# What is your rescue remedy for cycle breakdowns miles from home?



## night cycler (29 Apr 2018)

I ask this question with the assumption that there is no train station close to where you break down. Also, that the bike is not repairable at the roadside.

It is not so much the distance from home, but whether or not there is a solution for when it happens. Pushing or carrying a bike just 5 miles would be a ball ache.

Maybe most have/know someone with a vehicle able to pick them up. Of course, they have to be available at the time. I have a friend with a mini bus who would rescue me, but some years he is out of the country for a month at a time.

I would happily pay an additional fee on to my car breakdown cover to get this, but I don't think any offer it. Will look into it though, and report back if I find anything.


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## vickster (29 Apr 2018)

Look at ETA cycling services, they'll arrange transport to get you home or the nearest station

https://www.eta.co.uk/breakdown/bicycle/

I rarely ride that far from a station as I live in SW London, nor anywhere without a mobile signal to get a cab in extremis. I had it in the past, never needed to use, In fact just signed up again


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## Banjo (29 Apr 2018)

Carry a few tools and hopefully being totally stuck will be rare.

You can bodge a broken gear cable to get you home single speed.

If you have 32 or more spokes a spoke key will let you get away with one busted spoke for a gentle ride home.

A chain tool and quick connector may well save your day.

A petrol generator and arc welder in your panniers would fix a cracked steel frame in minutes.:-)


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## vickster (29 Apr 2018)

Or pay £18 just in case 

I’m mechanically inept so happy to have peace of mind for a rare occurrence for an annual price equivalent to a burger and a beer


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## subaqua (29 Apr 2018)

Self sufficiency . A few simple light tools will get me home from most situations . Tyraps are amazing for repairs


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## glasgowcyclist (29 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> home, but whether or not there is a solution for when it happens. Pushing or carrying a bike just 5 miles would be a ball ache



Phone a taxi. I've done that before.


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## Adam4868 (29 Apr 2018)

Phone a friend/family/taxi in that order.


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## numbnuts (29 Apr 2018)

I have asked the AA and the RAC if they would consider a breakdown recovery only service for bikes if you are already a member and both turned me down flat even saying something like £25-£35 per year.
For my own use, if it was unrepairable I would find a house that would look after my bike/trike while I walked/hitch or bus back home and then go and get the car to pick it up.
I do carry a lot of tools/spares so I think it would have to be a major breakdown or accident to stop me getting home.


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## Heigue'r (29 Apr 2018)

I had a non repairable breakdown last week,4.3 miles from home.I did have a rescue drive available however it would have been complicated as would have had to move child seats and then my better half would have had to driven the bigger car down country lanes that she has never driven before,the car and the lanes,plus they were out shopping at the time,It was alot easier just to walk.If I was 10 miles away it would have been a different story.


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## night cycler (29 Apr 2018)

glasgowcyclist said:


> Phone a taxi. I've done that before.



Unless it's a taxi whereby the rear seats go flat , how does it work - just curious


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## palinurus (29 Apr 2018)

Currently it's fix it or walk.

Might do the ETA thing if I start riding anywhere except local trips again, I like 'em.


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## raleighnut (29 Apr 2018)

If all else fails my next door neighbour is a plumber (well actually him and a friend set up a property maintenance company about 8yrs ago) with a Transit van, but I have yet to need collecting in all my cycling life (50+yrs)


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## night cycler (29 Apr 2018)

vickster said:


> Or pay £18 just in case
> 
> I’m mechanically inept so happy to have peace of mind for a rare occurrence for an annual price equivalent to a burger and a beer



I am 100% with you here Vickster, and *thank you *for sharing this. At £18 it's a no brainer to not have it. Each to their own methods, but I will certainly sign up.


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## glasgowcyclist (29 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> Unless it's a taxi whereby the rear seats go flat , how does it work - just curious



Most taxi firms have vehicles that will take a bike by folding the seats, or have estates or minivans, you just specify your need when you call. 

I once got a hackney but it was one of those big converted Pegeot van things so I got the whole bike in where I sat, no need to remove any bits.


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## glasgowcyclist (29 Apr 2018)

[QUOTE 5228290, member: 43827"]I'm with Adam4868 on this.[/QUOTE]

Me too but the first two options weren't available to me.


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## Brains (29 Apr 2018)

In thousands of miles of cycling I've never been in a sitation where I could not do some sort of a roadside repair sufficent to get me back to civilisation.

However on a tour in Denmark one rider with us managed to break the rear wheel axel. The solution was to get a taxi to the nearest major town with a good bike shop, where the wheel was rebuilt whist he waited and he was back on his bike before the rest of the team arrived a few hours later


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## ColinJ (29 Apr 2018)

You lot clearly don't venture out to anywhere even remotely, er, remote!

I was saying on my forum ride yesterday that there are lots of phone reception blackspots in this area.

It isn't as bad as it was a few years ago but I ride to several places where I could still be 5+ miles away from getting a signal and a similar distance from a callbox or door to knock on.

99.xx% of bike problems are fixable out on the road with the right tools and some basic mechanical aptitude.

Fix the fixable, walk if within walking range of help, phone if help is too far away. Otherwise, knock on doors (if there ARE any to knock on!), flag down passing motorists (if there ARE any!). If you are STILL stuck, it is time to pick a religion and to start praying to the deity of your choice!


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## night cycler (29 Apr 2018)

glasgowcyclist said:


> Most taxi firms have vehicles that will take a bike by folding the seats, or have estates or minivans, you just specify your need when you call.
> 
> I once got a hackney but it was one of those big converted Pegeot van things so I got the whole bike in where I sat, no need to remove any bits.



Fair enough.

This year may see me venturing out a bit further from home. With the Triban540, I'm finding an urge to get down in the drops on inclines now, when I talked about swapping to flat bars previously. 25 miles out will be doable for me, and then the return. Just one taxi ride home will wipe out the £18 ETA premium.

I carry 2 or 3 tubes; chain splitter, pump & Co2.

I came off the bike yesterday in rain going over tram tracks. Bruised hip, but road home.


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## Pale Rider (29 Apr 2018)

ColinJ said:


> You lot clearly don't venture out to anywhere even remotely, er, remote!
> 
> I was saying on my forum ride yesterday that there are lots of phone reception blackspots in this area.
> 
> ...



I reckon the more rural the location, the more likely it is that if a motorist does pass he will offer to help.

When I was waiting for you with my bike on the Isle of whatever it was in Scotland, a couple of drivers slowed and looked at me quizzically, giving me the chance to indicate if I wanted them to stop.

Nearly all drivers would ignore you in a similar situation in a town.


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## Drago (29 Apr 2018)

Phone Mrs D, and she will come fetch me in my car with the cycle rack on the roof, and the welcoming hip flask in the glovebox.

That said, in nearly 5 decades of cycling then situation has never arisen because I maintain my bikes fastidiously, and go well equipped for minor roadside surgery.


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## Banjo (29 Apr 2018)

I broke multiple spokes in rural Carmarthenshire 60 km from the car managed to get it just about useable and headed cautiously for nearest train station (Ferry Side) On the last hundred meters the wheel gave up the ghost I got it onto the platform just as a train going my way arrived.

You can be lucky sometimes. In god only knows how many miles that's about the only time I ended up with a totally unrideable bike.

PS someone mentioned electricians Cable ties. They weigh almost nothing and can fix lots of things. I have seen a picture of a broken frame held together with a bit of stick used as a splint and cable ties holding it all together.It may have been @Ian H of this parish?


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## night cycler (29 Apr 2018)

Drago said:


> Phone Mrs D, and she will come fetch me in my car with the cycle rack on the roof, and the welcoming hip flask in the glovebox.
> 
> That said, in nearly 5 decades of cycling then situation has never arisen because I maintain my bikes fastidiously, and go well
> equipped for minor roadside surgery.



Fully understand.

Take Mrs D out of the equation, live alone, no family to assist, ltd contacts-whole new ball game.


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## Jimidh (29 Apr 2018)

My lovely wife is my emergency pick up but i’ve only had to use her twice once when I shredded a tyre whilst MTBing about 10 miles from home.

Second time I had a chain break on a dark cold and wet night only a few miles from home. Yes I could have fixed it but I knew I could be in a nice warm car in 5 minutes and fix it in the relative warmth of my garage. Not a hard decision to make.


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## Drago (29 Apr 2018)

Ah, but being sensible I got hitched just in case this eventuality ever arose!


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## Will Spin (29 Apr 2018)

I've only had one incident that meant I couldn't ride on. I was out on my mountain bike and got 2 punctures at the same time, only had one inner tube and no puncture repair (yes I know, I'm an idiot). Called a taxi, luckily he turned up with a Skoda Octavia, so plenty of space in the boot for bike. If this hadn't been the case I would have locked the bike up, gone home in the taxi and come back in my car to pick the bike up.


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## Adam4868 (29 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> Unless it's a taxi whereby the rear seats go flat , how does it work - just curious


Sorry was thinking of myself as use black cabs,you could always specify when ringing that you need a cab that's willing to take a bike.


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## ianrauk (29 Apr 2018)

It's something I've never thought about on any of my (long) rides. If a really bad mechanical happens (and it has, a couple of times) then there's always usually a rail station within walking distance or if not a local cab company.


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## welsh dragon (29 Apr 2018)

1) i don't go that far from Home.

2) like the Vickster, i am inept when it comes to mechanical stuff.

3) last week i had to walk due to a puncture. Luckily my son went past, he turned round and picked me and my bike up and took me home. The only other alternative for me would be for me to stash my bike somewhere, say behind a hedge, or to ask a farmer to look after it while i walk home and get my car.

Luckily where i live, there are lots of little lanes with very little traffic, usually just tractors or the odd car, so i doubt anyone would ever steal my bike.

If i was in a town, i would just have to walk all the way home.


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## tyred (29 Apr 2018)

I've only been stuck once with a fault I couldn't repair and it was in a relatively remote place about 25 miles from home.

I just hid the bike behind the hedge, managed to hitch a lift to within a few miles of home, and walked the rest, and drove back for the bike.


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## Globalti (29 Apr 2018)

So much agonising about a non-problem... just shoulder the bike and stick a thumb out, motorists will stop as soon as they see your reason for hitching. When I used to hitch to Scotland a climbing rope draped over the rucsac used to get me lifts PDQ.


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## vickster (29 Apr 2018)

As a woman, I wouldn’t personally feel comfortable hitching if stuck in the middle of nowhere alone.
As a man, ymmv


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## ColinJ (29 Apr 2018)

Pale Rider said:


> I reckon the more rural the location, the more likely it is that if a motorist does pass he will offer to help.
> 
> When I was waiting for you with my bike on the Isle of whatever it was in Scotland, a couple of drivers slowed and looked at me quizzically, giving me the chance to indicate if I wanted them to stop.
> 
> Nearly all drivers would ignore you in a similar situation in a town.


It was the Isle of Mull and actually, you are right - on my previous visit to Mull with my pal Carrie I developed a stomach problem which stopped me eating and almost prevented me drinking. (Every time I tried I wanted to throw up!) As a result by the time we got halfway round the island I was depleted of energy and ended up flat on my back at the roadside 5 or 6 times. Worried motorists kept stopping to see what the problem was.

If rural enough though, there might not be any motorists at all!


