Learned a lesson...

[Pharmr]

never ride far from home without your cell phone....went for a ride yesterday after work and nearing my turnaround point I saw another rider in the distance...I said to myself "I'm going to pass him/her before I make the turn"....I started mashing and soon I was 20 yards behind the rider and closing....then I heard it....psssttttttttt....front tire went flat....no problem, I have a spare tube and CO2 in my wedge....pull over, and while changing my tire another rider pulls over and asks if I need anything, he says "I dont have any air, but I do have a cellphone"...I say not to worry I'm about done and with that I fill my tire and off he goes....I get ready to go, get on the bike start off and 10yards later....pssssstttt....I pinched the tube putting it on....now I'm SOL....I'm on the service road of the highway and cars are passing like no tommorrow yet no one stops....after about 20 minutes a 19-20yr old kid pulls up after exiting past me, coming back on the ther side of the highway, then turning around to get to me....rolls down the window and asks "you need help dude??"...lends me his cell, I call the wife and thank him for being kind enough to stop...20 minutes later I'm back at my car swearing I'll always bring the phone from now on, and be ALOT more careful when changing a tube on the side of the road.

 

[badkarma]

Reason #1 why I never leave home w/o the mobile.

 

[LIKESBIKES716]

never ride far from home without your cell phone....went for a ride yesterday after work and nearing my turnaround point I saw another rider in the distance...I said to myself "I'm going to pass him/her before I make the turn"....I started mashing and soon I was 20 yards behind the rider and closing....then I heard it....psssttttttttt....front tire went flat....no problem, I have a spare tube and CO2 in my wedge....pull over, and while changing my tire another rider pulls over and asks if I need anything, he says "I dont have any air, but I do have a cellphone"...I say not to worry I'm about done and with that I fill my tire and off he goes....I get ready to go, get on the bike start off and 10yards later....pssssstttt....I pinched the tube putting it on....now I'm SOL....I'm on the service road of the highway and cars are passing like no tommorrow yet no one stops....after about 20 minutes a 19-20yr old kid pulls up after exiting past me, coming back on the ther side of the highway, then turning around to get to me....rolls down the window and asks "you need help dude??"...lends me his cell, I call the wife and thank him for being kind enough to stop...20 minutes later I'm back at my car swearing I'll always bring the phone from now on, and be ALOT more careful when changing a tube on the side of the road.

...and I bet you thought at some point in your life, what life was like when you didnt have an annoying cell phone. Glad things worked out. Even more glad that there are still good samiritans out there.

 

[waxbytes]

Or you could carry a couple of extra CO2 cartridges and a small patch kit as well as a tube.Or a mini/frame pump & patch kit

 

[willocrew]

... ahh lucky you.

Picture back many long months ago on a hot scorching australian summer heat. The tarmac was radiating heat. Had a minor crash- warped wheel. Almost the same scenario except i had a mobile phone. Managed to call someone to pick me up.

but pick up point was still about 4-5kms away. Haul @$$ with a 13kg bike.

I came this close to upgrading to carbon fiber.


Moral of story: Bring bike security padlock on ALL RIDES. I would otherwise have locked my bike, take off the wheels and stroll home.

 

[Eldrack]

After a few bad experiences I now carry the following: Full puncture repair kit, spare inner tube, mini pump, mobile phone, some money. That covers me for pretty much anything.

 

[Pharmr]

all good advice...the new addition to my wedge is a patch kit...I did have an extra CO2 but the patch kit would have got me home....so the wedge now will carry: spare tube, 2 CO2's, tire irons, hex tool, patch kit, and CELL PHONE!!!

 

[Cyclist14]

all good advice...the new addition to my wedge is a patch kit...I did have an extra CO2 but the patch kit would have got me home....so the wedge now will carry: spare tube, 2 CO2's, tire irons, hex tool, patch kit, and CELL PHONE!!!

Don't forget the chain tool, it's kind of funny but the day after I started carrying one I needed it

 

[webbhost]

all good advice...the new addition to my wedge is a patch kit...I did have an extra CO2 but the patch kit would have got me home....so the wedge now will carry: spare tube, 2 CO2's, tire irons, hex tool, patch kit, and CELL PHONE!!!

just out of interest, whats the idea behind the CO2? never heard of it before, i only ever used bike pump?

excuse me for being newb lol

 

[Mister C]

Cell phone = yuppie repair kit. It "fixes" everything.

