In this maintenance article, I am going to show you five essential tools and spares to take with you when you’re out cycling to make sure that you don’t end up sitting on the roadside needing to call for a lift home.
First and most important on my list is an inner tube because a puncture is the most likely problem that you’re going to encounter when you’re out cycling. Now these only cost a few pounds, Euros, or dollars, and they can often also be repaired, which is easiest to do when you get home after your ride. Standard inner tubes like this are made of butyl rubber, but it’s 2024 now, guys, times have changed! There are now other options such as TPU or thermoplastic inner tubes like this, or latex inner tubes. They do cost a little bit more, but they are faster rolling. However, the TPU inner tube is more compact and lighter to carry in your pocket, which makes things a little bit easier.
In order to change your inner tube, the first thing you’re going to need is a tire lever. To change your inner tube, you’re going to need one, if not two, tire levers, unless you’ve got thumbs like Hulk Hogan or incredibly loose-fitting tires that you can just remove with your hands. Using a nylon tire lever, this is the smarter choice than using a metal one. It’s lighter, easier to carry, and is also less likely to damage your tire, wheel, or the inner tube which you’ve just replaced. Which means there’s absolutely no excuse for being that kind of person who’s using an old screwdriver or a spoon from your kitchen. Nylon tire levers can be bought online for under five pounds, or you can get them from your friendly local bike shop.
Before you take your tires off, before putting them back on, you’ll need to pump them up. And to do that, you’ll need a pump. There are lots of different options to choose pump, most of them can be attached to your bike using mounts that they come supplied with and fitted onto the bottle cage bosses.
In order to attach this to your bike or make any tweaks to it when you’re out cycling, you’re going to need a multi-tool. A little mini tool set is essential. Just like your mini pump, there are lots of different options to choose from. The essential things to get right when you’re trying to choose a multi-tool or mini tool set is to make sure that it has the relevant tools for your bike. You’ll need a selection of Allen or hex keys going from, say, a two millimeter all the way up to a six millimeter. It’s also handy to have a flat head or a cross-headed screwdriver on there as well. Some bikes are starting to use Torx keys on the bolts, which are slightly different from your hex keys. So, if your bike has those fitted, make sure they’re included on your multi-tool as well.
A multi-tool like this may also have a chain tool or a spoke tool attached to it. If you’re a beginner cyclist and build up your essential spares tools, are probably unlikely to be that helpful for you because they’re a more complex job to fix, especially when you’re out on the roadside.
The final essential thing to take a small self-adhesive patch kit as a backup to your backup inner tube. If you’re unfortunate enough to have a second puncture, these small self-adhesive patches can fix that inner tube. They can also double up to fix a cut on the inside of your tire. You can simply place it on the inside of the tire, then reassemble everything back together. There are, of course, specific products designed to patch up the inside of your tire, but I find using a solution like this is great because it’s small, compact, and can fix your inner tube and your tire.
So, those are the essentials that I deem to be essential to carry with you when you’re out on the bike. They’re going to enable you to fix the most common problems that you’re likely to face. Now, you might be sitting here thinking, “Well, there’s something else pretty essential that you’ve missed off the list.” Well, I’ve already thought about it, and it’s a mobile phone. I was kind of working on the basis that most people carry a phone most of the time, and if you don’t, well, I’d advise taking one with you when you go outside because it acts as a real get out of jail free card.
Anyway, there are also lots of different ways to carry all these spares. You could put them into your jersey pockets or a saddlebag or a frame bag. Personally, I prefer to put most of the stuff onto the bike if I can and avoid carrying it in my jersey. It makes cycling a little bit more comfortable.