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## fossyant (29 Apr 2018)

In 32 years I've only had to call out someone because of an unfixable mechanical - rear rim exploded. Pushed for a good mile until my missus could meet me, but about 10 miles from home. I mainly MTB now, so it's important to be self reliant otherwise you'd be in trouble (usually with little or no mobile coverage).

Oh, and I've excluded two 'collections' by an ambulance.


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## si_c (29 Apr 2018)

Had a few occasions when I've called for a lift, especially when I first started cycling. Once when I had a blown sidewall, and once when I had a broken axle. The second time I broke an axle I walked 3 miles to the station. I try not to call now.


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## DanZac (29 Apr 2018)

Except with a physical injury when you might have to rely on the generosity of strangers there's always a walking option 
I had a tyre spilt through the sidewall 10 miles north of Moffat with a fully loaded touring bike. I tried bodging it with a boot and some tape and all the other ideas I could think of (including chopping up my wallet to make a thicker boot than the one I carried) but it was too far gone. Looked at it pragmatically turned around and pushed it the 10 miles back to Moffat by which time it had stopped raining, I got a new tyre, cup of tea and bit of cake and off again. 
It was a bit of a rubbish day at the time and 10 miles in cycling shoes wasn't ideal, but looking back it all added to the challenge and adventure.


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## Ianboydsnr (29 Apr 2018)

Where I go mobile coverage is sporadic, so much so that I don’t bother Carrying it,

Only had one incident that stopped me riding, though a couple which affected the bike,

I had a pedal rip out of the crank, rode 8 miles only pushing one pedal, new crank needed,

I had a puncture, but had forgot to take a new tube repair kit, walked a couple of miles, then a car passed and stopped, put the bike on his bike rack and ferried me home, it was in a place frequented by mountain bike riding,
The last one, was when a woman pulled out in front of me, I swerved around it, a couple of hundred yards further at traffic lights. She ran into me, buckling the rear wheel, I carried the bike the mile home.


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## Banjo (29 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> I am 100% with you here Vickster, and *thank you *for sharing this. At £18 it's a no brainer to not have it. Each to their own methods, but I will certainly sign up.


Roll up a twenty pound note put it in your seat tube ready for a taxi rung by you if you need it.Thats basically all ETA will do.


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## Welsh wheels (29 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> I ask this question with the assumption that there is no train station close to where you break down. Also, that the bike is not repairable at the roadside.
> 
> It is not so much the distance from home, but whether or not there is a solution for when it happens. Pushing or carrying a bike just 5 miles would be a ball ache.
> 
> ...


Cry for my mummy is usually my first response


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## Soltydog (29 Apr 2018)

I live about 15 miles from the nearest train station, so that's not much use to me & living rural you can be stuck in middle of nowhere with dodgy mobile signal  In all my years cycling I've only ever had 1 mechanical that I couldn't fix roadside, a seized rear axle  I was about 6 miles from home on my way home from work one evening, phoned home, but the wife was out at a meeting, so I set off walking. A black cab passed in opposite direction, saw me & turned round. he picked me up, bike in back with me & dropped me off at home & wouldn't take a penny, but I wouldn't like to rely on that happening in the future 
Because of the mileage I do now & experiences such as this one, my cycle maintenance has improved from what it was, don't want to tempt fate, but not had a mechanical of any kind (including deflations) for around 2 years & over 10k miles


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## vickster (29 Apr 2018)

Banjo said:


> Roll up a twenty pound note put it in your seat tube ready for a taxi rung by you if you need it.Thats basically all ETA will do.


Except if needed they'll do it several times a year. That £20 will cover you once if lucky.


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## NorthernDave (29 Apr 2018)

I've only been genuinely stuck once, in the early 90's I commuted on an MTB and about half way to work I rode over a shard of metal that ripped a two inch long hole in the tyre and the inner tube at the same time.
If I'd had another inner tube I could have probably booted the tyre, but I'd used my spare tube a couple of days earlier and taken a chance on waiting til payday at the end of the week to get another - oops!
Faced with the choice of pushing the bike 3 miles home and then catching two buses to work or pushing on (no mobile phones for the likes of me back then), I put the bike over my shoulder and ran the rest of the way to work (you can tell how long ago it was by the fact I ran anywhere!).
I nipped out at lunch time to buy a tyre and _two_ inner tubes.

More recently, a spoke went passing Leeds East Airport and put the rear wheel out of true. I slackened the rear brake caliper off as much as it would go so I could ride the mile to Church Fenton station, where I knew I could get a train to within a couple of miles of home.
I then discovered that stopping trains were only every two hours on a Saturday and I'd got 1 hour and 50 minutes to wait in the cold for the next one...
If I'd called Mrs ND she'd have come and fetched me with the car, but that was probably going to mean a wait of at least half an hour so rather than standing about in the cold I just rode on, carefully.

I've got something that sounds similar to the ETA scheme on my bike insurance, but I have to pay for the taxi and claim it back.


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## snorri (29 Apr 2018)

It's part of the thrill of cycling, thinking "what if I break down here, will I have the skills or ingenuity to get home under my own steam?" 
The thoughts and possibilities take away from the boredom of turning the pedals for mile after mile. 
On the last two occasions that I've stopped to offer assistance to broken down cyclists they had already phoned a relative or friend, goodness knows what they would have done before mobile 'phones came on the scene.


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## Lonestar (29 Apr 2018)

Bottom bracket went at Shadwell recently (2 Sundays ago)..I know I know I should have prevented that from happening (I thought ther crunching was the chain) so I ended walking it back seven miles.No big deal.Happens sometimes.Also a year or two ago rear axle snapped at Westferry and I walked that one back as well.I survived.

When I rode the other fixie (which I am now using) the smoothness of the drivetrain difference really surprised me.

I haven't rode the most recent breakdown since then,it's being overhauled.


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## ColinJ (29 Apr 2018)

vickster said:


> Except if needed they'll do it several times a year. That £20 will cover you once if lucky.


You would have to be exceptionally unlucky or careless to need it even once every 10 years!

I have fixed/coped with every cycling problem that I have had and many problems that other riders have had over the past 30 years and never once had to call for backup!


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## vickster (29 Apr 2018)

ColinJ said:


> You would have to be exceptionally unlucky or careless to need it even once every 10 years!
> 
> I have fixed/coped with every cycling problem that I have had and many problems that other riders have had over the past 30 years and never once had to call for backup!


As I said, for me for £18, it’s worth the peace of mind for me and the OP seemingly

You might be able to fix stuff, I can’t and have no interest in doing so (I’ll happily pay trained mechanics). We’re all different 

If I have a chain or cable snap for example I’d have no idea what to do. I can sort a puncture and that’s pretty much it


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## Mrs M (29 Apr 2018)

Phone and car with big boot


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## Ianboydsnr (29 Apr 2018)

[QUOTE 5228477, member: 9609"]think she would of had the decency to give you a lift home after that - or did you feel walking might be safer than being her passenger?[/QUOTE]

I was definitely not getting in that car.


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## Ianboydsnr (29 Apr 2018)

Well if the chain snaps around here, then it’s walk up the hills, coast down, the hills around here are pretty steep.


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## ColinJ (29 Apr 2018)

vickster said:


> As I said, for me for £18, it’s worth the peace of mind for me and the OP seemingly
> 
> You might be able to fix stuff, I can’t and have no interest in doing so (I’ll happily pay trained mechanics). We’re all different
> 
> If I have a chain or cable snap for example I’d have no idea what to do. I can sort a puncture and that’s pretty much it


@Littgull was owning up yesterday to his inability to fix mechanical things. It is one reason that he has gone for an ultra-reliable Rohloff hub gear on his touring super-bike.

Having boasted about my ability to fix most cycle problems and riding in places with no phone signal, I have probably jinxed myself and will now suffer an unfixable bike problem somewhere miles from home or a station, but _with _a phone signal!


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## night cycler (29 Apr 2018)

Banjo said:


> Roll up a twenty pound note put it in your seat tube ready for a taxi rung by you if you need it.Thats basically all ETA will do.



Is that really how it works though?


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## night cycler (29 Apr 2018)

Banjo said:


> Roll up a twenty pound note put it in your seat tube ready for a taxi rung by you if you need it.Thats basically all ETA will do.



Is that really how it works though?


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## Vantage (29 Apr 2018)

The only time when a bike has been so messed up that a phone call was an option was when I ploughed into a banking in Pendle at 25 or so mph 20 ish years ago. That little bump bent the frame enough that the front wheel was pushed behind the down tube. I remember seeing my bikes forks wedged in a bench and several club mates pulling the thing straight enough that I could ride it home. Phone call wasn't needed...although a new frame was.
The first time I actually made a call for help was to my dad when on the way home from work I had a puncture. Puncture kit but no spare tube and it was dark, raining and on a busy main road. Finding the leak was impossible so it was dad to the rescue in his Volvo 850. Anything would fit in the boot of that car. At the time I was still paying him back for the bike that got mangled in Pendle. He wasn't pleased.
Second call for help was to my fiancee a couple years ago. It was my first attempt at touring and I'd set off just as the tail end of Hurricane Bertha was still delivering lovely weather to the UK. By the time I reached Great Budworth, the front panniers had tried bouncing off the rack several times, I was freezing cold and soaked, I was knackered (the bike was close to 100lbs) and the final straw came when the etrex froze and wouldn't turn on again. I phoned Pam and agreed to meet her at Warbuton Bridge to take me back home. I'd lost the will to live pretty much.
At this point in my life I've secured the knowledge to fix near any fault with the bike. My own stupidity and poor planning are the only things that might cause a call for help.
Due to what happened in Pendle though, I wouldn't go near a carbon bike if my life depended on it. That bike was alloy framed. Even they can be bent back temporarily. If that happened with a carbon frame, I'd have been f****d.


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## Lonestar (29 Apr 2018)

Ianboydsnr said:


> Well if the chain snaps around here, then it’s walk up the hills, coast down, the hills around here are pretty steep.



Actually in places that's exactly what I did with the failed BB.


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## fatjel (29 Apr 2018)

I was on the Romney marsh about 40 miles from home with a bent frame, trashed seatpost, loose handlebars and a broken collar bone.

The few hundred quid I always carry in cash on long rides paid for a cab home, cab to hospital and another one home. .

Luckily that day I had more money than sense

Last words I heard as I left home “ you’re not going out in all that ice?”


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## Vantage (29 Apr 2018)

fatjel said:


> Luckily that day I had more money than sense



No I'd say you had equal amounts of both that day


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## wonderloaf (29 Apr 2018)

Had to callout Mrs W for the first time last week, a busted freehub that couldn't be fixed. Luckily I was in an area that she was fairly familiar with so the pick up wasn't a problem, but if it had been more remote I not sure what the outcome would be. 
I see the Cycle Rescue service also includes a free insurance policy for which I already pay about £12 a year (I think), so taking this into account the rescue policy realistically works out at around £6, just the price of a couple of tubes. Good value in my mind and I'll be investigating further, thanks for the heads up!


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## Vantage (29 Apr 2018)

wonderloaf said:


> Had to callout Mrs W for the first time last week, a busted freehub that couldn't be fixed. Luckily I was in an area that she was fairly familiar with so the pick up wasn't a problem, but if it had been more remote I not sure what the outcome would be.



