend some type of frame mounted pump. I’m not recommending you buy all these specific things, but a basic maintenance and flat kit is pretty essential. Personally, I despise multi tools because they are just a PITA to use, especially on the side of the road in the cold or wet. Also, you’re likely to never use 90% of the tools it has. So concentrate on a few tools you know you’ll need for the most basic repairs for your bike specifically and purchase those. I promise it’s much better having a few properly selected purpose fit, quality tools, than an over priced, near useless multi tool. I choose to carry a few actual hex wrenches, because it’s all i need. Beyond that, I think you’ll find most folks basic kits are pretty similar.
Im not sure I can give any worthwhile recommendations on how to carry your tools, because everybody is different and their riding is different. I personally, carry my kit in a small leather brooks frame bag. I think any quality saddle bag or frame bag will do. If you ride with a backpack or shoulder bag, you could just throw your kit in there. The best advice I can give though, I to sit down and think very carefully about what exactly you’ll need for your bike, but keep it simple. Just want you need to change a tube/fix a flat and do a few small repairs/adjustments on your bike if necessary.
Last edited by seamuis; 10-26-18 at 01:46 PM.
10-26-18, 01:28 PM
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I'm currently packing a Topeak Mini18+. It's a little bulkier/heavier than some, but it has lots of functionality, including a chain breaker, which is something I like to have just in case. Mine is now starting to fall apart after close to 10 years, so I'm on the lookout for a replacement.
10-26-18, 01:47 PM
#10
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Blitzu lights are garbage.
10-26-18, 01:48 PM
#11
LET'S ROLL
You'll need a 15mm wrench to take out your wheels? I'd go with this multitool:
https://pedros.com/products/toolsfor.../trixie-black/
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10-26-18, 02:03 PM
#12
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My commute items: appropriate lighting, good reflective night vest, reflective tape on my bike. Pedros "Trixie" fix gear tool (first class!) or 6" crescent wrench (I used a Sears 6" for about 25 years). 2 tire irons, 2 tubes (bad days happen, keep 'em in a sock to protect them from your tools), patch kit. My keys on a good pocket knife or Leatherman. Hex wrenches for the fasteners for that bike. (Loose wrenches are far easier to use than ones on multi-tools.)
The next to smallest underseat tool bags hold all this easily. Eight miles is roughly the average of my commutes over the past 45 years.
Ben
The next to smallest underseat tool bags hold all this easily. Eight miles is roughly the average of my commutes over the past 45 years.
Ben
10-26-18, 03:33 PM
#13
tumbleweed
15 mm boxed in wrench
2 x spare tubes
at least 2 x co2 cartidges
inflator for above
allen wrench set
This is my minimum carry. I'm not o. k. leaving home without these things.
2 x spare tubes
at least 2 x co2 cartidges
inflator for above
allen wrench set
This is my minimum carry. I'm not o. k. leaving home without these things.
10-27-18, 03:24 PM
#15
Clark W. Griswold
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My general carry is as follows:
Crank Bros Speedier Lever
Tube
Patch Kit: Park Tool VP-1
Pump or C02: typically a topeak pump of some sort (Road Morph or Race Rocket HPX) or Planet Bike Red Zepplin
Crank Bros M10 multi tool
For fixed gear use I have carried much of the top but also a PDW 3wrencho and just recently picked up a Pedro's Trixie which I plan on carrying.
For lighting:
Light and Motion Urban 800 or 650
Knog Blinder R70 or PDW Aether Daemon or Light and Motion VIS 180
or I have two bikes with Dynamo set ups:
Shutter Precision PV-8 with Supernova E3 Pro front and E3 rear light
SON 28 Busch + Muller IQ-X front and Toplight Line Brake Plus rear light
For my general walking around and daily life:
Snow Peak Titanium Spork
CRKT folding knife (M16 or Padoza usually)
Wallet and keys
Crank Bros Speedier Lever
Tube
Patch Kit: Park Tool VP-1
Pump or C02: typically a topeak pump of some sort (Road Morph or Race Rocket HPX) or Planet Bike Red Zepplin
Crank Bros M10 multi tool
For fixed gear use I have carried much of the top but also a PDW 3wrencho and just recently picked up a Pedro's Trixie which I plan on carrying.
