Carrying too much gear

[grams]

I’m of the opinion that a properly fettled* bike (or even an unfettled one in reasonable condition) should make it around a 50-100 km local loop without any fuss. Even a puncture is a strong indication you’re using the wrong tyres. Hence I barely take anything.

If you’re having problems more often than that then you really need to look at the state and choice of your equipment rather than your toolbag. And perhaps stop walking under ladders.

It helps that there’s nowhere within that range of my house that’s more than a few miles from a train station although I’ve only ever had to do that once (crashed on entirely foreseeable ice and snapped the hanger).

(* and I’m no maintenance fetishest. I barely oil chains)

[Ian H]

An old friend used to carry an enormous amount of tools & spares on his bike.  He always used panniers rather than a saddle-bag.  It's true that he did break bikes. Cranks went regularly, and he must have broken every tube of a frame (including the head-tube!).

One day he decided to rationalise his equipment, and threw quite a lot out (axles that only fitted the bike before last, duplicate spare cranks, etc.).

A year or so later he told me that he hadn't broken a rear axle since then.

[nikki]

Not having a car or someone to drive it a phone call away,

I can confirm that if you're the person two phonecalls* away from Kim, then things have got Quite Serious.

*or texts

[andrew_s]

I use a Nelson Longflap, and take advantage of the capacity to carry whatever I feel I might want, and also leave stuff in that I might have put in previously but haven't got round to removing.

Typically, something like...
HPx, 3xtubes, tyre boots, steel levers, 2 multitools, some chain oil, pair of brake pads, quicklinks, waterproof jacket, waterproof shorts, waterproof cap, sun cap, legwarmers, gloves, spare bike lights, headtorch, 4xAA for the GPS, 2 or 3 muesli bars, plus whatever else might have found its way in.
Last time I weighed it, the answer was 4 kg.

Talking of CO2 cartridges. I often see loads of what look like CO2 cartridges spilt by the side of the road.
Are they actually shed from cyclists who haven't zipped their saddlebags up tightly enough or are they actually laughing gas or something from the local yoof?

There's normally one or two but yesterday I saw dozens all in one place, which suggests they're not from a single cyclist.

NO₂ cartridges, as spotted here:- https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=53164.msg2470948#msg2470948

N₂O

Any user who tried using NO₂ instead would end up dead

[Andy W]

The reason I carry co2 inflator as well a pump is because on a particular long ride my pump wouldn't seal on the valve. Ride over, thumbed a lift to a railway station. 18 months ago fellow cyclist  punctured, new tube fitted and inflated with co2 in seconds. I was impressed, so ordered a co2 inflator as insurance to my framefit Zefal full size pump.
One of my cycling mates carries a phone and thats it. He runs tubeless tyres and relies on a) good luck, b) his girlfriend at the other end of the phone  and c) us other cyclists. He doesn't cycle more than 40 miles so has a different mindset to most audaxers or sensible cyclists.

[Lightning Phil]

Anecdotally when I helped at the 220km (ish) control on the London Orbital 300km event one year.  The riders arrival at the control did seem to be directly related the weight  (and aeroness) of their bike and amount of luggage. A definite trend was seen.  But that might just be related to the type of bike and luggage riders gravitate to, based on their speed on the road.

[Lightning Phil]

The reason I carry co2 inflator as well a pump is because on a particular long ride my pump wouldn't seal on the valve. Ride over, thumbed a lift to a railway station. 18 months ago fellow cyclist  punctured, new tube fitted and inflated with co2 in seconds. I was impressed, so ordered a co2 inflator as insurance to my framefit Zefal full size pump.
One of my cycling mates carries a phone and thats it. He runs tubeless tyres and relies on a) good luck, b) his girlfriend at the other end of the phone  and c) us other cyclists. He doesn't cycle more than 40 miles so has a different mindset to most audaxers or sensible cyclists.

Charge him £5 each time he asks to borrow a pump or basic tool.

