Audax Repair kit

[Pickled Onion]

It’s helpful to know that I’m not miles off

I'd say you were just about right, apart from the self-adhesive patches and the pliers.

I carry a stubby spanner, but it's more for ease of fitting it in a water-bottle toolkit than the weight, it probably weighs the same as a cheap normal spanner. The ones QG has linked to look fantastic if you want to save a few grams. If you go for stubby or Jethro Tule, then make sure you use it when prepping the bike for the ride. Otherwise you may find the nice home spanner did the nuts up rather tight! In fact that goes for the whole kit - use it to prep the bike, then you know exactly what you've forgotten (and what you didn't need).

Also spares. If you have any bosses on the bike not in use, put a bolt in them. I've lost count of how many times that has saved the day.

[arabella]

Yes, but see what I said earlier about riding a well-maintained bike. That includes correctly set dérailleurs.

You're assuming the likes of me have the time and been shown/taught/acquired the knowledge to achieve this mythical "well-maintained"-ness.  I don't. (OP I think does, though).
Hence comments above about risk appetite etc.

[hellymedic]

If you are a regular touring or commuting cyclist, make a note of what fails when you're on the road and take appropriate tools and spares.

Before long trips and Audax rides, give the bike a once-over and replace anything looking worn or approaching its use-by date.

Lube everything.

Fill every unoccupied boss with a spare M5 bolt; you never know what might rattle off despite your best attention, but tighten every nut & bolt within sight & reason.

[Hot Flatus]

I carry breakdown insurance that costs about £14 a year. And I don't bother carrying all those things that might get used once every two decades.

Care to share the insurer with us? Have tried finding such things in the past, google-fu lets me down and only finds bike theft insurance.

https://www.eta.co.uk/bicycle-insurance/cycle-rescue/

[Philip D]

I carry breakdown insurance that costs about £14 a year. And I don't bother carrying all those things that might get used once every two decades.

Care to share the insurer with us? Have tried finding such things in the past, google-fu lets me down and only finds bike theft insurance.

https://www.eta.co.uk/bicycle-insurance/cycle-rescue/

Thanks, will take a look tomorrow.

[Kim]

If you are a regular touring or commuting cyclist

This is why I tend towards the kitchen sink end of the spectrum.  I carry a reasonable kit for touring, which is overkill for audax.  But it's hardly worth taking a few things out to save a tiny amount of weight on the occasional audax ride.

[howie]

Well, I've been riding for 40 years and have yet to experience anything that would lead me to carry the kitchen sink, certainly for your average UK audax.

Good point about not having shelter, but then roadside repairs can also be quite taxing in the cold and when you are tired.

Yes, each to their own. When all is said and done the possibility of a £100 taxi fare doesn't phase me that much when set against all the things I spend £100 on without so much as a thought

The other problem with trying on insurance is that you have to abandon the ride. Seems daft to do that for want of a chain tool or a tyre boot or whatever it is you’ve deemed too heavy to carry.

.

It depends on how much you value the ride, I suppose. At the moment I'm not riding much, but I did used to, and the more events I rode the less of an 'event' each one seemed. I'd add that I would weigh the thought of an abandon against carrying a chain tool on that ride, I'd weigh it against carrying every tool I'm never going to use on every single ride, if that makes sense to you. I prefer to maintain my bike really well at home, replace parts before they fail, and not get stressed about breakdowns on the ride or carrying tools for every eventuality.

I've had a chain break once in 40 years...and in truth I could have avoided it if I'd paid attention to a slight click and mis-shift that had been happening for the preceeding few days.

On the Bomber County Audax last year I had a bit of a nightmare with a broken chain (bent link), no problem I thought and repaired it with a chain extractor. What I should have done is added a quick link but I thought I'd replace the chain when I got home.   Then without thinking whilst going uphill I ended up jamming the chain (large ring and large sprocket), which was now too short and bending the mech hanger.   
Things went from bad to worse as the elderly chain extractor broke... I managed to get on my way, only to puncture in the pitch dark after riding through a pothole.   
It is useful to carry a small kit like the one in the picture, plus helping other people or receiving assistance from fellow audaxers is what it's all about I think.
I was close to packing it in that day but I'd have had to get a taxi back to the start.  If it can go wrong it will, I must admit the challenge was to try and fix my bike that day so that I could finish.   

