Items you carry when out peddling...

kerry4sam

Hello All;

Just a quick query re: what people actually carry with them when out peddling, if people could oblige me with some replies.

The only time I don't carry my repair-kit is just local peddling doing repeat loops and routes and try to beat my own time-trials or just about not fall off due to the exhaustion while I'm out cycling to wind-down or burn off steam. I always carry a first-aid kit; water-bottle and snacks though.

I always wear my roadID wrist-band cycling (& even hill-walking/mountain-climbing); carry a fully-charged phone with credit and my CI-card with some monies also just-in-case

On spins of 60km+ then it's two bottles; plus the above and only then do I bring my repair-kit.

When I'm out n and see others peddling; I rarely see an obvious repair-kit; even just a pump (could have spare-tube in pocket); seldom see a saddle-bag which could hold first-aid kit and snacks. People are almost always cycling light.

~ Am I the only one who carries the above when out peddling?
~ On what occasions do you carry a repair-kit and a first-aid kit?
&
~ Do you attach repair-kit to frame or carry items in saddle-bag or in your jersey-pockets?

Just me being curious here as the majority of people I see out peddling, aside from sportives; I rarely see an obvious repair-kit and/or saddle-bag.

Many Thanks in advance,
kerry4sam

endacl

Sheldon Brown meets Sheldon Cooper!

Amz

Usually just bring tube, small pump, repair kit, phone, couple of euro, two bottles of whatever I'm drinking and a snack. I've a small saddle bag that I keep the tube and repair kit in, but trying to get it down to just bringing what fits in my jersey pockets.

Ryder

Pump, tube, multi tool, paper cash and card

Cookie_Monster

Pump, tube, repair kit, multitool & tyre levers. All attached to bike / saddle bag.
1 or 2 bottles of water depending on length and more often than not my phone.

The lights are a permanent fixture as well, though the battery isn't.

~ On what occasions do you carry a repair-kit and a first-aid kit?

1st all the time, 2nd never. I've never seen the need for a first aid kit, ambulance or nothing for me!

Beasty

I carry a phone (unlocked with an ICE (In Case of Emergency) number;))

Gave up with a backpack a few years ago - everything goes in the saddlebag or back pockets

531

Pump, tube, tyre levers, phone, ID (CI membership card),food (depending on distance) - all in pockets. Drinks bottles.

buffalo

Six replies, and nobody made a crack that it depends what you're peddling? Disappointing.

smacl

Long solo spins include food, wets or gilet, money, spare specs, phone, ID, two bottles, mini-pump. two spare tubes, puncture repair kit, multi-tool, power links, small & light adjustable spanner, cassettte tool, cable ties, a couple of spokes and a spare seat bolt. Much of this assorted crap lives in a foam wrapped plastic bag in my seat tube. Most of the year apart from now I'd also have lights and spare batteries, in winter I also have arm and leg warmers packed.

I tend to have this stuff on sportives as well, but in fairness it is unnecessary. I just like to be self sufficient. I've had a broken spoke on the back wheel before, out by myself, and it was a pain in the arse. Brakes open, destroyed a tyre to get 20km, and pushed the last 5km. I met a lad last year with a broken seat bolt pushing the bike home from the sally gap, and another just last week after a crash, hence carrying a spare. I don't have and first aid gear, but probably should have the something basic.

NeedMoreGears

Saddlebag with the contents of a small workshop permanantly on the bike ; two spare tubes, repair kit, allen keys/screwdriver, small piece of old tyre, chain breaker and quick link, a few cable ties. It must weigh several kilos which is why I'm so bad on the hills.

Pump

Driving licence with a few euro and credit card.

Unlockable phone with ICE

Water bottles and food as required.

Never carried a first aid kit

RobertFoster

Pump and bottle on the frame (+lights when needed).

Food in left pocket, phone and money in centre, tube and levers in right.

I've been meaning to get a second bottle. I'll ditch the (****ty) pump when the C02 order goes through. Should probably get some ID, but there is an ICE on my phone.

studiorat

Two levers, top peak fly-paper, chain tool & link, park tool allen keys, Pocket Pump. May change if running tubulars or tubless.

Phone and a fiver. Food drink as necessary. Arm, leg warmers and gilet depending on weather.

