[LEL17] Chain lube, pumps with gauge at controls?

[canuckystan]

Just curious if there will be pumps with air gauges and chain lube at some controls?  Trying to minimize gear on bike (and risk of chain lube soaked kit)

[The French Tandem]

There will be a proper track pump and chain lube at Barnard Castle. I can't speak for the other controls.

[Ivo]

In all area's adjacent to the North Sea a small bottle of chain lube is as essential as a spare tyre.

[yorkie]

There will be a proper track pump with pressure gauge and chain lube at Pocklington, even if I have to bring my own! 

[Wobbly]

Pumps *with* gauges? Chain lube?

When and where did we lose the "self sufficiency" ethos...?

[Brakeless]

Pumps *with* gauges? Chain lube?

When and where did we lose the "self sufficiency" ethos...?

When there's a fully catered control every 100km.

[Mercury Jim]

Spalding - yes decent track pump with gauge (Joe Blow)
Lube
700 and 26" tubes - some with long valves. Maybe other sizes roo.
Brake and gear cables.
Tools. And someone who can use them.
Self sufficiency is great, bur it we can help, we will. Probably whilst u r feeding/ chatting/ sleeping....

[The French Tandem]

Pumps *with* gauges? Chain lube?

When and where did we lose the "self sufficiency" ethos...?

If you really enjoy sleeping in bus shelters and eating petrol station food, you do not need  LEL, you can ride the road on your own at anytime! Last time, we really enjoyed a more than decent hot meal every 80 km, a shower every night, and someone who helped for pumping up our tyres when we were too tired for that (no pun intended)

[jsabine]

Pumps *with* gauges? Chain lube?

When and where did we lose the "self sufficiency" ethos...?

If you really enjoy sleeping in bus shelters and eating petrol station food, you do not need  LEL, you can ride the road on your own at anytime! Last time, we really enjoyed a more than decent hot meal every 80 km, a shower every night, and someone who helped for pumping up our tyres when we were too tired for that (no pun intended)

Don't worry, Wobbly's only using the drop bags to send on his spare hair shirts.

[Tomsk]

I took my track pump along to the control I ran last time [Great Easton]. It was used a lot, and being quite old, it broke. Rather than faff around trying to fix it I bought another on my next run to the shops, so there was a period with no track pump at the control...just sayin.

[hulver]

There will be a proper track pump with pressure gauge and chain lube at Pocklington, even if I have to bring my own! 

I'm bringing two track pumps, and I'm sure I'll have chain lube as well.

[GPS]

I'll make sure Moffat has a track pump and some chain lube.

I might even offer a pressure gauge if you're nice to the volunteers

[Delph Cyclist]

Just curious if there will be pumps with air gauges and chain lube at some controls?

I really don't understand this question.  I can't think of a scenario where I'd be thinking "thank goodness there might be a decent pump at the next control, 80km away, that might be lost, broken, or missing".  Wouldn't a better option be to carry a good pump?  I carry a Topeak Road Morph (with gauge), with which I can achieve full pressures without too much difficulty.  Those mini-pumps strike me as a waste of weight, however light they may be, if they are not up to the task.

I also don't understand CO2 cylinders for Audax although I'm sure they have their use in short lap racing.  How many to take for 1400km?  I'm sure I'd end up taking a pump anyway just in case I ran out of cylinders, in the same way that I take patches as well as spare inner tubes.

[tippers_kiwi]

I usually carry CO2 + a pump. I would only ever carry 2 CO2 canisters (the same number of tubes) and if I'm having a bad time then the pump can take over after I have patched tubes. I do like the speed and convenience of CO2 but I do agree it is pretty unnecessary.

For LEL my hand has been forced a bit to running the new 650B wheels which were actually only planned to be a bit of an experiment. Turns out my replacement 700C rim won't be available until after LEL so the 650B experiment is now my LEL set up. I don't mind as the comfort levels are awesome but my slight concern is spares. I will be carrying a spare tyre and a couple of tubes (running tubeless to start) so deep down I know I will be fine but I doubt any of the controls will be carrying much in the way of 650B spares and even shops might be a bit shot on options.

[Ben T]

What about spare Di2 batteries/chargers? 

[Wobbly]

Or a spare Sturmey Archer 3 speed for those of us at the other end of the technological spectrum:)

[Salvatore]

I usually carry CO2 + a pump. I would only ever carry 2 CO2 canisters (the same number of tubes) and if I'm having a bad time then the pump can take over after I have patched tubes. I do like the speed and convenience of CO2 but I do agree it is pretty unnecessary.

For LEL my hand has been forced a bit to running the new 650B wheels which were actually only planned to be a bit of an experiment. Turns out my replacement 700C rim won't be available until after LEL so the 650B experiment is now my LEL set up. I don't mind as the comfort levels are awesome but my slight concern is spares. I will be carrying a spare tyre and a couple of tubes (running tubeless to start) so deep down I know I will be fine but I doubt any of the controls will be carrying much in the way of 650B spares and even shops might be a bit shot on options.

