- So you want to do some mid-ride maintenance
and I hope for you that the middle of your ride
isn't so devastatingly muddy as mine.
But what if it is?
Well here are some ideas for some things
that might just earn their place to live inside your car
or vehicle of choice full-time.
(dramatic music)
Now the first thing I want to talk about is some basic tools.
Now sometimes, not often but sometimes,
I will take my whole toolbox with me
and it can stay in the back of the van.
But is it worth it, having something
that is potentially quite valuable in the back of your car
whilst you're out riding,
maybe leaving it for two, three, four, maybe more hours?
Now if you are going to do that,
it is worth maybe checking with your insurance company
whether they would cover you in the case of a break-in
because sometimes you can find yourself in hot water.
Instead the thing that always lives in my car
actually this little ratchet wrap.
Now if you're working on a work stand,
it can even just be Velcroed like so,
and it is really, really useful.
It's got all the bases covered,
all the Allen keys, some other bits and bobs,
chain breakers etc,
and it is an absolute pleasure to use.
It's a very versatile piece of kit
and it's not something that's cumbersome
or restrictive to use.
So it actually replaces the vast majority of jobs
from my whole toolbox, which is pretty incredible really.
The next question, to take a work stand or not?
Well portable work stands
are now really, really, really good.
One such as this even have a teardrop-shaped shaft,
so there's no twisting or flexing
when you're working on your bike.
I would even go as far to say they are just as good
as a permanent stand that you might find
in a professional workshop, I rate them that highly.
But, to be honest, I leave my stand
at home most of the time,
setup and waiting for me to do some work there.
So what are the alternatives?
Now this is a really great gadget from Topeak
and not only is it a relatively basic
but very functional work stand, it's also a pump.
Well that's going to save you loads and loads of space.
I mean sure, it might be slightly compromised
when you're doing things
without your front wheel or fork
but for all other jobs, for gear tunes etc,
absolutely fantastic.
It's nice to have a stable and secure place
to put your bike whilst you're tinkering.
Now the great thing about that being a pump too,
is coupled with something like this,
you can set up tubeless tires like an absolute breeze.
At home I do have one of these and it is great.
it's basically got a booster tank on there
so you can fill that up to a whopping 160 psi
and it does the job of one of those tanks,
a little compressor.
Now these are great, and coupled with
one of those lovely work stands,
it's like I said before,
I think just as good a setup that you'd find
in a professional workshop.
But something like that work stand
that is a pump as well,
coupled with a little separate booster tank
is a great and versatile way to be able to work
on your bike at the trail head.
Now the four things I absolutely am sure
to always take with me riding is tubular sealant,
now even if this isn't used for yourself,
it's absolutely fantastic to have,
because it's amazing how many free
cups of coffee you can get when you help
out your friends with a splash of sealant,
should they burp, or roll a tire,
so that absolutely deserves its spot.
The next is some lube, just really useful to have,
I like to use dry lube personally,
something like this is pretty
long-lasting and good quality,
and yeah, really, really useful to have,
it means if you forget to all your chain
it's not the end of the world,
you don't sound like you're being chased round
the trail by an angry mouse, you're all good.
Next up, and I'm real picky with this,
and everyone's going to laugh,
but every single time I ride,
I check my tire pressures.
Am I a loser?
Maybe.
Do all my friends think I'm stupid?
Probably, but do I always know what
pressure my tires are running?
Absolutely, and that is really important to me.
And now this lives in my car all the time,
I don't even take it out for maybe a less
than spectacular day such as today,
but just some sun cream,
leave it in there all the time and it's going to be good.
Obviously, you don't want to
make it go out of date,
and living in the UK you might be at risk of
not using it fast enough,
but it's really, really good to never get
caught short and come home looking like a tomato.
And there we have it guys, a really quick breakdown
of the things that I believe really deserve
their own place permanently
in the back of your vehicle.
Now if you want to stay watching the channel,
click down here to see me do
a real-time shock service,
and click down here to see me be
an absolute Joker with a Topic multi-tool.
As always, don't forget to like and subscribe,
and we'll see you next time.