Carry a bunch of zip ties and convert it to a fixie by wrapping them around the sprocket and spokes. Pedal gently to get home


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## Levo-Lon (29 Apr 2018)

i live in the UK
if the bike was beyond repair,through in ditch and walk to nearest village or town.
so maybe a 20 60 min walk tops


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## wonderloaf (29 Apr 2018)

Vantage said:


> Carry a bunch of zip ties and convert it to a fixie by wrapping them around the sprocket and spokes. Pedal gently to get home


Didn't think of that I always carry zip ties as well! I was 25 miles out with a few hills in way so would have taken quite a while! Anyway good practice for the Support Team


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## Sharky (29 Apr 2018)

wonderloaf said:


> Didn't think of that I always carry zip ties as well! I was 25 miles out with a few hills in way so would have taken quite a while! Anyway good practice for the Support Team


I "lost" my freewheel once on a commute home and did a similar fix using a toe strap wrapped round the spokes and cassette. Just made it before the strap disintegrated,


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## mjr (29 Apr 2018)

[QUOTE 5228290, member: 43827"]Tried that once when I had a fall and tore the ligaments in my knee about six miles from home. Asked for a taxi that would allow me to get a bike in, even with the wheels detached. No-one turned up and I had to phone a friend.

I'm with Adam4868 on this.[/QUOTE]
I think Steve's Taxis in West Norfolk has sponsored a local charity ride and I've only seen them with people-carriers, so I'd call them.

The only time I've had to be recovered (pothole hit at speed on a descent broke the wheel) meant waiting for my wife to finish the ride, ride home and return with a car. I waited in a village pub


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## Slick (29 Apr 2018)

I've been reasonably fortunate so far. I didn't fancy fixing a puncture on a cold wet commute, so invested in those supposedly puncture resistant tyres and binned the repair kit. The inevitable bit of glass hit the resistant strip on the edge and worked it's way in just as I crested the Erskine bridge at 6 am when nobody else was around so I had to push the bike the last 5 miles to work. Lesson learned I got the minibus drivers number at work who agreed to come and get me if anything ever happened again. It did but now I carry 2 tubes and patches. More recently I wrecked my rear mech coming through Glasgow airport on a muddy strip they tarred a week later and Mrs Slick came and picked me up. Yes I now realise a real cyclist would have split the chain and rode home on a fixie but every day is a school day. I now have an agreement with a friend at work to be the 4th emergency service for each other which hasn't been put to the test yet touch wood but may also look in to the 18 quid thing as it seems foolish not to at that price.


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## Shut Up Legs (29 Apr 2018)

glasgowcyclist said:


> Phone a taxi. I've done that before.


Me too. It's a last resort obviously, but I've had to call a van-sized taxi 2 or 3 times in the last 9 years or so. I don't drive, and have no family members who can drive me anywhere, so I have to pay someone else to do it.


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## marzjennings (29 Apr 2018)

If less than 4 miles then I'd walk either home or to nearest bike shop. Next Uber, ordering an XL so I know the bike will fit. And finally I'd call the wife to come pick me up. 

Touch wood, but I've not a mechanical I couldn't fix or at least bodge in a few years. 

The worst trek home due to a mechanical issue was also the time I broke my hand in a fall that snapped the front forks. A 6 mile hike with a busted bike and hand through a rain forest was no joke. I didn't tell the wife for about 2 weeks to avoid the 'i-told-u-so' moment and only after she noticed my hand was swelling up like a balloon.


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## adamhearn (30 Apr 2018)

vickster said:


> As a woman, I wouldn’t personally feel comfortable hitching if stuck in the middle of nowhere alone.
> As a man, ymmv


Sorry you feel that way... as a man I'll remember to not stop and offer to help a lone female cyclist.

As for what I'd do... As I've no family and very few friends to call upon I would walk if possible.


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## Vantage (30 Apr 2018)

adamhearn said:


> Sorry you feel that way... as a man I'll remember to not stop and offer to help a lone female cyclist.
> 
> As for what I'd do... As I've no family and very few friends to call upon I would walk if possible.



I'm a man but I'm with @vickster on this. The majority of the population are perfectly safe individuals who pose no threat, but there are plenty of sick nutcases out there.
I'm only 5'3" and 10 stone of wuss but I made my fiancee promise to tell someone where she was and with who along with giving the friend my address and number before agreeing to our first date. 
My ex wife is living with a convicted sex offender.
The world isn't as safe and cosy as it should be.


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## vickster (30 Apr 2018)

adamhearn said:


> Sorry you feel that way... as a man I'll remember to not stop and offer to help a lone female cyclist.
> 
> As for what I'd do... As I've no family and very few friends to call upon I would walk if possible.


You can stop and offer to help to fix my bike but I wouldn’t feel comfortable getting in a car with you to be taken home. My response was to some saying to hitch hike (as opposed to getting a taxi) and not regarding getting help from a passing stranger. That would likely be appreciated 

I don’t cycle alone in remote areas so I’ll never need to hitchhike fortunately


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## Alan O (30 Apr 2018)

Sometimes a rescue lift would be available, but often not, and if I'm close enough to home I'd walk/coast it - that's what happened when I broke chain and derailleur hanger last year about 5.5 miles away.

Pushing to the nearest bike shop is an option, providing you know where it is and it's not Sunday or in the evening (which my cycling often is).

If I'm further from home, I'm rarely more than about 5 miles from a railway station, certainly never more than 10, so that's the direction I'd start (depending on the distance and bike shop availability).

The biggest such walk I've had was years ago when I broke my rear axle in an area with no railways, and that was an 11 mile push home.

If the worst really came to the worst, I'd lock the bike up somewhere, remove the saddle if it's one of my bikes with an expensive one, and walk to the nearest transport - and come back as soon as possible to try to rescue the bike. I'd hate to lose a bike, but mine are all cheap... and, as my grandma always used to say, worse things happen at sea.


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## Salty seadog (30 Apr 2018)

Drago said:


> Phone Mrs D, and she will come fetch me in my car with the cycle rack on the roof, and the welcoming hip flask in the glovebox.
> 
> That said, in nearly 5 decades of cycling then situation has never arisen because I maintain my bikes fastidiously, and go well equipped for minor roadside surgery.



Can you pm me her number and tell me what's in the flask. A nice single malt would be fine.


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## Sharky (30 Apr 2018)

mjr said:


> I think Steve's Taxis in West Norfolk has sponsored a local charity ride and I've only seen them with people-carriers, so I'd call them.
> 
> The only time I've had to be recovered (pothole hit at speed on a descent broke the wheel) meant waiting for my wife to finish the ride, ride home and return with a car. I waited in a village pub



Should have walked into the next village, called in at the Blacksmiths and welded the wheel together again (without any help).
That's what they used to do
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugène_Christophe


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## mcshroom (30 Apr 2018)

I've had two occasions I couldn't either fix the bike or walk it to a station. The first was when I broke the frame of an old Raleigh in Eskdalemuir on an audax and ended up with an expensive taxi ride to Galashiels to pick up my car, then drove back to collect the bike.

The second was near Silloth on Solway when the wire bead of my (almost new) rear tyre snapped and there was no way of keeping the tyre on the rim. At that point I chained the bike up in a hedge, walked to Silloth itself to find I'd missed the last bus home, so I got a taxi to Maryport and a bus home before going and collecting the bike. I now tend to carry a spare folding tyre of some description on longer remote rides. 23mm road tyre on a touring rim might be uncomfortable, but it's better than being stuck.

Most bits of bike are relatively repairable if you know what you are doing, but it's not possible to cover everything. In the Eskdalemuir case I looked up cycle rescue afterwards, but IIRC they had a limit to the distance they would recover you at the time (not sure if they still do), and they had a line about taking you either to your destination, or to a local station/hotel. I could see myself being stuck in Langholm for the evening and the hotel costing more than the taxi ride.


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## night cycler (30 Apr 2018)

wonderloaf said:


> Had to callout Mrs W for the first time last week, a busted freehub that couldn't be fixed. Luckily I was in an area that she was fairly familiar with so the pick up wasn't a problem, but if it had been more remote I not sure what the outcome would be.
> *I see the Cycle Rescue service also includes a free insurance policy for* which I already pay about £12 a year (I think), so taking this into account the rescue policy realistically works out at around £6, just the price of a couple of tubes. Good value in my mind and I'll be investigating further, thanks for the heads up!



Not sure if you are are referring to the same company...ETA?

Their cycle insurance cover offers free cycle recovery , but not the other way round??


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## vickster (30 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> Not sure if you are are referring to the same company...ETA?
> 
> Their cycle insurance cover offers free cycle recovery , but not the other way round??



Maybe referring to legal advice? Or Europe cover?


24/7 recovery service from any road in Britain
Taxi home service available
Includes cover for punctures

Cover in Europe for 90 days per year
Free legal advice
Unlimited callouts per year


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## T4tomo (30 Apr 2018)

I don't understand why there are comments which relate to taxi or Uber size, with both wheels off, any non tandem/trike/hpv bike will fit in the boot of any car seems suitable for taxi use? And if you are cycling without the ability to remove you wheels then meh.


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## adamhearn (30 Apr 2018)

T4tomo said:


> I don't understand why there are comments which relate to taxi or Uber size, with both wheels off, any non tandem/trike/hpv bike will fit in the boot of any car seems suitable for taxi use? And if you are cycling without the ability to remove you wheels then meh.


Last time I put a bike in my boot it was wheels off, handlebars loose and seat post out and even then it was a struggle. I’d imagine most taxi drivers will not be too keen on their passenger taking 15 mins to enter the vehicle... unless the meter is already ticking of course!


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## wonderloaf (30 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> Not sure if you are are referring to the same company...ETA?
> 
> Their cycle insurance cover offers free cycle recovery , but not the other way round??


Oops got it the wrong way round, the recovery insurance comes free with the cycling insurance, not the other way round. Just did a quick online quote for my bike (which isn't expensive) and the cost is way above what I'm currently paying, so don't think I'll be taking up the offer. Just have to keep Mrs W on call for emergencies!


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## lane (30 Apr 2018)

mcshroom said:


> but IIRC they had a limit to the distance they would recover you at the time (not sure if they still do), and they had a line about taking you either to your destination, or to a local station/hotel. I could see myself being stuck in Langholm for the evening and the hotel costing more than the taxi ride.



That is why I do not bother with the ETA insurance or similar. They say they will take you a bike shop, train station or hotel (not sure if you have the option of which or just what's nearer). BUT you only get taken home or to your car if it's nearer than the first three options. Depending upon circumstances these might not be of much use. A bike shop might not be able to repair your bike there and then, the train if you need to get back to your car might not be suitable and you probably don't want to stay overnight in a hotel. On the off chance that I get stranded I will take my chances and try and get a taxi to where I actually want to go on that occasion. Most likely I would want to get back to my car - if I was cycling from home I could get someone to rescue me anyway.

If there was cycle insurance that offered to take me home or back to my car - whichever was nearer - then I might be interested - depending upon cost.


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## booze and cake (30 Apr 2018)

These incidents seem really rare, I definitely would'nt bother with any insurance as its in the really remote places you want help, but that's exactly where help would be least likely to arrive quickly.

Its only happened to me once. I had a collapsed rear wheel once while riding in Mid Wales, no chance of repairing it so it was a call for help job. Problem was the area I was in had no mobile reception, so I walked a couple of miles to the next village and found a phone box, but it had been vandalised and was'nt working, so I had to walk a few miles to the next village. When this second phone box was also vandalised and unusable I could'nt be arsed with walking any further in silly SPD-SL shoes, so I went and knocked on the door of the village pub, which was shut, and told the owner my tale of woe. The owner told me he used to have a Campagnolo equipped bike years ago, and was delighted to see I had one too. The owner opened up and let me in, let me use his landline to call for rescue, and then served me a drink and made me a sandwich. People are generally really helpful so don't be afraid to ask.