One thing I've just recently added to my tool kit is a CO2 inflator with a couple of refills.  I carry a small pump as well but the speed at which I can get restarted is worth the minimal wieght gain.

[Chuffy]

I find that ease of access is way more important than weight. Time spent rummaging is time wasted. Or, worst case scenario, time spent getting cold and wet.

I use old specs cases for keeping my repair kit together, with a multitool in the outer pocket of the Carradice. Doesn't take up much space, but makes it much easier to lay hands on. I also carry a Fibrefix kevlar spoke and a selection of bolts, although the latter can usually be distributed around the bike if you have unused rack or mudguard mounts. It's a full-fat kit for anything up to and including LEL. I'm comfortable doing 200s with little more than a PRK and multi-tool - but tbh it really makes bugger-all difference carrying a few extra bits around. End of the day, I've never found myself regretting carrying potentially useful stuff but I have regretted not having that stuff when it would have been useful.

I also have ETA recovery. Got it after I had a simple puncture (at night, in the rain & cold) and my pump failed - about as random and unexpected a mechanical as you could possibly hope to avoid. I'd also left my bivvy bag & space blanket at home on that occasion because it was mid-summer and who would want to waste space lugging such fripperies around when we'd just had a heatwave? Luckily I was within walking distance of home, but it could easily have been much, much nastier, despite being in the middle of the Home Counties and not the wilds of Dartmoor. ETA is great, but it's not a magic helicopter than materialises instantly. It's peace of mind if disaster strikes (and very cheap, compared with trying to source a taxi yourself) but *not* a replacement for being sensibly prepared.

'You don't need that stuff if you maintain your bike' is pure trolling and damn stupid. Best ignored.

[Kim]

One thing I've just recently added to my tool kit is a CO2 inflator with a couple of refills.

I started carrying these so as not to delay FNRttCs more than absolutely necessary.  I haven't restored to them often, as I carry a decent pump, but they've been useful a couple of times when speed has been important (dodgy area, and running late for a train, respectively).  It also got me home from a camping weekend when I got a mile down the road and worked out that the weird clunking noises were because my rear shock^[1] had lost all its pressure overnight.


_{[1] Which needs about 200PSI and a Schrader valve.}

[De Sisti]

https://www.eta.co.uk/bicycle-insurance/cycle-rescue/

"Get you home" for £24 sounds good to me.

[Edit: In the event of a breakdown that you couldn't fix, ETA would take you (and/or bike)
to a bike shop or train station if those were nearer than your home. Happy to be corrected].
 
[Edit 2.0] So the £24 ride home doesn't apply in all cases.

[Hot Flatus]

https://www.eta.co.uk/bicycle-insurance/cycle-rescue/

"Get you home" for £24 sounds good to me.

I've had it for years...but I've never had to use it. I'm sure that day will arrive at some point, but I prefer to mitigate this by maintaining my equipment (including pumps and tyres).

I was once the mechanic at a 400k audax control. Was a bit of an eye-opener. Suffice to say that those who needed my assistance were riding bikes in a poor state of repair. Doubtless some will get enraged by this, but it is true regardless.

[Hot Flatus]

The thought has never occurred tbh.

Car insurance costs me about £100 for my main car, and I doubt ETA could compete. The other vehicle needs a specialist insurer for various reasons.

[Hot Flatus]

Yes, but see what I said earlier about riding a well-maintained bike. That includes correctly set dérailleurs.

You're assuming the likes of me have the time and been shown/taught/acquired the knowledge to achieve this mythical "well-maintained"-ness.  I don't. (OP I think does, though).
Hence comments above about risk appetite etc.

Sure, accepted...although there is nothing mythical about it. 

