CHAIN SPARES : A length of chain for replacing damaged sections. Several SRAM Powerlinks for speedy re-joining. A couple of Shimano joining pins for joining Shimano chains. A coupe of spare rollers as they frequently fall into the grass when the chain is fed round the cogs & derailleur.
Getting the balance of what spares to take out on the trail and what to leave behind is difficult. The acid test comes when you have to deal with things. Some eventualities are more likely than others but there's nothing in the mish-mash of spare parts you can see in the picture opposite that hasn't been called upon on a reasonably regular basis.
Good maintenance and thorough pre-ride checks take care of the majority of trouble before it starts but things do happen on the trail. Having the means to sort it can rescue a day.
This is another page that will grow in time so please return.
VALVE SPARES : A Presta (skinny) to Schraeder (car type) valve converter in case of pump failure. Although the innards of most pumps can be reversed, if you've got to use somebody else's pump when yours fails it's much easier to screw one of these on to your own valve than fiddle with the guts of someone's pump. If you're a Schraeder user, carrying one means you can help pumpless Presta people. Dust caps as they're often dropped during tube replacement & will keep the cack out of your valve cores. Spare UST valves with replaceable cores. NB Spare tubes are dealt with elsewhere.
BRAKE SPARES : Disc pads & any mounting hardware. Although it's likely that the clips, springs etc. from the old set will be usable they can get dropped in the grass & lost. For that reason take some spares & tie lengths of coloured thread round them so that they're easier to find when they're dropped. Most makes of disc pads need to be broken in or they will disintegrate in a fraction of the time they should last for. Although it's time consuming it's pretty straightforward to bed a set in before removing and marking them so they can be put in the right way round in the field.
Cartridge & traditional post style V brake pads because some people still use them and they never seem to carry spares. If they have no brakes they need to walk & that can be a scunner. Produce a set of pads in a remote emergency situation and you will never need to buy another drink (in the company of the individual in need of them) for as long as you live. Brake cable carried for same purpose although it's possible to use a gear cable in an emergency if you have spare nuts to effectively increase the size of the nipple. Definitely not a permanent replacement but does the trick in extremis. .
SPARE SPOKE : It's hard to carry real spokes for mountain biking as many of the traditional roadie/touring solutions for carrying them can pose problems. The likely need to carry multiples as spoke lengths can vary widely (even within wheelsets) it makes sense to have an adaptable solution.
Adjustable length spokes are a workable option. The one in the picture above is a cunning device using Kevlar cord and an anchoring system that allows you to tighten the cord without it slipping back. The spoke shown below uses a swaged wire mid section and solid ends. These to allow it to be carried safely fitted easily. As a test I kept one of these on my commuting bike for a couple of months and it stayed put (& in tension) just fine over the whole period. You may still need to trim the threaded end if overlong with pliers and/or a file.
What both have in common is that they can be inserted into a hub flange which has a disc rotor and/or a cassette mounted. Inserting a traditional spoke is at best awkward with the former and just impossible with the latter. Removal of either in the field is inconvenient, time consuming , frustrating and introduces potential for lost components. See here for applications.
Gear cables for replacing snapped ones. End caps to cover dangerous bare ends and stop them fraying. Old spoke nipples to use when you run out of end caps or if a nipple snaps. Replaceable gear hanger : most frames are fitted with these on the premise that the hanger should bend or break in preference to the derailleur and/or frame. Unfortunately once this happens the derailleur will be out of line & unusable. The options then are
1 convert your bike into a 'get me home' singlespeed
2 replace the damaged part with the spare derailleur hanger you carry.
Bodging 1 requires skill, time and patience to do properly. The ride home requires thighs of steel.
Doing 2 takes about 5 minutes provided you've got one on you. You'll kick yourself if you get caught out, so,don't get caught out, get one !
A selection of nuts, bolts etc. Among them are collars for valves, bottle boss sized bolts, pedal cleat bolts and a spare cleat. Cleats fall off on a regular basis. The great thing is that they are usually new ones that had been poorly fitted. Keep your eyes peeled in car parks & places on the trails where riders habitually congregate and you'll see them lying there. .
Bar end plug. This is an item that often gets knocked off bikes and leaves a significant danger in the process. An exposed bar end in contact with your forearm or thigh can act just like a pastry cutter. It will lift out a neat circle of your hide or gouge out a nasty trench depending on how it hits. You can buy some here if you're looking for something swanky. if those prices seem silly, ask your local bike shop if they could keep some old, basic, used ones by for you. Local authority recycling depots will usually have a few bikes with them still in. Obviously, whenever you replace bars or grips this is another opportunity to salvage pre-loved plugs.
Carrying spares makes sense. Even though there will always be things that just can't be sorted from a backpack, failure to take a sensible amount along just means that there will be more that you can't fix. The bigger and more committed the trip the more thought this area requires. If the weight begins to bother you, pool the spares between your buddies and yourself!
SCOTTISH MOUNTAIN BIKING
ADVENTURES
Trail Tips
SPARES
Another option to consider is the On-One 'Banger Hanger' which will lessen (not eradicate) the likelihood of damage in the first instance. Click the pic to learn more.
Bodging a singlespeed setup is another page we'll be publishing soon. So, make sure you come back!