[De Sisti]

The reason I carry co2 inflator as well a pump is because on a particular long ride my pump wouldn't seal on the valve. Ride over, thumbed a lift to a railway station. 18 months ago fellow cyclist  punctured, new tube fitted and inflated with co2 in seconds. I was impressed, so ordered a co2 inflator as insurance to my framefit Zefal full size pump.
One of my cycling mates carries a phone and thats it. He runs tubeless tyres and relies on a) good luck, b) his girlfriend at the other end of the phone  and c) us other cyclists. He doesn't cycle more than 40 miles so has a different mindset to most audaxers or sensible cyclists.

Charge him £5 each time he asks to borrow a pump or basic tool.

. And under no circumstances pump up their tyre when they ask how to use the pump.

[Jodel]

I use one of those water bottle type tool holders for my 'take with me on every ride' toolkit.  Topeak multi-tool, Presta to Schrader adapter (so I can use a garage air pump if one is nearby) zip-ties, allen keys, spoke key, puncture repair kit, brake/gear cables and tyre levers all fit in quite easily.  I have a small under seat saddle bag on each of my bikes which holds a spare tube.  I swap my Mountain Morph pump between bikes.

In addition to the bottle type tool holder, on my tandem I carry some tandem specific tools are which left permanently in the rack bag.

I used to care about weight, now I just like the assurance that I have the tools to fix most of the common issues at the side of the road if I have to.   

[quixoticgeek]

I'm curious about all your risk assessments. There seems to be a lot of looking at consequences and not much looking at liklihood.

For me, if the wheel collapses, I'm going home. I'm not fucking about at the roadside rebuilding a wheel.

Obviously now I've blithely stated this I've been reminded of LW&B having to replace spokes on the tandem, me bending a broken spoke around another to finish BoB and Mr Smith fitting emergency kevlar things.
None of these were local rides though, we were doing multi day rides hundreds of miles from home.

I've managed to break 2 gear hangers in the last 8 months on local rides. I walked home. I'm not about to start carrying one in my commute pack, despite them 'weighing nothing'. I'd always much rather carry less.

A lot of it depends also on what resources you can call upon. I live alone, I don't have a partner or family to call upon to come collect me if my bike breaks. My rides are often in lands where I don't speak the language, considerable distance from any help. My record is 400km without any bike shops. When that happens, you have to be self reliant.

I also ride through the winter, if the bike breaks when it's 0°C, I need to be able to fix it, and fix it fast. Hypothermia is a genuine real risk at that point. And then there's the night rides. What do you do at 3am on the Friesian coast if something breaks?

I've rebuilt my brakes by the side of the road in Noord-Brabant. I've changed brake pads at 8pm on Christmas day, under a tree in Germany.

My bike toolkit is spec'd around this sort of use case. And there's no point taking it off the bike when I go for a local ride.

J

[Cudzoziemiec]

My bike toolkit is spec'd around this sort of use case. And there's no point taking it off the bike when I go for a local ride.

J

Couldn't you have two toolkits, one for middle-of-nowhere rides and one for shorter, more everyday use? There might be point if, for instance, you wanted then to lift your bike over a gate, into a train or up some steps, cram in a bit more shopping on the way home, or just enjoy the handling of a lighter bike.

[quixoticgeek]

Couldn't you have two toolkits, one for middle-of-nowhere rides and one for shorter, more everyday use? There might be point if, for instance, you wanted then to lift your bike over a gate, into a train or up some steps, cram in a bit more shopping on the way home, or just enjoy the handling of a lighter bike.

That's way too much faff, risks having the wrong toolkit on a long ride, and anyway, I carry the bike up the stairs every time I come in...

J

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

For years I did long day rides in France with minimal tools.  Also loaded tours with only slightly more.  Never had a real problem and French bike shops can be very thin on the ground.  Nothing much seemed to break.

