by Karen Stainbrook

Created on: October 29, 2007

Imagine yourself riding on a bicycle. Now imagine you are at the foothills of an incredible mountain trail. As you look up at the rough and rocky trail you feel that adrenaline rush, so you start enthusiastically up the dirt trail. Just as you start getting your momentum, your front tire blows out and you come to a sudden and unexpected stop. What do you do?

If you are not prepared, your day will be ruined and the mountain trail will have to wait for another day; however, if you happen to have some basic tools with you, in a matter of about twenty minutes you can get cycling again and conquer that mountain trail by the end of the day.

There are a lot of tools you can carry with you while you are cycling; however, some are simply too bulky and heavy to carry with you, as they will simply weigh you down. What every cyclist needs are tools that are specifically made for cycling. Some of these tools include:

A set of levers (at least two) these levers are essential to help you remove the tires from the rims of the bicycle in order to remove the tube or simply patch it up.

An air pump (either manual or power) the use of the air pump is obvious; however, it is very important to remember because it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to inflate the cycle tube without it.

Allen wrench set (1.5 mm to 6 mm) you will need the Allen wrench to remove the tire from the bicycle itself. You also want to be certain that all the nuts and bolts are tight enough to handle the rough and rocky terrain.

Chain breaker the chain breaker is a tool that is used when you break a chain on your bicycle. You use this to remove the bad link on the chain, and then you can reattach the chain to get you cycling again.

Spoke wrench spoke wrenches are important to tighten the spokes on your bicycle for balance, to ensure a smoother ride and most importantly to keep the rims of your bicycle from warping.

A spare tube or patch kit If you get lucky you will simply be able to patch your tube; however, you should always carry a spare tube just in case the original tube is unable to be patched or repaired.

A cell phone No matter where you are cycling, especially if you are alone, always keep a fully charged, reliable cell phone with you in case of an emergency so that you can call for help if needed.

All of these tools can be found readily available and are all compact, lightweight and easily carried while cycling; however, there are also special tool kits that you can purchase that would have

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>