Basic tools for touring

[Andy in Germany]

Quite. And for the same reason I don’t take a mallet for my tent stakes. Mostly you can do this with your shoe, but it’s my way of going over to other campers and breaking the ice by asking to borrow theirs. Sometimes the cultural and social aspect of touring is the biggest part. Invites to supper and coffee happen you know.

But that would mean talking to people I don't know. I'm on holiday for goodness sake...

 

[Andy in Germany]

Good tip on the oily rag

There's a potential market there for pre oiled rags...

Reminds me. What sort of Chain lube?

I appreciate this will get me branded as a heretic because it's almost as controversial as H*lm*ts but I generally use WD40, as everything else seemed to act like a glue for road dirt and crud. What do people recommend?

 

[raleighnut]

This is another issue I've never had, despite having a pretty heavily loaded Xtracycle at times. What causes a broken spoke?

I've also been fairly cautious about using a spoke key without some kind of tool to tell me what is happening in the wheel when I turn it. How do you tighten spokes without turing the wheel into a Pretzel?



You're assuming I have money...

In rural Japan (and to some extent rural Germany) credit cards are often not accepted, Japan is especially difficult as they really don't like anything bar Visa and American Express and we have a European Maestro, so I'll have to carry a 'float'.



Sounds like there's an interesting story behind this discovery.



I'll look for that, thanks.



They're what we use every day, so I figured why change what works? I find that the steel frames and smaller wheels are pretty solid for regular riding in poor conditions.

They are getting some modifications though...



Dismantling and reassembling will be part of the plan: something will go wrong at some point and require improvisation, I just want to be sure it's something I can improvise, especially as we'll be riding from the ferry port so we'll have to build the bikes there and then or walk 40k

As to pumps, tell me about it: as a child our family pump was terrible and I spent many years riding on saggy tyres.

Thanks for the remioder that I need to get Panniers: Xtracycles don't use them...



That's my basic principle as well...



Oooo. Nice. May fall foul of Japanese knife regulatuions though, and what is the knife for, cutting fresh meat? How would you sharpen the blade?



If only...



That's a good starter... I generally carry some good chord when riding, the one that lives in the Bakfiets is rated for 500kg. Possibly overkill there, but still. I'll make sure I have several lengths of thin 25-50kg chord when touring.

Slightly off topic but what is a good cable cutter, for inner or outer cables?

The screwdriver bit holder/knives on mine lock at the fully extended point then fold 180 degrees back into the handle, also with being a standard bit holder it will accept Allen key/Torx bits.

 

[tom73]

Not done any touring but plenty of walking and day's out in out the way placers. I never go without a my good old Swiss Army knife. Save me a few times inc on holiday. Can't help think it would be handy when touring.
I did come access this the other day looked a handy thing to have too. https://full-windsor.co.uk/collections/frontpage/products/the-muncher-titanium-multi-utensil
They do a few other nice looking stuff too.

 

[8mph]

Reminds me. What sort of Chain lube?

As a rule, I would use wet lube if it's going to be wet and dry lube if it's dusty or sandy. I've over oiled the chain only to pick up a load of sand before which I hope to avoid repeating as it's not possible to clean off by the side of the road, even with WD40 and a rag.

 

[mjr]

Not done any touring but plenty of walking and day's out in out the way placers. I never go without a my good old Swiss Army knife. Save me a few times inc on holiday. Can't help think it would be handy when touring.

There's a thread in another forum about knives being confiscated from cycle tourists at ports. Didn't happen to me last time: we were waved into the security post, made to park up and walk through a scanner arch, then told to ride on. No-one checked the bikes at all. (Previous times, we've been directed to bypass the security shed.)

 

[mjr]

I appreciate this will get me branded as a heretic because it's almost as controversial as H*lm*ts but I generally use WD40, as everything else seemed to act like a glue for road dirt and crud. What do people recommend?

I mostly use TF2 lately.

