Comments on: Trailside First Aid: When the Gnar Shreds You and Your Bike

By: jaredmcvay

jaredmcvay — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:17:24 +0000

Gives you something to think about…

As far as the cleat bolt goes for me, I have left the shoe attached, and used the velcro to get in and out until I got home… Recently started riding regularly again, forgot about that until now.

By: Dream Ride Week #2: White Rim Trail | Mountain Bike Blog || SINGLETRACKS.COM

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:38:54 +0000

[...] fix; thankfully we had a ten speed power link at the ready. I must have taken my own advice about trail-side repairs. Once we were back in motion we took on [...]

By:

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:11:33 +0000

I carry:

5+ zip ties (very useful for a lot of things including temporary fix for busted hub- attach to the cassette and spokes)
29er tube and carbon fiber mini pump
tire puncture repair kit
presta core tool (yeah, I’ve had to clean a leaking one and tighten others)
bandana
~1′ of duct tape
dollar bill size piece of tyvec (for sidewall patching)
some paracord
small knife
extremely basic first aid kit
benadryl tabets (just in case someone gets stung a lot on the trails miles away from civilization)
ibuprofen
halizone tablets (in case you have no choice but to drink BAD/stagnant water)
a couple of small snack bars that I rotate out after 6 mos
strike anywhere matches and dryer lint (easiest material to get a fire going)
rubber bands

By: crazymethods

crazymethods — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:08:52 +0000

Good read, as a beginner these are some good points. I recently experienced a chain breaking and that sucks!

By: Virginiaisforbikers

Virginiaisforbikers — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:57:14 +0000

I have two things for a first aid kit on my rides.
1. I like to keep a cotton bandanna in my saddle bag, it keeps my tools and co2 from shuffling and making noise all day, and when you get a gnarly cut and realize your only wearing synthetic clothes and can’t stop the bleeding the bandanna’s really handy. Also you can make splints, slings, clean out scrapes. I’ve even used it to strap a saddle to a top tube after a friend broke his seatpost 12 or so miles from the trailhead.

2. This ones obvious: Duct tape wrapped around a pencil. Perfect for any number of quick fixes, but it makes a great bandaid/or even is useful for temporarily stitching a wound. Lets face it if you cut yourself on the trail your probably not going to bother applying a scooby doo bandaid, but if that sucker is an X-treme wound you might appreciate the duct tape. Also could make backcountry splints or strap things back to your bike.

By: CC4two7

CC4two7 — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:42:27 +0000

Something I’ve recently learned: ride with a spare collar bone…

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:23:02 +0000

Nice photo

And I agree with everything you mentioned. One thing I would add is to ride with a spare derailleur hanger. I’ve destroyed so many of those….

Great post!

By: trek7k

trek7k — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:15:41 +0000

I’ve lost a cleat bolt many times and while having an extra one would have been nice, the real problem is trying to unclip with just a single bolt in place. I’ve literally kept one foot clipped in for entire rides because there was no easy way to get the shoe off the pedal. Now I put blue Loctite on my cleat bolt threads and haven’t lost a bolt since.

Funny article by the way.

By: DLACHNIET

DLACHNIET — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:05:09 +0000

I’ll have to start carrying cleat bolts. Haven’t lost one “yet”. I also carry a Leatherman Skeletool CX. Weighs less than my multi tool, and the pliers have saved me and others. The knife on it is sharp enough to perform surgery. Besides it also has a bottle opener should I loose both peddles and have nothing to open my beer with.

By: bikecowboy

bikecowboy — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:14:57 +0000

I guess everybody knows the deal about using the pocketknife you should have with you to cut the tube in half where the hole is and tying a knot in it and air it back up. Will get you out of the woods if you happen to not have a patch kit with you.

By: stevethousand

stevethousand — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:26:21 +0000

On a group ride recently, I flatted and my tools had poked a hole in my spare as well. Nobody had patches, but someone had a roll of electrical tape. Turns out electrical tape works as a temporary tube patch! It got me 8 miles home, even though I had to pump up the tube twice.

By: Fitch

Fitch — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:20:00 +0000

Great post, and I’m happy to say I ride with a lot of these. And hey, add me into the “spare hex bolt” list! I lost one of mine on a ride recently, too, and it was a real beast riding with one foot clipped in, and the other being a very firm plastic with no traction.

Small roll of duct tape… yeah, good call there!

By: fleetwood

fleetwood — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:04:08 +0000

Funny. I too recently learned about the inconvenience of losing a bolt to your cleats. And how hard it is to get your hands on some without buying a new set of cleats. I ended up bumming one from a buddy.

@maddslacker, I’d vote that you go ahead and post. I’m sure your perspective will add something new to the discussion.

By: maddslacker

maddslacker — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 23:43:50 +0000

Aaaaaand, now I can delete my half-finished trailside repair blog post.

By: Luke_E

Luke_E — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:31:45 +0000

GG, very excellent points. The badass factor is critical in situations like this. Thanks!

By: GoldenGoose

GoldenGoose — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:27:01 +0000

I’m a bit of a weight weenie too but…

A well thought out 1st aid kit for one person weighs about 6 oz. Less than half a pound. Or in biker terms, a little less than the weight of your average XC innertube. They take up even less space. I started carrying one when getting into ultralight hiking and realized how incredibly small and light they are. Now it comes with me on bike trips too.

Lots of people think that a 1st aid kit has to be full of expensive stuff that you buy in full size boxes from the pharmacy, as well. Wrong again. Toilet paper, a needle, 5 feet of paracord, sticks snagged from the trail, and 1 foot of duct tape will take care of a surprisingly large number of injuries.

It seems weird, but having seeing someone hike out of the woods on his own with his leg sewn up with paracord and a broken wrist splinted up with duct tape, the first words I thought of were “That’s a Badass!” Something about cheating death on your own makes an interesting ride into something worthy of “Epic” status.

By: limetownjack

limetownjack — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:15:57 +0000

ha i really need to start carrying spare tubes. i’ve been riding 3-4 times a month for about two years (minus deployments and i ride anywhere from 10-40 miles) and i guess i’ve just been incredibly lucky but i’ve never once gotten a flat! it’s only a matter of time though…

By: BikerPanda

BikerPanda — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:50:56 +0000

agreed with the cleats. somehow my cleat remained in the pedal and when I finally got int unlodged, i lost the bolts so I couldnt reattach the cleat to the shoe. I still dont know how that happened either.

By: topjimmy

topjimmy — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:03:07 +0000

+1 for keeping bolts for the cleats. Learned this the hard way. Lost a bolt on each cleat and had to ride 2 miles back to the trailhead barefoot on eggbeaters. Now I keep two extra cleats with the bolts in my seatbag with the multitool.

One other thing I always keep is a roll of electrical tape.