Euro rules prevent the carrying of saddle bags etc.

I don't have any allergies so would not carry ID, dog tags etc. If I can't ring home myself, no-one else is going to do it for me.

What would you carry as First Aid? And for who?

godtabh

really depends on what I am doing, where I am going and weather conditions.

This morning in my jersey I had phone, CI card, glasses, spare tube, snack, bottle, rain jacket, lights (front and back) and saddle back with multitool, spare tube, levers and ID card and pump on my bike.

Got caught out last week with only one tube. Got a puncture and then proceeded to pinch the replacement tube. My wife wasnt impressed!

godtabh

What ID do people bring? I have an old ID on the bike in the saddle bag and the the CI card on my jersey. I've seen a few people here mention ID bracelets. What types do you use?

DirkVoodoo

Repairs should be done at home. Keep your bike in top shape and the likelihood of a snapped chain, snapped cable or whatever else you might need a "repair kit" for is as likely as coming across a broken down hooters tour bus.

Mountain biking, different story, but on a road bike I've never had any mechanical worse than a puncture. Where do you draw the line? Chain breaker? Spare brake cable? Spare gear cable? A couple of 5mm bolts? A spare spoke or two?

Punctures are what happen to most cyclists, so be prepared. Anything else and it's just a one-off case of bad luck so phone for a lift or taxi.

If you find that you need to carry repair kits around on a regular basis, I'd question how well your bike is maintained.

A basic 4/5/6/Torx allen key is all you need for on the road adjustments.

A first-aid kit? Chicks dig scars!

snubbleste

peddling
a. To travel about selling (wares): peddling goods from door to door.
b. To engage in the illicit sale of (narcotics)

Raam

godtabh wrote: »

What ID do people bring? I have an old ID on the bike in the saddle bag and the the CI card on my jersey. I've seen a few people here mention ID bracelets. What types do you use?

I have a very recognisable face.

kao123

Does anyone else here not carry a pump and rely solely on the CO2 canisters? I do have the repair kit, tubes, patches, allen keys phone and cash just in case, but I'm just curious about the CO2 vs Pump?

Guybrush T

Pump, tube, multi-tool, phone (for Strava) drink, food if over 100km spin, maybe cash.

For those who carry a first aid kit, what is in it? and how do you anticipate using it? As far as I can see there are two kinds of injury you can sustain on a bike.

1. Major, needs ambulance or SO to get you home/ to hospital.
2. Minor, rule 5 and pedal back home.

I can't think of anything you could carry which would convert a type 1 injury into a type 2 so what's the point?

Raam

kao123 wrote: »

Does anyone else here not carry a pump and rely solely on the CO2 canisters? I do have the repair kit, tubes, patches, allen keys phone and cash just in case, but I'm just curious about the CO2 vs Pump?

I've managed to rip the core out of a few tubes when removing the c02 device. It can happen when the core is of the type which you can unscrew. If this happens and you have no pump, then it could be a long walk home. I try buy tubes which ain't like that but sometimes I don't check, so I make a habit of bringing c02 and a pump.

smurphy29

Wow, I'm surprised at the amount of stuff people carry with them. I go light; maybe it's risky, but I've never found myself in a tight spot (although a friend did snap his chain once and had to get a taxi home).

Levers, tube, pump, cash & card and phone. Water in the bidons (only two bidons for cycles over 80k, or if it's extremely warm), some food depending on length of the cycle. If weather dictates maybe an extra layer of something, gilet or arm warmers.

Everything goes in the back pockets. Saddle bag is out and any sort of backpack is most definitely against the rules.

HivemindXX

I don't carry a first aid kit but when I was a kid I did fall and give myself a cut over my eye requiring me to cycle home with one hand holding a tissue to my forehead to stop the blood from blinding me. Sticky plaster would have been nice. In the 25+ years since then I've never had an injury that a first aid kit would have helped with.

For longer cycles I just carry a repair kit (tubes, tyre levers, pump, multi-tool, spoke key, chain tool), bag of jellies, phone and money.

godtabh

Raam wrote: »

I have a very recognisable face.

i heard it was forgettable?

Raam

godtabh wrote: »

i heard it was forgettable?