It also made me fall out of love with fancy wheels with aero bladed spokes, especially while out riding in the shires. I'd broken 5 spokes on my rear wheel but nowhere in a 60 mile radius had any replacements, they were a special order which would take days to arrive, so the rest of my long weekend cycling in Wales involved no cycling at all.


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## byegad (30 Apr 2018)

Riding recumbent trikes, bus, taxi and a lift are not possible, the trikes are too big. So I am a member of ETA for car and bike. I've never used them for car or bike but for bikes/trikes they will take you to suitable destinations within IIRC 20 miles. Far better than leaving a £3000 trike by the side of the road.


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## Alan O (30 Apr 2018)

booze and cake said:


> It also made me fall out of love with fancy wheels with aero bladed spokes, especially while out riding in the shires. I'd broken 5 spokes on my rear wheel but nowhere in a 60 mile radius had any replacements, they were a special order which would take days to arrive, so the rest of my long weekend cycling in Wales involved no cycling at all.


I think there's a lot to be said for sticking to as common and as simple technology as possible, so that just about anyone with a spanner or wrench can fix it.


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## Ajax Bay (30 Apr 2018)

Vantage said:


> I remember seeing my bikes forks wedged in a bench and several club mates pulling the thing straight enough that I could ride it home. . . . That bike was alloy framed. Even they can be bent back temporarily. If that happened with a carbon frame, I'd have been f****d.


Do try this at home (with an alloy frame). Don't try this on the road and then ride bent and rebent aluminium alloy framed (and forked ) bike at any speed.


vickster said:


> ETA cycling services, they'll arrange transport to get you home or the nearest station
> https://www.eta.co.uk/breakdown/bicycle/


ETA for me too (but I too would hope/expect to mend or make do with most 'breakdowns'). Note words 'appropriate' and 'suitable' (below): so a shop that's closed, or a station which has no train going in an appropriate direction, or a car hire place that's not open or hasn't got an appropriate vehicle for hire can be excluded from the viable options.
"This service requires you to be in possession of identification at the time of the breakdown.
If you suffer a breakdown to your bicycle (including punctures), which is irreparable at the scene, occurring one mile or more from your home, the ETA undertakes to pay for the transport of the bicycle and you to:
• the nearest appropriate railway station; or
• the nearest suitable bicycle repair shop; or
• the nearest car hire agency; or
• the nearest overnight accommodation; or
• your vehicle; or
• home, if nearer."
Cover is extended to include Cycle Breakdown for up to 90 days to all states of the European Union."


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## booze and cake (30 Apr 2018)

Alan O said:


> I think there's a lot to be said for sticking to as common and as simple technology as possible, so that just about anyone with a spanner or wrench can fix it.



The part I most remember about Marc Beaumont's first epic cycle adventure, was how many spokes he broke, he carried plenty of spares with him, but he was rebuilding wheels in some of the remotest and inhospitable places imaginable. That really puts the pressure on, either you mend this yourself or you could die there. We should remember we live on a tiny but pretty densely populated island, we're never far from the next village. Its not like the wilds of Canada or Russia when you could wander for days and not see another person.


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## glasgowcyclist (30 Apr 2018)

mcshroom said:


> I looked up cycle rescue afterwards, but IIRC they had a limit to the distance they would recover you at the time (not sure if they still do), and they had a line about taking you either to your destination, or to a local station/hotel.





lane said:


> That is why I do not bother with the ETA insurance or similar. They say they will take you a bike shop, train station or hotel (not sure if you have the option of which or just what's nearer). BUT you only get taken home or to your car if it's nearer than the first three options.



I've just had a nice online chat with ETA and they say there is a 25-mile limit on *free* recovery but if you needed to go beyond that they'd charge £1 per excess mile.

They also confirmed that the choice of destinations is down to the policy holder.


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## night cycler (30 Apr 2018)

glasgowcyclist said:


> I've just had a nice online chat with ETA and they say there is a 25-mile limit on *free* recovery but if you needed to go beyond that they'd charge £1 per excess mile.
> 
> They also confirmed that the choice of destinations is down to the policy holder.



I phoned them at about 12.50 today and probably had a similar type communication. It was explained to me that decisions are based on the individual situation, which is fair enough. Explained to me....local cycle shop if small repair. If shop closed train station or taxi. I could have asked a multitude of scenarios, but I got the impression they seem quite reasonable. I would not want cycle shop to do expensive repair.


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## glasgowcyclist (30 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> I phoned them at about 12.50 today and probably had a similar type communication. It was explained to me that decisions are based on the individual situation, which is fair enough. Explained to me....local cycle shop if small repair. If shop closed train station or taxi. I could have asked a multitude of scenarios, but I got the impression they seem quite reasonable. I would not want cycle shop to do expensive repair.



I saved the text of my chat. Here's the bit where he confirmed user choice:

_ME: 
Does the policy holder have the right to choose which option?
For example: if there is a hotel 2 miles from the recovery location and the policy 
holder's home is 5 miles away, can he request recovery to his home address?
Or is the choice always ETA's?



ETA:

Hello there. Yes as long as it is within the 25 mile radius that we cover then yes 
you can choose which ever destination you want._​


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## night cycler (30 Apr 2018)

That sounds like a better answer doesn`t it.

I would be curious to ask what is meant by ..."radius that *we* cover". A 25 mile radius is a 25 mile radius but where is the centre point (just got my pedantic hat on-I`m still in) I don`t think he meant radius.


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## glasgowcyclist (30 Apr 2018)

night cycler said:


> That sounds like a better answer doesn`t it.
> 
> I would be curious to ask what is meant by ..."radius that *we* cover". A 25 mile radius is a 25 mile radius but where is the centre point (just got my pedantic hat on-I`m still in) I don`t think he meant radius.



I take the radius to be measured from the recovery point. I don't see where else they could put it!


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## swansonj (30 Apr 2018)

Straight line distance or distance by shortest practicable route?

When determining school admission criteria, people go to court (or at least the Adjudicator) over that distinction....


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## Alan O (30 Apr 2018)

swansonj said:


> Straight line distance or distance by shortest practicable route?
> 
> When determining school admission criteria, people go to court (or at least the Adjudicator) over that distinction....


As they actually used the word "radius", I'd expect that to mean a circle on the map and not based on the actual route distance - but it's worth clarifying.


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## swansonj (30 Apr 2018)

Alan O said:


> As they actually used the word "radius", I'd expect that to mean a circle on the map and not based on the actual route distance - but it's worth clarifying.


Agreed. But I'll bet there are plenty of hypothetical instances in mountainous terrain where less than 25 in a straight line over a mountain is a heck of a lot more that 25 by road....


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## vickster (30 Apr 2018)

I doubt they are quite as pedantic as Cyclechatters


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## Ajax Bay (30 Apr 2018)

OK, so the 25 miles limit is not in the Cycle Rescue policy document but is in the Cycle Insurance policy (which includes recovery).
*Readers are invited* to identify a remote road in UK which hasn't got one of the recovery destinations within 25 miles. Bit difficult because there are hotels on (all?) remote Scottish roads and by lochs, even if bike shops and train stations and hire car agencies are distant. Achnasheen (with daily train gone).

Customer 3:46 pm On CycleChat someone's said; "I've just had a nice online chat with ETA and they say there is a 25-mile limit on *free* recovery but if you needed to go beyond that they'd charge £1 per excess mile."
ETA: It does not say in our cycle rescue wording, however we will look to make this clearer. The limit is included in our cycle insurance policy wording.
Customer So it's not a limit for my cycle rescue cover, then. Is that correct.
ETA: If you have a wish that you would like to go to the nearest suitable bicycle repair shop, even when a railway station is closer then we will get you to the repair shop. In the event that you need to be recovered on your bicycle, we will take you to the most appropriate one of those options that will work best for you. If it is 100 miles to where you wish we take you, we will find solutions that are closer, such as a railway station that can take you to your destination.


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## raleighnut (30 Apr 2018)

vickster said:


> I doubt they are quite as pedantic as Cyclechatters


Oi, give us chatterers a brake, where not that bad. are wee.


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## Johnno260 (30 Apr 2018)

Walked carried bike home before 7 miles didn’t have cash for a taxi, wife was home but kids asleep and my closest friends where on holiday.

Had to take shoes off and walk in socks as well, fun times. 

Edit: worst part in socks were the slugs, or ex slugs now. 

Least I still got some exersize done.


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## Slick (30 Apr 2018)

Has anyone signed up for the ETA thing since Vickster posted the link?


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## pjd57 (30 Apr 2018)

Signed up for ETA after seeing it on here.

I know there are bound to be some areas where their cover is patchy , but for £18 it's worth a punt.


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## vickster (30 Apr 2018)

Slick said:


> Has anyone signed up for the ETA thing since Vickster posted the link?


Me


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## Slick (30 Apr 2018)

pjd57 said:


> Signed up for ETA after seeing it on here.
> 
> I know there are bound to be some areas where their cover is patchy , but for £18 it's worth a punt.


Pretty much what I was thinking despite cycling on some routes most would consider remote.


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## Slick (30 Apr 2018)

vickster said:


> Me


I thought that you were a long term user? If you pardon the pun.


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## vickster (30 Apr 2018)

Slick said:


> I thought that you were a long term user? If you pardon the pun.


Nope. I had maybe last year or year before. Never had to call out


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## Ticktockmy (1 May 2018)

Some years ago my bottom bracket unit decided to disintegrate when I was cycling through the Nubian desert from Wadi Haif to Khartoum when I was cycling down through Africa. I just had to rebuild it there and then, luckily it was not a sealed unit, and i had spare ball bearings and grease, so was soon on my way, at the next village I pulled it apart again and cleaned up the cups as they were pitted, rebuilt it, and it lasted for the next 3 months for the rest of my trip.


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## night cycler (1 May 2018)

I think Vickster should be on commission. There are some of us would not know about ETA.


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## vickster (1 May 2018)

night cycler said:


> I think Vickster should be on commission. There are some of us would not know about ETA.


It was just a suggestion. I presumably heard about it on here initially or simply via Google


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## overmind (2 May 2018)

shanks' pony


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## mickle (2 May 2018)

'Breakdown'? Bike? Mwahaha. I don't think so.


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## overmind (2 May 2018)

Has anybody ever broken/repaired an axle while out on the road ?


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## Alan O (2 May 2018)

overmind said:


> Has anybody ever broken/repaired an axle while out on the road ?


Broken, yes - repaired, no 

Just to expand: My broken rear axle was sheared at an oblique angle, so there was no possibility of keeping the two halves together by using pressure. And it was bolt-on, so there was no skewer that might have helped.


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## twentysix by twentyfive (2 May 2018)

overmind said:


> Has anybody ever broken/repaired an axle while out on the road ?


Yep. Managed to get something sorted by moving the cones around. Very loose but wheel went round OK and I completed the ride. The quick release skewer holds things in place. Indeed I've ridden a broken axle I was not aware of until routine maintenance found it. The first story was because the break was just at a cone and things were not good.


