#BIKE WORKSHOP TOOL LIST HOW TO#
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It’s based on my own personal experience, judgment calls about what I would take for future trips, and a whole lot of research and conversations with other traveling cyclists.ĭown below, in the next section, I’ll explain key details about each item and recommend some products I personally use on my tours and bikepacking trips.Īn “x” means I recommend bringing the item for trips of that type. This list, showing the repair kit items down the left and the type of bicycle trip across the top (see above), gives a general idea of what most people will want for each type of trip. … or some of this, you’ll likely be making some repairs and adjustments as you go. If it sounds like a trip-ending disaster, err on the side of being more prepared. If this kind of problem solving sounds exciting, consider packing lighter. But all of these will take time, money, or both. Parts can be shipped from another continent, you can hitchhike for days to the nearest big city, or you can ask around the village until you find a creative mechanic. Examples:Īlso, consider your personal tolerance for spending time and/or money to solve bike problems.

2 weeks extremely remote bikepacking in the Oregon and Nevada desert in the summer heatĮxpedition: Several months or longer mostly in remote, rugged, and/or low-infrastructure areas.

Or, a shorter tour through rugged and remote areas or places with minimal infrastructure. Standard: A tour of several weeks to months, mostly through relatively populated areas in relatively developed countries.

Riding the GAP and C&O Canal trails on the east coast.

Riding the Pacific Coast route down California.

Mostly on smooth ground through relatively populated areas in relatively developed countries where you can find bike shops every few days that stock compatible parts. What the heck do those mean, you ask? Well, I just made them up, but here’s what I’m thinking:īasic: A tour of less than, say, 2 weeks. Types of Tripsįor purposes of the table below, I’m going to categorize bicycle travel into three types: basic, standard, and expedition. While bicycles may be common throughout the world, different standards are common in different regions and their parts may not work on your bicycle. Learn some basic bike repair at home first and then ask yourself, when packing supplies, “Could I make this repair myself without an internet connection?” If not, think twice about bringing the supplies for it. One other important tip first: knowledge and experience are lightweight and extremely valuable. But of course, you should filter them through your own judgment and risk tolerance.

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More data is always useful, and I love sympathizing with a good adventure story).īased on my own experience with 9000+ miles of bike touring and bikepacking, plus a lot of research, I believe these are solid recommendations.

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(Feel free to send a non-angry email though. It’s impossible to cover every potential issue, so please don’t send me angry emails if you have really bad mechanical luck on your next tour.

In the following lists, I try to balance the weight and space of repair gear with the likelihood that it’ll be useful based on those variables. your knowledge of bike repair and maintenance.current state of your bike parts and whether they’re likely to need maintenance on the road.remoteness of your route and how stuck you’d be if you can’t repair an issue.availability of parts where you’ll be riding, and whether local parts are likely to be compatible with your bike.There are plenty of variables to consider when deciding what to bring in your repair kit. And sooner or later, you’re definitely going to need it.

Whether you’re bikepacking for a weekend near your home or touring across a continent, this repair kit list will save your butt when you need it.

#BIKE WORKSHOP TOOL LIST HOW TO#

My goal with this post is to demystify the topic and explain how to choose the optimal repair kit for your specific bike tour. It turns out there’s no single right answer, but there are plenty of suggestions born from experience. Now, 9000+ miles and plenty of practice later, I have a pretty good handle on the bike touring repair kit issue. In the nervous excitement of getting ready for my first bicycle tour, I ended up packing a bunch of tools and parts I didn’t know how to use, crossed my fingers, and headed off to Southeast Asia hoping for the best. Plus, bicycle tools are heavy, and just having them isn’t enough – you need to know what to do with them. It’s like buying insurance: you hope not to need it, but you know not having it is an invitation for bad luck. Compiling a repair toolkit for bicycle travel is no one’s favorite task.

Bike workshop tool list