Toolkit basics

When Jason, Adam and I did our Thursday night quickie tour of the Genesee River Trail N to Charlotte and back, the subject of tools came up. Not that we were calling anyone names: we just compared notes on what was in our emergency toolkits. So this post is about what’s in mine, and how I’ve tried to strike a balance between raw weight in the pannier and potential immobility in the “breakdown lane.”

Here’s what you’ll find among my collection of tools for emergency repairs and adjustments: a decent frame pump (i.e. one that actually pumps sufficient volumes of air in a reasonable time, as opposed to various “mini-pumps” that fit nicely in your pack but give you bursitis and heart failure when you have the misfortune to use them), a full patch kit (including rubber cement, at least several patches of different sizes, and a piece of sandpaper or the like for roughing up the butyl surface), a spare tube (to render the patch kit redundant, naturally! – it’s always easier to pop in a new tube instead of patching a punctured one), tire levers (a.k.a. “irons,” for prying the tire off the rim when changing a flat; BTW, put the tire back on the rim by hand, to the extent possible, to prevent damaging the new or patched tube), a multi-tool (there are many brands and types, but yours should have several allen wrenches in common sizes, a selection of hex/box wrenches, a 6-inch adjustable wrench to use on the pedal axles and other parts and to make the wrenches on your multi-tool redundant!), slotted and Phillips-head screwdrivers, a chain tool for “breaking” and re-joining your chain (with replacement links), a knife blade for general purposes, replacement brake and derailleur cables (braided stainless steel, preferably). Hope I haven’t forgotten anything. Oh yeah, on a tour in remote country you might include a “cone wrench” for adjusting your hubs/axles, plus a headset wrench (your adjustable wrench won’t open wide enough to do the job).

Sound like a lot of gear? Maybe – but if you get bike-specific tools, your toolkit won’t be very large or heavy; mine fits easily into a wedge pack, the sort that hangs under the seat, and weighs only a pound and a half.

Your kit will also prepare you for an enhanced social life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped to help out a cyclist marooned on some far-off stretch of trail – the terrestrial equivalent of being up the creek without a paddle – and got into a fascinating conversation.

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