Spoiler because long post

(click to show/hide)

I used to have a riding partner who never maintained his bike. He seemed to lack any sort of common sense and was in a complete state of surprise when anything went wrong with his bike (probably about 50% of the time I rode with him). This includes punctures because his tyres had bare patches. He once had the pawls on his freehub burst through the freehub shell effectively turning his bike into a 20 speed fixed gear. Happened at the top of the Gospel Pass with 50 miles to get home. That was fun.

On a 300k (our first, and his last) his battery front light failed after 10 minutes of use when night fell. I asked him if he'd fully charged it and his response was "well, I switched them on this morning and they were working so I thought it would be ok".

We did an E2E together. I took a massive tool kit, including about 20 large cable ties. We hadn't even started riding before I had to use them to strap on his panniers because the fittings had fallen off his rack in the van taking us from the airport to JoG. For that trip I bought a multi-tool the size of my arm, because I knew I would need it for his bike. I've never carried it since.

I let him join me on a solo trekking trip in Kashmir. The route had us several days walk away from any jeep tracks for most of the way, and for at least half the time we would be at 5000+ m.  The night before, sat in a cafe in the trailhead town, it transpired he hadn't thought to get travel insurance. At the end of the first day's walking his feet were in bits. That morning was the second time he had put his walking boots on...the first time being when he tried them on in the shop.

So, most people are somewhere between the extremes of total ineptitude and being God's personal bike mechanic. For me, investing a bit of time into learning how to maintain equipment suits me better than having to deal with things at inopportune moments.

[GdS]

I also carry a spare gear hanger on each of my bikes, haven't needed one on an Audax but was left without twice which resulted in total bike failure (once in Itally)

[perpetual dan]

@Hot Flatus you are either a very patient and forgiving friend, or a sucker for punishment!

FWIW i am of the chain tool, small spanner, brake pads and cables school of thought in my toolkit. Not much audaxing lately, but if I've had it break on a long weekend tour i might reasonably expect the same on a 400km audax. I'm also of the view that I'm still the obvious place to make weight savings, rather than the choice of how many tyre levers.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Hot Flatus]

@Hot Flatus you are either a very patient and forgiving friend, or a sucker for punishment!

See below for the extent to which I am either of those things 

(click to show/hide)

He was great fun to ride with, and a good off-the-bike friend so I didn't mind, I just knew I had to be the one doing all the planning and that included thinking through all the things he could possibly mess up...like not checking his passport date etc.

I was once going to the far east for a 6 week trip. He found out and wanted to join me with 2 of his old school friends who I didn't know. Knowing him but not knowing them I didn't commit, but agreed to meet up at start.  I met them in their hotel in BKK after theyd arrived from London, and the first thing I clocked was a pair of shorts on the floor with a passport poking out of the back pocket. The friend of his had almost certainly crossed BKK on public transport with it poking out of his back pocket   Bit of a red flag.

The next day, sat in the airport, waiting for flight to Saigon, the other friend asked me how much money I was carrying for 6 weeks. I said I had 2 credit cards, a debit card for withdrawal, £100, and $1000 in cash hidden  in a belt as emergency money in case of lost/stolen cards or if the cards didn't work in Vietnam (was 2005...so not so interconnected).

He said he had one credit card and £35 and did I think that was OK. I pointed out to him that his card might not work in Vietnam and suggested he go to airport bank and get cash advance of $1000. Off he went. Came back 2 minutes later white as a sheet. He'd lost his card already. My mate had to lend him all his cash for his entire trip.

I left all of them in Saigon the next day. I can manage one total fuckwit, but not three 

[Pedal Castro]

Polymer banknotes can function as tyre boots, weigh little and have multiple other uses...

I used one for a tyre boot on a 300, then used it to buy a new tyre at the half way point.

My gear cable also snapped that ride but carrying a spare would not have helped as changing a modern shimano cable is not easy.

[Hot Flatus]

Forgot to say...now I'm in my mid 50s I do now carry reading glasses in my spares kit 

Yes, Shimano cables on the last few series are a bit of a pain if they snap because getting the ball end out can be fiddly and sometimes necessitate removing the little inspection hatch underneath...which needs a tiny screwdriver. Not that easy at the roadside, especially if cold, tired and in poor light.

