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What’s In Your Saddle Bag?

08.29.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 16 Comments

Guest poster Jeff Hemmel opens a discussion of one of biking’s most common items.

HemmelsRide2Recently I came across a discussion of what people carried in their saddle bags. It piqued my interest, because over many years I feel like I’ve really streamlined mine to the true essentials, while still allowing for a few items I’ve come to appreciate from experience…and some people might overlook.

What do I bring along for the ride? I dumped the contents out to jog my memory. Chime in to add anything you think I’ve missed.

bag

A Spare Tube — This one is obvious. A spare tube is there to save the day should you flat on any of the detritus that lines the roads, and as such should be the key item in any saddle bag. Tip? Bicycling magazine recently suggested to wrap a spare in plastic wrap. I guess the idea is to keep it “fresh,” but it also keeps the tube as compact as possible, as well as protects it from some abrasion by other items in your bag.

Perhaps the real question should be one tube…or two? I try to keep things as minimal as possible, so I go with one, reasoning that I can call someone for a ride should things go really haywire. If I’m venturing out into some unknown area, however, I sometimes squeeze a second one into my bag…just in case.

Patch Kit — One reason I often go with just the single tube is that I carry a patch kit. You can find them in tiny little packages that are easy to add to your bag. That way if you ruin your spare, you can do a quickie repair.

Tire Levers — I usually just use my hands to remove a tire, but I still keep a pair of tire levers in my bag. They’re helpful for getting a tire off the rim, especially if the tire is new and not very pliable.

CO2 Inflator — My brother gets on me about this one, noting that all of us quick-fix types aren’t doing the environment any favor. But a small CO2 inflator is the simplest, quickest way to get you back up and riding, especially if a group may be waiting for you…or you don’t want to lose them. CO2 inflators, however, are notorious for misfiring. After a little trial and error, I’ve settled on a Genuine Innovations Air Chuck Elite. It’s a tiny, spring-loaded, inexpensive inflator head that’s got a great reputation. There are flashier solutions, but I’m not sure any really better.

CO2 Cartridges — I have a mini frame pump that tucks behind a bottle cage, so I stick with just one CO2 cartridge in my streamlined bag. For the typical road bike tire, one 16 gram cartridge should get you back up to about 110-115 pounds. Theoretically it should fill to 130 psi, but I’ve never quite seen that happen.

Presta Valve Adapter — This summer I had what I’ll call the “flat change from hell.” Suffice it to say my old CO2 inflator leaked, my frame pump broke, and I was eaten alive by mosquitoes on the side of a steep country road. I was finally able to walk to a convenience store, only to find I had to do a little surgery on their air hose just to get a little bit of air into my tire. Then and there I vowed to get one of these little adapters (about $1.50) and throw it in my bag. I may never need it again, but if I do, it’s cheap insurance.

Multi-Tool — I’ve seen better (and bigger) alternatives, but I think most people can get by with just a simple tool, like Park’s tiny IB-2. It’s got a multitude of hex wrenches, a flat-blade screwdriver, and an I-beam handle for strength.

Grease Monkey Wipe — I scoffed at this when a friend gave me one, but these little foil-wrapped wipes really do clean up your hands after a chain issue, or even a dirty tire change. I just used the one I was given. Time to find some more.

Oh, a side note…the makers were funded by one of the “sharks” on ABC’s Shark Tank.

As to the actual bag I keep this stuff in, I’ve found one — again, a small one — that works perfect for me, the Serfas EV-2. I like the bag’s durability, but I primarily appreciate that it’s not just one wide-open bag. Instead, there’s a mesh pocket in the zippered entry flap (a great spot to stow that little inflator and Presta valve adapter), a pocket on one side to hold my multi-tool, and a strap on the other to tuck in my CO2 cartridge and tire levers. Best of all it’s even got a strap with a clip to securely hold a house key…something you definitely don’t want to lose out of your saddle bag when changing a tire on the side of a hill while being attacked my mosquitoes.

Not that I would know about that sort of thing.

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Categories // Accessories, guest post Tags // guest post, Hemmel, seatbags

Orthotics?

08.27.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

A newer member of my cycling club jumped on our Yahoo group with a question.

“I am having some pain in the outside of my right foot that has been slowly building over the past few weeks,” he wrote. “I used custom orthotics (pronator) when I used to run to alleviate plantars. Unfortunately those orthotics are too thick to fit in my cycling shoes. I found some footbed systems from Gyro and Specialized on line that provide some additional arch suport.

