I’ve just done my first sprint tri and now I’m about to do a few olympics, however, I have never carried any tire repair stuff.
Do you bring a patch kit or spare tube in a race that has a ride less than 30 miles?
If you do bring one, what do you bring? Spare tube and CO2? Patch and CO2?
Or do you just abandon if you have to change a tire?
Any distance farther than I want to walk in my bike shoes, (so anything longer than 400 meters) I’m bringing a spare tube, co2, and levers.
What do you use, Xlab, bento, saddle bag?
A bento.
Wedge bag.
-Jot
I take 1 spare tube+co2+tire lever for anything Oly and up
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Any distance farther than I want to walk in my bike shoes, (so anything longer than 400 meters) I’m bringing a spare tube, co2, and levers.
+1
I keep what I need in a spare water bottle (for short races you’ll always have at least one cage you don’t need)
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x2 I was thinking same thing. Maybe the end of my driveway. This way I can get right back on after I fix and only miss about 10 minutes
For sprints in the past, I went with nothing and tempted fate. Never had a problem. I just got a Specialized Virtue, and that is my new repair kit with mini pump, tube, levers, and a multitool. Kill two birds with one stone…
An under the seat wedge bag. Tube, CO2, couple tire boots, couple tire levers and a 10 pack of baby wipes. They all fit in a small under seat bag. Training and races. Why bother taking it off just for a race.
An under the seat wedge bag. Tube, CO2, couple tire boots, couple tire levers and a 10 pack of baby wipes. They all fit in a small under seat bag. Training and races. Why bother taking it off just for a race.
x2 (except no baby wipes). I keep all of my stuff in a wedge bag all of the time. If, however, I had to consciously decide whether or not to carry a repair kit and it took some amount of effort to put it on my bike, I’d probably not carry it for Sprint races; if you flat then, your race is screwed no matter what. Out training, I’d carry whenever I go further than I want to push my bike home–like someone else said, “About 400 meters.”
Your race is screwed? Yea you probably won’t place in your AG if you flat, but the race certainly isn’t over…
I can change a flat in just about 3 minutes…my flat kit never leaves my bike, unless I were to do a road race/crit.
On group rides I carry: 1 Tube, 1 CO2/inflator, tire lever, multi tool, an alcohol wipe, a packet of biofreeze, $20 cash and an ID.
For races it’s the same minus the alcohol/biofreeze, cash and ID. And for really short races (>30mi) I usually ditch the bag and shove it all in a water bottle.
my flat kit never leaves my bike
x2
2 tubes, 4 CO2s, patch kit, tire levers, multi-tool, inflator, old sock, money, presta-2-schraeder convertor, and emergency contact/insurance card copy are always in my seat bag.
It’s only necessary if you get a flat.
I carry a repair kit for every race, first cuz I paid $ to do the race and am not going to abandon unless I’m hurt or something is broke. Second cuz I’m not normally in it for the win anyway but if I was, it would only take me 4 minutes or so to fix the flat.
Another thing to think about is how you are prepared for the race. I have wheels dedicated for racing that have new rubber on them every year. They normally won’t see the bad roads I train on so there is a lower probability of tire issues anyway.
What I carry:
Tube
Stick on patches
2 tire levers
Inflater
3 CO2 cart
jaretj
Oly and shorter I carry no tire repair equipment. If I flat, then the race is over and I’ll get back somehow.
HIM and longer typically involves a larger training commitment and I carry a spare so I can hopefully finish the race.
My opinion is that you should always be ready to fix a flat. Changing a tube only takes a few minutes and a little extra weight stuck under your saddle won’t hurt you. You may miss out on a chance to win if you flat, but how many people who enter a race are only in it to win?
Oly and shorter I carry no tire repair equipment. If I flat, then the race is over and I’ll get back somehow.
HIM and longer typically involves a larger training commitment and I carry a spare so I can hopefully finish the race.
X2
I would never carry any tools or repair kit for Sprint or Oly. Your race is blown if you flat and I feel that the probability of flatting is pretty slim. I have raced HIM distance without a kit, and I am still determining whether I will carry one racing this year. I like having two bottles of liquid on the bike, so the bottle kit is out of the question, and other solutions are pretty cumbersome for the very limited chance that a kit is needed. If I was going to carry something, it would be a tube, a c02 cartrige, and 2 levers. Definately no patch kit. I would race with one of those “foamblasters” that creates a temporary fix on the tire, but I have heard that they do not work with latex tubes, so no dice there either.
Training is another story (no support and time is not an issue). I always carry a full kit on training rides.
Sounds like I am in the minority here, but I like to travel light.
Setup on TT bike: Front Aero bottle, bottom cage bottle (Olympic and up), spare tube & Quick Stick Velcro’d under top tube, 12 gram CO2 cartridge & adapter under seat (with a little electrical tape to ensure it holds). Pretty simple setup and saves weight from extra bottle holder/seat cage.
I have a tube, CO2 inflator, tire levers, and a patch kit in a “micro” seat wedge, and I never remove them. It might weigh one pound, but that’s pretty insignificant.
In any race, it sure beats having to wait for the sag wagon. In training, I don’t have to call my wife (assuming she’s even home) to come and rescue me.