What essential kit should I take on a ride?

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I’ve had my bike for almost a year now and am a few miles off hitting 3,000 if I can cover another 25 miles or so by Friday.

I always carry a spare tube, puncture kit, tyre levers and pump. The inevitable happened this morning and I had to get my wife to pick me up in the Land Rover so I could get home and change before work.

I had thought I could change the tube and continue my ride to work, but it took ages so I abandoned the idea. But, having changed the tube and pumped it up, the tyre came off the rim as the tube was too low a pressure.

The pump I have is a small one (track pump at home) and it’s not very good at putting much air into the tyre.

What should I be doing? Changing the tube was hard work, and it was grim to see that the tyre had come off again as I hadn’t been able to inflate it properly.

What is the best kit for this type of situation in the future?
 
You should be able to change the inner tube and pump it up again with the equipment you have. Does your pump have a pressure indicator - make sure you get s decent pressure before you set off.
Either the pump is rubbish or the valve on the tube is blocked somehow. I would suggest practising changing it at home a few times to get the hang of it. It is easier to get your technique sorted in the garden with a cuppa - or in the kitchen - than by the side of a road in the rain!

I have also found that it if you have goo (tyre sealant - like Slime) then it if best to pump the tyre up with the valve at the top (or as near as you can get) so that the goo moves to the bottom - other wise it get gum things up a bit sometimes.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
Oh dear, you seem to be getting into a bit of bother with tube changing. Practice makes perfect so try it a few times at home, should come naturally after a while.
Sounds like you need a small high capacity pump, I'm sure there'll be plenty of recommendations.
Good luck.
 

Kajjal

Guru
Location
Wheely World
Better pumps have a rated pressure they will inflate up to, very cheap pumps tend to fail easily and not pump up to higher pressures.

To get tyre on again this is good advice as are similar clips , no need for the straps. To get a tyre off deflate ,move it into the middle of the rim and it should come off easily. Moving the tyre to the middle of the rim means it is slacker when you first try to get it off and then it just comes off easily.

 

Dwn

Senior Member
As well as a replacement tube and patches I carry a Lezyne pump which attaches to one of the bottle cages, a multi tool, and a couple of pedro’s tyre levers.

It’s interesting that you mention difficulty changing the tube over. Some combinations of rims and tyres just don’t seem to work well together when it comes to ease of removal. I’ve this week changed the tyres on two of my bikes. The Mavic Aksium rims (not tubeless read) and Continental GP5000 tyres were easy - no need to use the levers. The Fulcrum (tubeless ready) rims and Vittoria tyres were murder - I hate to think of making a change in the middle of nowhere, with rain teeming down.

In your case, maybe it isn’t technique but just poor compatibility between the rims and the tyres.
 
OP
OP
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Scotty55

Guest
As well as a replacement tube and patches I carry a Lezyne pump which attaches to one of the bottle cages, a multi tool, and a couple of pedro’s tyre levers.

It’s interesting that you mention difficulty changing the tube over. Some combinations of rims and tyres just don’t seem to work well together when it comes to ease of removal. I’ve this week changed the tyres on two of my bikes. The Mavic Aksium rims (not tubeless read) and Continental GP5000 tyres were easy - no need to use the levers. The Fulcrum (tubeless ready) rims and Vittoria tyres were murder - I hate to think of making a change in the middle of nowhere, with rain teeming down.

In your case, maybe it isn’t technique but just poor compatibility between the rims and the tyres.

You want to see my efforts at anything manual before casting doubt on the components. I'm completely clear where the fault lies....
 
What about measuring the pressure as I pump?
Use your thumb.
I presume you test your tyres regularly before you start riding?????
If you do you know how hard they are.
Even if you only pump up to 60 psi or so that is enough to comfortably get you home.....unless you've other problems with tyre and/or rim.

It isn't an exact science.
 
OP
OP
S

Scotty55

Guest
Thanks for the replies. Any recommendations as to a decent inner tube? I'm running 29" x 2.25" Maxis tyres on a MTB.
 
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roubaixtuesday

self serving virtue signaller
I’ve had my bike for almost a year now and am a few miles off hitting 3,000 if I can cover another 25 miles or so by Friday.

I always carry a spare tube, puncture kit, tyre levers and pump. The inevitable happened this morning and I had to get my wife to pick me up in the Land Rover so I could get home and change before work.

I had thought I could change the tube and continue my ride to work, but it took ages so I abandoned the idea. But, having changed the tube and pumped it up, the tyre came off the rim as the tube was too low a pressure.

The pump I have is a small one (track pump at home) and it’s not very good at putting much air into the tyre.

What should I be doing? Changing the tube was hard work, and it was grim to see that the tyre had come off again as I hadn’t been able to inflate it properly.

What is the best kit for this type of situation in the future?

Kit sounds fine.

Just practice changing tubes in the comfort of your home/garage a few times until it's easy.
 
Thanks for the replies. Any recommendations as to a decent inner tube? I'm running 29" x 2.25" Maxis tyres on a MTB.
Then any pump will put enough air into it. What do you normally run at? 35psi?
Easy to achieve without getting knickers in twists.
As others have said...practice at home.
 
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