Midweek Post for August 3, 2023 – If You have a Flat, a Mechanical, or crash while on a Ride, What Can You Do?

Have you ever been in the situation where you’ve broken down on your bike without a way to resolve your problem? You might have what you need with you as far as an extra tube to fix a flat, a small section of your chain if your chain breaks, or a multi-tool to tighten a loose bolt on a cleat of your cycling shoes or water bottle mount.

However, if none of these items resolve your problem, what would you do? While definitely a rare scenario, weird things can happen on a bike ride. And sometimes they happen when you are far from home without a resource to help you out.

Waiting for Another Cyclist

If you are truly stuck with no way to easily fix your bike so you can continue your ride, you can always wait to see if another bicyclist will come by with what you need. However, that could be a long wait, and if you are somewhere out in countryside or another remote location, you might not see another cyclist at all.

If you’re not far from home, you could walk (make sure you have rubber cleat covers if you wear cycling specific shoes). I’ve had to do this a few times and it’s not fun, plus you’ll probably ruin your shoes or have foot pain afterward since cycling shoes are stiff and offer no support. Or you can try to rely on the kindness of a stranger passing by and flag them down.

Bring Your Fully Charged Phone

The best thing you can do, though, is make sure before leaving for your ride that your phone is fully charged and that, hopefully, you’ll be able to get a signal wherever you might be. Have a list of friends that could give you a ride in a pinch and would be available.

If that possibility is out of the question, have Lyft or Uber installed on your phone along with a functional account for each. Personally, I’ve never had to use either service in a bike breakdown scenario. But I would think (unless the driver has a rule about putting something like a bike in his trunk), most drivers would probably give you a ride, especially if you offer a good tip at the end.

Check That Spare Tubes Inflate and Don’t Leak

It’s good idea to check that spare tubes are in good working order before heading on your ride. There’s nothing worse than discovering you have a bad spare tube when you’re broken down on the side of the road and far from home.

For spare tubes, pull them out of their packaging and inflate them, check that the valve is good and not damaged and (if it is a presta valve) will screw close securely. Inflate the tube and look and listen for leaks around the valve, etc. Then deflate it fully and store in your saddle bag with one to two tire levers.

Check that All Tools Work Correctly

A multi-tool is a great item to have with you on a bike ride. You can fix a world of little problems that could potentially stop or end your ride. However, all multi-tools are not created equal and don’t work in the same way. They can come in various sizes and the tools they can contain be short or long in length.

Test that your multi-tool can handle tasks around your home or while doing some pre-ride maintenance and that it feels good in your hand. You may even want to carry some extra screws for your cleats as these tend to get beat up pretty well. Finally, make sure you can break your chain and fix it with your portable chain tool.

Last Thoughts

While cycling is a wonderful sport and lots of fun, it can also be highly frustrating. If you find yourself in a situation where you can’t fix an issue on your bike, your solutions are limited.

But if you check that your tubes and tools work as they should before heading out, you may save yourself a future headache or even the embarrassment of having to call for a ride home.