I can't remember if it is or isn't.

smacl

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

If you find that you need to carry repair kits around on a regular basis, I'd question how well your bike is maintained.

Depends also on the type of cycling you're doing, if you're in a fast group pushing the pace you maybe don't want any extra weight, if you're on a long solo spin at a relaxed pace and extra half kilo of gear is neither here nor there. I'd often cycle rural routes to visit family or friends, perhaps 150k-200k point to point, sometimes taking the same trip back the next day. While my bike is well maintained, it was bought 2nd hand and I have had some mechanicals on the road beyond punctures. Getting a taxi would cost and arm and leg, and phoning the wife would not be much appreciated.

tbh, if I was concerned about the weight of my set-up, the easiest place to target a reduction would be the engine.

feck sake lads

well since i started cycling solo i take the kitchen sink .i turned my raleigh into a light tourer so i carry a carradice barley on it all the time everything i need is in that bag same with my touring bike the rack bag is ziptied on and all i need live in there, at times i'll take a wee pocket stove and kettle with me and make the best cuppa you could ever drank.
yeah i'm enjoying my cycling again:cool:

great thread btw.
cheers
FSL............
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dahGaL6ehjc&list=UU72nZ26ikgDQVdt90ENBmXg&index=29

Condom and elastic band.

bazermc

in the saddle bag;
two tubes, light rolled up raincoat, 20 euro note, multi took kit and a co 2 cannister

in my pockets;
food quantity depends on how long cycle will be andphone

on the bike;
two bottles and pump

Cee-Jay-Cee

Spare tube, 2 Allen keys (for saddle/post/stem) tyre levers x 2, Road ID bracelet, phone and €5, Maybe a mars bar if I'm doing a 60k + spin.

I don't see the point in a first aid kit, if I am unlucky to have a fall then there can only be two outcomes. 1: minor cuts and scrapes which don't require medical attention. 2: serous injury for which a first aid kit is of no use. Why add the weight of something your never likely to use?

MajesticDonkey

I personally think puncture repair kits are a waste of time and money. Just bring a spare tube with you instead.

Raam

I can't remember the last time I patched a tube. They are cheap enough as it is and punctures don't happen too often so I just bin the feckers.

smacl

MajesticDonkey wrote: »

I personally think puncture repair kits are a waste of time and money. Just bring a spare tube with you instead.

Still haven't had that third or fourth puncture on the same day I'm guessing. They're like busses, none for ages and then they all seem to arrive together.

feck sake lads

what no patch kit :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

MajesticDonkey

smacl wrote: »

Still haven't had that third or fourth puncture on the same day I'm guessing. They're like busses, none for ages and then they all seem to arrive together.

Well I usually cycle with a group of 8+ so spare tubes are a plenty

feck sake lads

well next time your out with the group ask to make sure everyone has spare tubes, they could all be thinking like you.
everyone depending on eveyone else taking spares.:rolleyes:

mirv

Instead of a puncture repair kit, consider carrying some strips (or a small roll if you're on a tour) of gorilla tape. It's a super tough, thick and sticky duct tape, think merckx in duct tape form. It'll get a tube to hold 70-90psi for the better part of an hour before you might need to pump a tyre back up, and I'm sure it would work even better on lower psi mtb tyres.

And it's FAR less expensive than the self adhesive puncture repair patches and you can use it to repair other things too. I leave some strips of it stuck to the barrel of my mini pump in case I run out of tubes and I'm in a jam.

MajesticDonkey

feck sake lads wrote: »

well next time your out with the group ask to make sure everyone has spare tubes, they could all be thinking like you.
everyone depending on eveyone else taking spares.:rolleyes:

Yes, it's quite normal for club members to help each other out should they come into difficulty...is it not?

If someone from the group gets punctured and they don't have a tube, we share, and they then give that person a new tube in return on the next spin. It's not "depending on everyone else to take spares".

Lumen

mirv wrote: »

Instead of a puncture repair kit, consider carrying some strips (or a small roll if you're on a tour) of gorilla tape. It's a super tough, thick and sticky duct tape, think merckx in duct tape form. It'll get a tube to hold 70-90psi for the better part of an hour before you might need to pump a tyre back up, and I'm sure it would work even better on lower psi mtb tyres.

I leave some strips of it stuck to the barrel of my mini pump in case I run out of tubes and I'm in a jam.