The reason I carry co2 inflator as well a pump is because on a particular long ride my pump wouldn't seal on the valve. Ride over, thumbed a lift to a railway station. 18 months ago fellow cyclist  punctured, new tube fitted and inflated with co2 in seconds. I was impressed, so ordered a co2 inflator as insurance to my framefit Zefal full size pump.
One of my cycling mates carries a phone and thats it. He runs tubeless tyres and relies on a) good luck, b) his girlfriend at the other end of the phone  and c) us other cyclists. He doesn't cycle more than 40 miles so has a different mindset to most audaxers or sensible cyclists.

Charge him £5 each time he asks to borrow a pump or basic tool.

. And under no circumstances pump up their tyre when they ask how to use the pump.

On a sportive I made the big mistake of stopping to fix someone's broken chain with my topeak alien.  It was rusty, on a dog of a bike, in the middle of the unpopulated Dales with rain blowing in a near gale of freezing wind. In the true spirit of a proper sportive rider I should have left him there.  Years later his bleached skeletal remains would have been found, a warning to all who neglect oiling their chains.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Couldn't you have two toolkits, one for middle-of-nowhere rides and one for shorter, more everyday use? There might be point if, for instance, you wanted then to lift your bike over a gate, into a train or up some steps, cram in a bit more shopping on the way home, or just enjoy the handling of a lighter bike.

That's way too much faff, risks having the wrong toolkit on a long ride, and anyway, I carry the bike up the stairs every time I come in...

J

Your faffage may (does) vary but to me it's no faff having two toolkits in suitable stuffsacs, just swap the big one for the little one as appropriate. And carrying the bike up the stairs every time I came home (been there, done that, once with two broken ribs) would certainly encourage me to minimize weight and bulk.

[quixoticgeek]

For years I did long day rides in France with minimal tools.  Also loaded tours with only slightly more.  Never had a real problem and French bike shops can be very thin on the ground.  Nothing much seemed to break.

The reason I carry co2 inflator as well a pump is because on a particular long ride my pump wouldn't seal on the valve. Ride over, thumbed a lift to a railway station. 18 months ago fellow cyclist  punctured, new tube fitted and inflated with co2 in seconds. I was impressed, so ordered a co2 inflator as insurance to my framefit Zefal full size pump.
One of my cycling mates carries a phone and thats it. He runs tubeless tyres and relies on a) good luck, b) his girlfriend at the other end of the phone  and c) us other cyclists. He doesn't cycle more than 40 miles so has a different mindset to most audaxers or sensible cyclists.

Charge him £5 each time he asks to borrow a pump or basic tool.

. And under no circumstances pump up their tyre when they ask how to use the pump.

On a sportive I made the big mistake of stopping to fix someone's broken chain with my topeak alien.  It was rusty, on a dog of a bike, in the middle of the unpopulated Dales with rain blowing in a near gale of freezing wind. In the true spirit of a proper sportive rider I should have left him there.  Years later his bleached skeletal remains would have been found, a warning to all who neglect oiling their chains.

If you look at the photos on this ride, you'll see a RATN winner oiling his chain with olive oil he bought in a supermarket midway through a 400+km ride...

https://www.strava.com/activities/4987406203


J

[Karla]

I'm curious about all your risk assessments. There seems to be a lot of looking at consequences and not much looking at liklihood.

For me, if the wheel collapses, I'm going home. I'm not fucking about at the roadside rebuilding a wheel.

Obviously now I've blithely stated this I've been reminded of LW&B having to replace spokes on the tandem, me bending a broken spoke around another to finish BoB and Mr Smith fitting emergency kevlar things.
None of these were local rides though, we were doing multi day rides hundreds of miles from home.

I've managed to break 2 gear hangers in the last 8 months on local rides. I walked home. I'm not about to start carrying one in my commute pack, despite them 'weighing nothing'. I'd always much rather carry less.

