I've started to take some longer daily rides and realized I need to start thinking about buying a road kit or putting one together mainly for fixing a flat tire but maybe a few other things like common allen wrenches, anyone know of a decent quality kit or did you just get a bag and make your own? Glueless patches? (Rubber cement doesn't keep too long in the desert) I have a small Schwinn hand pump that is over 20 years old but still works although it doesn't get as small as some of the new ones I've seen, but it would fit in a Camelbak pack which is also on my list. Looking for recommendations, a lot of complaints of cheapness on the $25 Amazon kits, stuff breaking, bending etc.
Road Kit
- Thread starter bigb
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keep your tube in an old sock. The sock will keep other things in the bag from rubbing a hole in the tube, and the sock doubles as a grease rag. I have not had luck with glueless patches. I check and replace the tube of glue regularly, and likewise, keep it wrapped in a tissue to prevent it from getting a hole rubbed in it. There's a lot of vibration in that bag. My bikes have mini pumps or frame pumps, and I carry a C02 inflator with a couple extra cylinders. Each one of my bikes has it's own bag with tools that fit the fasteners on that bike.
It looks like KCI has a Schrader/Presta adapter there. I have always had one of those either in the bag, or threaded onto a screw somewhere on the bike since the 80s, and thankfully have never needed it. Watch, the day I stop carrying them, I'll need one.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Parks MT-1 gets lots done in a small package. Can be pocketed for easy riding, but the 3mm and screwdriver get a little pokey.
If you have more room, combine with some pry bars and a 26" tube (can actually be used in tire sizes from 24"-29"). A rag or moist towelettes are a good idea to get some of the grease and grit off your hands before getting back on the road too. I really like the sock tip above, thinking about adopting it. I've been let down by the cleaning performance of grass and leaves in the past. Another solid tip is to wrap a few inches of duct tape around the body of your pump for emergencies.
If you have more room, combine with some pry bars and a 26" tube (can actually be used in tire sizes from 24"-29"). A rag or moist towelettes are a good idea to get some of the grease and grit off your hands before getting back on the road too. I really like the sock tip above, thinking about adopting it. I've been let down by the cleaning performance of grass and leaves in the past. Another solid tip is to wrap a few inches of duct tape around the body of your pump for emergencies.
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Quick link, tires that are easy to remove, soap, pump, Allen wrenches, bandana, bug dope, sun screen (in case you have to push ), matches, sunglasses, chain lube, phone with map app, glue on patches, tube, new style pump that mounts on the seat tube, energy bars, lots of hydration and one of these if your tires are very hard to get on. You can cut off some of the handle so it fits better. I don’t use a camelback, hard on my back and if you fall on one full of hard stuff it hurts.
I keep it all in a small cooler with a hard shell insert that I got at a big box store.
The pump I use is on the seat tube. A pistol in the triangle bag if I’m sleeping rough. Never have the pistol on you. If you fall you’ll know why. The bottle cages on the fork are temporary and held on with hose clamps. I only use them for 100 mile 90 degree rides. Here I even have an extra tire as I once blew out a side wall. The whole rig weighs 72 pounds and because there is no panniers on the front it’s easy to steer. It climbs well as it has a triple chainring.
I keep it all in a small cooler with a hard shell insert that I got at a big box store.
The pump I use is on the seat tube. A pistol in the triangle bag if I’m sleeping rough. Never have the pistol on you. If you fall you’ll know why. The bottle cages on the fork are temporary and held on with hose clamps. I only use them for 100 mile 90 degree rides. Here I even have an extra tire as I once blew out a side wall. The whole rig weighs 72 pounds and because there is no panniers on the front it’s easy to steer. It climbs well as it has a triple chainring.
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In a sub/urban environment, the adapter is essential and IMO more important than a pump or inflator. The availability of places to air up lightens the load for me, being a minimalist by choice.
I carry a bit more in the backcountry.
I found one of those on the trail a long time ago and later donated it to a friend in need. When I carried it, it was in a sleeve made from a piece of inner tube that kept it from being pokey to whatever it was being carried in and with.
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Nothing here but yourself to rely on, even on pavement. No cell service, no stores, no water if I run out. I have a filter with a straw I use when camping rough. The two country stores I was using closed and they were like 50 miles apart. So when I go minimalist I was usually OK, but once ended out using bent beer tab pulls as a tool and had to tighten up the Allen nut every few miles for 20 miles. I also had to push 3 miles once. I try not to forget and go minimal. It’s like this forever, a few widely spaced villages and small towns, most have no stores. These are some of the roads I ride, right from my door. Plenty of others, endless nothing.
There are 100s of miles of logging roads right out my door, really. There is a 100 mile gravel grinder here each spring that hardly touches what’s available, there are so many options.
I ride this a lot, it’s close, no traffic, cell or water. 31 mile round trip, good in the summer in the evening when it cools, end the ride around 930 pm.
Our driveway, a mile of gravel, nothing. The neighbors and I pay to have a dump truck plow us out. There are around 10 people who live off this driveway, here and there.
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I'd rather have the void of inhumanity and the need to carry more, but when in Rome...
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A drain area on my sink, I used it for contrast against the black.
in that case all you need is a phone and money.
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She shouldn’t drive in the UP then, it’ll take hours or the next day for AAA to get a wrecker up here. I tell tourists to just call the local wrecker, it’s cheap and fast, and oh, no cell service here in most places. I really get a kick out of toursts trying to get Urber. They kept trying and asked the waitress about it. She never heard of Urber. Then they tried for a taxi, those don’t exist either. I gave them a ride.
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