Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Velo Fixe => Topic started by: Attitudeless Badger on 18 October, 2010, 01:20:37 pm
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Well, the pompino has now arrived, and mighty fine it is too. This is my first bike that doesn't have QR wheels, so I need to make provisions for wheel removal, in case of punctures out on the road.
Is the preferred course of action for such a bike to remove and change the inner tube in case of punctures, or to carry around a puncture kit and do it in situ? Also, if I need to, is there an easy way of carrying spanners, ie can you get versions that can be easily attached to the frame via the bottle-mounts?
New bike, new questions, with any answers being much appreciated.....
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I carry two spare tubes and a puncture kit - just in case. Normally I swap out a tube and then fix the punctured one at home. But on the odd occasion of puncture apocalypse I have needed to patch on the road. I carry a dumball type spanner so I can get the wheels off.
Patching wiothout removing the wheel is doable but its sometimes tough to find the hole.
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I carry a cheapo box spanner in a Brooks Challenge bag.........
oh, and wet wipes, latex gloves, S/A patches and levers. Unfortuntaely a tube won't fit, so that goes in my pocket.
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Adjustable spanner. Asda draper value one £2
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Everything you ever wanted to know about 15mm spanners, but were too afraid to ask (http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=18491.0) :D
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I have found a nice black anodised ring/open spanner, longer than the one in Charlotte's thread there. I carry it in my saddlebag. I guess you could drill a couple of holes in the shank and attach it to bottle bosses.
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Short stubby spanners look great, but can be nigh on useless if you did up your wheels with a gert big spanner at home and you just can't get enough leverage with a stubby one.
I just carry a spare 15mm ring spanner I had in the tool box. It lives in my toolbag, so much so that it's still in there despite me using the geared bike for the last 4 months.
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If you want to carry tools on your frame you could always do what I have done. I have a 500ml water bottle (wide necked) that contains tube, patches, tyre levers, spanner, multitool, latex gloves, shower cap (to protect seat in mud) and baby wipes. My bottle is opaque so noone can see it isn't really a water bottle and get tempted to pinch it ;D
You can buy tool bottles but I could see no reason not to use one of my existing water bottles for this. Of course this does mean I can only carry one actual water bottle on my frame now.
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Short stubby spanners look great, but can be nigh on useless if you did up your wheels with a gert big spanner at home and you just can't get enough leverage with a stubby one.
I just carry a spare 15mm ring spanner I had in the tool box. It lives in my toolbag, so much so that it's still in there despite me using the geared bike for the last 4 months.
Yup, the stubby struck me as too small to be useful and as it happens, I lost mine before I had a chance to use it in anger (it jumped out of my bag when I wan't looking).
I've got a goldtec hub now so I'm spanner free nowadays, sniff.
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I have a pair of spanners in the saddle-pack on my fixed - they are like the stubby things that Charlotte linked to ... I bought a couple of cheapo regular 15mm combos and cut the open end off with an angle grinder (and then tidied up the rough edges) to fit the bag (and I keep them in the fingers of one of the plastic gloves to stop them rattling against each other.
Yes they are short BUT judicious use of the foot gives some power to the leverage.
Works for me.
Rob
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Short stubby spanners look great, but can be nigh on useless if you did up your wheels with a gert big spanner at home and you just can't get enough leverage with a stubby one.
As it's a pompino it will presumably have track ends, so won't need to be done up gorilla tight. The wheel will stay put even if it's only done up fingertight because I forgot you're experimenting.
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it will presumably have track ends, so won't need to be done up gorilla tight
What's your thinking there, Z?
I have track ends and I need them to be, if not gorilla, certainly adult orang-utan.
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it will presumably have track ends, so won't need to be done up gorilla tight
What's your thinking there, Z?
I have track ends and I need them to be, if not gorilla, certainly adult orang-utan.
He probably meant bell-ends, er, bell-tugs, er, chaintugs.
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it will presumably have track ends, so won't need to be done up gorilla tight
What's your thinking there, Z?
I have track ends and I need them to be, if not gorilla, certainly adult orang-utan.
Thinking? Sorry it was my lack of thinking - or at least a continuity break between grey mush and fingers. I meant chain tugs.
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For the weight weenie, an 'orrible cheapo dumbell multi spanner is lighter than just about anything else you can use for a 15mm nut, and fits in any small bag or pocket. It might even last a few years if saved for roadside emergencies only.
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My kit (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/Minitar1/ClipartEtc/MTK1.jpg) comprises a micro-pump, inner tube, tyre levers, 15mm and 8mm spanners, punc ture kit, and a multi-tool. The stubby 15mm spanner came from Aldi.
