What to take in your emergency kit
- Thread starter Rusty hinge
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Jody
Stubborn git
If its a local ish ride then phone, drink and a tenner. Further away or somewhere obscure it's usually camelbak, 1x tube, some patches, multi tool which includes a chain splitter, quick link and a bit of snap. Could do with getting a spare mech hanger aswell.
If its hot and you are staying out for a while then it has to be something like P20 as you don't need to reapply for 10 hours and it doesn't wash away with sweat.
http://www.p20.co.uk/
I can't think why no one has mentioned suntan lotion yet...................
If its hot and you are staying out for a while then it has to be something like P20 as you don't need to reapply for 10 hours and it doesn't wash away with sweat.
http://www.p20.co.uk/
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
If that's all in years of reasonable-length 15-rider weekly group rides, you're getting lucky, they must lick their bikes clean or something
In the last year, I remember two bent derailleurs, two rear rack bolts missing, a sheared pedal and my own frequent minor tweaks (because when I notice a fault, I'd rather fix it at a lunch stop before it becomes catastrophic).Sadly I think that's been replaced by this knuckle-duster type https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/crank-brothers-speedier-tyre-lever/
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/koolstop-tyre-mate/ is better at putting tyres on, but no help getting them off. Browsing the levers category at SJS also shows a similar cheaper BBB tool. In general, SJS doesn't sell much junk - I see only the Topeak Shuttle in their lineup that I remember much criticism of. Just go careful on alloy rims if you get steel levers.
The main reason I carry too much stuff is that it's one kit to cover all the bikes - only the inner tubes change. I don't assemble it every time.
Recently, I've split it into two, with a lighter minimal kit excluding the lights, chargers, rarely-used sockets/bits and the sunscreen/bug-repellent I only carry on longer or dark rides.
but you do have to stand around half-naked letting it dry before getting dressed else it'll turn any white clothes yellow.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
But the sly nobbers only say "Allow to dry for 15 minutes before exposure to sun" not before contact with clothes. Much further down the leaflet under "important advice" as the sixth bullet point of seven, it warns "The UV filters in P20 may stain fabrics and leather". It says "may" but really it's "will" and their recommended stain remover (which might be sold by a related company for all I know) does fark all on cycling jerseys and walking tops. It's a very expensive product!
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
I wonder if the propensity to carry loads of stuff is an age thing? I'm sure years ago you just had to be self sufficient. No mobile phones, no tech, probably not much cash to bail out with
I take almost nothing on my rides...save food & water, a pump, innertube & tyre lever, a multitool with chain splitter, mobile phone, cr card and £10
In the 0.01% of rides when something bad happens that isn't tyre/chain related, I'll just phone for help or get a taxi to a train station or home
I take almost nothing on my rides...save food & water, a pump, innertube & tyre lever, a multitool with chain splitter, mobile phone, cr card and £10
In the 0.01% of rides when something bad happens that isn't tyre/chain related, I'll just phone for help or get a taxi to a train station or home
Will Spin
Über Member
I too take very little with me, 2 spare tubes, 3 CO2 bulbs, 2 tyre levers, phone, money and that's it, even on an all day ride. Once in 50 years of cycling I had to call a taxi to get me home, that was because I had two punctures and was only carrying one spare tube, so now I carry 2 (err.. and once I had to call an ambulance, but no emergency kit would have solved that problem!). I have just joined up with a local cycling club and we do 60-70 mile day rides and I'm amazed by the number of huge bar bags, panniers, saddle bags etc that people lug along with them, what have they got in there, a complete spare bicycle?
Roadhump
Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
On my hybrid I have a decent sized bag and carry:
lock
lock keys
house keys
wallet with ID, donor card, debit card and cash
spare gloves / mitts
multi tool
puncture repair kit
2 spare tubes
pump
spare waterproof top
spare tee shirt
sometimes a bit of shopping on the way home
sometimes my camera if I want to take better photos than m phone can take
2 cereal bars (in my pockets)
lens cloth for my specs (in my pockets)
tissues (in my pockets)
water bottle in cage
On the road bike, I only have one of those small compact pouch type bags that go under the seat which can just about take a tube and my wallet, but by using an extra water bottle, I manage to get the multi tool, pump, one of the 2 tubes and puncture repair kit into that, but I don't have room anywhere for the
spare tee shirt
waterproof top
camera
spare gloves
lock
shopping
On 2 occasions I have been unable to fix a puncture because my pump broke, once I walked the 4 miles home and the other I was able to get someone to pick me up, but it does worry me that if I was out on the road bike and couldn't repair a fault, I don't have a lock so I would be unable to lock my bike, get a taxi and come back.