For lighting:
Light and Motion Urban 800 or 650
Knog Blinder R70 or PDW Aether Daemon or Light and Motion VIS 180
or I have two bikes with Dynamo set ups:
Shutter Precision PV-8 with Supernova E3 Pro front and E3 rear light
SON 28 Busch + Muller IQ-X front and Toplight Line Brake Plus rear light
For my general walking around and daily life:
Snow Peak Titanium Spork
CRKT folding knife (M16 or Padoza usually)
Wallet and keys
10-27-18, 03:36 PM
#16
Non omnino gravis
What's with all the hate on patch kits? The Lezyne Smart Patch kit is like half the size of a credit card. Takes up virtually no space in the bag, and a whopping 6 grams. I'd much rather have it and not need it.
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10-27-18, 03:58 PM
#17
don't try this at home.
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What's with all the hate on patch kits? The Lezyne Smart Patch kit is like half the size of a credit card. Takes up virtually no space in the bag, and a whopping 6 grams. I'd much rather have it and not need it.
Some years ago, I tried some instant patches (Park Tool I think) and they just didn't hold air. I didn't do any scuffing though.
Do they work reliably now? They certainly are fast and take up no room in the bike bag.
Now, I normally carry just one tube, and one CO2 + Air Chuck inflator.
The spare tube is wrapped with a rubber band in tyvek or heavy 6 mil plastic sheet. This keeps it clean and abrasion free in the bike bag.
I have a dollar bill to be folded for a tire boot. And now, I include a dollar bill sized piece of tyvek -- even stronger. Tyvek from an overnight letter envelope, or from a bike event pin-on number.
For all-day solo rides, I'll have a rack bag to carry more stuff, and I add:
Along with the original tube and CO2,
Topeak mini-morph pump. It's reliable and quite small, but slow to inflate -- it's over 200 strokes to get to somewhat reasonable pressure. That's why I switched to CO2.
A second spare tube.
A glue patch kit -- these always work, and the repair is permanent and reliable -- there's glued patches on the tubes on my bike right now.
But the glue tube eventually dries out, even if never opened. I don't keep it much more than a year.
Last edited by rm -rf; 10-27-18 at 04:02 PM.
10-27-18, 05:29 PM
#18
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What's with all the hate on patch kits? The Lezyne Smart Patch kit is like half the size of a credit card. Takes up virtually no space in the bag, and a whopping 6 grams. I'd much rather have it and not need it.
10-27-18, 05:45 PM
#19
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I forgot in my post above that all my bikes have full frame pumps - pumps that can fill tires to any pressure I will ever want to ride easily. 90 strokes to full road pressure for most of my tires. As long as inflated inner tubes (or tires in the case of tubeless) sit in the same range of importance as chains, I will continue to carry real pumps.
Ben
Ben
10-28-18, 12:09 AM
#20
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This community is awesome. Thank you all for the EDC carries
def going to look into what i got and see if anything you guys said is better
definietly need a multi tool of some kind
for now what i have is good i think but i will definitly will look for better
def going to look into what i got and see if anything you guys said is better
definietly need a multi tool of some kind
for now what i have is good i think but i will definitly will look for better
10-28-18, 04:59 AM
#21
Senior Member
Good decision. +1 on the multi-tool. Even having the single allen wrench for the brake cables would be a good thing.
10-28-18, 12:10 PM
#22
Full Member
This isnt what i carry everyday but all of this is always in my bag and i take my bag when i need to change clothes like a shirt or shoes or a full outfit. One extra tube, small pump that i was given for free, ratchet 15m wrench, crankbros m19 multu tool that has chainbreaker, patch kit, tire lever, u-lock (always have this wherever i go).
10-28-18, 05:56 PM
#23
Clark W. Griswold
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You are lucky a vintage style cylinder u lock works for you. Around me the bike would probably be gone so quickly.
