Hermit's WoodshedGeneral tips and ideas bicycle travel. Posts about bicycle maintenance and tools.
*Note updated Cage is now know as the King Cage Kargo Cage and includes the bottle cage and the pouch! Finding a place for all the small things that need to be readily accessible when I’m touring…. like tools….is a constant challenge. Ron Andrews at King Cage seems to always be tinkering and coming up with new ideas. I think this is a particularly good one. We have them in the store so get your orders in now! Comes with the ballistic nylon pouch and retails for $45.00.
We just got these in at the Bike Touring News Store.
The FiberFix replacement spoke is an aramid cord with a metal “cam” attached. When a spoke breaks the wheel will have a wobble which will probably rub on the bike frame and or the brake pads. If not repaired right away, other spokes may start to go as well. For the mechanically challenged, when a spoke breaks the FIberFix spoke replacement is a good alternative to removing wheels, tires and possibly cassettes. Just thread the included attachment piece into the remaining spoke nipple on the rim, thread the cord down to the hub and back up to the piece threaded into the nipple and tighten.
Here are some reviews at crazyguyonabike.
Might want to bring two!
If you ship your bike home from the end point of your tour, you will probably have removed you seat post and saddle in order to fit the bike into whatever case you used. When you get home and are putting the bike back together you will want to end up with the saddle at the same height relative to the pedals as it was when you took it off. A simple way to ensure that is, before you remove it, to wrap a piece of tape (electrical tape works best) around the seat post where it enters the frame. Then, when you put it back, just insert the post to the same spot.
An aluminum seat post inserted into a steel frame will result in galvanic corrosion between the two metals. If not removed and cleaned and re-lubed periodically the seat post will become well and truly stuck and may need to be cut out. Removing it for a period of time will also allow any moisture which might be in the frame tubes to evaporate. Applying grease to the inside of the seat tube rather than to the seat post results in less of the goop squished out onto exposed bits and ending up on your clothes.
Don’t use grease on a carbon post or with a carbon frame. Use a special paste made for this purpose. The paste won’t damage the carbon and it has a little bit of grit to it that will help hold the post in place without over tightening.
I was pinned down in Orberlin, LA by thunderstorms on my recent Austin to New Orleans Tour. Luckily I had a nice dry and warm storage shed at the fire station in which to store my gear. (I ended up sleeping there too, but that’s for another story) So I took the opportunity to do a little preventive maintenance. It’s much easier to fix a loose bolt or other potential problem when you have the time and the the place than it is to repair a failed part along the road when it’s getting dark. 
Removing all the luggage makes it easier to inspect bike and accessories. After checking the tightness of all the rack attachment bolts and fender mounts, I also go through the bike and tighten the stem bolts, seatpost bolt, brake lever and brake caliper bolts, derailleur attachment bolts and chainring bolts. Then I lube the chain. I turn the bike upside down and place it on the floor resting on the handlebars and saddle. Then I can visually inspect the tires for cuts or abrasions, and spin the wheels to check alignment. Like the man said,”an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure“.
There are dozens of videos out there about changing a flat tire. None with background music by Sonny Stitt. Here’s one!
A couple of things. Notice that I just lay the bike on it’s side with the derailleur up. That’s an easy way to do it when you’re on the side of the road. Also, I shift the chain into the smallest cog. When I put the tire back on it’s easy to remember what cog to put the chain over so that the wheel will be centered.
This is what I carry on the bike to change a flat:
Pump. I use a Zefal HPX frame fit pump. This pump is all aluminum and the barrel is long enough to push a decent amount of air, so the tire is up to pressure relatively quickly. Plus, unlike CO2 pumps, it has never failed or frozen. It mounts to the underside of the top tube
on bikes that have a pump peg.
Or it can be mounted in front of the seat tube, but this precludes the use of a water bottle there.
Spare tube, tire levers and patch kit. The simplest and quickest way to fix a flat is to change the tube. But I only want to carry one spare and if I get another flat I need to be able to patch one of the flat tubes.
Seat bag. For shorter day rides I use a Zimbale leather saddle bag to carry these items plus a multi tool.
