What tools, bits and bobs should I be carrying?

Tom_0787
Tom_0787 Posts: 39
edited April 2010 in Commuting chat
Hi all

Having decided last week that im sick of traffic and it taking me half an hour to crawl the 7 miles to work each day I came accross this forum.

Bought a Specialized Allez 16 today having it fitted tomorrow :)

Specialized are doing 10% of the value any 2010 bike in accessories this spring so I waived the 0% finance and picked up a helmet. some padded shorts, a kryptoniste d lock and a spare innertube.

This got me thinking. Asside from a spare innertube, pump and tyre levers what else should I be carrying for a total of 15 miles a day riding and how should i be carrying it? My thinking is saddle bag for the tyre bits and leave the d lock on the rack at work.

Also can anyone reccomend a quality low cost cycle computer while im at it?
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Comments

  • Tom_0787 wrote:
    Hi all

    Having decided last week that im sick of traffic and it taking me half an hour to crawl the 7 miles to work each day I came accross this forum.

    Bought a Specialized Allez 16 today having it fitted tomorrow :)

    Specialized are doing 10% of the value any 2010 bike in accessories this spring so I waived the 0% finance and picked up a helmet. some padded shorts, a kryptoniste d lock and a spare innertube.

    This got me thinking. Asside from a spare innertube, pump and tyre levers what else should I be carrying for a total of 15 miles a day riding and how should i be carrying it? My thinking is saddle bag for the tyre bits and leave the d lock on the rack at work.

    Also can anyone reccomend a quality low cost cycle computer while im at it?

    Welcome!

    In my saddle bag, I have two tyre levers, two inner tubes, two threaded CO2 cannisters, one of these, and three allen keys for the principal bolts on the bike. I also carry enough cash to get a cab, in case I get through the two inner tubes. In my bag I carry a pedal spanner. If a pedal unwinds itself, it's a bugg*r.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • the_prophet
    the_prophet Posts: 426
    set of allen keys or a multi tool, a chain tool, tyre levers, some duct tape wrapped around the shaft of the pump (oo'er) and a couple of zip ties.

    thats all i'd add to your list above.
  • zanes
    zanes Posts: 563
    Pump
    1 inner tube
    Puncture kit (small plastic-tub jobby)
    Tyre levers
    Spare magic link (you know, the joiny link thingys)
    Small allen key set
    General spanner (one of the cheap pressed flat ones). Actually, have no idea what I'd use this for, but it's been in my bag since time immortal
    Water bottle

    All in saddle bag. The magic link is redundant really without a chain tool, must pick a second one up to go out on rides with me
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Welcome! :D

    Yep, I carry what you said you'd carry, plus a set of allen keys, and a spanner for getting the wheel off. CO2 is good, much faster than a mini-pump. If a pedal unwinds itself, I've got fingers.

    Has that ever happened to anyone? I can't see how it would... but then Greg66 does use special pedals... that nobody else uses... in the world.

    As for computers, if you want wireless, the Cateye Strada is a good'un, if you're happy with wired then the Cateye enduro 8 is a) good and b) bulletproof. OK, maybe not bulletproof, but lots-of-other-stuff-proof.
  • zanes
    zanes Posts: 563
    Has that ever happened to anyone? I can't see how it would... but then Greg66 does use special pedals... that nobody else uses... in the world..

    I saw some twerp in Bath have his pedal fall off, massive clang as he went past and it bounced of down the middle of the road. As you say, god knows how though

    *Mutters darkly about the weekends pedal removing antics, and the need to use anti-seize in future*
  • rf6
    rf6 Posts: 323
    It's all covered above. You can also use a water bottle to carry your kit, especially if you have 2 bottle cage mounts which will allow you to have a drink too.
  • Tom_0787
    Tom_0787 Posts: 39
    rf6 wrote:
    It's all covered above. You can also use a water bottle to carry your kit, especially if you have 2 bottle cage mounts which will allow you to have a drink too.

    Never thought of that! Great idea!
  • Has that ever happened to anyone?

    So I've heard <cough, cough>

    One side (the drive side, I think) is threaded so that the pedalling motion will naturally unscrew the pedal from the crank. Unless the pedal is properly tightened.

    So one evening I, errrrr, someone I heard about felt their foot fly loose. Assumptions about the cleat breaking were dispelled rapidly when it was appreciated that the cleat was still firmly attached to the pedal, and therein lay the problem.

