Over the past few months I’ve been wondering why mountain bikers take so much kit and tools with them on a ride when our roadie brothers and sisters get by with a multi tool and a pump.

In my backpack I’ve got spare jockey wheels, bolts for my spd cleats, zip ties and an old shaving tube to use as a patch to repair a ripped tube. I’ve never used any of these in the past apart from letting a mate have a zip tie. A small saddle bag with an air canister, tube and a multi tool would probably do me just as well (with pockets packed with food and a gillet/jacket too).

What do other people think of the stuff they take with them? Do you really need it? Why do you take so much with you? And if you take the bare minimum on rides, how do you find it? Have you ever had to walk after a mechanical incident?

things are more likely to break on a MTB , and you are likely to be much more isolated when it does so one requires a greater degree of self sufficiency As I am putting a back pack on so i can carry loads
If i was walking i would have useful [more]stuff with me – bivvy bag, sleeping bag possibly even a stove just in case etc in winter rather than two flapjacks and a spare light.

I used to argue on long lake rides we should divvy it up. One person has a mech one person has a tyre etc. Instead we have 20 people all with a tube a multi tool and a pump. Certainly had rides ruined by tyre and mech issues caused on a ride and one brake failure

Because we are OUT THERE.

Jockey wheels? That’s a new one!

A tube, some Tyre levers a multi tool, co2 and some food.p and my phone.

Sometimes a rain jacket if it looks like it’s going to pour but it’s too warm to start with.

But I do carry it in a camel back, I simply prefers to carry my water that way.

Basic tool kit here.

Spare parts? Maybe a hanger, chain links & a tube. I do take some warm kit like a wooly hat & a micro down gilet thing. Seems I’m more concerned about getting cold than breaking down!
(Mind the clothes are for when I’m out in the ulu.)

It depends how far away from a train station or other means of rescue I am basically.

I used to take far more stuff than nessesary. If I’m less than a 2 or 3 hour walk from civilization I just talk levers, tube, 2x co2, puncture kit and 2 Allen keys. They all are rammed into a topeak saddle bag so I don’t need to really worry about what to pack.

I generally have a small rucksack too with a fleece, hat, gloves and a waterproof shell jacket in it.

i take exaclty the same on the road as I do on the mountain bike,
2 spare inner tubes (even though tubeless on the mtb) , puncture repair kit, multi tool (with chain splitter),2 tyre levers, tyre liner, spare chain link and a pump, road morph and a mountain morph

Self sufficiency is a big part of being an MTBer, well supposedly I’m a total leach and always forget to pack all manner of crap.

Once found myself stuck between Les Gets and Morzine with a flat, no patches, no tube and a broken pump, that was an unpleasant 3hr walk when I could have been riding.

People carry a spare tyre! 😯

I carry one around my waist but not in a bag

Just for rocketdog
Cycle clothing for the circumferentially challenged

I dont think its a mtb vs road thing just a learning curve that starts with carrying too much, goes to the opposite extreme then back to somewhere in between.

Its just that more people nowadays(or possibly did do a couple of years ago) start their cycling experience on mtb than road.

I find it astonishing too how much some mountainbikers carry spare mechs, suspension pumps, pads etc – why?

I take a spare tube, pump, 3 quick links and 3 ordinary chain links ( I usually run hub gear bikes so can’t shorten a chain if it breaks) puncture repair outfit or can of foam sealant m6 nut and bolt m5 nut and bolt and a multitool. thats for all day / multiday rides. short local rides its usually just the multitool, pump and a tube or can of foam

Never had to walk out bar a wheel collapse. Never had a non fixable mechanical although my deraillier bike I did once break a mech and have to SS it

You had me at ‘spare jockey wheels’…

Gravel;
Spesh top cap chain tool, with stored chain link
Mini pump under bottle cage
Saddle bag containing tube(s), tyre levers, Birzman 5 multitool, and a packet of Park puncture stickers
2x bottles
Food, phone and cash in a pocket

MTB
Osprey bag containing
Topeak Hexus
Tube(s)
Mini pump
Packet of Park puncture stickers
Chain link
Emergency hanger
Food, phone and cash

Same, same, but different.

Same as klunk, can’t remember the last time I had to use any of it

I thought the same, however I remember my mate did get one of his jockey wheels ejected like a ninja star in Revenge of Shinobi thanks to a bolt rattling loose. Fun times hunting around the floor looking for those tiny bearings. 🙂

I like to take a couple of pies and 4 stellas, you never know when you might need them.

I’ve used tyre boots many times. Assorted spare bolts have saved a long walk or a spoiled day when caliper bolts have fallen off, cleat bolts lost, seat clamps have stripped threads etc. Brake pads have been handy when one disintegrated. Gear cables have snapped and been replaced. Tubeless repair kit, tube and patches are sometimes all necessary in one ride. I have used 3 spare spokes on a ride before.

tjagain – Member
Never had a non fixable mechanical although my deraillier bike I did once break a mech and have to SS it

You’ve broken two mechs when you’ve been out with me, one out by Balerno and one at Comrie croft and then there was the time you hadn’t fitted your brake pads properly and lost one of them at Ravelston woods

road = 0 mins away from road and someone collecting you.
MTB = x number of mins pushing a bike to get to a road for someone to collect you.

roadies, or certain type of roadies, get dependent on others though.
I turned up for a Sunday morning ride, old hybrid and had a pannier on it so chucked stuff in there.

folk were aghast – “what have you got in there?”
me: jacket, multi tool, pump, tyre levers, kit, chain splitter..
them: “chain splitter!! if we get a broken chain, Gordon fixes it for us”

me: “which one’s Gordon?”
them: “.. er, he’s not here today”

🙂

Keep a range of bolts/washers/nuts in an old puncture repair box, have done a range of Trailside bodges fixing seat clamps, mechs, cranks, light fixings, freehubs, etc etc.

