Dunno what do to with myself now that the order has been placed, it's gonna be some long days until I see the bike.
And I don't normally get this worked up about things.... guess driving along Kansas highways thinking how it'd be to trike the same roads instead... been building myself up. *G*

I have a helmet, a lock, have ordered a basket for the back of the bike, and a safety flag. Wonder what else I'll need.

How do you guys handle flats, or is that not much of a concern?

You'll need to get a roadside emergency kit.. This usually consists of a least one spare tube. If you have two different size wheels, you'll want a spare for each. You'll need a patch kit, some tire irons (they're actually plastic) to help you get the tire off. Optional items include an emergecy chain link, a chain tool, maybe some latex gloves, or some handi wipes. You'll also need a good pump. I reommend the ToPeak Road Morph. Some people like to carry enough stuff to overhaul the bike; I tend to be more of a minimalist and take care of my maintenance at home, in the comfort of the man-cave, where there's beer.

You should be able to get your bike shop to go over the basics with you. How to get the tire off, check for offending items in the tire, patching a tube, etc. There are also online tutorials and you-tube videos if you're looking for something to do while you wait for your bike.

Have fun, exciting times!

Mark

Makes sense that tire repair would be featured on youTube...

I like the tar arns that come in the red plastic sleeve because you can put a few winds of duct tape on that sleeve. Of course, you can put those winds on your patch kit box, too. DT comes in handy for lots of things you would not expect.

Tires vary and a lot depends on how they fit your wheel(s). If a tire is loose enough to take off without an arn, though, I'd worry about blowing it off the rim under pressure. Just know that some tires can be real tough to get back on and you DON'T want to use tools for putting the tire back on. Better to find this out in the man cave then alongside the road in BF Egypt.

Mark

Well. I called jayspedalpower.com and asked them to include the pump you mentioned, and a good set of tire irons....specifically the Popeak Shuttle Levers, or the Crank Brothers Speed Levers, or whichever they'd think is better.

What's your thinking on the CO2 inflators? Just an emergency get-you-by, or do they inflate a tire to 110 lbs no prob? (Can't see that, from that little thing) Seems using a hand pump, you'd be pretty red-faced before you reach that pressure.

Surely, chain breakage is rare?

I agree with Mark (one of these days I'll disagree with him just for the hell of it) but I also carry the cheap plastic pregued patches from places like Park tools. There have been a lot of times that I've had multiple flats and rather than take the time on the road to do a perfect patch job I've just used the "instant" patches to get me home where I could open a beer, contemplate the issue and then do the job right.

Walt

Why wouldn't the pre-glued patched suffice? Once the tube is pressurized against the tire it seems it should be a-ok?

MULTIPLE punctures???? riding across nail beds much?