PFTV3: Amanda's 5 Every-Ride Essentials
You wouldn’t go skydiving without a parachute or sailing without enough lifeboats (looking at you Titanic), so why would you jump on your bike unprepared! The road can be a tricky place, but luckily the most common issues are pretty predictable. In today’s episode of Pure Fix TV, Amanda guides us through her 5 everyday ride-essentials so you’ll be prepared, whatever the road throws your way!
Boss standing right behind you? Stuck in the library without headphones? We got you. If you can't crank up the episode, just keep reading for a breakdown of Amanda's essentials, without all the volume:
Tire Pressure
You won’t get far without air in the tires! No pressure and you won’t even roll, low pressure and you’re likely to have a pinch flat cut your ride short, so make sure those puppies are pumped! Air sneaks out of tubes over time, so be sure to top ‘em back up to your optimal pressure before you hit the road.
Spare Tube (or two)
Even reinforced tires and good intentions won’t be enough to stop every flat out there. When broken bottles or police spike strips threaten to end your ride early, a spare tube is all it takes to get rolling again. Us every-day-types always carry two tubes because a) we have two wheels and b) if whatever you rode over popped your tube, there’s a good chance it got someone else’s on the ride too. You can never have too much good karma, so being able to get other riders rolling with a patch kit or spare is just future repairs in the bank. Not having to end your own prematurely is just a bonus.
Pump or CO2
And all the spares in the world won’t save you if you can’t fill ‘em up! And you don’t want to be dependent on other people for your air – you never know who’ll get stingy with their CO2. Just toss a mini-pump or some compressed air in your go-bag, and you’ll always have the pressure when you need it. I prefer a pump because it never runs out, but if you’re space or weight-conscious, CO2 is super compact and gets the job done in a jif.
Tools
This one’s pretty straightforward. You don’t need to bring the whole shop with you on every ride, but you definitely want to have enough to handle any road-side fixes. A 15mm wrench, allen key, and tire levers are a must. If you’re paranoid, a mini-chain tool is easy to toss in there as well and that’ll mean you’re covered for just about anything that can happen on a day-trip. Pop ‘em all in your bag and they’ll always be right there on your bike when you need ‘em.
ID/Phone/Money
Last but not least, don’t forget your phone, ID, and wallet! Rolling up to the coffee shop only to realize that your cash is still on the couch is disheartening. Getting to the bar only to be turned away when you can’t find your ID is worse. And not being able to call a friend to help you out in either situation? Ugh. Don’t do that to yourself. Besides a life-line, you can use your phone as a bike computer to track your rides, or keep track of your entire ride life with apps like Strava. Besides buying fuel, cash can be used to boot a tire in a pinch (or hail a cab if things go completely pear-shaped). Heck, your ID probably has other uses too! The point is if you bring them on every ride, you won’t regret it.
And now you’re ready to ride! Load up your essentials and hit the road! If you use Strava, join the Pure Fix team to see what the racers are up to workout wise and see how you stack up against the team. We’ll see you out there!
