What do you carry on your bike?

[keyboardmashing]

I just ordered an Juiced oceancurrent and an additional battery, and plan on going on extended rides out of the country. I'd like to put some sort of "get home" kit on my bike so I can get home in the case of a flat or other small breakdown. Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[jazz]

I always have a small kit with extra tube, tire lever, wrenches, small hand pump.

 

[keyboardmashing]

What happens if the tire attached to my motor becomes flat? Pretty difficult to remove.

 

[keyboardmashing]

Don't I have to remove wires, etc? Anyone have a tutorial on this?

 

[mrgold35]

I have the same things like others with patch kit, tools to remove rear tire, zip ties, two small bottles of Stans sealant, and extra inner tube. I also have a knife, rechargeable flashlight, and USB cables to recharge my phone from the ebike battery. I would also check into getting tire liners like Mr. Tuffy and using a tire sealant like Stans. I just have one cable to disconnect to take my rear tire off with rear hub motor.

Seems like Murphy's law; but, both times I had a flat what when I forgot to pack my fat kit in my rack bag (had to call the wife to pick me up both times).

 

[Solom01]

Since most of the issues seem to be related to getting flats has anyone here tried Tannus airless tires? Besides being expensive they look really hard to mount and would not allow you to vary your PSI for different uses, but on the other hand you also don't have to mess with keeping them inflated and never having to worry about flats again seems like a huge plus. I'm assuming they don't ride the same as regular tires but just wanting to see if anyone has actually tried them?

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Get a couple of these. Never went out without one on my rear hub bike. You can change the tube without removing the wheel, but you need to have a knife to cut the leaking tube in half to get it out. They come with either Presta or Schrader valves.

https://www.amazon.com/GAADI-TU4509-Parent-Schrader-Valve-Tube/dp/B00HR088OG

 

[E-Wheels]

I just ordered an Juiced oceancurrent and an additional battery, and plan on going on extended rides out of the country. I'd like to put some sort of "get home" kit on my bike so I can get home in the case of a flat or other small breakdown. Any ideas?

Thanks.

It makes sense to only carry the spares you know how to fit with the tools you know how to use
Anything other than that will be a waste of time
Carrying a cell phone and taxi fare will cover all emergencies

 

[Over50]

What happens if the tire attached to my motor becomes flat? Pretty difficult to remove.

I carry a few emergency and bike tools: knife; multi-tool; locks; mini pump. I'm also using the Gear S3 Smartwatch by Samsung which has an SOS feature. 3 clicks of one of the buttons and it sends an SOS text or phone call - in my case to my wife with GPS coordinates. As for the flat tires: I'm commuting through some rough urban areas and I have a bike with a belt drive. I figure if I get a flat I'm not going to be able to fix it on the road in a timely fashion. So I keep the Thule carrier in the back of the Subaru and my wife drives the Subaru on the days I bike commute - and she doesn't work too far away from my employer so we're generally travelling in the same direction on work days. I haven't had a flat yet but if I do my plan is to call for rescue vs fix on the road. I also have VeloInsurance with Roadside Assistance (hope to never have to test that out).

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Don't I have to remove wires, etc? Anyone have a tutorial on this?

This really depends on the make and model of the bike. If you look on youtube a bit you can often find tutorials on how to do it for your particular bike.

For myself, I carry the awful little tool kit that came with my bike, small needle nose pliers, small snips, a very small locking blade knife, tire pressure gauge, CO2 canister (and maybe a spare) duct tape, a few cable ties, tire levers, and a spare tube.

On an extended multi-day tour I'd probably carry an actual bike pump, some more spares (brake cables come to mind), chain lubricant, a headlamp, and a (very) modest amount of camping gear.

One thing that is a bummer about integrated lights is I liked being able to use your bike light as a flashlight in camp and for emergency repairs in the dark.

I'd strongly recommend both tire liners and a tube sealer (or the pre-sealed tubes Slime and others carry) just to minimize the risk of flats.