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## Ajax Bay (2 May 2018)

Alan O said:


> Broken, yes - repaired, no


This


twentysix by twentyfive said:


> The quick release skewer holds things in place.


and this, sort of: but not for very long. Got home.


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## Crankarm (2 May 2018)

My bikes have never let me down, except once when a crappy Ritchey non drive crank snapped and I had to ride home about 8 miles pedalling with just my right leg, but I made it no problem.


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## mustang1 (2 May 2018)

Walk or train... something like that.

Once my chain broke so I lowered the saddle and walk/cycled.


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## Lonestar (3 May 2018)

overmind said:


> Has anybody ever broken/repaired an axle while out on the road ?



Broken yes...walked back with it all of 5 and a half miles.Where as a pedestrian asked me on the way back why I wasn't riding it...I explained the reason why.A couple of years back..

My accident at Stratford (Dec 2016) whereas the left pedal snapped off from the crank...After returning from work to pick up the abandoned bike at Stratford I pedaled just over two miles using the right crank only...down backstreets.Still that's not so hard on a fixie.


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## Randy Butternubs (3 May 2018)

overmind said:


> Has anybody ever broken/repaired an axle while out on the road ?



I've broken two. The first time it took a spoke with it IIRC and I thought the out-of-true-ness was down to the spoke. I just kept riding after removing the mudguard and found out about the axle later. The second time I was also able to keep riding.


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## froze (6 May 2018)

I've always been the type of person that I will fend for myself if possible, this means that even though I'm married and I have a cell phone, my wife is not my mommy, thus I won't call her unless I'm in the hospital or if I'm going to be really late due to some problem so she doesn't worry. So towards that end I carry with me flat repair stuff like a spare tube, patches, pump and levers, I also carry a multi tool, small folding pliers, zip ties, black Gorilla tape, presta to schrader converter in case my pump breaks I can simply get air at a gas station. I once had to fill a tire with weeds, leaves, grass, left the old tube in, etc because my pump broke, doing that got me home; but due to that pump breaking is when I started to carry the presta to schrader converter. When I tour I carry a bit more stuff even a spare pump and a couple of FiberFix spokes.

But even with those precautions, as well as some I didn't mention, I rarely have a breakdown, maintaining and cleaning your bike to keep it looking and acting like it's new goes a long ways towards having a very reliable bike.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

Heigue'r said:


> I had a non repairable breakdown last week,4.3 miles from home.I did have a rescue drive available however it would have been complicated as would have had to move child seats and then my better half would have had to driven the bigger car down country lanes that she has never driven before,the car and the lanes,plus they were out shopping at the time,It was alot easier just to walk.If I was 10 miles away it would have been a different story.


What was the problem? Only a little way through the thread but must admit I am finding it hard to think of anything that is likely to totally strand me. Car or public transport seem more of a problem. Am talking about damage to bike rather than me. Folks in the south east of course have more chance of getting to public transport. Good thread start OP.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

O, confession. Did once call up gf to pick me up when the speed pro broke a spoke. But only because that bike is so damn delicate I was afraid of doing it real damage if I rode on. Bits hard to get hold of, particularly where I was. Any other bike, wouldn't have been a problem.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

DanZac said:


> Except with a physical injury when you might have to rely on the generosity of strangers there's always a walking option
> I had a tyre spilt through the sidewall 10 miles north of Moffat with a fully loaded touring bike. I tried bodging it with a boot and some tape and all the other ideas I could think of (including chopping up my wallet to make a thicker boot than the one I carried) but it was too far gone. Looked at it pragmatically turned around and pushed it the 10 miles back to Moffat by which time it had stopped raining, I got a new tyre, cup of tea and bit of cake and off again.
> It was a bit of a rubbish day at the time and 10 miles in cycling shoes wasn't ideal, but looking back it all added to the challenge and adventure.


Hero! Did no drivers stop to ask after you on that longe trudge?
By the by, suppose that this is a good reason to tour without clips, something I have recently moved to doing.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

vickster said:


> Except if needed they'll do it several times a year. That £20 will cover you once if lucky.


Mm vickster. If this happens more than once a year, or even once a year with any regularity, I would take a look at a few things to be honest.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

Lonestar said:


> Bottom bracket went at Shadwell recently (2 Sundays ago)..I know I know I should have prevented that from happening (I thought ther crunching was the chain) so I ended walking it back seven miles.


What on earth happened to the bottom bracket? I wasn't aware that they could suddenly fail catastrophically. Getting back within london never a serious problem of course.


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## Lonestar (6 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> What on earth happened to the bottom bracket? I wasn't aware that they could suddenly fail catastrophically. Getting back within london never a serious problem of course.



Never had a problem like that before...always managed to diagnose the problem properly...This time I thought it was a chain related problem so I misdiagnosed.I had a clicking that seemed to go on forever...then the crunching which I thought was related to the new chain....I have no complaints about what happened and hopefully I will be more wary next time...Bike is overgoing an overhaul now.Funnily enough the handlebar bearings are fine although I can't remove the forks from the handlebars at the moment as it seems seized solid.Got it round the local LBS then will rebuild it myself.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

Your posts are somewhat confusing me lonestar. Handlebar (you mean headset?) bearings neither here or there. I would have thought you could have ridden home with a noisy bottom bracket.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

glasgowcyclist said:


> I've just had a nice online chat with ETA and they say there is a 25-mile limit on *free* recovery but if you needed to go beyond that they'd charge £1 per excess mile.
> 
> They also confirmed that the choice of destinations is down to the policy holder.


It's sounding more and more useless the more I hear about it, unless as above you have a very epecial case like a recumbent. i await them revising the terms in 2019 so that on getting a call they will send a drone to parachute you the (excellent) park tools repair book.


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## vickster (6 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Mm vickster. If this happens more than once a year, or even once a year with any regularity, I would take a look at a few things to be honest.


Why? I could well get a puncture more than once a year that I can’t (be bothered to) fix  it’s £18 which for peace of mind (bail out) is nothing (for me). If on one occasion it means I’m not half an hour late to work it’s more than paid for itself (in potentially lost earnings)


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

Mm getting crazy unless you have a thing for "meet cute" taxi drivers. You could fix the puncture and be on your way long before taxi man or woman turned up.

Edit, you have revised your post above since I replied to it.


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## vickster (6 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Mm getting crazy unless you have a thing for "meet cute" taxi drivers. You could fix the puncture and be on your way long before taxi man or woman turned up.


Maybe, maybe not

I’m not so sure why you have such an issue. If it’s not for you, then you don’t have to have it. No skin off my nose if you dont, none off yours if I do


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## Welsh wheels (6 May 2018)

A thought - if you couldn't get your bike going again, you were 30 miles from home and there was no-one to pick you up. How would the police react if you called them and asked for help?


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## Slick (6 May 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> A thought - if you couldn't get your bike going again, you were 30 miles from home and there was no-one to pick you up. How would the police react if you called them and asked for help?


Rightly tell you to do one.


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## vickster (6 May 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> A thought - if you couldn't get your bike going again, you were 30 miles from home and there was no-one to pick you up. How would the police react if you called them and asked for help?


They’d hopefully and rightly tell you to bog off?


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## Welsh wheels (6 May 2018)

vickster said:


> They’d hopefully and rightly tell you to bog off?


What if you're in the middle of nowhere, it's 30 degrees, there's no shade and you've run out of water?


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## Welsh wheels (6 May 2018)

Interestingly, I know of a bloke who punctured and a passing patrol helped him fix it.


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## Blue Hills (6 May 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> A thought - if you couldn't get your bike going again, you were 30 miles from home and there was no-one to pick you up. How would the police react if you called them and asked for help?


Bit short staffed these days. I wouldn't try it for all sorts of reasons. Definitely wouldn't use 999. Anything else you could well get a call centre. Could always try putting out a hopeful hand if a police vehicle went past.


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## vickster (6 May 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> What if you're in the middle of nowhere, it's 30 degrees, there's no shade and you've run out of water?


Start walking or as someone said, hitchhike 

If you think you could find yourself in the situation, always have contingency or join ETA


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## mjr (6 May 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> What if you're in the middle of nowhere, it's 30 degrees, there's no shade and you've run out of water?


Few deserts in this country. Even the fens (which are pretty inhospitable in any extremes of weather) have some shade you can use if you're not moving along the roads. There's less shelter from rain.


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## Tim Hall (6 May 2018)

Sharky said:


> Should have walked into the next village, called in at the Blacksmiths and welded the wheel together again (without any help).
> That's what they used to do
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugène_Christophe


Von Broad, over on yacf, did something very similar on an audax (possibly the BCM) a few years ago. Except i think it was a chainstay.


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## SkipdiverJohn (7 May 2018)

Welsh wheels said:


> What if you're in the middle of nowhere, it's 30 degrees, there's no shade and you've run out of water?



When it's 30 degrees, forget about doing long distance bike rides - it's too flipping hot! Find a nice pub with a shady garden and drink beer instead. Much more enjoyable than sweating buckets & getting sunburnt.....
If you're going out long enough/far away enough from base to get thirsty carry enough water with you. I make a point of gulping down a pint of tap water just before I leave the house if it's warm out and I'm going to ride more than a couple of miles. or walk any distance. Dehydration is far worse than getting hungry.
The name of the game is self-sufficiency - carry enough stuff to keep both you and the bike in operational condition. Don't be blasé and assume you can always summon help, therefore you don't need to be able to fix anything yourself. People with that mindset could find themselves in trouble if they lost or damaged their phone during a ride and also didn't bother to carry any self-help tools & spares.


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## ColinJ (7 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> What on earth happened to the bottom bracket? I wasn't aware that they could suddenly fail catastrophically. Getting back within london never a serious problem of course.


I had a wobbly sealed BB which I kept putting off replacing, but eventually it went almost unuseably wobbly over a couple of miles. I assume that a ball bearing or two must have shattered. Fortunately, I wasn't far from home by then.


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## Blue Hills (7 May 2018)

vickster said:


> Maybe, maybe not
> 
> I’m not so sure why you have such an issue. If it’s not for you, then you don’t have to have it. No skin off my nose if you dont, none off yours if I do



Don't have a personal issue. Nose/s fine. My response above to potentially cute taxi drivers was in response to a post of yours which read simply.

>>Why? I could well get a puncture more than once a year that I can’t (be bothered to) fix 

period.

which had a certain ring to it.

Stuff was added later.

Ride on.


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## Blue Hills (7 May 2018)

ColinJ said:


> I had a wobbly sealed BB which I kept putting off replacing, but eventually it went almost unuseably wobbly over a couple of miles. I assume that a ball bearing or two must have shattered. Fortunately, I wasn't far from home by then.


Was it shimano colin? Only time I have ever had bearings totally collapse was in a Dahon cartridge bearing headset, but that's Dahon for you - that was real wobble - luckily didn't happen going down a mountain.


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## vickster (7 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Don't have a personal issue. Nose/s fine. My response above to potentially cute taxi drivers was in response to a post of yours which read simply.
> 
> >>Why? I could well get a puncture more than once a year that I can’t (be bothered to) fix
> 
> ...


Would you have made the cute taxi driver comment if I was a man?  Or are only women unable to fix stuff or disinterested in doing so?


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## ColinJ (7 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Was it shimano colin? Only time I have ever had bearings totally collapse was in a Dahon cartridge bearing headset, but that's Dahon for you - that was real wobble - luckily didn't happen going down a mountain.


