m o b
Speeding Up
- Jun 22, 2008
- 341
- 23
I would be interested to hear some opinions from the TCC members what they take with them in terms of tools/repair kits on day rides. Don't bother to write about sun screen, rain jackets, power jelly, lights or other auxiliary stuff.
Here are some of my thoughts :
I think the most important things you needs are some very basic tools if you have mechanical troubles and something to repair flat tires.
Mechanical troubles means in most of the cases adjustment of the brakes shifters, derailers, saddle height and NOT to de-assemble and grease your bottom bracket. So a simple multi-tool such as :
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/tol139.html
A 4 and 5 mm hex key and a plus and minus driver solve most issue on the road, everything else is luxury. So one doesn't need this:
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/tol113.html
And also this one is light :
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/tol127.html
But unpractical, because there is no leverage.
At home I have better and more practical tools for repair and moreover, being in the saddle bag, things tend to get rusty, so it is even better to buy something cheaper than Topeak.
Next thing is tire repair, I have tubes, so I will focus on this. I always have a spare tube with me, sometimes the one I have repaired the last time. Then I pack two levers to take the tires from the rim. A lot of people can do without, but I feel at least better if I have the levers with me. Two things are important I guess:
1. They should be light and made out of plastic, so that they don't scratch the rim and don't ruin the tube if you do something stupid.
2. They should have a slit on the backside so that you can fix one with the spokes and work with the other one.
So for example like this one:
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/rebuildkit.html
[see below top018 and top019]
Of course instead I own a pair of very good looking levers made from aircraft grade aluminium which do have scratched my rims and are very mendokusai to use. But they look perfect.
To get air into the tire there are two alternatives: pump or valve plus cartridge. I prefer the cartridges. Yes, this is expensive, but fast and also a lot of fun. I always have the valve plus two cartridges with me and that proved enough in most of the cases. One cartridge is good enough for one and a half tire, as long as there is not too much time between the two tires.
Apart from the "expensive" argument, there is nothing disadvantageous to be said about the cartridge solution. OK, sometimes it seems that the cartridges explode when under extreme heat and sometimes the valves simply blows up (happened to me), but apart from that ...
A hand pump doesn't fit in the saddlebag, unless the saddle bag is very big or the pump very small, both not very attractive or functional solutions.
Finally, what concerns me most is that I have more than one puncture on a bike during one ride. Like when someone is riding over the rainbow bridge ....So I like to have some patches with me.
I dislike the standard patches, where you have to roughen the surface first with a small patch of sand paper, then put this slimy gum gore on the tube and then attach the patch to that. I don't know why, but the only thing I achieve with this is to glue my fingers thoroughly together. Even after pressing my fingers on the patch for an hour there is still air coming out when checking.
I am pretty sure that this is due to the fact that I have rather two left wings than two left hands and all other TCC rider can do that perfectly blindfolded.
But is there something you can recommend?
I use this one now, what do you hink, is there something better?
http://www.joint-cycle.com/joint/7.1/tl-pana-easyp/
Finally there is the bag itself. I use this one :
http://www.topeak.jp/bag/bag181.html
Because it is small, light, one can attach a rear light to it, it has an extra part for keys, 3M reflective strip and looks good. I would love to have this in orange though.
I was a little bit sceptical about the adaptor first, but it is very practical, so I can easily remove this one for races from the bike. Much better than having velcrom stripes.
So please let me know, what else do I need or to I need to improve. Any good ideas?
And that's it
Here are some of my thoughts :
I think the most important things you needs are some very basic tools if you have mechanical troubles and something to repair flat tires.
Mechanical troubles means in most of the cases adjustment of the brakes shifters, derailers, saddle height and NOT to de-assemble and grease your bottom bracket. So a simple multi-tool such as :
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/tol139.html
A 4 and 5 mm hex key and a plus and minus driver solve most issue on the road, everything else is luxury. So one doesn't need this:
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/tol113.html
And also this one is light :
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/tol127.html
But unpractical, because there is no leverage.
At home I have better and more practical tools for repair and moreover, being in the saddle bag, things tend to get rusty, so it is even better to buy something cheaper than Topeak.
Next thing is tire repair, I have tubes, so I will focus on this. I always have a spare tube with me, sometimes the one I have repaired the last time. Then I pack two levers to take the tires from the rim. A lot of people can do without, but I feel at least better if I have the levers with me. Two things are important I guess:
1. They should be light and made out of plastic, so that they don't scratch the rim and don't ruin the tube if you do something stupid.
2. They should have a slit on the backside so that you can fix one with the spokes and work with the other one.
So for example like this one:
http://www.topeak.jp/tool/rebuildkit.html
[see below top018 and top019]
Of course instead I own a pair of very good looking levers made from aircraft grade aluminium which do have scratched my rims and are very mendokusai to use. But they look perfect.
To get air into the tire there are two alternatives: pump or valve plus cartridge. I prefer the cartridges. Yes, this is expensive, but fast and also a lot of fun. I always have the valve plus two cartridges with me and that proved enough in most of the cases. One cartridge is good enough for one and a half tire, as long as there is not too much time between the two tires.
Apart from the "expensive" argument, there is nothing disadvantageous to be said about the cartridge solution. OK, sometimes it seems that the cartridges explode when under extreme heat and sometimes the valves simply blows up (happened to me), but apart from that ...
A hand pump doesn't fit in the saddlebag, unless the saddle bag is very big or the pump very small, both not very attractive or functional solutions.
Finally, what concerns me most is that I have more than one puncture on a bike during one ride. Like when someone is riding over the rainbow bridge ....So I like to have some patches with me.
I dislike the standard patches, where you have to roughen the surface first with a small patch of sand paper, then put this slimy gum gore on the tube and then attach the patch to that. I don't know why, but the only thing I achieve with this is to glue my fingers thoroughly together. Even after pressing my fingers on the patch for an hour there is still air coming out when checking.
I am pretty sure that this is due to the fact that I have rather two left wings than two left hands and all other TCC rider can do that perfectly blindfolded.
But is there something you can recommend?
I use this one now, what do you hink, is there something better?
http://www.joint-cycle.com/joint/7.1/tl-pana-easyp/
Finally there is the bag itself. I use this one :
http://www.topeak.jp/bag/bag181.html
Because it is small, light, one can attach a rear light to it, it has an extra part for keys, 3M reflective strip and looks good. I would love to have this in orange though.
I was a little bit sceptical about the adaptor first, but it is very practical, so I can easily remove this one for races from the bike. Much better than having velcrom stripes.
So please let me know, what else do I need or to I need to improve. Any good ideas?
And that's it