Spring Forward – Trailside Repair Kits

Well, it’s getting towards spring and that means we’ve all made it through yet another winter of fat-bike funskies. This spring we’re going to share some Spring Cleaning and maintenance tips to help everyone celebrate rad adventure and promote safe passage through the warmer months. Today’s spread will feature a few of our test pilot’s repair kits. We surveyed our crew and asked that they simply go out to the bike and shoot a photo of their kit and supply an inventory of what they’ve been carrying on the bike over the past season. During the process of assembling this column, I think that I benefitted from seeing how other experienced riders approached trailside repair and that’s sort of our goal of sharing this info. So take a look at what our crew carries and don’t be shy about sharing what you carry out on the trail and why.

The most common trailside mechanical is a flat tire. Even though several of us run tubeless (most of the time) and flats are fairly infrequent, I always carry an extra tube, a patch kit, and a pump. Ronsta runs his fatty tubeless and doesn’t carry a tube in his minimalist kit, relying on super glue to seal large punctures. The next thing that you’ll probably need is a multi-tool. All of our examples contain a wide variety of multi-tools. There’s been a movement to use Torx head bolts on rider cockpit components over Allen Heads, so make sure that there’s good compatibility between your multi-tool and the type of bolts that are on your particular bike. The other repair that occurs with some frequency, out on the trail is a broken chain. So having a chain tool and an extra quick-link (of the correct size and religion) is a good idea. Let’s take a look at what our crew carries to get them out of the woods in a pinch.

Trailside Repair Kits

Ron Stawicki –  The Minimalist

Topeak Race Rocket MT pump mounted on the frame – Park Tool CT-5 chain tool w/spare quick links – Park Tool MT-1 1pc multi-tool, both in my pockets – And when I remember it- a tube of super glue for tire repair that sealant won’t plug. – These simple things have gotten me and others out of trouble in faraway places.

Jeff Price – The Commissioner of #BAMfatbike2018

Jeff describes his kit as “Not the most sparkly or glamorous but the basic every day go with me bits. Kit Contents – Tube 26 x 4.0 with patches rolled up inside – Quick Links – Topeak Multi-Tool – Small Bottle of Lube (I could think of a few beach rides where my drive train could have benefitted from chain lube) – Lezyne Pump

Ken Blakey-Shell – Fatcamp Guru

 

This is the setup that Ken shifts between different bikes. Old Pedro’s multi-tool with a Torx wrench rubber banded to it. Lezyne alloy drive pump (love it!!!!!). Replacement hanger. Chainring bolt because at least one of my bikes still uses them. 11 and 9 speed chain quick links and a spare 9 speed link. I generally run a 9 speed chain when riding SS and also run a 9 speed timing chain on my tandem. If a regular (non-quick link) link breaks on the timing chain or SS you have to put in a new regular link to get the chain long enough to work, hence the regular link.

Seth Bell – The Mechanic

Crank Bros. Gem mini pump (has high/low pressure switch and works well with fatty tubes) –  Old Lyzene seat bag.  

Crank Bros. Gem mini pump – Crank Bros. multi 17 tool – 26 x 4.0 tube with electrical tape wrapped around it – Sawed-off Quik Stik tire lever – Patches, both peel & stick and the glue-on vulcanizing variety – Valve core and removal tool – Presta – Schrader adapter – A pair of 9, 10 and 11-speed chain quick links.

Andy Amstutz – The Co-Host of the Fatcamp Podcast

Stanley Flask – Lezyne sport drive HV pump – Park Tool TL-1 tire lever – Park Tool VC-1 valve core remover – Nashbar Woody multi-tool – Patch kit – Toob – Elastic cord – Fire starter – Wolf tooth pack pliers

Lt. Evan LarSSon – The Metal Militia

Evan’s EDC kit contains the following – Topeak Morph Mountain Master blaster – Cinchtq emergency tourniquet – Patch Kit with some quick links rattling around – Cloth to clean my specs – Accu-Gage air pressure checker-outer – Topeak Mini 18+ Multi-tool  – Benchmade Mini Griptillian (in case there’s cake)

Smithhammer – The Boy Scout

It’s true that Bruce was a Boy Scout, but he was also a senior NOLS instructor for many years. He also is the only one that included a tubeless tire repair module to their kit. I think that’s a really good idea and I’ll be adding that to my kit in the very near future.

Every Ride:  Tube – Zip ties – Dynaplug Kit – Wolftooth Components Masterlink Pliers w/quick links – Park multi-tool – Spare Crank Bros cleat – Valve core tool – Park boot patch – Lezyne HV pump

Longer/More Remote Rides (incl. above): – Spare set of brake pads – Small bottle of Orange Seal – 2nd Park boot patch – Dynaplug refills – Small bottle chain lube – Park tube patch kit

The Bottom Line

Has this made you wonder about what you carry on the bike or maybe inspire some of you to take inventory of your trailside repair kit? It pays to take a look at your kit every now and then and replenish supplies as needed. I hope this helps somebody out there become a little more self-sufficient and perhaps helps them get themselves out of a jam. Our crew certainly covers a wide variety of potential preparedness. Like I mentioned above, let us know if you’ve found a better kit or if you’d ever ride without a spare tube like Ronsta and Evan. Happy Spring and Happy Trails Amigos!

About Gomez 2576 Articles
Just an old cat that rides bikes, herds pixels, ropes gnomes and sometimes writes stories. I love a good story.

5 Comments

  1. My kit looks a whole lot like the “Boy Scouts “. I a glad to see that the Lazyne pump that I have is featured in two of the test pilots kits.

  2. “The Minimalist”…meh. I carry a Topeak Mini 20 Pro period end-of-story — and every time I slip it in my pocket I think do I really need to carry this load.

    But I do pray to the tubeless gods before every ride and accept that I will be walking out if the tire fails.

    I do tape a few potentially useful but lightweight items to my bike: master links for my 11-speed chain (tip: I ride 8, 9, 10, and 11 speed bikes so I tape the appropriate link for each bike to the bike); and a Schraeder adapter since it weighs nothing and if I were low on air I’d have better luck finding a pump/compressor for it.

  3. Thanks for the heads up on the Wolf Tooth pliers, I shall be adding a pair to my own kit sometime soon.
    My own kit is pretty much the same as those shown above, pump, tube, multi-tool, patches, chain links, tyre levers, cable/zip ties.

  4. Great article. I’ve sent you a run down of my own kit too Gomez! Just to show how nothing much changes this side of the pond!

  5. Merci pour cet excellent article ,je debute en fat bike ,ca me rassure sur la composition de de la trousse ,il faut un minimum
    ,mais pas de trop non plus ,merci encore

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