I'm trying to remember which bike it was on ... I _think _it was a road bike, in which case it would have been a Campagnolo BB, but if it was my MTB then it would have been Shimano.


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## nickyboy (8 May 2018)

For mechanicals it's this order for me...

1) Fix it/bodge it. 

2) Walk home or to nearest train station (trouble is I can often be 20 miles from a train station)

3) Phone home and ask nicely for a pick up

4) Phone friend and ask for pick up

5) Phone taxi and stop at ATM to get cashed up


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## PaulSB (8 May 2018)

I’m not good mechanically but carry tubes, multi tool, quick links and zip ties. Much beyond punctures and broken chain and I’m stuck. I do maintain my bikes fastidiously. Always cleaning, lubing etc. and watching for problems while doing this. If I spot anything while doing this or riding I visit my LBS ASAP. I realise people who are mechanically competent will have another view but each to his own for me.

I once had a bottom bracket fail 5-6 miles from home. It was so cold my water bottles froze. I managed to limp home. This aside I’ve never had a failure.

As an alternative to ETA I use Lexham at £15 pa. I haven’t had to call them out but know three people who have successfully used the service. I once called them to discuss the policy, the young woman I spoke to was extremely helpful.

https://www.lexhaminsurance.co.uk/products/cycle-recovery/

Last time I toured in France I found myself on a ridiculously rural and isolated road. Nothing but maize for miles. I hadn’t seen a car for hours. I had also run out of water. I had a “what are you doing” moment (I was 60 at the time) and resolved either to avoid the situation in future or try to find a solution. The only possibility I’ve come up with so far is a GPS tracker which alerts others if there is no movement after a certain period - I do intend to buy one before my next long tour.

I think it’s worth commenting the situation is potentially the same with a car or even walking. If I suffered a car breakdown in an isolated area I could no more fix that than a bike. My bike though does receive far more regular visual inspections than my car!


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2018)

vickster said:


> Or are only women unable to fix stuff or disinterested in doing so?



Nothing in my posts in this thread to suggest I even remotely think such a thing. Or any of my other cchat posts.

You are an individual. And I was replying to a post from you, an individual, which until it was edited by you, simply said:

>>Why? I could well get a puncture more than once a year that I can’t (be bothered to) fix 

Your smiley.

Your choice. As an individual.

This seems to me to be a positive thread and thanks again OP.

I get the feeling from folks' posts that little is likely to be a mega disaster, and the little disasters that we have had are something for us and others to learn from.

What I learned from my Speed Pro experience above?

Don't buy another Dahon, however much fun some can be, thank my lucky stars I never went for the touring version of that bike, even if doing long day rides on it (and I have done some very challenging long day rides on it) never be out of reach of a bail of some sort on that particular bike.

Come to think of it I have had other issues.

Used to lead lots of rides for a local group - on one from London to Brighton my back tyre (not tube) exploded. Very luckily we weren't far from my home (ride had started from north of it) so I borrowed another rider's bike, pedalled home for a spare tyre, fitted and off again.
Lesson learned from this? I tend to wear my tyres to the limit and often check the thread, and always before a day ride. But it's important to check the side walls, which I now understand very often give up the ghost before the running tread.

Another time, riding fully loaded on a 2 to 3 hour ride to catch a fixed time long distance train the front mech cable broke, meaning I had to do the rest of the ride in a 22T granny gear. I could have split the chain and gone fixed (terrain was fairly flat by the time it had happened) but I had sensibly left plenty of time (pats self on the back for my usual caution with transport connections) and so just went in for some intensive spinning for the rest of the trip.

Lesson learned from that? On a tour of any length, take a spare gear cable.

Before my next tour I will definitely look back through this thread for words of wisdom, amongst other things.


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2018)

PaulSB said:


> I think it’s worth commenting the situation is potentially the same with a car or even walking. If I suffered a car breakdown in an isolated area I could no more fix that than a bike. My bike though does receive far more regular visual inspections than my car!



On the positive side, far more chance of fixing/bodging a bike than one of those car things. Hard to think of any way in which a modern car can be "bodged". You seem quite well prepared and the quick links thing is a very good tip for anyone. Recommended. I did a while ago mysteriously have a quick link undo itself (a freak clash with a trailing pannier strap I think) but somewhat to my surprise managed to find the missing bit in the dust. My seatpack puncture kit always has quick links for 8 and 9 speed in it.


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## Cycleops (8 May 2018)

I just call @User43827


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## Alan O (8 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Another time, riding fully loaded on a 2 to 3 hour ride to catch a fixed time long distance train the front mech cable broke, meaning I had to do the rest of the ride in a 22T granny gear.


Or, if you had a suitable screwdriver, adjust the derailleur limit so it stays on a bigger cog?


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2018)

Alan O said:


> Or, if you had a suitable screwdriver, adjust the derailleur limit so it stays on a bigger cog?


Good point Alan 0.

Would have been easier, less messy.

I would have a suitable screwdriver with me - on multitool, or an extra Leatherman type thing I carry on tour.

What an excellent thread it is


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## mjr (8 May 2018)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> If you're going out long enough/far away enough from base to get thirsty carry enough water with you. I make a point of gulping down a pint of tap water just before I leave the house if it's warm out and I'm going to ride more than a couple of miles. or walk any distance. Dehydration is far worse than getting hungry.


A pint of water? Are you trying to fool some "newbs" or do you find peeing yourself before the cafe stop is great for keeping your legs cool?



SkipdiverJohn said:


> The name of the game is self-sufficiency - carry enough stuff to keep both you and the bike in operational condition. Don't be blasé and assume you can always summon help, therefore you don't need to be able to fix anything yourself. People with that mindset could find themselves in trouble if they lost or damaged their phone during a ride and also didn't bother to carry any self-help tools & spares.


There's always going to be something I can't fix (short of riding steel, learning to weld and carrying big kit), so I'd rather have a plan to summon help (a mobile phone and shoes or covers you can walk in to somewhere with signal) as well as tools to fix the small stuff IMO.


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## Ajax Bay (8 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> I would have a suitable screwdriver with me - on multitool, or an extra Leatherman type thing I carry on tour.
> What an excellent thread it is


Not just any old screwdriver: a "suitable screwdriver" - what prescience!
From Bryan Chapman Memorial 600 last year:


Ajax Bay said:


> Broke my front derailleur cable at the start of the descent to Bronllys (65km). Limit screwed it to the middle (42t) ring at the control and bought a replacement at Rhayader (Clive Powell Bikes is just west of crossroads)(109km), and fitted it in a few minutes in the sunshine. Good coffee (and cable snips) too.


Still had ETA recovery insurance in case.
Some things you can't fix eg hanger failure (alloy/carbon bikes, not mine) [so carry a spare], broken crank. A friend snapped his seatpost - couldn't go very far, which was a shame after 1000+k of LEL. Thirsk station was close though.


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2018)

Ajax Bay said:


> Not just any old screwdriver: a "suitable screwdriver" - what prescience!
> .


Not sure I understand your point, unless it is a genuine congratulation for something so basic. Not hard to carry tools to turn all the basic bolts etc on my bike. I do of course always carry a mobile in case of something bad happening to me that might require an ambulance. And energy food on long trips to avoid the bonk. Also a mini screwdriver for adjusting brakes. With V brakes and inserts not hard to carry spare pads.


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## Ajax Bay (8 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Not sure I understand your point,


@night cycler asked: "What is your rescue remedy for cycle breakdowns miles from home?" which you can't fix?
Dodge the question:


Blue Hills said:


> must admit I am finding it hard to think of anything that is likely to totally strand me.


Posters have suggested a few. What is your rescue remedy?
Answer the question:


Blue Hills said:


> call up gf to pick me up


Posit bike failure you couldn't repair on the road:


Blue Hills said:


> had bearings totally collapse [was] in a Dahon cartridge bearing headset


Posit another failure that you should have been able to solve on the road but were 'lucky' to be close to home and have some poor dupe let you borrow his/her bike:


Blue Hills said:


> my back tyre (not tube) exploded. Very luckily we weren't far from my home (ride had started from north of it) so I borrowed another rider's bike, pedalled home for a spare tyre





Blue Hills said:


> Lesson learned from that? On a tour of any length, take a spare gear cable.


With respect, the lesson from your FD cable failure (as a sage told me after my FD cable parted on the BCM 600) is to change your gear cables before a 'tour of any length'.


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2018)

None of those would have totally stranded me, not even the Dahon one really. The bearing collapse was near the place I was staying.

I explained the spoke gf pick-up thing. I have in other circumstances ridden on on that bike with other spoke breakages. Won't bore you with details of that.

And as I said that is a very special case because of the nature of the bike. So I won't be going into super remote areas on it again.

A fair few folks in the nice and very helpful thread have said that they have folk they will consider calling on. It was an all embracing question. And there is no disgrace in that as long as it's not over-used.

I didn't say that that taught me another thing - to use simple bike tech as a nice person above said. I won't bore you with a description of that bike's oddities.

Must admit I find your tone somewhat off and combatative - (shades of the keyboard warrior) though that means I am glad that I asked the question - always good to gain insights into folk.

I won't be changing my gear cables before every big ride as I know that I personally could actually make something worse. But that is your choice. I will of course check them.

As for the "poor dupe" I think you missed the point that I was leading a ride - I used to lead lots. The bike I borrowed was from one of the nice people on the ride. Who definitely didn't feel duped. Wonders of team work eh? We all got to Brighton, not much delayed, and had a very nice day. You have one too.

I led rides for several years - all enjoyable - no one was ever stranded.


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## Blue Hills (8 May 2018)

In connection with above, pics of speed pro on its more adventurous trips, probably before headset wobble and in between multiple rear spoke breakages.

Probably won't be trying this again but would have no worries about doing the trips on my other bikes and getting back - chucked in the hold of a bus if necessary but almost certainly wouldn't be.













Speed pro on top



__ Blue Hills
__ 8 May 2018



















speed pro road



__ Blue Hills
__ 8 May 2018


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## PaulSB (10 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> On the positive side, far more chance of fixing/bodging a bike than one of those car things. Hard to think of any way in which a modern car can be "bodged". You seem quite well prepared and the quick links thing is a very good tip for anyone. Recommended



Thank you. I like to think I’m well prepared for the things I could fix. Other mechanicals, for example replacing a cable or gear adjustment, would be difficult for me in my garage so there’s little point in carrying the kit! Ability to carry out such repairs is a different debate.

Learning from experience is important. Once on tour I lost two small Allen screws from my rack. Zip ties were a temporary fix as far as the nearest LBS. I now carry both screws and small nut and bolts in case the thread has stripped on the frame hole - which has happened to me. Another example would be spare SPD cleat screws. I’ve lost one on three separate occasions.

Where I disagree is on cables. When I go on long tours, not often, to France I would get my cables replaced two weeks ahead of departure and rechecked days before at my LBS.

I think the main point of this discussion is we all have some mechanical knowledge, some greater than others. One should know one’s limits and act accordingly. My solution is to clean and inspect my bikes closely and then act on issues with my LBS. Quite a few minor ones the LBS have taught me how to diagnose and fix!!

What does make me cross is riders who can’t perform or won’t carry the kit for puncture repairs. I know a rider who does this. First time the group helped and someone, not me, “had a word.” Second time he got a bollocking, was given a tube and the group rode off. We were near enough to home to make the point safely. His wife picked him up - that was probably a good conversation.

