I do some mountain biking in remote parts of wales. I usually carry a minimal tool kit: pump, spare inner tube, and multi tool.
I'm wondering if you have any temporary 'get me home' repair tips I might need one day for when something breaks?
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Sign up to join this communityI do some mountain biking in remote parts of wales. I usually carry a minimal tool kit: pump, spare inner tube, and multi tool.
I'm wondering if you have any temporary 'get me home' repair tips I might need one day for when something breaks?
You should also have a survival bag, mobile phone, whistle, torch and small first aid kit as well as a map and compass. Remember it may be you that is broken not your bike!
Zipties! Zipties! Zipties!
Shoe splits - ziptie it
Centre pull brakes cable breaks - ziptie it
Saddle post emergency - ziptie it
Front chainring pops - ziptie it
Replacement lights - ziptie it
Broken bone - ziptie plus sticks
Split tyre - stuff with grass, ziptie it if needed :)
"When a man has a hammer, everything in the world looks like a nail"
When everything else fails:
I always carry a bit of electricians tape or duct tape. I have done several impromptu repairs using the tape.
The best one was a time where I ripped open the sidewall of the tire about 6" long. I wrapped the replacement tube with tape going from about 4" before the ruined sidewall to about 4" after the rip. Was able to pump up the tire enough to roll 5 miles home.
Multi tool w/ a replaceable derailleur hanger as part of it. Or just a universal derailleur hanger. Pretty nice. Mind you, if you are touring you might as well carry your proper hanger as a 'just in case'.
Having a phillips head screw driver can save you. I have snapped the head of the front shifter cable mid way through a 160km point to point ride ... I just dialed in the limit screws and blocked the gear in. Same can be done for the rear derailleur to get you home.
A quicklink or power link is exceptionally useful to have on a ride. You can fix a broken chain enough to simply get home or if it was just a tweaked link, replace it, and have a fully functioning geared bike to ride home (or continue on your ride).
For mountain biking a spoke key can be essential. Break a spoke? Over tension the two opposing spokes to even it out. You can wrap the broken spoke around its nearest or, if you have tape, tape it to the other spoke.
A friend has stuffed a tyre full of grass (seriously) enough to ride the trails home. It did ferment a bit inside and was fairly odiferous after but it worked really well.
Carry a banknote for when you have a tear in the tire casing.
Wrap the note around the tube (that you just had to fix twice until you realized what was going on) and gently inflate the tire. The banknote will contain the pressure until you get home.
Unfortunately, your burger budget is now trapped in your bike!
The best 'repair' I saw that got our group home was when a guy snapped off his headtube. We grabbed some sticks and jammed them down the tubes and got to the car (1 hour away) so carry big sticks?
About to years ago, I had a brand-new Trail Rat battery die on me in the middle of a ride. Luckily, I had a maglite on me as a backup, and I rigged this up:
That's twine and zipties holding it onto the bar.
A few miles later, the maglite died. I rode in the taillight of the guy I was riding with.
Then it started hailing. We had no experience riding on slush so we called for help. (I've since ridden on ice, but I was young and not yet stubborn enough to tough it out.)
These days, when I'm on tour, I bring along those lamps you put on your head on a strap. I use them as reading lights in my tent, but they also serve as backup headlights.
You can straighten a bent wheel by hitting the lawn (or something soft -- not to damage the braking surface). You need to take it in hands on 8:00-4:00 with the bulge pointing downwards and hit appropriately hard. Repeat few times correcting for the bulge position and direction until you can ride.
I did that twice and both wheels are still in use. One of those is so true (after some spoke tweaking), that you would never say that it was bend to the point it wouldn't go through the fork. The brake pads leave less than 1mm space on both sides.
A spare link of chain and tool - or an entire chain if you are really far past where your legs can carry you if the route is remote.
This isn't a "need" so much as a "nice-to-have," but I certainly appreciated having handy-wipes (alcohol-soaked individually-packed wipes) along after fixing a flat on my trail ride last Friday. Also useful if whatever you're looking at is so grimy/dusty you can't see or handle it properly.
If weight/bulk is not at a premium, in the States it's possible to buy a can or square of diaper wipes. Same idea, different branding, works just as well.
You may find that your first-aid kit has these already; in that case, just keep 'em stocked!
I know this is an old question, but it was recently bumped up. Here are a few more suggestions:
+1 on the zip ties and power link recommendations. I once saw a photo of an emergency field repair to a broken chainstay using only Popsicle sticks and zip ties.