Must-take for Short and Long Bike Tours

There are some tools that you should always bring with you when you leave on a bike or ebike tour. This will prevent you from being stuck in the middle of nowhere, in the worst case scenario, or having to leave your bike and return home with other means, provided that you find some. Anyway, without these emergency tools you risk wasting time and money, besides turning your bike adventure into a bike misadventure.

Of course, the number of tools that you should take with you depends on the length of your tour.

Multi-tools

You can choose among a variety of multi-tools, better if they include a chain snatcher. We advise also multi-tools including scissors and bottle openers.

Must take tools for a day-long tour

Of course you need an air chamber, a couple of sturdy tire levers, a multitool, a pump,  air chamber patches or tire repair plugs (with their tool) if you ride with tubeless, and, being light, a spoke wrench, a quick release chain-link and a couple of plastic fasteners. Fatigue could push you to use a CO2 cartridge with its adapter, not too ecological. Also: valve cores, valve core tool, neoprene gloves, several different size chain links, a piece of tyvec for slashed tire liner, bug spray wipes, 2ft of gorilla tape for emergency bike use or as a bandage. The bugs always attack when you are broken down. See left image below.

Must take bike tools for long tours

The toolset is essentially the same as that listed for shorter tours, with the addition of a more performant pump, better if with manometer, a piece of chain, chain lubricating oil, a liquid chain cleaner with a toothbrush to clean your chain and shifter, and a piece of American adhesive band, which you may want to stick around something in order to avoid bringing a whole roll. You may want to bring with you also a textile spoke, it’s very light and great for repairs, but only to center the rim, not to support the wheel. See right image below.

An adrenaline autoinjector

Epipen adrenaline auto-injector – courtesy Epipen

Hornets, and to a lesser extent bees and wasps, are a real danger for bikers. When you ride in the countryside, you often cross areas where hornets, bees and wasps are quite common, especially where there are many orchards. These poisonous insects can sometimes get stuck in your sleeve or, much worse, between your neck and your shirt. In this case, they would sting you repeatedly, feeling attacked. Even if you’re not allergic, their puncture can cause your neck to swell to the point where you’d have difficulties breathing.

You should better keep in mind that a scarcity of oxygen lasting just a few minutes can seriously damage your brain.

People with known allergic reactions to bee stings should carry with them at all times a portable epinephrine (a sort of adrenaline) autoinjector, read more at epipen.com. “With an estimated 220,000 annual visits to the emergency department and nearly 60 deaths per year due to stings from hornets, wasps, and bees, in the United States alone, effective and affordable treatment for anaphylaxis from Hymenoptera is critical,” said Dr. Forrester.

A solar smartphone battery charger

Solar smartphone charger – courtesy SWEYE

We would also add a light, handy photovoltaic smartphone battery charger. Especially if you need to be rescued, having enough juice on your smartphone is paramount, and often times it takes numerous and long calls before finding help. You can find one for less than $50, it can be useful and save you costly electricity even at home.

An extension cable for your ebike battery charger

You never know how you will end up charging your battery, and sometimes the plug can be just a little too far from your tent or whatever. Two or 3 m of an extension cable is not too heavy, and can often facilitate battery charging operations.

Did we misss anything? Please tell us in the comments!

Find more ebike tips here.