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Blimey. You ever actually pumped up a tyre with that?
*boggles*
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We don't want to know what else he does with it :hand:
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Blimey. You ever actually pumped up a tyre with that?
*boggles*
It telescopes out (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/Minitar1/ClipartEtc/Pump.jpg).
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Cheers folks, I knew the mention of spanners would generate a healthy response. I like the sound of the "bottle toolkit", esp as checking on the bike earlier I have noticed that the saddle supplied is not fitted with rails or anywhere obvious to fix a bag onto.
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Blimey. You ever actually pumped up a tyre with that?
*boggles*
It telescopes out (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/Minitar1/ClipartEtc/Pump.jpg).
*impressed*
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Cheers folks, I knew the mention of spanners would generate a healthy response. I like the sound of the "bottle toolkit", esp as checking on the bike earlier I have noticed that the saddle supplied is not fitted with rails or anywhere obvious to fix a bag onto.
How can the saddle not have rails ???
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I too have just got a Pompino and the saddle supplied (On One's own) doesn't have rails and needs a special seat post aswell. I'm not too bothered as I intended swapping the saddle for my Brooks in any case.
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So what does this rail-less saddle look like underneath? How does it attach?
Actually, I have seen a saddle without rails - it's on my son's bike-for-a-six-year-old. And even it has a kind of rails - plastic walls underneath the saddle, looking like, well, rails, rather than the normal rails which look like rods. What silly terminology we have!
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google: pivotal saddle
Bottom of this page: Eurobike: New DMR Jump Bike, Atomlab And More - BikeRadar (http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/eurobike-new-dmr-jump-bike-atomlab-and-more-23113)
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Aha, thanks for that. It actually looks quite sensible - it's just as if the top part of the saddle clamp has been incorporated into the saddle itself. The obvious downside is that you can't move it fore and aft. OTOH angle adjustment probably becomes easier, and I suppose there's a minimal weight saving.
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And you limit yourself to a very small number of saddles.
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There is that! Fine if the OE saddle suits you, but not if it doesn't.
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This thread got me googling...
I have, I think, located the ultimate bling:
6" TITANIUM ADJUSTABLE WRENCH (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT6%22%22ADJ%22)
*little moment*
And for you fixie types:
15MM TITANIUM COMBINATION SPANNER (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT15MM%20COMB%22)
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*swoon*
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This thread got me googling...
I have, I think, located the ultimate bling:
6" TITANIUM ADJUSTABLE WRENCH (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT6%22%22ADJ%22)
And for you fixie types:
15MM TITANIUM COMBINATION SPANNER (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT15MM%20COMB%22)
Hells bells, you'd be a little annoyed if you left one of those beside the road after dealing with the puncture fairy. :-\
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15MM TITANIUM COMBINATION SPANNER (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT15MM%20COMB%22)
*licks screen*
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15MM TITANIUM COMBINATION SPANNER (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT15MM%20COMB%22)
£94 ;D
Just as well I've changed (well, at the back anyway) to Allen bolts or I'd have been straight on that (not).
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This is an interesting option if you're carrying a U-Lock.
U-Lock Socket (http://www.trackosaurusrex.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry100401-094830)
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available (yet).
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6" TITANIUM ADJUSTABLE WRENCH
£495.47
Ordered.
Ha ha, had you there!
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6" TITANIUM ADJUSTABLE WRENCH
£495.47
Ordered.
Three. One of each saddlepack.
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Four, actually.
One for my son to take to school.
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Enough of the boasting, I'll be impressed when someone buys one and cuts the open end off.
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This thread got me googling...
I have, I think, located the ultimate bling:
6" TITANIUM ADJUSTABLE WRENCH (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT6%22%22ADJ%22)
And for you fixie types:
15MM TITANIUM COMBINATION SPANNER (http://www.btowstore.com/epages/BT2839.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT2839/Products/%22NSTT15MM%20COMB%22)
Hells bells, you'd be a little annoyed if you left one of those beside the road after dealing with the puncture fairy. :-\
They must be aimed at underwater engineering jobs as Ti is generaly not a good tool material as it doesn't hold an edge well.
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The Ti torque wrenches (POA) say they are for the MRI sector, so I would guess it could be the non magnetic aspect.
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When on the SS I have a flat spanner that fits in a triangular bag inside the frame. I think it was from Halfrauds.
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For the weight weenie, an 'orrible cheapo dumbbell multi spanner is lighter than just about anything else you can use for a 15mm nut, and fits in any small bag or pocket. It might even last a few years if saved for roadside emergencies only.