Has anyone had similar issues and what did you do to solve it?”
I’m always interested when I hear people complain about foot pain. I went through that mess several years ago, when I started cycling. In my case, the problem was a poor quality bike shoe. Once I got a pair of Specialized Body Geometry shoes, my foot problems ceased. But his pronation problems are different than the complaints I had with my feet. I waited to see what other club members had to say.
“I use the Specialized inserts and they are excellent,” opined one fellow. No details.
“I too use Specialized inserts,” said another. “They form fit and last a good while. However, if you are a pronator you may need a custom orthotic.
“Also there are several options for increasing your Q factor (distance between pedals) to offset the ankles. I use 25mm Knee savers (they come in stainless at 30mm too and 20mm Titanium). But you can also just purchase longer spindles for Speedplay pedals and possibly others too. “
Knee savers. Hadn’t heard about them for awhile, and I didn’t know this rider was using them. I wrote a post about them several years ago. I’m not sure they’re the kind of relief the original poster was looking for, though.
“Try the Sole thin footbeds on Amazon,” wrote one of our better female riders. “You heat them in the oven and then custom mold them to your feet. They work really well imho, I use them in my cycling shoes and love them.” She supplied a link to the item.
I don’t use orthotics, but I do have insoles in a pair of my walking shoes. I love the extra comfort they give. When riding a bike, though, the relatively flat insoles that come with the shoes are adequate for me. I’ve experimented with insoles in my biking shoes, and find I don’t need them.
But what about you? What kind of advice would you give the original poster? Do you have custom orthotics for your bike shoes, or do you use the moldable insoles, or just off-the-rack from Dr. Sholl’s things?

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Categories // Accessories, soreness Tags // pedal, shoes

I Am Such A Noob

07.14.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

After my crash during the week, I was anxious to get back on the bike. The road rash was painful (at this writing, still is), but would rub against nothing while in the saddle, so riding wouldn’t be a problem.

But I needed to replace my trusty old Schwinn bike computer. It had been flattened when a car ran over it right after my crash. I swung by Wal-Mart after work Friday and picked up a new one.

compNot exactly like the old, but pretty close. Instead of the Schwinn name, it was by Bell — the helmet and cheap bike accessory folks. It has the familiar two buttons below the display that the previous one had had, and operates the same way. More bells and whistles, though — this one also has you input your age and weight, so it can calculate calories and fat burned during a workout. Oooh! Who needs Strava?

So, I sat down with the instruction booklet Friday evening and set the computer. I inputted the wheel circumference (after manually measuring it in my driveway), and all the other stuff you’re supposed to do. Saturday morning, I mounted it on the bike for its first ride.

Immediately, I saw that something was wrong. As I pulled out of my driveway, still with only one foot clipped into a pedal, the computer was reading 15 mph. Farther down the block, once I started cruising, it showed a speed in the high 20s.

Hm. I must have set something wrong. I did my ride along a familiar route, so I would be able to save some of the data. But the readings I was getting on the new computer were around twice as high as I should get if it was accurate.

Sunday morning, after resetting the computer for the umpteenth time, I set out on another ride. I had decided to skip the club ride because of my road rash. Although I could ride easy, I didn’t think I was up for a 40-mile, two-and-a-half hour jaunt in the country. Next week.

Again, the computer registered high numbers. I stopped a few blocks into the ride, and adjusted the sensor mounted on the fork. Then I reset the computer to kilometers per hour, assuming that maybe there was a manufacturing flaw, and the miles and kilometer settings had been reversed at the factory. All that got me was cruising speeds upwards of 60 kph.

This disappointed me. I’ve been somewhat smug about not needing a fancy bike computer when all my friends have one. Current speed, max speed, average speed, and distance are really the only numbers I need. But now, after spending considerably more for this unit than the one it replaced ($23), I wasn’t getting any usable readings.

As I pedaled along, I noticed something odd from the front wheel. That sensor magnet was really spinning fast. Why, it looked like it was going twice as fast…oh, crap.

I stopped at the side of the road again, and this time I took off one of the two magnets on the front wheel. When I disconnected the old unit’s wiring and sensor, I had forgotten to take the magnet off the wheel. Instead, I installed the magnet from the new unit. Now, I had two. Double the magnets, double the fun.

I set off again. The speed was right where it should have been — between 12-15 mph. On the slight downhill through a nice subdivision, it registered 26 mph. I rode over to the Veloway, which has a known distance of 3.1 miles per lap, and did two laps. Yep, 3.1 miles each time.

Next time you get a new bike computer, remember to take off the old wheel magnet before you install the new one.

And you wonder why I still call this blog Bike Noob.

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Categories // Accessories Tags // computer

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