There’s nothing worse than having your bike or body break down on a ride and being unprepared to deal with it. Sometimes it takes learning the hard way or years of experience under your belt to be prepared for whatever situation comes your way. Let us share our years of experience here with you to help flatten the learning curve.
Food And Water
If you’ve ever bonked before you know what a terrible feeling it can be. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it’s essentially one your body starts to shut down because you don’t have enough food or water in your system. Always make sure to bring a couple snacks and enough water on your ride. Even if it’s just a short one. Sometimes it can be hotter than you expected, or the ride can end up longer than anticipated. Sometimes having extra water and food can come in handy if you have a friend who is thirsty or hungry, or helping someone out on the trail in a similar situation.
Multi Tool
Having a multi-tool it’s like the Swiss Army knife of the bike world. A multi-tool comes in many different shapes sizes and combinations. The most important things to look for in a tool are hex wrenches, chain breaker, and torx. It seems like almost every group ride we go on someone needs a multi-tool for something whether it’s lowering their seat, tightening up a loose bolt, or making a quick adjustment. There are tons of creative ways to stash multi-tools on or in your bike. Check out one of our favorite stashable tools here.
Air
Being able to pump up your tires is crucial on the trail or road and will help save you from a long walk home. Whether it’s having a small hand pump attached to your bike or CO2 cartridges stashed in your jersey, you’ll want to be able to fix a flat when it happens. There are pros and cons for both pumps and CO2 canisters, but either will work fine. The plus side to having a pump is that it can give you an infinite amount of air, while CO2 cartridges are sort of one and done. CO2 cartridges work really well with road bikes which require super high psi that will give you an arm workout with a hand pump.
Tubes and Patches
Being able to fix your flat is going to require a new tube or a patch kit. We recommend always carrying a tube as a fail-safe option for fixing a flat. Make sure to get the right size tube that will work with your tire. It’s worth bringing along a patch kit to try and fix punctured tubes. Being able to fix a tube on the trail will give you more of a safety net in case you get another flat. If you’re running tubeless tires, grab a tubeless plug kit. These work the same way as a plug for your car tire and will save you the next you get a puncture!
Extras
Other items worth bringing along that don’t take up a lot of space are a quick link, extra valve core, derailleur hanger, light, and tire levers. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!
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