However, on most of my rides I don't stray more than about 30-45 minutes walking distance from a train station from where I could take a train home (albeit from some places it would be a circuitous train journey), so it might not be the end of the world, but the thought of walking that long on cleats doesn't appeal to me.
lock
lock keys
house keys
wallet with ID, donor card, debit card and cash
spare gloves / mitts
multi tool
puncture repair kit
2 spare tubes
pump
spare waterproof top
spare tee shirt
sometimes a bit of shopping on the way home
sometimes my camera if I want to take better photos than m phone can take
2 cereal bars (in my pockets)
lens cloth for my specs (in my pockets)
tissues (in my pockets)
water bottle in cage
On the road bike, I only have one of those small compact pouch type bags that go under the seat which can just about take a tube and my wallet, but by using an extra water bottle, I manage to get the multi tool, pump, one of the 2 tubes and puncture repair kit into that, but I don't have room anywhere for the
spare tee shirt
waterproof top
camera
spare gloves
lock
shopping
On 2 occasions I have been unable to fix a puncture because my pump broke, once I walked the 4 miles home and the other I was able to get someone to pick me up, but it does worry me that if I was out on the road bike and couldn't repair a fault, I don't have a lock so I would be unable to lock my bike, get a taxi and come back.
However, on most of my rides I don't stray more than about 30-45 minutes walking distance from a train station from where I could take a train home (albeit from some places it would be a circuitous train journey), so it might not be the end of the world, but the thought of walking that long on cleats doesn't appeal to me.
PaulSB
Squire
@mjr
I'm being completely straight in our club, or at least those members I ride with, we rarely see a catastrophic failure.
It is still possible to buy the telescopic lever though I agree it seems Crank Brothers have stopped making them. I and several friends have purchased this year. I have a knuckle duster type. I don't like it much!
The one thing I didn't mention is the Lexham Cycle Recovery insurance. Essential in my view and will rescue a cyclist pretty much anywhere in the U.K. Friend of mine used it Sunday when his rear tyre blew to shreds - add to list of failures we've suffered!
I'm being completely straight in our club, or at least those members I ride with, we rarely see a catastrophic failure.
It is still possible to buy the telescopic lever though I agree it seems Crank Brothers have stopped making them. I and several friends have purchased this year. I have a knuckle duster type. I don't like it much!
The one thing I didn't mention is the Lexham Cycle Recovery insurance. Essential in my view and will rescue a cyclist pretty much anywhere in the U.K. Friend of mine used it Sunday when his rear tyre blew to shreds - add to list of failures we've suffered!
Alan O
Über Member
These varied experiences are very interesting.
As for catastrophic failures, I can only remember two. One (about 20 years ago) was a snapped rear wheel axle - I had a 10-mile walk home. The other was just a couple of months ago when I had a snapped derailleur hanger - only a 5-mile walk home that time. In neither case would it have been remotely likely that I'd ever carry the required spare parts with me.
I also think what we carry can be a function of age/wisdom. My cycling really got started in my student days in Leeds (1977-80), when I'd be out at weekends north of the city. Just about all I carried was a pump (frame fitting), puncture repair kit, tyre levers, and a wheel nut spanner - and a few quid (not many, because I didn't have many).
No mobile phone (they hadn't been invented), no debit card (they hadn't been introduced *), no credit card (I didn't have anywhere near the financial status to be considered for one).
Fortunately I never had any really big problems - plenty of punctures (which I kept patching almost until it was time to patch the patches - new tubes were expensive to a poor student), slightly bent wheels from time to time (but not bad enough to stop me, and I straightened them after I got home).
If I'd had a truly catastrophic failure, I've no idea what I'd have done - I couldn't afford a taxi to take me to a railway station (and there weren't any taxis roaming the Yorkshire Moors - and no phone, of course), and probably wouldn't have had the cash for a train ticket anyway.
And you try telling that to the kids of today...
Alan
(* I did have early punched-hole cash cards. You got a fixed £10 from the machine and the card was retained and returned by post, and your limit was set by how many cards you had - I had three)
As for catastrophic failures, I can only remember two. One (about 20 years ago) was a snapped rear wheel axle - I had a 10-mile walk home. The other was just a couple of months ago when I had a snapped derailleur hanger - only a 5-mile walk home that time. In neither case would it have been remotely likely that I'd ever carry the required spare parts with me.
I also think what we carry can be a function of age/wisdom. My cycling really got started in my student days in Leeds (1977-80), when I'd be out at weekends north of the city. Just about all I carried was a pump (frame fitting), puncture repair kit, tyre levers, and a wheel nut spanner - and a few quid (not many, because I didn't have many).
No mobile phone (they hadn't been invented), no debit card (they hadn't been introduced *), no credit card (I didn't have anywhere near the financial status to be considered for one).
Fortunately I never had any really big problems - plenty of punctures (which I kept patching almost until it was time to patch the patches - new tubes were expensive to a poor student), slightly bent wheels from time to time (but not bad enough to stop me, and I straightened them after I got home).
If I'd had a truly catastrophic failure, I've no idea what I'd have done - I couldn't afford a taxi to take me to a railway station (and there weren't any taxis roaming the Yorkshire Moors - and no phone, of course), and probably wouldn't have had the cash for a train ticket anyway.
And you try telling that to the kids of today...
Alan
(* I did have early punched-hole cash cards. You got a fixed £10 from the machine and the card was retained and returned by post, and your limit was set by how many cards you had - I had three)
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If the P*nct*re Fairy reads this you are scuppered.
C = P - 1
The number of cannisters you carry will always be one less than the number of visits from the Fairy
I tend to carry one of the dual purpose pumps as opposed to the cannisters
There is no puncture fairy
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Every time you say that someone has a clipless moment.
