Things go wrong! Plain and simple - Murphy's law applies equally as well to mountain biking as any other aspect of life. When things go wrong in the middle of nowhere, there is only one person available to fix it - you. As I've previously mentioned in 'how to avoid mechanical disaster' a long tour can be the equivalent of several weeks' normal riding. However many of the recommended precautions you have heeded from that last 'preparation' article, things will still break, wear out, disintegrate, die or otherwise expire. So you'll need tools, spares, and knowledge.
Many moons ago I used to carry almost a wheelbarrows' worth of tools on a multi-day tour. This was due to both the poor durability of components and the absence of the venerable multi tool in the market place. In order to keep weights down to a sensible level, botched together crank and pedal spanners were welded up, and allen keys were cut up and ground down.
Happily these days are far behind us, and the multi tool now forms the main stay of any tool kit. Ensure that your chosen multi-tool is truly a 'multi' tool, and not just 8 allen keys in a penknife-type case. Even expensive multi-tools (such as the Topeak Alien XS and McGuyver) can lack chain splitters and crank sockets.
The cool tool is the original, and still one of the best multi tools available. It has enough leverage to genuinely re-tighten a loose crank bolt, and the adjustable spanner can be used to bend, re-bend, or un-bend bent things. Real-sized allen keys are thrown in for good measure, as well as optional extras for 8 & 10mm allen keys, old style headsets and adjustable bottom brackets.
Topeak market an astounding range of multi-tools, all of which are extremely well thought out and durable bits of kit. My favourite weapon of choice for the last few years, is the poorly named Multi 16. The Multi 21 and Multi 16 are almost identical pieces of kit, and offer the best tool to weight to price ratio. Again, with enough leverage to re-tighten a loose crank, a chain tool, and almost every imaginable size of allen key and spanner, you shouldn't be left high and dry. The Multi 16/21 also splits into two halves, giving extra leverage, allowing nuts & bolts to held at both ends, and duplicating many common tools. All in all, 115grams and £20 well spent.
The Alien tools are sexier (!) more popular, but much heavier. Ritchey multi tools are light and nice, but although they contain crank tightening tools, they lack the leverage to do so (I've tried). I've also seen ones (in fact bought one) with a non-functioning chain splitter & allen keys which needed filing down before they could be used!
The multi tool can't cover every eventuality (just most), but here's a list of what your tool should include:
Check to make sure that your bike doesn't have any other requirements such as 14mm crank bolt sockets, or other strange sizes.
There are some fairly strange threaded components on even a modern mountain bike. Luckily 32, 36 & 40mm headset spanners are fairly unnecessary these days, as well as the bizarre variety of bottom bracket tools previously required. The aheadset system is a wonder for reducing the tool kit requirements.
Multi-tools can usually handle loose crank bolts but there are still occasional requirements for specialist tools. If a spoke breaks on the rear drive side, you'll need to remove the cassette before you can replace the offending item - but a huge spanner and splined tool is hardly portable. A device known as the hypercracker uses the frame and cranks as the levers, and can unscrew the cassette for less than 100g. If you are especially lucky it might fit your bottom bracket splines also (not Shimano though).
Talking of bottom brackets, they can come loose en route, but before you can even get to the splines, you'll have to dispense with the crank first. You have to draw the line somewhere, so I'd find loctite more practical to avoid this problem, than a super-heavyweight repair kit.
It doesn't matter whether it's the hisssssss, BANG! or slow silent variety, but punctures are the number one immobilising problem to strike bikers.
Hopefully, you should be well prepared for tackling punctures even on day rides, but be extra prepared on multi-day route. Take one or two spare inner tubes - if you are concerned about weight, latex or greenlight inner tubes work extremely well despite their (untrue) reputation, and they may only be pressed into service for a day or two anyway. Take a 'proper' glue puncture kit to repair any holed tubes ready for the following day, and a 'sensibly sized' pump.
Big blowouts or sharp flints (i.e: South Downs Way) can leave big holes in both tubes and tyres. Sidewalls can succumb to sharp stones, rubbing brake blocks or pure-and-simple old age. While the tube can be easily replaced, few adventurers carry spare tyres, except on ultra-long distance endeavours.
Park tyre boots can repair huge cuts in tyres and as such are indispensable Cut up toothpaste tubes can perform the same function almost as well (see MTBBritain), but tyre boots are much larger versions of park glueless puncture patches. Therefore they can also be used to repair clothing, camelbaks and huge punctures - and cut into pieces for smaller tasks.
A few grams' worth of spares can make a huge difference to your bikes' well-being. Those mechanical problems referred to as 'unexpected' must be tackled with multi-purpose spares.
Cable ties (or zip ties) of various sizes are superb for repairing a multitude of sins, however, don't forget their old fashioned counterpart - string! String is many times stronger than a cable tie, and easier to cut to length. A handful of cable ties and string will weigh perhaps 5 grams and hold half your bike together!
Insulating tape has similar multi-purpose uses, which can extend to clothing repairs. A spare spoke or two taped to the chainstay will protect from chain slap, as well as fixing your wheel. Provided that you use modern double cavity rims, one spoke length should suffice all round.
Cables rarely snap unless they are already rusty or frayed before you leave. Take a couple of spare inners if you want, but a few minutes spent checking the ones already fitted is more productive.
Unless you use disc brakes or ceramic rims you really should take a spare set of brake blocks. Even with the above, you could stumble across a problem, such as the recent 'dodgy' EBC disc pads which could evaporate in 15 miles - and where will you buy replacements from? Think carefully about how you will remove the split pins on Hope or Shimano pads. Carrying a pair of needle nosed pliers is hardly practical, so you have two real options: borrow a set from a local garage or farmer (I recently stripped down my Pace forks in a Yorkshire farmer's barn), or replace the split pins with something easier to handle - malleable wire or hair pins work well.
Perhaps oil is a spare, or perhaps it is a tool, who knows. But either way you'll need some. Some 'designer' lube comes in handy sized 30ml or 50ml dropper bottles to take along, or you can use ordinary cycle oil in another container. Cleaned out tippex bottles work superbly!
Bolts come loose. You can try to prevent this with loctite, but they still come loose. Carry a couple of spare M5 and M6's along, but in a pinch non-essential bottle cage bolts or aheadset cap bolts can be pressed into service.
Its not just your bike that needs repairs, but also in extreme circumstances yourself. I'm certainly not an expert in medical matters, so I can't recommend any exact contents, but a small first aid kit can make all the difference to your survival. Mine occupies a tiny waterproof A6 Ortlieb bag, and never leaves my saddlebag. It includes a survival blanket, plasters, steristrips (adhesive stitches), antiseptic wipes and a button compass, to name but a few. It weighs next to nothing.
Having your kit in a waterproof bag is essential, and Ortlieb not only manufacture superb little bags to keep your kit dry, but also a ready made waterproof 1st aid kit of around the same size.
Last Updated 23-11-2000
You can contact me at James@OffroadAdventures-Online.co.uk
To return Home click here: www.OffroadAdventures-Online.co.uk
All pages and content Copyright © 1999 - 2001 James Murnaghan or their respective authors. All rights reserved.
No content of this web-site may be used in whole or in part, without the express permission of The Editor.