My chain had slipped off the rear sprocket, wedged itself between the gear and the frame. I forgot my toolkit and I was unable to free it. I was miles out of town so a walk back was going to take hours. A guy on a motorcycle rode by, looked at me and turned around. He got off his bike, got his tools, and freed the chain in seconds. I was profoundly grateful. Years later, I happened across a cyclist in a similar situation. I helped him and I told him I was simply paying back the first guy who had helped me. It felt really good.

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rconti 13 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I'm something of a cyclist and I drive on a lot of roads where there are cyclists all the time. I keep meaning to make sure my car is stocked with some helpful bike tools or a spare tube or something. I need to get on that.

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lostlogin 12 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A few tubes, CO2 or a pump and some tyre levers.

You’ll be a super hero.

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stavros 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Aren't there many different kinds of tubes? Or are they fairly standard?

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IneffablePigeon 10 hours ago | parent [-]

Road bikes are reasonably standard. Tubes will generally fit some range of tyre sizes so in practice a single size will fit most road bikes.

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stavros 10 hours ago | parent [-]

Interesting, thanks!

	▲	schoen 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You might want to have tubes with both Presta and Schrader valves (to match the existing tube on the other tire). Theoretically you could use either, but some rims might have a hole that's only small enough for a Presta valve (so I guess that makes Presta slightly more compatible in an emergency!). I agree that there's flexibility in the sizes. When I wanted to stock up my work's garage with spare bike tires, I got four kinds in total (basically a small Presta, a small Schrader, a large Presta, and a large Schrader). This officially covered pretty much every common road and hybrid or mountain bike with something that was officially rated or matched to it. But yes, as far as I know, one could probably get by in practice with fewer than that and use things that are officially slightly mismatched. Specifically, I got the Specialized "Standard Schrader" 700x20-28c and 700x28-38c, and "Standard Presta" 700x20-28c and 700x28-38c tubes (the smaller ones more likely for road bikes, the larger ones more likely for mountain bikes). These are about $8 each in the U.S., so a total of about $32 for the set of four. 700c is increasingly common, although there are several other diameters that have been or are being used. Just having a bike pump can be pretty helpful in many circumstances!

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ErroneousBosh 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Same. I'm tempted to throw in a couple of spare tubes in the little pocket things between the interior trim and tail lights, where just now I keep a spare fanbelt, too.

I usually have stick-on patches and a bike pump as well as the normal Landrover-fixing tools, because you can have a toolbox without having an old Landrover but you can't have an old Landrover without having a toolbox.

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HexPhantom 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"Paying it back" instead of "paying it forward" feels especially right here

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lostlogin 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I find that cyclists often help cyclists. ‘Help the next guy’ being a phrase I’ve heard a few times.

A $5 tube is so small a cost. Not having one can make a minor inconvenience into an utter shambles if you have to call home go a lift from 50km away at 6am.

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phyzome 11 hours ago | parent [-]

You know what else is a nice thing to carry? A wad of paper towels to get the grease off. Even if someone can repair their own bike, they often don't have a plan for the grease.

I've handed out paper towels to 4-5 people this year and they were all delighted.

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lostlogin 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That’s a good idea.

Less practical: the group I ride with did a 200km ride, with one member having a nice shiny case attached to his bike where the pump might go.

When they finished he smoked his cigar.

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mkl 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

And alcohol wipes. Just the other day someone stopped to give me alcohol wipes after I put my chain back on. The alcohol cleans off the grease completely, unlike paper towels. I'm carrying a pack in my car now.

	▲	lostlogin 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I’ve started waxing my chain rather than oiling it. It’s a hassle, but doing 2 at a time means the admin is much reduced. There is a huge amount less dirt and grease in my life now. Even when I change it to re-wax it I don’t get dirty. I probably get 2-3 weeks, 500-600km out of each waxing.