"Had to turn around and limp home"

[Waldo62]

I had a great riding titanium Colnago with an Italian threaded bottom bracket shell, from which the bb unwound when I was an hour from home. There was no hand threading the bb back in, so I had to call for a ride. I can think of two preventative measures:
1. Locktite the bb.
2. Don't buy a bike with an Italian threaded bb shell. Such a dumb design.

[MikeD]

I went on a solo, 85 mile hilly ride in desolate countryside. Hit a pothole half way in, pinch flatted and trashed (bent) my rear wheel. It was a conventional, 32 spoke aluminum rimmed wheel and was able to true it up enough to just barely clear the open brakes and wobbled back to the start after taking a more traveled and flatter route back. Had I had a low spoke count boutique wheel, I may have had to hitch a ride, or maybe a carbon rim would have survived the impact or just shattered; who knows? Moral of the story is if you're going on a ride like this, it's better to have a more fixable bike than an ultra lightweight racing bike incase you have a mechanical problem.

[weisan]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

As a ride leader I feel obliged to carry almost everything within reason that someone could need; my list includes some lessons from previous failures (others's, not mine):

• frame pump
• tube(s)
• minitool
• tire boot
• tube patches
• Wolf tooth master link/valve core tool
• master links
• Dyna plug
• valve extender (for the person with deep section wheels who brought a tube with a too-short valve stem)

I also carry a disc brake plastic insert to avoid the case that the piston gets compressed while the wheel is out. My bar bag has a chain tool but I only use the bag on longer offroad rides.



I'm so used to getting the "I'm good" response that I've usually gone past them by the time I hear "no."

Originally Posted by .RJ

A few good additions to this kit would be zip ties, spare shift cable, a rolled up length of duct tape (or similar), $10-20 cash, a spare chainring bolt/nut or two.

I keep all of this stuff in a small backcountry tulbag for longer rides or when I'll be out beyond cell service.

And, when you're cleaning/servicing your bikes, make sure your tubeless valve nut isnt jammed on with dirt/grime, cause it sucks if you cant get that thing off and you need to put a tube in.

This thread is timely. In a few weeks' time, I will be doing a month-long multi-city trip visiting friends and family and I will be bringing my bike. I need to be completely self-sufficient and ensure that things don't break while I am on the road. Even though I have done this many times, I still learn something new on every trip and try to apply that lesson learned towards the next one.

First and foremost, forget about weight. When you are travelling with a bike and far away from home riding in foreign lands, it is not an occasion to weight wennie, you got to bring and carry everything you need, or risk getting stranded and/or make that call of shame which may or may not be available.

I have been field testing three different bikes/setups over the last few weeks and trying to decide which one I want to bring. My criteria includes the different use cases I would encounter on this trip, the reliability and serviceability of the bike/components etc.

Bike #1: Lightweight sweet carbon tubular wheels with soft, supple and cuddly 30mm Vittoria tubs, rim brakes, Shimano Ultegra 10 speed mechanical shifting, 50/34 compact, 11-36 cassette - Merlin Titanium

To me (yes, to me), this bike is peak road bike - it hits all the sweet spots of what a pure road bike should be - light, nimble, responsive, comfortable. If the asphalt is smooth, I don't mind riding this bike for the rest of my life and forget about any future upgrades. But unfortunately, life doesn't work like this. In the end, I had to cross this one out because the biggest tire it can take is 28mm. I will be riding in some areas where the roads are truly bad and might encounter dirt/gravel along the way, I need something 32 or bigger and/or more puncture resistant.



Bike #2: Spectrum titanium S&S Coupled Di2 11 speed 50/34 11-34 cassette 650bX42 or 38mm tires. I have taken this bike on my last trip to France as well as to a few other places within the US where I not only rode on the road but did some gravel riding and it worked out great. Even though I was using the Post Transfer Case that doesn't really required me to take apart the S&S coupling but I have discovered that uncoupling the bike makes it a lot easier to pack. I like the way it rides with 650b wheels - behaves like a touring bike, very stable and bring the center of gravity down to my height (it's built for someone much taller). The only concern I have is: it's not the best choice in fast group rides which I will be doing a fair bit of in one of the destinations.



Bike #3: the Crux di2 11 speed 53/39 11-42 cassette 700x40mm Continent Terra Speed tires

I like everything about this bike. Don't let the gravel tires fool you, they roll...FAST! This bike can go anywhere, do anything - road, gravel, fast group rides, you name it, it can do it.

It weighs as pictured:

24 pounds!

Like I said, I got to have everything with me.

There will be some sustained climbing in one destination but I guess I would just suck it up and get over it.

I haven't travelled with it before so it would be an unknown when it comes to packing and all that.

I am leaning towards bringing this one.

[KonaSS]

God bless you Weisan, I am sure all your bikes are functional and reliable - but the mismatched colors, parts, rats nest of cables and wires that are taped or zip tied on drives my OCD absolutely bonkers.

May they provide you many trouble free miles.

[weisan]

Hahaha... kona pal, I know how and where to press your buttons to make you go crazy!

Thank you for your compliment!!!

[Flinch]

First time ever in 71 years of riding, chain became 'seperated' on my '83 NIshiki Prestige; noticed the peddling didn't make the bike move at all, looked down and chain was gone! Actually chain had wrapped itself around the 36 tooth chainring so well that it was all there, nothing hanging. Stopped and found out that my reuse of chain link connectors had eventually gotten me - one was still hanging on by the skin of it's defective teeth. Since I carried spare connectors, it was easy to get rolling agian. The connectors that came apart were so old they had Latin inscriptions.

Of course this was on vacation, along busy Oregon coast Hwy 101, and two miles from camp.

Moral of the story: Drink more beer.

[J0ckie]

One must not neglect the importance of the ability to perform both road-side emergency maintenance and home preventative maintenance.

Carry a multi-tool for when one of the pedal bodies of your recently purchased used Speedplay pedals separates from the spindle mid-ride. Stop, remove pedal body from cleat by remounting it on the spindle and twisting, take out aforementioned multi-tool and use the torx key to fasten pedal body back onto the spindle with the torx head that is freely floating in grease behind the dust cover, and complete ride.
Once home, don't forget to remove both pedals and tighten the other pedal's loose spindle bolt and all the loose bowtie bolts.

[Talrand]

Originally Posted by fourflys

you know what would be awesome? A bike-specific Leatherman tool.. I LOVE having a Leatherman in the car for all kinds of things, but it certainly would be of limited use in a bike kit as they currently exist.. is there something similar that exists? (would fix the issue above)

Since pliers are not very commonly used when working on a bike I've not seen any integrated into a multitool, however I've seen people carry Knipex Cobra Xs mini pliers when on long solo tours.

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by .RJ

A few good additions to this kit would be zip ties, spare shift cable, a rolled up length of duct tape (or similar), $10-20 cash, a spare chainring bolt/nut or two.

Good suggestions, especially when solo and off road. (I do always carry cash, a credit card, my health insurance card, my phone, and a RoadID, those seemed outside the remit of the OP.)

Originally Posted by KonaSS

God bless you Weisan, I am sure all your bikes are functional and reliable - but the mismatched colors, parts, rats nest of cables and wires that are taped or zip tied on drives my OCD absolutely bonkers.

What gets me is the extremely wide range of sizes. Astounding.