"Had to turn around and limp home"

[Spinner]

The title is a quote from thwart as a response to a thread discussion about good shifting and the absolute need to have a "tight" cassette lock ring.

We've all likely been stranded by mechanicals, and many have prepared for or otherwise equipped themselves to avoid a "limp home."

So, what do you do to minimize mechanical failure/disruption or resolve issues in the field?

[Veloo]

I do 99% of my own wrenching so I have a pretty good idea of what condition my stuff is in.
Try to be disciplined with recommended torque values, chain stretch etc.
Don't think I've ever been stranded and I carry a minimal number of tools with me cuz I just don't like to be weighed down.

I always encourage people to have some level of understanding of your bike so you don't have to call someone (me) for help.

[Talrand]

I do my maintenance at home and only carry what I need to deal with a flat. If you want to lug around a backpack of wrenches that's fine, but I'd rather prevent mechanicals than break out a truing stand on the side of the road.

[GregL]

Pre- and post-ride checks and regular preventive maintenance. Don't wait until something breaks on the road. If doing major maintenance, take a shakedown cruise close to home to find any problems before tackling a longer ride. The only time I've had to call for a ride in years was due to a tire with a manufacturing defect (broken bead that cut through a tube). I switched tire brands after that failure.

Greg

[biker72]

The only problem I've ever had on the road is flats. I haven't had a flat in over 1.5 years but carry a spare tube, tire levers, KMC chain link, and a multi-tool with Allen wrenches.

I've never had a broken chain but was able to help out a stranded rider that did.

[kppolich]

A multitool, Flat Kit and a cell phone will get you home.

[Turkle]

I only seem to get flats when my tires are really worn. So I make sure to periodically check the tread on my tires, and if they are looking bald and have all sorts of visible damage, I proactively replace them.

Keeping an eye on tire wear and making sure I replace them before they become a problem has solved the vast majority of my problems on the bike.

[cuda]

I do my 90% of own wrenching and ride 90% of the time alone except fo Saturday shop rides.
I have a mental checklist of what to do before heading out it's pretty much a ritual: check and inflate tires, make sure electronics are charged, wipe and super secret lube chain, electrolyte in water bottles, sunblock then grab stuff for jersey pockets, nutrition, phone, plugtool and plugs credit card if I'm riding long. Additionally I always ride a 3-5miles near home warm up loop no computer just spin up and down the gears to suss everything out. **** will always happen. Hopefully it wont be because of a brain fart.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Just this past Saturday I broke a chain quite a long ways from home. Chain only had 1500 miles on it. I never looked but not 100% sure I had cell phone coverage where this happened. I had a chain tool so was able to repair and finish the ride. The other major event I try to be able to repair is a tire blowout. I usually have a gu pack with me that makes a nice tire boot but I also carry a couple of squares cut from an empty coffee bag and a few inches of duct tape.

[NHAero]

I can't recall ever needing assistance to get back due to a mechanical. There, I just jinxed myself after 55 years of riding derailleur-equipped bikes!

I think failures fall into multiple categories:

1) Stuff that gets loose, that was improperly installed or tightened. Mostly preventable.

2) Stuff that just plain breaks. Maybe sub-categories of items that are prone to breaking occasionally (carbon bars perhaps? some seatposts? Ringle hub flanges?) vs. items that wear out and aren't predictable (my Stans rear hub on the MTB, 10 years old, had a bearing come apart in the freehub - but I was able to ride it home.) People breaking cranks at the pedal hole fit into this category.

3) The gray areas - cable breaks or chain breaks? I carry a spare cable on trips but not on a daily ride. I have replaced shift cable preventatively after reading about STI shifters eating cables but actually have never seen any indication of a failure starting when I did. I came upon a friend riding home with a broken RD shift cable once and he didn't have a multi-tool so he couldn't adjust the stop on the RD to set the RD into a mid-cassette cog. I think in most cases failures like these should not necessitate being rescued.

[Spinner]

Still riding clinchers with tubes, I carry a tube, a patch kit with two tire boots, tire levers, a quick link and a multi-tool that works with all the fasteners.

Quality components along with pre and post-ride checks do go a long way, however I like to recover in the field from unexpected events.

While riding the GAP several years ago, my Campy saddle clamp let loose leaving me with floating saddle and I didn't have a hex wrench that would fit. On the same ride, a branch caught-up in my front wheel required some fairly extensive wrenching to realign the fender.

I've also experienced 2 chain breaks over the years and numerous flats (including one incident with both road tires having the sidewalls simultaneously chewed in a street crack, think bad traffic issue).

What I don't appreciate are those who go totally unprepared and then EXPECT you to bail them out when sxxt happens.

[fourflys]

was out yesterday and came across a couple riders on the side of the road.. turns out one had run over a nail, they wanted to try and patch the tube, but the hole was just too big.. and there was something about the back-up tube, wasn't really sure on that.. anyway, thankfully, I was carrying two tubes yesterday, it was an easy decision to give them one of my tubes to get them home..

just a reminder to ALWAYS ask a rider at the side of the road if they need a hand.. I've got the "I'm good" 90% of the time, but you just never know..

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by NHAero

2) Stuff that just plain breaks

Or just weird stuff.

Friday I found out my tire sealant had outlived its shelf life when both tires (one new!) decided they werent going to hold air anymore. I have Friday afternoons off and this is really the only time I have reliably available for a long ride each week. I only had one tube, that, apparently had worn a hole despite being packed tight in a saddlebag.

And then I had no cell service, somehow, despite being inside the DC beltway so I had to walk a mile to be able to reach my wife, and the best I could get was sending a message as text, as the data just totally crapped out - no maps, no imesssage. A cyclist and walker went by me and wouldnt stop, either, nor anyone driving by that could possibly give me a lift to a nearby shopping center where I was going to look for wifi if I was still in a cell service hole.

The whole situation was beyond frustrating and I let it ruin my day.

[nobuseri]

As said here by others, I do most of my own wrenching, so I know the state of the bike, usually, before I ride. Multi-tool kit, couple spare tubes, and a pump have served me well in my experience.

A few weeks ago, my RD ripped off. Nothing I could do to fix that one. Postmortem indicated one of the chain links exploded and could not make its way through the RD jockey. These days we are truly fortunate. We don't even have to limp home. Just call the ride-share of your choice. I had to do just that and came back and picked up my bike with my vehicle.

[biker72]

Originally Posted by fourflys

was out yesterday and came across a couple riders on the side of the road.. turns out one had run over a nail, they wanted to try and patch the tube, but the hole was just too big.. and there was something about the back-up tube, wasn't really sure on that.. anyway, thankfully, I was carrying two tubes yesterday, it was an easy decision to give them one of my tubes to get them home..

just a reminder to ALWAYS ask a rider at the side of the road if they need a hand.. I've got the "I'm good" 90% of the time, but you just never know..

Good point. +1
A few weeks ago I was driving home from lunch with my kids and came across a rider that was stopped and trying to use his cell phone. It was raining fairly hard at the time and no one would answer his call. I gave him a ride home. He tried to pay me but I told him to just pay it foreward.