    Now, you can screw the pedal back on with your fingers, but not nearly tight enough to ensure that 100 yards down the road the above process won't happen again.

    Seen it happen on new kids bikes in the park. They're never tightened up properly. Anywhere.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    Greg66 wrote:
    Has that ever happened to anyone?

    So I've heard <cough, cough>

    One side (the drive side, I think) is threaded so that the pedalling motion will naturally unscrew the pedal from the crank. Unless the pedal is properly tightened.

    So one evening I, errrrr, someone I heard about felt their foot fly loose. Assumptions about the cleat breaking were dispelled rapidly when it was appreciated that the cleat was still firmly attached to the pedal, and therein lay the problem.

    Now, you can screw the pedal back on with your fingers, but not nearly tight enough to ensure that 100 yards down the road the above process won't happen again.

    Seen it happen on new kids bikes in the park. They're never tightened up properly. Anywhere.

    BZZZZZZZT!

    'Tisn't! That's why the pedal threads go in opposite directions... Well, all my pedals anyway.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Greg66 wrote:
    One side (the drive side, I think) is threaded so that the pedalling motion will naturally unscrew the pedal from the crank. Unless the pedal is properly tightened.

    Should be opposite threaded so they do tighten up as you pedal. If you've been tightening them up in the same direction, I'd hate to see your screw threads :lol:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • Hmm. Mark your diaries. This could be one of those rare occasions (like a blue moon - bonus point to anyone who knows what that is without the aid of google) when I'm wrong.

    Having had a quick look at my pedals, and reminded myself which way the tightened, I remembered that the pedal unwound itself from the spindle. So (hollow) pedal still attached, but spindle sicking out of crankarm.

    Which was nice.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • Latex gloves! :shock: Changing a tube, putting a chain back on, etc - they're all mucky jobs. Get some latex gloves (a pack of 100 is about £5 on eBay) and keep a pair in your saddle bag - dispose of after use.

    Plus, depending on where you leave your bike, I might be tempted not to bother with a saddle bag, particularly if you are always carrying another bag/rucksack with you anyway. A saddle bag is just one more thing to have to take off your bike when you leave it, unless you have very secure parking where you are comfortable leaving all your bits and pieces on your bike.
    Never be tempted to race against a Barclays Cycle Hire bike. If you do, there are only two outcomes. Of these, by far the better is that you now have the scalp of a Boris Bike.
  • gbsahne001
    gbsahne001 Posts: 1,973
    spare folding tyre; after the pf visited me last time, she decided that the tube was not enough and decreed that the tyre should also be taken as a sacrifice.
  • hambones
    hambones Posts: 407
    Crossweave tape!! :D:D (See my thread!!)
    Still breathing.....
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Blimey - there's a lot of people carrying s lot of kit.

    Bikes are pretty reliable these days. I just carry a tube, levers & mini-pump + a mini puncture outfit in case of PF visits, and some cash + phone (which I'd have anyway). If it's anything more than the fourth puncture or major mechanical probs, I'll reach for the phone. Never happened yet though.
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    CiB wrote:
    Blimey - there's a lot of people carrying s lot of kit.

    Bikes are pretty reliable these days. I just carry a tube, levers & mini-pump + a mini puncture outfit in case of PF visits, and some cash + phone (which I'd have anyway). If it's anything more than the fourth puncture or major mechanical probs, I'll reach for the phone. Never happened yet though.

    for my short distances I carry some wd40 and a multy tool.

    the marathon pluses haven't let the fairy have her fun in living memory.

    i can't get the pedals off seem to be welded on the hack.....
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Greg66 wrote:
    Hmm. Mark your diaries. This could be one of those rare occasions (like a blue moon - bonus point to anyone who knows what that is without the aid of google) when I admit I'm wrong.

    Fixed*.

    *or should that be SingleSpeed?
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    Carry a small saddle bag containing 1 tube, patches, 2 allen keys of the size I need, some spare rubber bits should I rip a side wall & have a rescue pump on the frame..
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    I keep tyre levers, multitool, tube, CO2, driving license (ID is important) and a good luck charm by grandad left me, Im strange like that

    With regard to the lock, dont leave it on the rack at work, gives thieves oppurtunity to suss out lock and mess with it to potentially steal your bike
  • Am I crazy or have I just been lucky?

    I carry nothing at all by way of tools for my regular daily 6 mile commute. In 3-4 years of commuting almost every day I have had one puncture and one occasion when a wheel nut worked loose. Both times I simply pushed my bike to the nearest bike shop and was on my way shortly.