A few LELs ago Nuncio was riding with a French rider who suffered a catastophic failure of his 650B tyre. He had had the foresight to bring a spare,  but it was in his drop-bag hundreds of miles away, so that was the end of his LEL. It did, however, mean that Nuncers was spared the moral dilemma of whether to offer his spare folding tyre (which was only half his anyway).

[tippers_kiwi]

I usually carry CO2 + a pump. I would only ever carry 2 CO2 canisters (the same number of tubes) and if I'm having a bad time then the pump can take over after I have patched tubes. I do like the speed and convenience of CO2 but I do agree it is pretty unnecessary.

For LEL my hand has been forced a bit to running the new 650B wheels which were actually only planned to be a bit of an experiment. Turns out my replacement 700C rim won't be available until after LEL so the 650B experiment is now my LEL set up. I don't mind as the comfort levels are awesome but my slight concern is spares. I will be carrying a spare tyre and a couple of tubes (running tubeless to start) so deep down I know I will be fine but I doubt any of the controls will be carrying much in the way of 650B spares and even shops might be a bit shot on options.

I'll carry a spare on the bike and might op a second in a drop bag just in case. If I have more than 2 catastrophic tyre failures I'll probably give up anyway!

I guess it could potentially end up with me being saved the moral dilemma of giving away my 700c spare as well but the fact that it is unlikely I would find a replacement at a control or shop along the route is the one thing that bothers me a little.

I have no real option now so lets see how it goes!

A few LELs ago Nuncio was riding with a French rider who suffered a catastophic failure of his 650B tyre. He had had the foresight to bring a spare,  but it was in his drop-bag hundreds of miles away, so that was the end of his LEL. It did, however, mean that Nuncers was spared the moral dilemma of whether to offer his spare folding tyre (which was only half his anyway).

[hellymedic]

Wouldn't a better option be to carry a good pump?  I carry a Topeak Road Morph (with gauge), with which I can achieve full pressures without too much difficulty.  Those mini-pumps strike me as a waste of weight, however light they may be, if they are not up to the task.

The man speaks my mind!

[oliverb]

CO2 is soluble in butyl. Therefore an inner tube filled with CO2 loses preassure at a much higher rate.
That's ok for a "short" race, but not for a long audax. You will have to pump your tire with air anyway.

The reason is not the size of the CO2 molecules which are bigger than nitrogen for example.

The reason for this is described here: http://www.velonews.com/2009/02/bikes-and-tech/technical-qa-with-lennard-zinn-large-molecules-and-short-frames_87175

So just take a pump I would say.

[Moleman76]

I will be carrying a spare tyre

While helping at a control at Seattle Randonneurs' Cascade 1200 last year, I saw a rider who had managed to roll his spare 650b tire into a very compact cylindrical shape, with a piece of twine through the middle.  He stowed this in that triangular space between seat tube and seat stay and fenders, and lashed it to the frame with the twine.

[tippers_kiwi]

I will be carrying a spare tyre

While helping at a control at Seattle Randonneurs' Cascade 1200 last year, I saw a rider who had managed to roll his spare 650b tire into a very compact cylindrical shape, with a piece of twine through the middle.  He stowed this in that triangular space between seat tube and seat stay and fenders, and lashed it to the frame with the twine.

I have a lovely space between my Carradice bagman and seat post so I reckon that is where the spare tyre will end up.

[yoav]

What about spare Di2 batteries/chargers? 

Good question: in theory, a fully charged battery should last the whole ride, but in practice, may not.

The first version with an external battery: you can take a spare battery with you. The charger is mains only and needs a couple of hours to charge a battery fully.

The newer version with battery in seat post: probably not practical to change the battery. Charging is USB so either the bike needs to be close enough for a mains lead to charge or you could use an external storage battery or even charge on the move with a dynamo.

I'm not familiar with the Campag or SRAM systems so can't comment.

[jiberjaber]

What about spare Di2 batteries/chargers? 

Good question: in theory, a fully charged battery should last the whole ride, but in practice, may not.

The first version with an external battery: you can take a spare battery with you. The charger is mains only and needs a couple of hours to charge a battery fully.

The newer version with battery in seat post: probably not practical to change the battery. Charging is USB so either the bike needs to be close enough for a mains lead to charge or you could use an external storage battery or even charge on the move with a dynamo.

I'm not familiar with the Campag or SRAM systems so can't comment.

I'm carrying a DI2 charger with me just in case (i.e. someone leans a bike against my leavers and stalls the derailleur so runs the battery down)  It will charge just fine of a USB power bank or the dynamo and charges very quickly as it's only a little battery at 500mAh.  I got down to 25% battery charge after 1500km so *should* be OK for LEL without an additional charge...

[Mothy]

Eskdalemuir control is the village community centre, and their café has a track pump with gauge for use by any passing cyclists at any time.  The controllers have brought a second as back-up, but di2 guys are on their own!