I’ve ridden with just a water bottle, phone, energy bar, small specialized SWAT multi-tool on bottle cage for a while now on any ride around the 2 hour mark. I think the switch to tubeless changed things for me, only once have I had to walk out in that time, sealant had dried up and I flatted.

I had a pedal fall off once on the remotest of remote rides.

Didnt carry a spare pedal for the next 20yrs though.

Tubeless? Tuuuuuubbelesss? Bugger me, spend ages bunging holes on tubeless tyres. The swines.

People carry a multi tool on their road bike.? Two tubes, two levers, glueles patches and a pump. Nothing more nothing less.

Sometimes I like to go out for a ride with no spares at all.
Just for the “danger” factor 😆

2 things are certain on a thread like this:

1. It will consist of a load of blokes writing lists of what is in their pocket/bag when they ride a bike.
2. I’ll still click on it and read some posts despite knowing point 1

Spare tubes, multi-tool, food, repair kits and a small first aid kit. Been out twice recently on short rides without taking anything. Got punctures both times, followed by 4 mile walks. How I laughed as I got sprayed by sealant flying out of a tiny hole, both times. Sealant would appear to be a misleading name 👿

Just before I went tubeless I had a ride where I got 6 punctures!

First one I fitted the spare tube, then I had the dawning realisation that the spare seemed to have a flat – I hadn’t removed the thorn from the tyre.
I then fixed that second one, then 5 minutes later I somehow ripped the valve off the back tube. So I fixed the first tube and refitted it. Then I got another thorn in the front – another patch-up job. Then as I’d rushed the pumping up I got a massive snakebite. at this point I realised I’d run out of patches.
I had a 6 mile walk to the nearest road to meet my wife 😆 👿

I started converting all my bikes to tubeless the following day. Still carry a tube on rides though.

People carry a multi tool on their road bike

Gnarmac, but still….Bolt through needs a multi tool, so why not? A tiny thing like a Birzman 5 weighs next to nothing, and can also tweak gears, reset bars after a stack, etc.

bikepawl

“And if you take the bare minimum on rides, how do you find it? Have you ever had to walk after a mechanical incident

– never had to walk out tho did I? thats the point and the answer to the question asked. I forgot the second mech break.

Recent copy of the mag had a feature on chipps kit list for MBLA – a heavy load indeed….

Gotta draw a line somewhere though, otherwise you’d be towing a spare bike on a trailer with you.

Multitool, one tube, minipump, chain quicklinks, couple of rotor bolts for when my ispec stuff falls apart, spoke key (yes, I don’t trust my own wheelbuilding skills…), tiny bit of lube in a squirty bottle, old sock….

I’ll stop there. 🙂

tjagain – Member
bikepawl

“And if you take the bare minimum on rides, how do you find it? Have you ever had to walk after a mechanical incident
– never had to walk out tho did I? thats the point and the answer to the question asked. I forgot the second mech break.

I was just pointing out a discrepancy in your post

I carry too much. I try to cover every reasonable (whatever that might mean) possibility. At it’s most, on a big ride- eg multiday bothy trip or an all day off piste solo day in the Alps I’ll have two tubes and a patch kit as well as two pumps- tyre (Mountain morph) and shock pump. And gels and bars and dried fruit. And a pretty decent first aid kit, designed for forestry workers. If I fall into a chainsaw I might be able to fix myself. And a waterproof top. Plus spare gloves in winter or perhaps a thinner or possibly more gnarlier pair if I think the character of the ride might vary a bit. And a wooly hat or a buff. Actually, thinking about it there might be a couple of buffs. And a spare plastic rain poncho thing. And 9 speed links- for Mrs A. I’m 10 speed, so spare 10 speed bits for me too. And pads for me- and obviously her too. All in a mahoosive bag, with a 3 litre bladder. Sometimes I carry a small flask of hot drink too.

Ooh- forgot the suntan lotion and anti midge stuff.

Totally ridiculous. I need to get a grip. So rather stupidly I’ve just gone and purchased a 30 litre bag. FFS Ambrose, sort yourself out….

And maps are in there too!

jockey wheels is a new one, cleat bolts too.

depends where I’m riding, and the purpose of the ride.
typically just tube, pump, tyrelevers, quicklinks, multitool, rear light, and a handful of €2 coins.
on the roadbike, I’ll fit pump to frame with bottles, and use a saddle pack, and stick 2 fingers up at “the rules” (and wear glasses under helmet straps too, to make a point).
if away doing something a bit more techy, then the same, but 2 tubes (each), first aid kit (each), plus a handful of extras in the car (spare tyre, few tubes, spare mech, spare chain etc., shockpump, and a toolbox of more proper tools)
really ought to put a spare mech hanger in there, at least in the car toolkit.
have walking boots in the car too. if bike becomes unrideable when away, then I’ll go hiking instead.

Actually I forgot about first aid, I have some packs of bandages that I got from the dentist after a tooth removal that I never used, and some tape, and that really came in useful once, as a guy we were out with cut his leg.

Normaly a minor injury but un be known to us he was on some medication that prevents blood clotting as normal so he was bleeding quite well. So we managed to strap his cut up enough to get back without too much drama.

say what again about roadies travelling light?