I would never stereotype on punctures but over the years I’ve known it necessary to encourage female riders to practice tube changing. An hour in the garage practicing with tight modern tyres is invaluable. This plus a Crank Brothers telescopic tyre lever.


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## rivers (10 May 2018)

"Hello wife. My bike is broken can you please pick me up? I will drive us home when you get here and take us somewhere nice"


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## Saluki (10 May 2018)

I need to renew my bike breakdown cover. I have nobody to collect me if I have a bad mechanical so, for the peace of mind, it’s invaluable for me.


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## Saluki (10 May 2018)

rivers said:


> "Hello wife. My bike is broken can you please pick me up? I will drive us home when you get here and take us somewhere nice"


Probably more than £18 a year though.


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## mjr (10 May 2018)

PaulSB said:


> This plus a Crank Brothers telescopic tyre lever.


No longer available and the replacement knuckle duster isn't as good. The Koolstop Bead Jack and VAR tool are alternatives, with Schwalbe or Bontrager lipped levers to get the tyre off. Wider tyres and less sidewall protection are easier to remove, which is part of why I don't think Schwalbe's Plus's sidewall protection is worth it.


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## NorthernDave (10 May 2018)

Well, after all this talk the inevitable happened today.

Out on the Giant as the Pro Carbon is waiting for it's new chain and for the second time in the last 3 rides I got that sinking feeling.
The full tale will appear on 'your ride today', but couldn't get the tyre off the rim at the road side (Park Tools tyre levers indeed...) so had to ring for Mrs ND to do the whole Thunderbird 3 thing.
Thanks to the nice cycling couple and the solo rider who separately asked if they could help, and to the 4 serious looking cyclists who conspicuously looked the other way as they passed, I'm sure you'll get your just rewards.

Anyhow, lesson learned, a pair of Gators have now been ordered and the OE Giant Gavia AC's will be going in the bin.

And Mrs ND enjoyed a slap up lunch at a local restaurant.


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## Blue Hills (10 May 2018)

Will try to pop over to see what the rim problem was - intrigued - have had issues getting tyres back on (can post the solution if anyone interested) but not this. Please put a link to that thread on here as I'm not sure where it is.

As you say, lessons learned.

And I'll add my curse to the serious looking cyclists who passed by - they may get their rewards soon - very possible that they carry minimal kit in order to look cool, and a micro pump that will tear their valves as they try to desperately pump with it.


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## Tim Hall (10 May 2018)

NorthernDave said:


> Well, after all this talk the inevitable happened today.
> 
> Out on the Giant as the Pro Carbon is waiting for it's new chain and for the second time in the last 3 rides I got that sinking feeling.
> The full tale will appear on 'your ride today', but couldn't get the tyre off the rim at the road side (Park Tools tyre levers indeed...) so had to ring for Mrs ND to do the whole Thunderbird 3 thing.
> ...


Rookie error. Thunderbird 2 is the craft of choice for rescue. Thunderbird 3 is mostly used for relieving that tedious twerp in Thunderbird 5.


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## PaulSB (11 May 2018)

I don’t think this would have helped @NorthernDave but a tip for tyre/tube issues.

When you buy a new tube dust it heavily in talc and then wrap in cling film. Putting the tyre back on will be far easier as the talc helps it slip over the rim.


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## swansonj (11 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Nothing in my posts in this thread to suggest I even remotely think such a thing. Or any of my other cchat posts.
> 
> You are an individual. And I was replying to a post from you, an individual, which until it was edited by you, simply said:
> 
> ...


Ironically and no doubt unintendedly, your efforts to disclaim any sexism, in relation to @vickster, are undermined by your use of the term "granny gear". That term is of course deeply embedded within cycling but each of us has a choice whether to go along with that sexism or not.


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## vickster (11 May 2018)

swansonj said:


> Ironically and no doubt unintendedly, your efforts to disclaim any sexism, in relation to @vickster, are undermined by your use of the term "granny gear". That term is of course deeply embedded within cycling but each of us has a choice whether to go along with that sexism or not.


He didn’t bother to explain the cute taxi driver comment either. Ignore button employed


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## Serge (11 May 2018)

NorthernDave said:


> Well, after all this talk the inevitable happened today.
> 
> Out on the Giant as the Pro Carbon is waiting for it's new chain and for the second time in the last 3 rides I got that sinking feeling.
> The full tale will appear on 'your ride today', but couldn't get the tyre off the rim at the road side (Park Tools tyre levers indeed...) so had to ring for Mrs ND to do the whole Thunderbird 3 thing.
> ...


Hmm, I'm starting to panic a bit about getting my super skinny tyres off my new bike now in the event of the inevitable. 

I think a practice change is in order when I get home tonight.


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## Blue Hills (11 May 2018)

swansonj said:


> Ironically and no doubt unintendedly, your efforts to disclaim any sexism, in relation to @vickster, are undermined by your use of the term "granny gear". That term is of course deeply embedded within cycling but each of us has a choice whether to go along with that sexism or not.


There is nothing I would define as sexism in anything I have written in this thread, or any other. Feel free to report me to the mods for using the term "granny gear".
Priceless.


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## swansonj (11 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> There is nothing I would define as sexism in anything I have written in this thread, or any other. Feel free to report me to the mods for using the term "granny gear".
> Priceless.


Are you seriously saying that the term "granny gear" is not sexist?


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## Blue Hills (11 May 2018)

Suggest you put the term into the search box.

Will turn up a multiplicity of occurences from many eminently nice cyclists.

Including this from Vickster in a post from February of this very year:

>>>I actually find my knee hurts more when trying to spin, I find around 70-80rpm with resistance works best...but were all different. I don't find myself spinning up hills much just too heavy




they hurt my knee so I'm riding virtually on the flat currently

Low gearing is certainly something to look for, preferably a triple if possible for the granny gears

I'm hoping a recent steroid injection into the knee settles the pain and swelling down a bit


>>


sorry can't link directly to post. Not techie enough.

but it was in this thread:

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/total-noobie-here.230049/#post-5136257


Now perhaps we can get back to a very interesting/helpful/useful thread with contributions from all - genders, races, religious beliefs and none, sexual preferences and none.


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## Ianboydsnr (11 May 2018)

swansonj said:


> Are you seriously saying that the term "granny gear" is not sexist?



It’s probably more ageist than sexist.


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## swansonj (11 May 2018)

Ianboydsnr said:


> It’s probably more ageist than sexist.


I'd agree that it's both. Either way, it is clearly derogatory and clearly unhelpful, and its prevalent and largely unchallenged use across cycling is evidence of how our activity is shot through with chauvinistic and macho attitudes.


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## Ianboydsnr (11 May 2018)

swansonj said:


> I'd agree that it's both. Either way, it is clearly derogatory and clearly unhelpful, and its prevalent and largely unchallenged use across cycling is evidence of how our activity is shot through with chauvinistic and macho attitudes.


I wouldn’t quite go as far as that,

My wife calls them granny gears and she is 68 with many grandchildren, and I have called them granny gears and I have many grand children, the same ones as my wife,

I don’t really see the derogatory in it, unless someone is using it to be derogatory, and that doesn’t appear to be the case in the times people have used it.


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## Blue Hills (11 May 2018)

Thank you ian and dogtrousers for your brave commonsense.

Am seriously tempted to start a separate thread on the fraught issue of granny gear and sexism (cafe?, Politics?) So
that the rest of us of whatever persuasion can get on with the question of getting out of a cycling pickle (no disrespect to chutneys).


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## swansonj (11 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Thank you ian and dogtrousers for your brave commonsense.
> 
> Am seriously tempted to start a separate thread on the fraught issue of granny gear and sexism (cafe?, Politics?) So
> that the rest of us of whatever persuasion can get on with the question of getting out of a cycling pickle (no disrespect to chutneys).


New thread duly started in case anyone still has the appetite:
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/granny-gear-and-sexism.233918/


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## byegad (15 May 2018)

Serge said:


> Hmm, I'm starting to panic a bit about getting my super skinny tyres off my new bike now in the event of the inevitable.
> 
> I think a practice change is in order when I get home tonight.



HIGHLY recommended if you don't want a nasty roadside surprise!


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## Serge (15 May 2018)

byegad said:


> HIGHLY recommended if you don't want a nasty roadside surprise!


I've just ordered some Pedro's tyre levers to give me a helping hand. 

I haven't dared take the tyres off yet, I need the bike in full working order for the daily commute. I'll be giving it a bash on my first rest day.

It never occurred to me before reading this thread that it'd be any different to removing my fat MTB tyres. You live and learn!


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## mjr (15 May 2018)

Serge said:


> It never occurred to me before reading this thread that it'd be any different to removing my fat MTB tyres. You live and learn!


The main difference is that fat MTB wheels have wide wells in between the bead seats that one side of the tyre bead (the inner circle which is often rigid wire) will drop into pretty easily, allowing the other side to be pulled over the rim. The tyre width and flexibility probably means that the far side's bead doesn't hinder the side you're trying to remove as much, too.

You can still get narrow tyres to drop into the well on narrow rims in a similar way but you have to be more deliberate about it - there are videos out there where people use toe straps or reusable cable ties to hold the bead at the bottom in the well while they seat the top of the bead. Otherwise, you use something like the bead jack that effectively does the same thing with leverage.


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## Blue Hills (15 May 2018)

Thanks folks (of whatever gender, sexual persuasion or whatever)

We are back on topic 

Will start watching and, hell, maybe even contributing, again.

Roll on folks.


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## Randy Butternubs (15 May 2018)

mjr said:


> You can still get narrow tyres to drop into the well on narrow rims in a similar way but you have to be more deliberate about it - there are videos out there where people use toe straps or reusable cable ties to hold the bead at the bottom in the well while they seat the top of the bead. Otherwise, you use something like the bead jack that effectively does the same thing with leverage.



Instead of cable ties or similar you can just hook the tyre lever under one or both sides of the tyre simultaneously and put tension on it as if you were removing the tyre normally. Then with your other hand you can work your way around the wheel, moving the bead into the well by pinching and twisting. The amount of extra give you can get doing this is remarkable.


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## ColinJ (15 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Am seriously tempted to start a separate thread on the fraught issue of granny gear and sexism ...


I am playing safe ... from now on I will refer to it as my gr-_ovelling _gear!


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## Blue Hills (15 May 2018)

ColinJ said:


> I am playing safe ... from now on I will refer to it as my gr-_ovelling _gear!


Next time am up in sane northern parts praps we can jointly run a totally inclusive ride incorporating such approved billing over the beautiful northern hills and valleys.

All the best

p


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## Blue Hills (15 May 2018)

mjr said:


> Tthere are videos out there where people use toe straps or reusable cable ties to hold the bead at the bottom in the well while they seat the top of the bead.


Yes, can't link to at the mo due to oddities of current internet connection. Suggest folks throw "how to fit a marathon plus tyre" into youtube and find the revered colin bearded one. I always carry boot laces after seeing that vid to achieve the same thing.


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## User10119 (15 May 2018)

Blue Hills said:


> Yes, can't link to at the mo due to oddities of current internet connection. Suggest folks throw "how to fit a marathon plus tyre" into youtube and find the revered colin bearded one. I always carry boot laces after seeing that vid to achieve the same thing.


This one?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUFVrl0UT4

Saved my bacon (and my sanity) with a set of 24" marathons once, that did...