I share your love of gorilla tape, but isn't that just a really bad version of self-adhesive patches?

feck sake lads

MajesticDonkey wrote: »

Yes, it's quite normal for club members to help each other out should they come into difficulty...is it not?

If someone from the group gets punctured and they don't have a tube, we share, and they then give that person a new tube in return on the next spin. It's not "depending on everyone else to take spares".

i'm not having a go at you honest but ive seen this very thing happen in groups.always better to go prepaired.

Brad768

feck sake lads wrote: »

well next time your out with the group ask to make sure everyone has spare tubes, they could all be thinking like you.
everyone depending on eveyone else taking spares.:rolleyes:

Yup that's how I used to be. Decided it would be a good idea to carry a pump and a spare tube with me at all times.

Shorter than 40km would be one 650ml bottle of water and small bit of food like a cereal bar. Any longer and it's 2 bottles, one with Kinetica isotonic drink mix if it's going to be hard day. 1-2 bananas, 1-2 cereal bars and maybe small pack of haribo. Obviously I wouldn't take all that for a 50km spin, but if its a 100km ride it's what I'd take.

mirv

Well it's really a last resort and I've had better luck with gorilla tape than with some cheap self-adhesive patches when I played around with a punctured tube at home. Half the battle with self-adhesive patches or tape is to hold enough pressure until the tube starts to push against the inner carcass of the tyre and then it kind of holds itself in place with the pressure.

It's cheap relative to those patches, you can carry a butt load of it and it can fix other things.

MajesticDonkey

feck sake lads wrote: »

i'm not having a go at you honest but ive seen this very thing happen in groups.always better to go prepaired.

Fair enough, but I consider that prepared.

We're used to cycling together, so we take it as a given that there will be plenty of supplies to go around. The chances of everyone in the group get two punctures each is fairly small

banger01

Thanks for posting the youtube link 'I'm a Kind of Mechanised Tramp' I loved it. A 'real' cyclist

Lumen

mirv wrote: »

It's cheap relative to those patches, you can carry a butt load of it and it can fix other things.

That's a fairly unconventional way of freeing up jersey pocket space.

studiorat

mirv wrote: »

And it's FAR less expensive than the self adhesive puncture repair patches and you can use it to repair other things too. I leave some strips of it stuck to the barrel of my mini pump in case I run out of tubes and I'm in a jam.

Duct tape is the devils foreskin. I wouldn't allow it into the house. I have it banned from work because it just destroys anything it comes into contact with.

I used to carry a spare tube until I found the flypaper. I've found it faster than changing the tire and faster than a repair kit.

sham2

Small pump, one Co2, two tubes, multi-tool, patches (last resort), levers, a tenner all in the saddle bag. Feck the rules I hate stuff in my jersey pockets and it means I can just grab the bike and go.
For longer than an hour an a half out I'll bring two bidons of water and some kind of snack bar. This year I got into the joys of stopping for a coffee when out. Much nicer.

t'bear

Does no one bring house keys out with them? I am guaranteed SWMBO is out when I arrive home and I am in need of a shower / dry clothes

check_six

studiorat wrote: »

I used to carry a spare tube until I found the flypaper. I've found it faster than changing the tire and faster than a repair kit.

Flypaper? I've never heard of this solution before. What do you do? Just whack it on the hole in the tube, and hope the tyre holds it in place? I can't remember the last time I dealt with flypaper, just how sticky is it?

studiorat

check_six wrote: »

Flypaper? I've never heard of this solution before. What do you do? Just whack it on the hole in the tube, and hope the tyre holds it in place? I can't remember the last time I dealt with flypaper, just how sticky is it?

Pretty much that's how you do it. http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Tools/flypaper

bambergbike

The only typical "first aid kit" item I sometimes take along is a space blanket. Mainly in case my plans go slightly awry due to bad weather and I end up getting a bit damp and grumpy and having to hang around somewhere for a few hours (waiting for a train, say).

check_six

studiorat wrote: »

Pretty much that's how you do it. http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Tools/flypaper[/QUOTE]

Ah, I see, a bike product named flypaper rather than the regular stuff. There was me tipping a load of anti-ant powder, and some mothballs into my saddlebag, just in case!