When you’re riding, you must be prepared to fix a flat tire or repair a broken chain. Carrying a bike repair kit with you all the time seems like a daunting task but if you’re a serious cyclist you must carry one. It’s never easy to carry heavy tools with you, so you can resort to a smaller and lighter version of equipment such as a mini pump and mini wrench.
You can start by carrying a cyclists’ bag which is large enough to fit most essential items. You can always take out the specific items that are less likely to be required during your commute. Other stuff, you can just keep at your garage.
A quality multi-tool kit made for bikers doesn’t take up much room and is very lightweight.
List of Essential Bike Repair Equipment for the Cyclists
Here is the list of essential equipment that should be included in your bike repair kit for cyclists.
Mini Pump
You must always carry a mini pump because incidents of flat tires are actually quite common. It also comes in handy when there aren’t any bike repair shops at close distances such as on the highway. Always carry a small hand pump or CO2 inflator that will fit in your backpack or mount to your bike frame. If it doesn’t fit inside your bag, you can attach it to the frame of your bike. Mini pumps are small and quite light, so carrying one doesn’t take much space or weight.
Carrying a CO2 inflator is easier than actually carrying a pump because it’s faster and easier to use. One big side effect of CO2 inflators is that it requires disposable cartridges, and each time you have a flat you’ll need at least 2 of those cartridges.
If the latter option is viable for you, you can consider carrying a CO2 inflator or simply switching it with a mini pump. Ta-da!
Patch Kit
If your flat tire is caused by a tiny puncture then you can easily seal it with the help of a patch kit. For large punctures, replacing the tube is your only option. If you aren’t carrying any spare tube, then you must have a patch kit in hand to seal it until you can find the next hardware store.
Patch kits are easy to use, light and compact. They’re easy to carry and use in time of need. A flat tire is quite common than you think, hence, you’d need a patch kit anyway if you only have a single spare tube. Here is how you fix a flat tire.
Tire Levers
Tire iron or tire levers come in handy when you need to change the tires. It isn’t easy to change a tire without taking assistance from a tire lever. Also known as the tire spoon it has a hooked C-shape cut into one end and acts as a specialized metal tool to hold a bicycle spoke in place. It’s really small and handy that you can carry it easily inside your kit.
Multi Wrench
A multi-tool kit contains wrenches for different nut sizes. You can consider buying a variety of Allen wrenches and an adjustable wrench or open or hex wrenches of sizes 8, 10, 15mm. The wrench size varies from one bike to another.
If your bike has quick-release front and rear wheels, you wouldn’t need a wrench. Most of the time, you’d need a wrench, and 99% of the time it’s a 15mm wrench. When using an adjustable wrench, you do need to take more care to not round over the nuts hence a fixed wrench is the best choice.
Duct Tape
Did you know Duct Tape is one of the most utilized accessories in places such as film shoots and a war zone? Duct tape is made up of strong industry adhesive that can patch up almost anything in a short time. Duct tape can come in handy for almost anything including wrapping patching the tear in the side of a tire!
Spare Battery
Carry spare batteries for gadgets or electrical appliances such as the helmet lamp. You never know when you might need to stop for a night or lurk in a dark corner around the road. Carry different-sized batteries.
Zip Ties
Zip ties really come in handy for longer bike rides. It can hold up anything that comes loose. Zip ties have higher tensile strength so they don’t break easily. Carry a pack of zip ties which includes both 8” long ones and 4” small ones.
A Pair of Disposable Latex Gloves
Latex gloves are entirely optional. You can choose to keep a pair of disposable latex gloves if you feel uneasy about playing with grease and grime. We all know that grease can stick to your fingers, palms, and sometimes clothes.
Latex gloves also come in handy in an emergency situation when it starts raining and the temperature drops 20 degrees. It can help to keep your hands dry and your finger flexible.
Spare Parts
You should be wary about carrying essential spare parts such as an extra tire, tube, brake cable, etc. if you’re riding a long distance. Here are some of the items you should consider keeping with you.
Spare tire: Although tires don’t need to be replaced often, you can carry a spare if you have a large enough bag. Be sure to buy folding tires so they fit into your bags.
Spare brake cable/derailleur cable: Imagine riding on the highway and your brake breaks suddenly. Yes, this nightmare can be really haunting. Carry a spare brake cable with you all the time. They are light, so you can easily keep them inside your bag.
Spare nuts and bolts: Know about different parts of your bike and carry spare nuts and bolts just in case. When you’re touring in your bike, spare nuts and bolts can become a life-saver.
Replacement chain links: We recommend every cyclist carry replacement chain links and a small bottle of grease.
A small tube of liquid lip balm: Usually these are around 1/3 ounce so you can carry them easily. In addition to protecting your chapped lips, they can also be used as a lubricant in case your bike chain lube runs out.
Spare Tube
Sometimes, a tube is just too damaged to be patched or has had a failure such as a valve stem breaking off which isn’t something that can be patched. Always carry a lightweight version of the right size tube for your bike.
Pocket Bike Repair Guide
A good pocket-sized repair guide isn’t heavy or big. Keep one with you all the time; you don’t know when you might need one. One good option is the “Pocket Guide to Emergency Bicycle Repair” by Ron Cordes and Eric Grove.
Basic First Aid Supplies
Although it isn’t a part of bike repair, you would need one anyway when you’re on the road. Carry a mini first aid box with essential supplies such as a handyplast, bandages, Dettol, aspirin, paracetamol, painkiller, etc. Don’t forget to keep a few alcohol pads in sealed foil packs which can also be used to clean the grease off of the bike.
A Plastic Garbage Bag
Did you know you can use a garbage bag for different purposes? They’re waterproof and you can wear them when riding in the rain. You can use them to cover anything from rain or dust. They’re light and compact, so you can carry a bunch of them with you.
Some of the other essential yet light items you can carry in the ride are keychain-style flashlights, headlamps, and cash. Cash comes in handy in almost every case. Thus, you must carry a bike repair kit with you.