Those have always been the mainstay of my portable repair toolkit, along with a small allen-key-rich multitool, a chain tool (if the multitool doesn't have that) and some spare links. Fixie survival kit, covers most scenarios I'll encounter on a commute. I've certainly used the dumbbell spanner much more often than any other tool.
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Further to this, can you get small-ish seatpost mounted bags? Various searches show a number of large bag that use this system, ie Carradice SQR, but I haven't seen anything at the small, cheap and cheerful end of the market.
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Probably not exactly what you're after but I use one like this:
Topeak Aero Wedge Buckle On Large Saddle Bag Only £15.29
(http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Topeak_Aero_Wedge_Buckle_On_Large_Saddle_Bag/5360006686/)
Big enough to carry the toolkit and spares I carry on an Audax (multi-tool, chain tool, puncture repair kit, patches, tyre levers, adjustable spanner, 15mm spanner, topeak micro rocket CB pump, two spare tubes, spare batteries, insulating tape, pencil, spare cash, spare chain links)
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Just received one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160490487327&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
It's just 24g - about half the weight of another dumbell spanner I have - so light that at first I thought it was aluminium! I don't think it can be though. Best used as little as possible anyway.
EDIT: This is so light that I think it must be aluminium after all. Apparently the cheap but heavier ones are usually zinc - also softer than ideal. It helps though that it's quite close fit, and fits more than two sides of the nut at once. It doesn't help that it's so short.
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Just received one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160490487327&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
It's just 24g - about half the weight of another dumbell spanner I have - so light that at first I thought it was aluminium! I don't think it can be though. Best used as little as possible anyway.
EDIT: This is so light that I think it must be aluminium after all. Apparently the cheap but heavier ones are usually zinc - also softer than ideal. It helps though that it's quite close fit, and fits more than two sides of the nut at once. It doesn't help that it's so short.
Yes, they are interestingly light. I shall have to experiment a bit with them, but I think they'll probably be fine, so long as the bolts haven't been done up by an ape (which on a colleagues bike was the case, hence the demise of a previous version of this spanner).
I'd think that they are probably OK for wheels, although I have chaintugs on my singlespeed, so don't need them ludicrously tight anyway.
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I carry the usual anti-fairy kit & have a 15mm combi spanner fixed to the two braze-ons on the seat tube of the Langster
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Just received one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160490487327&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
It's just 24g - about half the weight of another dumbell spanner I have - so light that at first I thought it was aluminium! I don't think it can be though. Best used as little as possible anyway.
EDIT: This is so light that I think it must be aluminium after all. Apparently the cheap but heavier ones are usually zinc - also softer than ideal. It helps though that it's quite close fit, and fits more than two sides of the nut at once. It doesn't help that it's so short.
Yes, they are interestingly light. I shall have to experiment a bit with them, but I think they'll probably be fine, so long as the bolts haven't been done up by an ape (which on a colleagues bike was the case, hence the demise of a previous version of this spanner).
I'd think that they are probably OK for wheels, although I have chaintugs on my singlespeed, so don't need them ludicrously tight anyway.
OK, they really aren't very strong. I just tried to remove the rear wheel from Vince (singlespeed snow bike), which wasn't all that tight. It is an ex-spanner, it is no more. Strictly speaking it still is, however it's in two pieces. :-\
They're probably not useful for bolting and unbolting wheels, they really can't take much force at all.
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...Also, if I need to, is there an easy way of carrying spanners, ie can you get versions that can be easily attached to the frame via the bottle-mounts?...
http://www.velosolo.co.uk/trixie.html (http://www.velosolo.co.uk/trixie.html)
(http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/4452/dscn5661a33407193347139.jpg) (http://img593.imageshack.us/i/dscn5661a33407193347139.jpg/)
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They're probably not useful for bolting and unbolting wheels, they really can't take much force at all
They are very handy for the nuts on SKS mudguard stays, but not much use for anything else.
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Mine has been ok for a Brompron rear wheel so far - but perhaps I won't rely on it!
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Might have been mentioned already but a ratchet spanner with one open end is the one I go for. You can do up the nuts quickly and a quality one will last forever. Think I paid £10 in B&Q for one but it's not going to fail (given normal temperatures/use etc)
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If you attach an adjustable to your frame then keep it oiled. I had one seize up on me after a winter on the bike and couldn't get it to adjust. I used to have a small-ish spanner that I kept in my jersey pocket, until I forgot to put it in one time and was paranoid I'd get a puncture in the middle of know-where.
So I just got a small saddle bag and put the spanner in there. Sorted.