Repair Kit
If you use the bike, you need to know how to repair it
Don’t be scared, I’m not asking you to become a professional mechanic and reassemble a bike from scratch.
However, it is really useful to always cycle with you the minimum necessary for small basic repairs. In fact, it can happen to pierce a tire or break a chain mesh and we would not want one of these inconveniences to force us to give up our trip. However, by doing some practice, you will soon become very fast and efficient in applying the basic techniques of DIY repair.
So, here’s what you should never forget to take with you…
The essentials
- PUMP – usually pocket pumps give the possibility to unscrew the front, pull out the head of the pump and reverse it to fit the different valve sizes.
- MULTITOOL – can contain several tools that are already specific to screws and mulle commonly found on bicycles. Mine has 1 star screwdriver, 1 flat screwdriver and 5 Allen keys (for 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm and 6mm hex).
- TYRE LEVER – we use at least 1 or 2 levers and we can find them in different shapes and different material. However, the principle of operation is always the same: after deflated the rubber, with the flat part of the lever raise under the tyre, in the opposite side of the rim to the valve; then flow the tool along the entire circumference. At this point you can easily take out the inner tube.
- REPAIR PATCHES – GLUE – SANDPAPER – we can think of them as the “bandage” of our inner tube and avoid us always carrying a bulky and heavy spare air chamber. This type of inserts should be glued to the inner tube (after finding the hole and lightly scraped the surrounding portion) with a special sticker.
- SELF ADHESIVE PATCHES – SANDPAPER – similar to the previous type, except that they do not need glue, but, once scraped the portion of the tube around the hole, they can be directly placed by pressing for 2-3 minutes.
- CHAIN LINKS – these are two pieces that fit together if you need to repair a broken chain.
- BIKE CHAIN TOOL – mine is a separate tool, but you can also find it included in a multitool; it is necessary if there are no quick release links in the chain and you must disassemble the pins.
- INNER TUBE – it’s not fundamental and it’s actually not necessary if we already have the sticker inserts mentioned above.
- CARABINER – I always carry two little ones with me, in case there are things to hook together.
- ROPE – even this “tool” is not indispensable, but it can come in handy in the most unexpected moments.
All the instruments described are in “pocket format” and are therefore easily stored in the backpack or in a special bag under the saddle.