A lot of it depends also on what resources you can call upon. I live alone, I don't have a partner or family to call upon to come collect me if my bike breaks. My rides are often in lands where I don't speak the language, considerable distance from any help. My record is 400km without any bike shops. When that happens, you have to be self reliant.

I also ride through the winter, if the bike breaks when it's 0°C, I need to be able to fix it, and fix it fast. Hypothermia is a genuine real risk at that point. And then there's the night rides. What do you do at 3am on the Friesian coast if something breaks?

I've rebuilt my brakes by the side of the road in Noord-Brabant. I've changed brake pads at 8pm on Christmas day, under a tree in Germany.

My bike toolkit is spec'd around this sort of use case. And there's no point taking it off the bike when I go for a local ride.

J

My use case is very similar yet somehow I seem to manage without your level of kit? 

[quixoticgeek]

My use case is very similar yet somehow I seem to manage without your level of kit? 

Congratulations, you're not as paranoid as me.

J

[Feanor]

I've rebuilt my brakes by the side of the road in Noord-Brabant.

Goodness me! Whatever for?

I've changed brake pads at 8pm on Christmas day, under a tree in Germany.

Why? What happened to them?

[quixoticgeek]

I've rebuilt my brakes by the side of the road in Noord-Brabant.

Goodness me! Whatever for?

That was 1600km into RatN, rear braking performance was dropping off, so I took the caliper apart, cleaned it, and rebuilt it. Breaking performance improved. Which was good, as I was heading into Limburg.

I've changed brake pads at 8pm on Christmas day, under a tree in Germany.

Why? What happened to them?

I think they had got contaminated. They weren't giving me enough stopping power on the descents. I had spare pads with me, so swapped to be sure. I was doing back to back 200k days, and about to go through the foothills of the Harz mountains.

J

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

There was a weekend way back when where several riders combined the Highs and Looes and Kit Hill Super Grimpeur.  300km mostly in heavy rain with frequent steep hills and the usual Devon and Cornwall muck on the roads.  I finished on wafer thin brake pads (them having been in good nick at the start), slightly better than one rider who ended up walking the last two descents. 

I lent my spare folder on a ride to someone and they repaid me on a following event (entirely unconnected) with a spare inner tube when I'd run out due to a packing error.  I was quite happy to have carried the spare folder.

[tonyh]

Those were the days! I had to replace my "new" blocks with another set, during the second day.

(So wasn't carrying too many brakeblocks.)

[grams]

I was quite happy to have carried the spare folder.

I’m going to assume “folder” means spare folding bike and I’d appreciate if you didn’t correct me.

[zigzag]

I was quite happy to have carried the spare folder.

I’m going to assume “folder” means spare folding bike and I’d appreciate if you didn’t correct me.

it's where the route sheets are kept

[Lightning Phil]

Those were the days! I had to replace my "new" blocks with another set, during the second day.

(So wasn't carrying too many brakeblocks.)

I’d be really impressed if a route was so hard you had to replace the wheels by the second day, due to worn out rims 😀

[Ashaman42]

I had one audax (only a 100 an' all) where I was on pads that had done maybe a 100km commuting beforehand and coming down out of #village I last saw the speedo hit 25mph and rising with both levers hard against the bars. At that point I stopped checking my speed and was assessing hedge vs car in the event anyone pulled out on me. Luckily I had priority and noone did.

Once I hit the flat and stopped (and my heartrate slowed a tiny bit) I was assesing my options re walking (of course I was at the furthest point of the loop but not too far from a train station) but on a closer look and wiping all the skog away I saw there was a decent amount of pad left and a bit of cable adjustment later I had working brakes.

Anyway I now mostly use disc brakes which suffer a lot less in the skog and whilst I don't tend to carry pads commuting or on shorter "long" rides they are light and small so probably would if I ever get round to a long long ride again.

I do carry too much stuff in general when commuting but eh, I'd rather have the stuff and not need it than t'other way round.