I also carry a bottle or two of water, sunglasses (or goggles on a cold day), bike locks, a helmet to protect what little brains I have left, and often times a dog or two.

 

[JRA]

Multi tool, pump, tube and patch kit and a cell phone.

 

[Marceltt]

Since most of the issues seem to be related to getting flats has anyone here tried Tannus airless tires? Besides being expensive they look really hard to mount and would not allow you to vary your PSI for different uses, but on the other hand you also don't have to mess with keeping them inflated and never having to worry about flats again seems like a huge plus. I'm assuming they don't ride the same as regular tires but just wanting to see if anyone has actually tried them?

I would like some feedback on those too

 

[YD51]

What happens if the tire attached to my motor becomes flat? Pretty difficult to remove.

Depends on your particular bike. On mine, I have a levered through-axle which makes it easier to remove the rear wheel. Not quite as easy as the quick release skewers, but easier than having to carry a tool to unbolt the wheel.

Even if yours is bolted on, just pick up a compact multi-tool, or carry a wrench that's the exact size of the bolts you'd need to remove. Unplug the motor (most modern ebikes make this easy), unhook your rim brakes (if you don't have discs), unbolt your wheel, and off she comes. Reverse the process to put it back on. Easy-ish peasy-ish.

 

[Larry Ganz]

What happens if the tire attached to my motor becomes flat? Pretty difficult to remove.

Maybe you could get an inner tube for a taller wheel/tire, cut it 180 degrees away from the valve stem, and tie each end or seal the cut ends, so now you have a C-shaped inner tube that would be shorter and the appropriate length for your wheel. Then you could fit the inner tube inside the tire without ever removing the wheel or disconnecting the power cable to the motor.

An inner tube patch kit could also be useful, along with something to strengthen any corresponding hole in the tire itself - like duct tape to affix a folded dollar bill to the inside ofthe tire right under the cut in the tire itself, to sit between the patched inner tube and the torn or punctured tire.

 

[Larry Ganz]

Get a couple of these. Never went out without one on my rear hub bike. You can change the tube without removing the wheel, but you need to have a knife to cut the leaking tube in half to get it out. They come with either Presta or Schrader valves.

https://www.amazon.com/GAADI-TU4509-Parent-Schrader-Valve-Tube/dp/B00HR088OG

Gack! I should have read the whole thread before I made my last post - didn't even know they made these, and I was giving a tutorial on how to make one.

 

[JohnT]

Coincidentally, a few days ago, my wife was leading a group ride, mostly with people who rented Pedegos from us, and one had a flat. Everyone got a class on dealing with a hubmotor.

Most Pedegos have 15mm axle nuts on the front and 19mm on the rear, so we keep an adjustable wrench in our kit. For air, we carry CO2 instead of a pump, and we usually bring a first-aid kit. Most of the rest of the stuff we carry has been mentioned.

When we fix a flat at our store, we usually use a thicker thorn-resistant tube, plus a tire liner, and we add Slime.

I've heard bad things about airless tubes. I think they said they ride rough, are heavy, and don't last long.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

... all of that, except the extra-thick tube, fits in the black seat post bag on the right.

I forgot the short flat-bladed screwdriver I used to pop off the plastic covers to get to the actual bolts.

The grey "cable ties" are HipLock Z-Loks which are typically the only "bike lock" I carry when running errands.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

<<Gack! I should have read the whole thread before I made my last post - didn't even know they made these, and I was giving a tutorial on how to make one.>>

Larry, it's amazing that you thought of that! That's some McGyver stuff right there. The Gaadi tubes just sort of do it for you, but good thinking outside the box!

 

[ArmyHokie]

Add a pair of nitrile gloves; great when repairs get messy or your regular gloves aren't cutting it. I also carry lip balm.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I learned something important about CO2 canisters today...

Most of them leak a little bit once you've cracked them, so I now make it a point to (1) Always have one canister that hasn't been opened, and (2) check (and chuck) opened canisters about once a week to make sure there is still pressure in them.