There is a WD40-branded chain lube. I wouldn't use the regular spray can because it seemed to act like a glue for road dirt and crud, but local conditions vary. The only thing worse was when I used GT85 and I could hear a scraping noise immediately, until I applied a real lube. I guess any lubricating effect of GT85 was insufficient for that bike.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Just checked Knife laws for Japan:

Japan
Any fixed knife containing a blade length of 15 cm or more requires permission from the prefectural public safety commission in order to possess. Permission requirements also apply to any type of pocket knife over 6 cm (including Automatic Knives), spears over 15 cm in blade length, and Japanese glaves.[32] All knives with a blade length over 8 cm are prohibited from being carried, under a crime law,[33] with an exception for carrying for duty or other justifiable reasons. Possession is considered a petty crime and is not usually punishable by prison time. However, in cases where assault occurs with the knife, there is a penalty of up to 2 years prison or up to a ¥300000 fine. Folding knives with a blade length less than 8 cm (such as Swiss Army knives) are permitted, while SAK with a lock blade are prohibited from being carried.

 

[tom73]

There's a thread in another forum about knives being confiscated from cycle tourists at ports. Didn't happen to me last time: we were waved into the security post, made to park up and walk through a scanner arch, then told to ride on. No-one checked the bikes at all. (Previous times, we've been directed to bypass the security shed.)

Good pt can see it benign issue at ports. My mind is on touring here so not thought about that. Then again anything they don't like the look of and they can take it off you. So you just don't know what's best sometimes and as you pt out it can be very hit and miss.

 

[tom73]

@Andy in Germany sounds about the same general knife laws as here in the uk covering carrying of them in public places.

 

[MichaelW2]

In addition to the bike specific tools I carry a mini leatherman. They have full size needle nose pliers with sharp cable cutters, a metal file, small knife blade and some kind of can opener thing. Having a "dirty" blade is useful if you like to cook with a clean one.
Mini Leathermans have a handle that folds in half lengthwise. Currently out of production, about £70 if you can find one. Maybe the Squirt will suffice.
Prep your bike with anti-rotation star washers on the racks. Bolts can back out under stress.
replace at least two of your short waterbottle cage M5 bolts with long ones for rack replacement.
Take a bit of wire (for holding stuff under tension), some cable ties, a meter or so of duck tape, spare brake and gear inner cables, a cut down old toothbrush, a piece of rag and small amount of hand cleanser (freebee stuff at shows) . I carry some little freebie bike grease pods
You should carry a small bottle of bike lube. You can generally extract enough petrol or diesel from a nozzle to clean your chain.

 

[tyred]

Apart from the obvious things like puncture repair kit, chain tool and a few spare links, spoke wrench and a few allen keys or spanners depending on what holds your particular bike together, a roll of electrical insulating tape has many potential uses and those little bottles in which e-cigarette liquid are sold in can be filled with oil, takes up little space and has an excellent dropper for lubing a chain or anything else you might need to add a few drops of oil to. Anyone who uses an e-cig should be happy to give you a few empty ones. A pair of small pliers can make it easy to remove the thorn or whatever sharp object caused the puncture.

 

[Blue Hills]

A pair of small pliers can make it easy to remove the thorn or whatever sharp object caused the puncture.

I use a swiss army knife for those duties.Flat screwdriver bit for easing out most things.

 

[MichaelW2]

Some one asked about spoke failure and repair. I forgot to mention that I carry a roadside cassette removal tool (nbt2).
Spokes can fail if your chain falls onto them and gouges the metal. Extra thick touring spokes resist this better than thinner racing style spokes.
Most spoke breakage is rear wheel drive side.
Only a special tool can remove the cassette of rear sprockets.
Spoke replacement is easy but getting the tension correct and keeping the wheel round takes some fine tuning with the spoke key but no other tools.

 

[Blue Hills]

Some one asked about spoke failure and repair. I forgot to mention that I carry a roadside cassette removal tool (nbt2).
Spokes can fail if your chain falls onto them and gouges the metal. Extra thick touring spokes resist this better than thinner racing style spokes.
Most spoke breakage is rear wheel drive side.
Only a special tool can remove the cassette of rear sprockets.
Spoke replacement is easy but getting the tension correct and keeping the wheel round takes some fine tuning with the spoke key but no other tools.

Have you used it?

Is it easy to use?

Can only be used on steel frames with an integrated hanger as I understand it - but then that's all I have these days.

Is there any chance of damaging the hanger, particularly if you are prone to tighten things a lot?

Re spoke breakages from the chain going in, see the thread I started a while ago on the plastic protector thingies - my expedition bike has one one and it will be staying there - very seriously thinking of getting another two for two of my other bikes that may see touring duties at some time.