bike bought what else do i need?

[kazste]

just bought a new spangly Orbea Aqua road bike in order to lose 30kg's, looking at doing hour to two hour long bike rides. I have an under seat bag in order to carry essential items, but no sure if i have covered the essentials or if there is something else i should have.

I currently have in there,
a spare inner tube,
tyre levers,
mini allen key tool thingy.

obvious missing thing is someway of inflating a new inner tube, i am looking at the co2 cannister inflaters to save space and weight so any thoughts or guidance on which of these are worthwhile would be appreciated.

Also any guidance on a decent bike computer and track pump greatly appreciated.

thanks for looking and if you ever see a lardy block on a white and blue Orbea around derbyshire give him some encouragement!

[AVeryNaughtyBoy]

Joe Blow track pump.
Rema Tip Top puncture kit (home use).
Park tool emergency patch kit (roadside use).
Zip ties, various sizes
Rape tape.
Magic links for chain.
Pound coin(s).
Topeak mini morph pump.
Basic first aid kit.
Mitts / gloves (prevents minor accidents leaving you unable to ride properly owing to gravel rashed hands).
I always carry a leatherman.

I have a sigma 1606L computer on my MTB and it is easy to use, easy to read and reliable. You may want cadence for a road bike though.

[itsnotarace]

Must have been at least a week since this thread last appeared.

In before "team car"

[kazste]

sorry did a search but couldn't find anything suitable, if you can point me towards the thread(s) then that would be kind of you.

[TheGreatSoprendo]

I just got one of these for my new road bike:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

Very impressed so far, it's unobtrusive, mounts on the stem and is a doddle to use. They do one that measures cadence too, but at 70 odd quid it was a bit rich for me!

[Jimbo.]

Helmet!

Don't bother with CO2 cartridges: a road-specific mini pimp from the likes of Lezyne or Topeak will do just as good a job, with the added advantage of being reusable. Space and weight isn't an issue: they weigh bugger-all and can be stashed in a jersey pocket.

[Mr E Driver]

Tight Lycra shorts and shirt with lots of product names

[TonyHetherington]

Mr E Driver said:

Tight Lycra shorts and shirt with lots of product names

As an aside, my local "sports direct", which isn't what you'd call a hive of the top of the gene pool, but nevertheless occasionally they do cracking deals and recently have done cycling stuff. I've got a luminous orange cycling top from there, with the pockets, that I think's great (I like luminous stuff - makes me hope I get seen easier!). Anyway, relatively cheap and they've got a fair bit of luminous cycling bits and bobs in there.

[Rob_T]

latex gloves for changing your inner tube if you have a flat. it can be quite a messy business!

[kazste]

have a mountain bike helmet from a while ago have been using that but not much ventilation so may get a new one current one is a specialized mountain man, it's a bit large and makes me look, shall we say special!

computer looks interesting, was trying to work out if the cadence functions on higher spec ones were more use to pros fine tuning or beginners like myself who kind of pedal until they think "chuff me this is difficult I think I'll change gear".

will look into the mini pump option instead of the co2, just looked a bit techy and to be honest i'm far more likely to just put a new inner tube in than try and repair the old one.

as for the day glo stuff I agree with the logic better to be mocked and seen than hit.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[shalmaneser]

AVeryNaughtyBoy said:

Joe Blow track pump.
Rema Tip Top puncture kit (home use).
Park tool emergency patch kit (roadside use).
Zip ties, various sizes
Rape tape.
Magic links for chain.
Pound coin(s).
Topeak mini morph pump.
Basic first aid kit.
Mitts / gloves (prevents minor accidents leaving you unable to ride properly owing to gravel rashed hands).
I always carry a leatherman.

I have a sigma 1606L computer on my MTB and it is easy to use, easy to read and reliable. You may want cadence for a road bike though.

Bit over the top for a 2 hour loop, no?