10-31-18, 10:18 AM
#24
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Late to the party as usual 
I wasn't going to post in this thread since my way of doing things is usually opposite of the group-think here, but as I happen to be changing my bag this morning it seems like a logical thing to take a pic since my own carry stuff, obviously just for flats, is out. I retired a few years ago, but prior to that I was a regular 30 mile round trip per day bike commuter for years. After reducing the clutter over time - this is exactly what I carried the last few years that I commuted. Even now, while I'm not on any deadlines to be on the job - it is what I carry as I ride lots of miles practically daily for exercise and enjoyment. I had (actually still have) small, packable, but still very functional removable lights, mudguards, a foldable poncho that I cut down to fit well when riding a bike, and a larger on-the-bike bag for the rare occasions they were/are needed. The only real change I ever make now is that my regular wheels have male bolts so I carry a 8mm hex key to fit them - but I also have a wheelset with track nuts that I use occasionally, and then I swap to a 15mm combo stubby...
I'm sorry, but I just don't get carrying extraneous stuff like multi-tools, multiple wrenches or allen keys, y-shaped doohickeys, leathermen, or extra bike bits like cables or chain links while riding a sw8 phiksie. My experience taught me that there is practically zero chance of needing such things for a well maintained fixed bike and I always figured this place as a home for enthusiasts who are the kind of riders that maintain their bikes properly. In all the years after I had reduced my bike-carry clutter to what you see above...I have never once not been able to get back to riding on the spot. I admit that I do add a pretty extensive multi-tool to the mix when riding gearies.
YMMV and Happy Halloween...
I wasn't going to post in this thread since my way of doing things is usually opposite of the group-think here, but as I happen to be changing my bag this morning it seems like a logical thing to take a pic since my own carry stuff, obviously just for flats, is out. I retired a few years ago, but prior to that I was a regular 30 mile round trip per day bike commuter for years. After reducing the clutter over time - this is exactly what I carried the last few years that I commuted. Even now, while I'm not on any deadlines to be on the job - it is what I carry as I ride lots of miles practically daily for exercise and enjoyment. I had (actually still have) small, packable, but still very functional removable lights, mudguards, a foldable poncho that I cut down to fit well when riding a bike, and a larger on-the-bike bag for the rare occasions they were/are needed. The only real change I ever make now is that my regular wheels have male bolts so I carry a 8mm hex key to fit them - but I also have a wheelset with track nuts that I use occasionally, and then I swap to a 15mm combo stubby...
I'm sorry, but I just don't get carrying extraneous stuff like multi-tools, multiple wrenches or allen keys, y-shaped doohickeys, leathermen, or extra bike bits like cables or chain links while riding a sw8 phiksie. My experience taught me that there is practically zero chance of needing such things for a well maintained fixed bike and I always figured this place as a home for enthusiasts who are the kind of riders that maintain their bikes properly. In all the years after I had reduced my bike-carry clutter to what you see above...I have never once not been able to get back to riding on the spot. I admit that I do add a pretty extensive multi-tool to the mix when riding gearies.
YMMV and Happy Halloween...
Last edited by IAmSam; 10-31-18 at 01:19 PM. Reason: ooops...
10-31-18, 02:02 PM
#25
- Soli Deo Gloria -
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Few are as scrupulous about maintenance as I and the one time this year I needed a multi tool had nothing to do with maintenance.
A stick jammed into the spokes and pulled the rear wheel into the chainstay. Wabi wheels use a 5 mm Allen bolt. I left my saddle bag at home that day and walked four miles until another rider came along.
People are free to carry or not carry whatever they feel is right. I don't think a basic multi tool is extraneous at all.
The Fabric 16 is $25 and weighs 110 grams. I own four. None of them did me any good that day but I'm still glad I have it with me even if I don't use it.
-Tim-
A stick jammed into the spokes and pulled the rear wheel into the chainstay. Wabi wheels use a 5 mm Allen bolt. I left my saddle bag at home that day and walked four miles until another rider came along.
People are free to carry or not carry whatever they feel is right. I don't think a basic multi tool is extraneous at all.
The Fabric 16 is $25 and weighs 110 grams. I own four. None of them did me any good that day but I'm still glad I have it with me even if I don't use it.
-Tim-