Never leave home without it. Actually, my first month of adult riding was without any spare tube, patch kit, etc. That was really stupid but I was lucky enough to get away with it. I always carry that stuff now and added the cell phone after I pinched my only spare tube and could not get the patch kit going in the rain. I was lucky again when another cyclist lent me his cell phone for the pickup.

 

[PartisanRanger]

Cell phone = yuppie repair kit. It "fixes" everything.

Never leave home without it. Actually, my first month of adult riding was without any spare tube, patch kit, etc. That was really stupid but I was lucky enough to get away with it. I always carry that stuff now and added the cell phone after I pinched my only spare tube and could not get the patch kit going in the rain. I was lucky again when another cyclist lent me his cell phone for the pickup.

I'll do you one better. My first entire year was entirely without a cellphone, patch kit, or spare tubes. I would go on a fair number of 30-50 mile rides without these things and I had no problems. I had a flat once when I was half a mile away from a bike shop, and a bike problem a quarter-mile away from home. I still can't believe how lucky I was...

 

[Sparhawk]

just out of interest, whats the idea behind the CO2? never heard of it before, i only ever used bike pump?

excuse me for being newb lol

Ease of use... it gets a bit long and tiring (no pun intended! ) to pump up a tire to 70+ PSI (assuming a road bike here) w/ a mini-pump. The CO2 cartridge will have your tire inflated in a few seconds. And they are pretty small so that makes them easy to carry.

The downside... you can use a cartridge only once and then you need to buy a refill. They aren't that expensive, but it's an additional cost none the less.

 

[Pharmr]

just out of interest, whats the idea behind the CO2? never heard of it before, i only ever used bike pump?

excuse me for being newb lol

this is what I'm using...works great...controlled release so it doesnt just dump the whole cartridge at once...small enough to keep in my wedge with 2 carts and my other stuff....paid less than $10 on ebay for one w/1 cart....refills are around $2 at the LBS and be found for ALOT less on ebay.

http://qbp.smartbikeparts.com/images/library/catalogs/soc/prodl/PU2527.jpg

 

[dougadam]

But also if you have health problems.

 

[e0richt]

never ride far from home without your cell phone....went for a ride yesterday after work and nearing my turnaround point I saw another rider in the distance...I said to myself "I'm going to pass him/her before I make the turn"....I started mashing and soon I was 20 yards behind the rider and closing....then I heard it....psssttttttttt....front tire went flat....no problem, I have a spare tube and CO2 in my wedge....pull over, and while changing my tire another rider pulls over and asks if I need anything, he says "I dont have any air, but I do have a cellphone"...I say not to worry I'm about done and with that I fill my tire and off he goes....I get ready to go, get on the bike start off and 10yards later....pssssstttt....I pinched the tube putting it on....now I'm SOL....I'm on the service road of the highway and cars are passing like no tommorrow yet no one stops....after about 20 minutes a 19-20yr old kid pulls up after exiting past me, coming back on the ther side of the highway, then turning around to get to me....rolls down the window and asks "you need help dude??"...lends me his cell, I call the wife and thank him for being kind enough to stop...20 minutes later I'm back at my car swearing I'll always bring the phone from now on, and be ALOT more careful when changing a tube on the side of the road.

yeah, I forgot my cell phone and had a flat about 6 miles from home... I started to pull the old tube out when I was approached by a driver and bike rider asking if I was ok. I said I was and didn't need anything.... after they had gone, to my horror, I found that I had the wrong tube to fit the bike (I have a hybrid as well...) rassin frassin tire tube!... I eventually found someone that had a cell phone that would call my wife to come get me... she razzed me about it on the way home...

 

[e0richt]

just out of interest, whats the idea behind the CO2? never heard of it before, i only ever used bike pump?

excuse me for being newb lol

its a cartridge that will refill a tire in a couple of seconds with no effort of pumping... its a one shot deal I think... does anyone know if you can get the cartriges refilled to be used again?

 

[Pharmr]

I don't think they are refillable, but I do know you can get them on eBay for about half the price that they cost in a LBS.

 

[RickF]

its a cartridge that will refill a tire in a couple of seconds with no effort of pumping... its a one shot deal I think... does anyone know if you can get the cartriges refilled to be used again?

They cannot be refilled. They start out as sealed metal cartridges. Wyen you insert or attach them to the inflator, the seal is punctured. It would not be cost effective to try to refill and reseal the cartridge. Just recycle the empties with your steel and aluminum cans. Do not leave them on the side of the road after you use them.