...
For that to apply, the following conditions need to pile up:
1) You have an unfixable error
2) You find a shop
3) The shop doesn't have what you need
4) The shop has something else, that would work
5) The distance to the next shop is intolerably large
6) Time pressure is such that you can't wait a few days for FexEx
We're getting into some very, very improbable scenarios here. It seems rather analogous to the EDC folk who 'need' a 76 function Leatherman to walk to the shops **just in case** they need to dig a stone out of a horse's hoof on the way. How likely is it to happen, what's the consequence of you having the less fixable solution, and what's the cost of the mitigation you want to impose?
My typical "tour" is a long weekend away, somewhere reasonably well away from crowds. So:
- If the problem is unfixable, even in the UK "find a shop" could well involve a longish walk and waiting until tomorrow for the shop to be open.
- 3 seems to be triggered by neither running the latest components, nor budget bike 8 speed. I'm not doing either of those at the moment.
- Having found one bike shop, I've probably found enough civilization that the next one isn't so hard to get to - and can be phoned to check stock. But if I'm running some outdated or esoteric setup then Evans is no more likely to have stock than Halfords.
- Time pressure does usually apply to me, so Fed Ex from a specialist would usually translate to "get yourself home" and deliver it there.
Friction friendly bar end shifters, cable operated brakes, and a small tupperware of spare parts do, I think, help make the bike adaptable to roadside fixes and some level of "what's in stock" fixing. A small box (and budget) for spares (plus inner tubes) keep me honest about the likelihood, consequences and my ability to apply a fix at the roadside.
Anyway, I hope Wallace found something that suits today