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## Blue Hills (15 May 2018)

Yes.
That one.
Thanks.
Saved my sanity and previously bleeding thumbs on a 20 inch tyre. And others.
That god also built the wheels for a bike that, although bought new, would these days be dismissed by some on here as a skipdiver special.

Wheels and bike roll like a dream.

Thanks again for posting link. Recommend everyone watches it.


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## Ajax Bay (14 Jul 2018)

What is your rescue remedy for cycle breakdowns miles from home?
Helping on the Mille Pennines (1000) last weekend, one rider who was going OK at about 650k pulled at his rear pocket, a buff fell out (he'd left in the relative cool of 5am on Day 3 (Sunday), heading from Sedbergh to Robin Hood's Bay). Said buff fell into return run of chain, wrapped into rear mech and ripped it off, breaking a spoke along the way. He tried to single speed it (breaking chain to the selected chain ring / sprocket) but in doing so the chain tried to climb onto the next larger sprocket and jammed completely, to the extent that he could not remove the through axle. Deep in Wensleydale he chose to get a a taxi back the 50k to Sedbergh. I did not ask the cost. The following day he got a lift back to a station. In conversation he'd had 'get ETA recovery plan' on his list of things to do but had 'run out of time' - "please don't tell the better half".
The ETA 'rescue' would have taken him to Richmond to the bike shop there, or to a station (inconveniently east coast line - Northallerton), or back to Sedbergh.


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## jay clock (18 Oct 2020)

overmind said:


> Has anybody ever broken/repaired an axle while out on the road ?


i had a bike I kept at Waterloo to cycle to the office. For several weeks I had what I thought was loose rear cones and turned out the axle had snapped.


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## Saluki (19 Oct 2020)

night cycler said:


> I am 100% with you here Vickster, and *thank you *for sharing this. At £18 it's a no brainer to not have it. Each to their own methods, but I will certainly sign up.


I have been with them for years. Used them once for a broken spoke (Mavic wheels) very happy to pay them annually for peace of mind. I cycle alone, a lot.


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## al78 (19 Oct 2020)

night cycler said:


> Unless it's a taxi whereby the rear seats go flat , how does it work - just curious



You tell the taxi firm you wish to transport a bicycle and ask them if they can supply a vehicle capable of doing this.


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## byegad (19 Oct 2020)

Being a recumbent trike rider (No catching a bus or taking a taxi with them!).
I pay the ETA a modest sum each Yr to recover me and the trike in extremis. I once cracked a seat on the Kettwiesel and luckily Lady Byegad could bring my car, it wouldn't go into hers, and we squeezed it, me and her into the car to get home. I was an ETA member at the time so could have used them but I was only 8 miles from home and it preserved my no claims. Sadly after Lady Byegad's brain abscess she can't drive at the moment, and possibly never will again, so the ETA is a Good Choice.


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## Drago (19 Oct 2020)

If I get a puncture i wait until some chick in a sporty car hoves into view then I flash a bit of knee.


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## rogerzilla (19 Oct 2020)

Hide bike in a hedge and call a taxi.

I have always managed to fix stuff on the road, except when I was about 11 and literally ripped a huge flap out of the tread of my rear tyre while avoiding a bunch of errant chickens. It must have been a really bad tyre.


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## cougie uk (19 Oct 2020)

Or just get the taxi firm to send a car that will take your bike ? I'd not be hiding mine in any hedges.


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## bruce1530 (19 Oct 2020)

al78 said:


> You tell the taxi firm you wish to transport a bicycle and ask them if they can supply a vehicle capable of doing this.


Many taxi firms will have a sufficiently varied fleet (or be able to call on other drivers) to accommodate things like wheelchairs and prams. A bike shouldn’t be too much of a problem.


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## Juan Kog (19 Oct 2020)

Drago said:


> If I get a puncture i wait until some chick in a sporty car hoves into view then I flash a bit of knee.


You're a smooth old rascal, I wish I had your style and charisma.


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## mjr (20 Oct 2020)

Juan Kog said:


> You're a smooth old rascal, I wish I had your style and charisma.


I think it's more likely that he's a repeat winner of the Skegness knobbly knees competition and they stop their cars because they're marvelling that anyone with knees like that can pedal a bicycle...


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## Paulus (20 Oct 2020)

Juan Kog said:


> You're a smooth old rascal, I wish I had your style and charisma.


They probably take pity on such an old fool acting up on the side of the road. Style and charisma has nothing to do with it.


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## Ming the Merciless (20 Oct 2020)

Drago said:


> If I get a puncture i wait until some chick in a sporty car hoves into view then I flash a bit of knee.



Problem is @Accy cyclist always seems to be flashing a bit of cheek 400m up the road on a blind bend. So all the chicks in sporty cars are swerving into the ditch.


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## dodgy (20 Oct 2020)

I've been with ETA Insurance for a few years and this thread prompted me to take a close look at the currently offered cover, here it is:



We will pay for transport for you and your bicycle to
the nearest
• Railway station
• Bicycle repair shop
• Car hire agency
• Hotel accommodation
• Your vehicle
or
• Your home if it is closer
 
I'm sure when it first came out they'd get you to your home up to 25 miles away, but now you're likely to find yourself dumped at a hotel or car hire agency amongst others. Seems like home is the last choice and only then if it's closest.


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## dodgy (20 Oct 2020)

Actually, you could just be asked to be taken to your vehicle, for me that just happens to be my home


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## Ajax Bay (21 Oct 2020)

Another content ETA policy holder here (not yet used, thankfully). Risk mitigation.
"We undertake to pay for the transport of the bicycle and you (if appropriate) to: • the nearest appropriate railway station; or,• the nearest suitable bicycle repair shop; or,• the nearest car rental agency; or,• the nearest hotel accommodation; or,• your vehicle; or, • home, if nearer."


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## mustang1 (21 Oct 2020)

Usually a train station or walk but I have not been too far from base lately.


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## Oldhippy (21 Oct 2020)

Legs to nearest train station.


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## snorri (21 Oct 2020)

My imaginary piece of lucky white heather has served me well from Akureyri to Zetel, and further afield.


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## matticus (21 Oct 2020)

Oldhippy said:


> Legs to nearest train station.


trains+bikes are getting harder every year in the UK - especially without a booking.


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## Blue Hills (21 Oct 2020)

Dogtrousers said:


> True of inter-city type routes but I find where I cycle (Kent, Surrey, Sussex) I can rock up at a station and just get on a train (engineering works permitting).


tis true in the south, somewhat more problematical in the north for over half a century.
My worst ever incident strangely was on a london local shopping trip just days ago - tube blew and with it took the tyre off the wire beading - no way of fixing that - was but just a short walk to get a direct overground to my local station.
My other big incident was also local london - a sidewall blew when I was leading a ride London to Brighton. Happened just a few miles from home so I was able to borrow a bike from one of my faithful/foolish followers, pedal home to my garage and return with a new tyre.
Me (and London) I think have a guardian angel.


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## pjd57 (25 Oct 2020)

Most of my cycling is in or around Glasgow , so I won't use the ETA insurance if there's a problem.
Walking to the nearest train station is probably a quicker option.
A couple of times over the years I've just stopped a black cab and got in with my bike.
Home in minutes.

But I do keep the ETA policy going for the occasional venture into the countryside


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## overmind (29 Oct 2020)

Shanks's Pony.

https://wordhistories.net/2016/07/05/shanks-pony/

*edit:* I always look on a puncture as an opportunity to learn something. One time, it motivated me to get some better tyres (upgrade from some generic decathlon ones to schwalbe marathons). Another time I decided to give tyre liners a try; with very good results.

I wrote a thread about it: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/in-praise-of-tyre-liners.230726/

I remember walking several miles in cycling shoes (fortunately I had the mountain bike recessed cleat type so I was able to walk; if I had had the keo grip type I would have been a bit stuffed). Another time, I spent 30 mins in a ditch in the rain in the middle of the berkshire countryside with a patch kit.


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## weareHKR (29 Oct 2020)

A phone call to the wife...


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## TempleDancer (29 Oct 2020)

Chuck it in ditch and find the nearest pub.


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## Holio cornolio (29 Oct 2020)

999. Just break an ankle or similar non essential bone and then call for an ambulance. Problem solved. I did recently ride 90 minutes home on a total flat due to a combination of catastrophic puncture and having failed to pack a hand pump. I managed a partial repair with a tyre worm but of the 3 co2 cannisters that I had with me, I wasted 2 finding out that the sidewall had a 5p size rip in it, and by rationing the final cannister I managed to get another 5 miles before the tyre totally flatted. I doubt I will ever forget the hand pump again. Thankfully, being a tubeless evangelist, the tyre bead stayed seated in the rim so despite a tyre write off, the rim rolled about 10 additional miles with no damage to the rim.


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## Landsurfer (29 Oct 2020)

Get married to a woman who can drive .... she comes and gets you ... demands bottle of Jammy Red wine in payment ... win win !!


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## Oldhippy (29 Oct 2020)

On the one occasion I had a non repairable puncture I pulled the tube out and stuffed the tyre full of grass. It got me home.


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## overmind (29 Oct 2020)

Oldhippy said:


> On the one occasion I had a non repairable puncture I pulled the tube out and stuffed the tyre full of grass. It got me home.



Wow. Very ingenious; I like that.


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## Mo1959 (30 Oct 2020)

Oldhippy said:


> On the one occasion I had a non repairable puncture I pulled the tube out and stuffed the tyre full of grass. It got me home.


Heard of that one before. Glad to hear it worked.

I don't really have anyone I can call and Crieff doesn't have a train station so it would have to be a taxi.


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## IaninSheffield (30 Oct 2020)

I wonder if there's a case to be made for setting up a national network of cycle recovery 'friends'? Folks who, if available, might be able to answer calls from fellow cyclists in need. Similar to Air BnB/Warmshowers, but more like the AA/RAC?
Less useful if you're on a day ride maybe, but whilst away on a tour ...


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## Cymro74 (30 Oct 2020)

In the 80s as a teenager this never occurred to me when living in North Wales. This was partly because there was never plan B anyway as there were no trains or towns etc to rely on. My falcon tourer felt bullet proof, and even when I had punctures I could keep pumping the tyre till I got home. Not sure if I was lucky or whether bikes were stronger.


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## rockyroller (21 Nov 2020)

Mo1959 said:


> a taxi


👍 I've used a taxi on 2 occasions, when family members were not available. on one occasion I stuck my thumb out & hitched a ridr w/ a stranger!


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## Gravity Aided (1 Dec 2020)

Oldhippy said:


> On the one occasion I had a non repairable puncture I pulled the tube out and stuffed the tyre full of grass. It got me home.


I did that as well, luckily, the verge had just been mown, and I was able to stuff a great deal of grass or weeds into my tire. Finely milled by the time I got home.


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## RichardB (1 Dec 2020)

Most of my rides are within a rural area (mainly farmland) with zero public transport. I take the usual small tools and I'm confident I can fix most things by the side of the road. I always carry a decent lock as well. If the worst happens, I'll find a field gate, hide the bike somewhere and lock it securely. Then hitch or walk and come back in the car.

One bit of advice I had from a long-distance guy - if you ever anticipate the possibility of a long walk with the bike, take a pedal spanner with you and remove the nearside pedal. Makes a long walk with the bike MUCH easier.


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