🤔 Do I actually need to carry a repair kit? 🤔
#26
Senior Member
The saddlebag has a multitool, a set of tire levers, a Park GP-2 glueless patch kit, and a spare tube. My pump is next to the front water bottle, mounted on the same bolts that hold the water bottle cage.
The actual PITA is calling someone to pick you up because you couldn't just fix the problem on the go. It's not difficult to fix a puncture.
I'm fond of the Topeak RaceRocket HP, which is what's in my photo above. It's quite small and weights less than 90g, and aesthetically "blends" better with a bike that most pumps do when mounted alongside a bottle cage. It has a very narrow cylinder, so it takes a lot of pumps to bring a tire up to pressure, but I don't find this to be much of a problem: the threaded chuck is on a rubber hose, so it's easy to pump very rapidly without worrying about damaging the valve stem. And since the cylinder is narrow, it's not difficult to achieve reasonably high pressures if desired.
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#27
I always carry a repair kit an as a ride captain on club rides would help others with repairs.
Many new riders don’t know how to do the basics. An it helps them learn how to do the simple things.
Many new riders don’t know how to do the basics. An it helps them learn how to do the simple things.
#28
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
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(knock on wood)
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"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
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#29
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
Join Date: May 2007
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Years ago, I used to ride with a club, and on one ride I flatted. Before I knew what was happening, the Simonetti brothers, Carlo and Luca, had snatched my saddle bag and pump, swapped out the tube, and were finishing pumping it up. Fastest tire fix I'd ever seen, outside of NASCAR!
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"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
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#30
Member
Heck, some bikes make it easy to carry your kit. The downtube on my Domane SL5 contains my spare tube, c02, tire lever and tools, its always there. I don't even use my saddle bag any more.
#31
Senior Member
I ride about the same amount of mileage you do. But I also always like to be prepared. Therefore I always carry a spare tube, patch kit, pump and multi-tool. I've changed tubes on the fly on a few occassions. I don't like to rely on other people. Once a stick got stuck in my rear derailleur and it snapped clean off rendering the bike completely unrideable. The one time I needed someone to give me a ride no one was around. I walked the rest of the way home. Not too long but it just goes to show you, learn to rely on yourself. Self reliance is liberating.
#32
Senior Member
I carry flat-fixing stuff for any ride outside (easy) walking distance from home.
There’s no guarantee that assistance is available when I need it.
If I leave the bike for later retrieval, there’s no guarantee it’ll be there for me to pick up. And as a commuter, that’s a real nuisance. Well worth getting my hands dirty to avoid that.
There’s no guarantee that assistance is available when I need it.
If I leave the bike for later retrieval, there’s no guarantee it’ll be there for me to pick up. And as a commuter, that’s a real nuisance. Well worth getting my hands dirty to avoid that.
#33
Quidam Bike Super Hero
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Not a lot of flats, but half from overnight twits breaking bottles on the MUP, combined with early morning commutes. A little late beats way late.... Flats happen....
I started 8 years ago paying way too much for the privelege of knowing nothing bike related. Between the good folks here and Youtube, I've saved on all but the more involved repairs
I started 8 years ago paying way too much for the privelege of knowing nothing bike related. Between the good folks here and Youtube, I've saved on all but the more involved repairs
#34
Senior Member
I personally would not ride without knowing how to change tubes or patch a flat. I’ve called my wife once in the last four years and that was because I was < 3 miles from home, it was 90 deg and I was soaked. My Domane is tubeless, so I carry two CO2 carts and my mini pump (habit). My Roubaix saddle bag has a patch kit and spare tube in it, plus I’ll carry a second tube in my jersey pocket. The mini pump goes back on the water bottle cage mount.
#35
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You're fine without any tools. To be clear, however, DO NOT CALL ME IF YOU GET A FLAT! I will not come to get you.
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#36
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I usually carry a small multi-tool, phone, credit card, and a twenty dollar bill, which will pretty much solve any issues I have on a ride. Then again, my wife and I, and most of my friends are retired, and they all have pick-ups or vans, a flat is a good excuse to get together for breakfast, lunch, or a beer. Of course I’m buying.
Tim
Tim
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#37
Half way there
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Personally, I'd say that if you feel lucky and well-supported you are spot on with not wanting to acquire and carry stuff that you may never need. Pay no attention to the pessimists that prepare for things that never happen to good folk, like flats, broken chains, slipping seat post, etc.
#39
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Cycling is not good exercise, I hear, but walking is. Don't' bring tools or tubes.
#42
Not a newbie to cycling
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Love it! Next time I'm finding it hard to go uphill with a loaded bike, I can call my friends to carry the stuff up and I can pick it up to go down the hill.
This is bloody brilliant! Nothing like expecting one's friends to come bail you out because you can't be bothered even with the basics.
This is bloody brilliant! Nothing like expecting one's friends to come bail you out because you can't be bothered even with the basics.
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#43
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I've only done the "call of shame" once so far. I was riding gravel down a hill one evening, racing to get back home before dark. I hit some large flat rock in the middle of the road, too late to swerve or miss it, and I heard the hiss from the front tire and knew I was going flat. Had it not been getting dark I'd have just thrown a new tube in, but I didn't want to ride unfamiliar gravel in the dark with a not-very-bright headlight. So I called my wife who came out and picked me up. I ended up having not one but two sets of pinch flats in my tube. Nowadays, though, I have better headlights so should it happen again I'll just fix it on the side of the road, though I still don't ride much gravel in the dark.
#44
On Your Left
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This is all i carry and I go on many 50+ mile solo rides.
Most shops have basic mechanic classes for free or a few dollars. If you're doesn't, then suggest they do it.
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#45
Disco Infiltrator
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Threads like these I’m still surprised people don’t learn how to do this when they were, like, eight or ten, and there are actually classes and even practice
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Genesis 49:16-17
#46
On Your Left
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BTW, it takes me maybe 5 minutes to replace the tube on the side of the road. How much time does someone waste driving to the LBS, waiting and driving home?
#47
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Anyone that rides a bike should know how to fix a flat. I think my Dad showed me how to do it when I was 7. I am not one to carry a bunch of tools around but do not go anywhere without what I need to fix a flat. It is pretty easy to swap a tube and refill a tire and the parts and tools you need are about as expensive as that Uber ride you take and way less expensive than replacing the bike that you left locked up hoping it would still be there when you got back.
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#48
Senior Member
It's called the "call of shame" for a reason.
Spend $40 on a kit, watch a youtube video, and then fix your own flat tire when it happens. It's part of being a cyclist.
Spend $40 on a kit, watch a youtube video, and then fix your own flat tire when it happens. It's part of being a cyclist.
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#49
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You’ll pay more than that buying your friend dinner after he picks you up.
#50
On Your Left
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