I think one of the series of 11sp Shimano is known to chew up gear cables in the rh shifter.  As it has happened to me, I've learned to just change the cable at the first hint of anything unusual and always use good quality cables. I guess that is a good example of what I mean by maintenance. It's not about fixing stuff when it breaks.

Tyres are another good example. Absolute false economy to use them until they are hanging off the bike.  Equally, checking them for flints when you wash the bike can save a roadside puncture.

[Ian H]

@Hot Flatus you are either a very patient and forgiving friend, or a sucker for punishment!

See below for the extent to which I am either of those things 

(click to show/hide)

He was great fun to ride with, and a good off-the-bike friend so I didn't mind, I just knew I had to be the one doing all the planning and that included thinking through all the things he could possibly mess up...like not checking his passport date etc.

I was once going to the far east for a 6 week trip. He found out and wanted to join me with 2 of his old school friends who I didn't know. Knowing him but not knowing them I didn't commit, but agreed to meet up at start.  I met them in their hotel in BKK after theyd arrived from London, and the first thing I clocked was a pair of shorts on the floor with a passport poking out of the back pocket. The friend of his had almost certainly crossed BKK on public transport with it poking out of his back pocket   Bit of a red flag.

The next day, sat in the airport, waiting for flight to Saigon, the other friend asked me how much money I was carrying for 6 weeks. I said I had 2 credit cards, a debit card for withdrawal, £100, and $1000 in cash hidden  in a belt as emergency money in case of lost/stolen cards or if the cards didn't work in Vietnam (was 2005...so not so interconnected).

He said he had one credit card and £35 and did I think that was OK. I pointed out to him that his card might not work in Vietnam and suggested he go to airport bank and get cash advance of $1000. Off he went. Came back 2 minutes later white as a sheet. He'd lost his card already. My mate had to lend him all his cash for his entire trip.

I left all of them in Saigon the next day. I can manage one total fuckwit, but not three 

You're obviously a genius at maintenance, but less than competent at choosing travelling companions.  I have a mental image of you as prime minister, presiding over the the most incompetent cabinet ever.

[Hot Flatus]

Well, you are the Michael Foot of the audax world after all 

[Ian H]

Well, you are the Michael Foot of the audax world after all 

Thank-you. I have a letter from him somewhere.

[phil dubya]

now I'm in my mid 50s I do now carry reading glasses in my spares kit

I'm in that club too!

I also use a Swiss Army knife which has small wire cutters and screwdrivers on it, really useful.   It is especially good at getting small slitthers of flint from a tyre.
 

[Karla]

One thing that the OP should bear in mind is that by definition, people on here (self included) are people who like to talk about cycling on internet message boards.  This means we're collectively rather nerdy, have a tendency to be kit freaks and carry lots of extra junk because TEH SHINY!

[arabella]

Yes, but see what I said earlier about riding a well-maintained bike. That includes correctly set dérailleurs.

You're assuming the likes of me have the time and been shown/taught/acquired the knowledge to achieve this mythical "well-maintained"-ness.  I don't. (OP I think does, though).
Hence comments above about risk appetite etc.

Sure, accepted...although there is nothing mythical about it. 

..snip..

by that account my bike is an example of perfect maintenance  (we'll gloss over the time Pete Turnbull went and bought some lube because my squeaky chain) ... goes off to change some brake blocks before the weekend ...
I got defeated by a 2-way freewheel once, I didn't reckon zip tie-ing it in place on a hilly ride was something I wanted to do, so by agreement scooted off to intercept the org+vehicle and help at a control

[Cudzoziemiec]

My kit is pretty similar to the OP's. I used to only carry one tube and traditional patches and glue, but now tend to two tubes and instant patches. I did try tubeless but for me it didn't work out, I think in part because of the tyre and rim combo I was using, also because the tyres were already old.

One thing I've never used myself, but have given to another person* albeit not on an audax, is zip ties.

*Cycleman.