More Bike ArticlesHere is a list of stuff you should take with you on every ride that's long enough that you wouldn't like to walk back from it. It will fix the most common problems you will have with your bike.
- A pump. The best ones for road use are the Xefal HP X pumps. You can get away with a mini-pump on mountain bikes, since they don't need such high pressure. The Blackburn Mammoth is the best I've seen.
- Tire levers for getting your tires off the wheels. Plastic ones are better than metal ones, as they won't damage your rim. For some mountain bike tires you can get away without this, as you can get the tires off the rims with just your fingers. Obviously, try this before going out without tire levers.
- A spare tube. This allows you to get back underway rapidly if you only get one puncture.
- A patch kit. You often get punctures in both tires. You can get either a traditional patch kit with rubber patches and glue, or a glueless patch kit like Park Super Patch. I find that the glueless patches don't work very well for me on road tubes, but they are fine for MTB tubes. However, they are more expensive than the traditional patches.
- If your wheels are fastened on with plain nuts (not with a quick release), you need a wrench (spanner) to remove and reinstall them. Either carry one of the right size, or a 6" or 8" adjustable spanner.
- Allen keys or wrenches (spanners) for the bolts on your bike. Most bolts on modern bikes have heads that take Allen (or hex) wrenches. If you take 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, and 6mm keys, you'll cover most bolts on your bike. It's a good idea to see if this set covers what you'll need to adjust. You can get these in a folding tool that keeps them all together, or you can get them at part of a multi-tool. If you have an older bike, it will have lots of traditional bolts and nuts, which require open end or box end spanners (wrenches) to adjust. You should have a small adjustable wrench with you to tighten them up, or several sizes specific to the bolts on your bike.
Well, that's it. There are more things you can carry if you want, like screwdrivers, pliers, chain tools, and spoke wrenches. These sometimes come in useful, but they won't be needed as often as the items in the list above.