Leodis
Veteran
- Location
- Moortown, Leeds
Option 6: Always make sure you have a Taxi company number!!
How do you make sure you get home?
- Thread starter Quiet man
- Start date
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Option 6: Always make sure you have a Taxi company number!!
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
It goes between the inner and outer tubes, often with just the pressure of the inner tube keeping it in place, but you can add a dab of glue to keep it in place.
rollinstok
Well-Known Member
- Location
- morecambe
In my seatpost bag/rucksack/pannier..
For day rides....spare tube, instant patches, minipump(tiny), co2 pump+2 cartridges, topeak multitool inc chaintool, spare chain link, spoke wrench.
For touring the list dramatically increases but not to numbnuts extremes !! ( surely doesnt take all that for a day ride ? )
+1 for never letting Halfords near my bike
+1 for taking some cash for emergency rail/taxi
For day rides....spare tube, instant patches, minipump(tiny), co2 pump+2 cartridges, topeak multitool inc chaintool, spare chain link, spoke wrench.
For touring the list dramatically increases but not to numbnuts extremes !! ( surely doesnt take all that for a day ride ? )
+1 for never letting Halfords near my bike
+1 for taking some cash for emergency rail/taxi
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
+1 Blimey !
- Location
- Glasgow
I carry some of that, mostly for other cyclists if they need help .... no way I'm gonna stand at the side of the road PUMPING
.... TAXI!!
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
As for teh original question
Halfords sell some decent bikes.
They charge enormous amounts for servicing.
Their turnaround times are horrendous.
You're lucky if you don't get some spotty hammer wielding oik working on your pride and joy.
So.
You owe it to yourself to learn how to do basic maintenance. A bike that is fettled regularly will never actually need "servicing" per se, as routine maintenance and checking will mean all the niggles are ironed out as soon as they are noticed. If you keep the bike clean and check cables for lube and fraying once a week, you'll spot when they need doing. There's no mystery to changing cables, or adjusting gears so they index properly, but you do need to learn how to do it.
A basic survival kit would be tyre levers, patch kit, tubes, pump, chain tool and a couple of powerlinks, 4mm, 4.5mm and 5mm allen keys, pair of pliers. Learn how to use those, and how to bodge a single gear in case you wreck your rear mech or a cable snaps and you'll never be stuck again.
Halfords sell some decent bikes.
They charge enormous amounts for servicing.
Their turnaround times are horrendous.
You're lucky if you don't get some spotty hammer wielding oik working on your pride and joy.
So.
You owe it to yourself to learn how to do basic maintenance. A bike that is fettled regularly will never actually need "servicing" per se, as routine maintenance and checking will mean all the niggles are ironed out as soon as they are noticed. If you keep the bike clean and check cables for lube and fraying once a week, you'll spot when they need doing. There's no mystery to changing cables, or adjusting gears so they index properly, but you do need to learn how to do it.
A basic survival kit would be tyre levers, patch kit, tubes, pump, chain tool and a couple of powerlinks, 4mm, 4.5mm and 5mm allen keys, pair of pliers. Learn how to use those, and how to bodge a single gear in case you wreck your rear mech or a cable snaps and you'll never be stuck again.
jdtate101
Ex-Fatman
- Location
- Boring Birmingham
It's like a small square of rubber from the tube. I just glue it over the larger hole in the outer tyre (on the inside of the tyre), then inflate with a regular inner tube, but to a much lower pressure (say 70psi). It's purely an emergency measure to get me home in case the tyre has a larger tear in it. I have had tyres damaged before by potholes and this cheap method has saved me from a long walk home on more than one occasion.
The best way is to give your bike a good going over fairly frequently, its much better to spot a potential problem before hitting the road.
Next up is to bring tools out with you. Tubes, allen keys, screw drivers, chain tool, tweezers and spare links, could even bring a roll of cable. That way most minor things can be fixed road side.
Finally, train stations are your friend.
Seriously! You might aswell keeping mountain rescue on call everytime you go mountain biking. All I take is a pump and a puncture repair kit. I dont even take that when I use my road bike, altho I do plan to fit puncture repair kit to it eventually.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
What, seriously!
The most likely problems are not showstoppers (all these have been successfully coped with by me and/or my riding companions)
- Puncture(s) - after finding and removing offending sharp object(s), replace tube(s) with spare(s).
- Subsequent punctures - after finding and removing offending sharp object(s), repair tube(s) using patch(es) from kit, then replace.
- Broken gear cable/shifter - convert bike to singlespeed for ride home.
- Broken brake cable - still have 1 brake; proceed with caution!
- Damaged tyre - I used to bodge repair with gaffa tape, but recently have been carrying an old tyre folded in my backpack so swap to that.
- Broken chain - use chain splitter on multitool to remove broken links and rejoin with SRAM powerlink.
- Buckled wheel - retrue as much as possible using spoke key on multitool. If necessary, widen/remove brake and/or remove mudguard. More severely damaged wheel, limp to railway station. I had to do that on a forum ride to Blackpool. I was about 35 miles from home/12 miles from Blackpool when a spoke went in my rear wheel. My 24-spoke wheel went so badly out of true that I didn't want to risk messing with the other spokes or riding the full distance home. I took the rear mudguard and brake off and managed to ride with care to Blackpool North station and caught the train home. I now carry a spare drive-side spoke taped to my seatstay so if it happens again, I'll be able to repair it. (It's nearly always drive-side rear spokes that go.)
- Broken crank/pedal - a serious problem, but I broke a crank once and rode 5 miles home pedalling with one leg! Remember - it is also possible to use your bike as a scooter! 10 miles would be a pain. Much more than that and I'd probably be mono-pedalling/scooting to the nearest railway station.
- freehub dies (won't drive wheel) - if you can't persuade it to start working again, use your bike as a scooter!
- Broken saddle - take saddle off and discard properly in a waste bin (I'm assuming that you are not going to try and get it repaired). Lower seat post to avoid impromptu rectal surgery. Stand up for ride home.
- Broken seatpost clamp - take saddle off and carry in back pocket or bag. Lower seat post to avoid impromptu rectal surgery. Stand up for ride home.
- Broken seatpost - if enough post is left, lower what is left until a safe amount of post is inside the seat tube. Your position will now be very wrong so stand up a lot. Sit down to freewheel and save your legs.
- Totally wrecked wheel
- Broken frame
- Broken forks
- Broken handlebars
- Broken stem
- Significant injury
- Significant illness
Pedal pusher
Veteran
- Location
- Alloa
And it weighs how much!!!!!!
totallyfixed
Veteran
- Location
- The only county without a McDonalds
Now now, better safe than sorry. that's just for nipping down to the shops. I'm waiting to see the list for long distance stuff of more than a hour or so. Spare bike maybe?
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I did think it looked an awfully long list, but actually, I carry most of that stuff too!
Plus ... GPS, Camera, mini-tripod, printed map of route if I don't know it and there isn't anyone with a backup GPS riding with me.
BrumJim
Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
- Location
- Selly Oak, Birmingham
What, seriously!
Genuine showstoppers requiring lift/taxi/walk/ambulance/train/helicopter ... :
- Totally wrecked wheel
- Broken frame
- Broken forks
- Broken handlebars
- Broken stem
- Significant injury
- Significant illness
I'd like to add broken pedal spindle to that list. From experience!