Personally:

Bottle of water/hydration product of choice
some figgy rolls
allen key set
spare tube
pump
park sticky patches (in pump handle)
keys
phone w/headphones
debit card + £10

also, obviously:

clothes (lycra optional)
gloves
helmet
glasses (to look cool, not to see with)

[kazste]

Rob_T said:

latex gloves for changing your inner tube if you have a flat. it can be quite a messy business!

and why do they have to smell so bad!

[Kermit power]

kazste said:

i'm far more likely to just put a new inner tube in than try and repair the old one.

Whilst that may be so, not taking patches with you is the best way to guarantee that the number of punctures you suffer on your first long ride will be equal to the number of spare inner tubes you have with you plus one.

[TonyHetherington]

kazste said:

as for the day glo stuff I agree with the logic better to be mocked and seen than hit.

When I walk into the office in full day-glo gear, I get the absolute piss taken out of me. Every day, without fail

However, it means it's noticeable and so I am happy I'll do anything I can to be noticed, to be honest!

[DrMekon]

You are going to have to go some to lose 30kg. Assuming you are a heavy chap, that's > 500hrs on the bike. If weight loss is the goal, the more you carry, the better. You could copy my audax setup, but your nice light bike would feel like a old gaspipe job. My bag contains

A spare Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyre
2x spare inner tubes
3x tyre levers
Spoke key
An emergency spoke (kevlar thingy)
A multitool
A proper chain tool
several power links and a few spare links
Spare gear, brake and straddle cables
Seatpost bolt
Phone
Wallet
5 reusable zipties
8 chocolate flapjacks
bonk rations (several gels and an energy bar)
A waterproof jacket
Rainlegs

FWIW, I lost 25kg in a year, and have kept the weight off for the last 9 months. There aren't any short cuts, IMO. Ride a lot, then ride some more (did >13000km last year, on for 15000km this). Fill up on low energy density food, drink lots of water, & lay off the booze (Livestrong is good for tracking). Good luck to you.

[anonymous-user]

for a two hour ride, i take the following;

spare tube
multi tool
tyre levers
pump
a few quid
two bottles, 1 x water 1 x energy stuff
flapjack type thing

it all fits in a saddle bag and jersey pockets. in fact even if i was going out for longer it would be the same, i just buy food on route if i need it from petrol stations or village stores.

if the chain/cable breaks or something i'll just shorten it and run limited gears or make amends and run a single brake. taking enough tools to mend every/any thing on the go always seems like a false economy as it takes ages to fix something by the roadside and no matter the weather when you set out, as soon as you need to fix something, it WILL start raining....

when the weather gets hot, the last thing you want is a camelbak/rucksack full of tools on your back.

[Trevelyan]

I tend to take a Camelbak bag with me whenever I go out, mainly because I go out pretty much daily and it's easier just to grab the bag and go. That way I know that all the essentials are in it without having to remember what I need to put in my pockets each time.

The standard contents of my bag (for mountain biking) are:

1x spare inner tube (sometimes 2x if it's a long or rough ride)
Topeak pump
Puncture repair kit
Emergency magic chain links
Cable ties
Leccy tape
Topeak multitool
Leatherman
Mobile phone


The water bag may or may not be taken depending on the weather and distance. For a typical 1 hour / 12 mile daily ride I probably wouldn't bother with it, just top up on water before and after the ride. I also have a Cateye cycle computer on the bike to satisfy the geek in me.

[kazste]

I keep finding computers which can be plugged into a computer. Am I right in thinking though that these are pretty useless unless have gps functions?

Thanks for the advice, I think I'm going shopping tomorrow.

[Kermit power]

kazste said:

I keep finding computers which can be plugged into a computer. Am I right in thinking though that these are pretty useless unless have gps functions?

Thanks for the advice, I think I'm going shopping tomorrow.

What sort of mobile do you have? I use a free Blackberry GPS App from endomondo.com which records my routes, speeds, climbs, descents etc, and then automatically uploads them online at the end of the ride without needing to physically connect the phone to the computer.

[kazste]

I have an HTC desire, have downloaded an app called my tracks which seems good and can be uploaded to Google maps, but doesn't seem to put speed and topography info onto the pc, only keeps it on the phone.