    For longer rides I would take a puncture repair kit, pump and a multi-tool, but I've never used any of that. How often are you guys actually experiencing punctures or other problems? I'm genuinely surprised by the amount of stuff that people are carrying.
  • tomb353
    tomb353 Posts: 196
    i carry chain tool, have in the past had a chain break on my commute and stopped and fixed it by the side of the road. These days have a couple of power links which would speed the process up. spare tube, puncture kit, as someone above said, big thick rubber patch which got me home the time i went over a glass bottle and nearly ripped tyre in half. spare batteries for lights, co2 cartridges + inflator. I keep meaning to pinch some of those plastic gloves you get at petrol stations. spanner if i'm on the fixie, plus a short spare bit of chain, otherwise just multitool + tyre levers.

    In practice the last couple of problems i've had have been within a mile of home so have just walked it and fixed indoors. Decent quality commuting tyres and a good chain eliminate most problems.
    vendor of bicycle baskets & other stuff www.tynebicycle.co.uk
    www.tynebicycle.co.uk/blog
    Kinesis Tripster
    Gazelle NY Cab
    Surly Steamroller
    Cannondale F100
  • mcowan77
    mcowan77 Posts: 560
    what do you guys use to repair a hole in a tyre??

    bit of glass has came right through my tyre, fecking brand new cityjet!!!
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    mcowan77 wrote:
    what do you guys use to repair a hole in a tyre??

    bit of glass has came right through my tyre, fecking brand new cityjet!!!

    marathon plus ;-)

    joking aside as this commuting I use a big heavy bike with big tough tires. I don't bother to steer around broken glass.....
  • 5milestogo
    5milestogo Posts: 224
    Zipties, anyone else carry zip ties? I used them to tie spokes together but thats it so far? What have you used them for?
    Rose Pro DX Cross 3000
    GT Edge Ti
    Ribble Audax
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    5milestogo wrote:
    Zipties, anyone else carry zip ties? I used them to tie spokes together but thats it so far? What have you used them for?

    I've used them for my wife's basket, which kept loosing little bolts so started using cable ties which unlike the bolts has stayed....
  • iain_j
    iain_j Posts: 1,941
    Small saddle bag always contains:

    Spare inner tube
    Glueless patches (not a permanent repair but enough to get me home or to a bike shop)
    Tyre patches (temporary fix for a gashed tyre)
    Multi tool (contains all allen keys, screwdrivers, chain tool, tyre levers, spoke key)
    Another multi tool (contains variety of blades, for getting flints out of tyres, and mini-pliers)
    NBT2 tool (for removing cassette lockring without chain whip and big spanner - google it)
    6-inch adjustable wrench (covers a variety of uses)
    Cable ties (temporary fix for lost or broken bolts on mudguards/pannier rack)
    Thin latex gloves (for oily jobs)
    KMC chain link

    Pump has its own bracket alongside one of the bottle cages.

    Winter rides - I add spare batteries for lights.

    Long rides - I add:
    Cash and debit card (for emergency buys)
    Mobile phone
    Inhalers & eye drops (I hate dry contact lenses!)
  • prj45
    prj45 Posts: 2,208
    Greg66 wrote:
    In my bag I carry a pedal spanner. If a pedal unwinds itself, it's a bugg*r.

    In my thousands of miles cycling I've never had a pedal unwind on me. I've had a crank arm snap, but I'm not sure carrying an arc welder is practical.

    I carry a multi-tool (small one), puncture kit, two tyre levers, a pump and a snapped off razor (for shaving off the raised bead on the tube if I get a puncture on it or next to it (why don't they make inner tubes with the joins on the side)), and I do put in a chain tool if I've just changed my chain, just in case I messed it up.
  • prj45
    prj45 Posts: 2,208
    mcowan77 wrote:
    what do you guys use to repair a hole in a tyre??

    I replace the area with the hole, and whatever's connected to it with another tyre.,
  • iain_j
    iain_j Posts: 1,941
    mcowan77 wrote:
    what do you guys use to repair a hole in a tyre??

    bit of glass has came right through my tyre, fecking brand new cityjet!!!

    Tyre patches.

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=13249
  • prj45
    prj45 Posts: 2,208
    iain_j wrote:
    mcowan77 wrote:
    what do you guys use to repair a hole in a tyre??

    bit of glass has came right through my tyre, fecking brand new cityjet!!!

    Tyre patches.

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=13249

    Temporary 'get you home' fix only though right?