Hey guys. I'm getting ready for my first full riding season and I'm wondering what tools/items I shouldn't leave the house without. What do you carry with you out on the trail?

Thanks

 

I built my own making sure I had all the same sizes that came in the OEM tool kit. I added a few zip tips and some electrical tape. I haven't done anything specific for off-road but I would definitely add some more tools when doing so.

 

It's probably a little different for everyone, but the basic tools to fit the fasteners on your bike, spare tube (s), tire patch kit, some way to reinflate the tube, duct tape, zip ties, JB Weld, water for you, a cell phone and a credit card.

Tom
Oriental, NC

 

YES!

Although it's hardly best practice, I have used electrical tape on one occasion, and duct tape on another occasion, to get me several hundreds of kilometres to a tire shop when I underestimated how much tread I had left when embarking on long road trips and the cords of the rear tire started showing. When you are hours from even a tow truck let alone a tire shop, and out of cell range too, it's amazing how resourceful you become.

Tip: if you find the whole roll of tape too bulky, just lay a few strips incon****uously along the tubes of the frame; you won't even notice it until you need it!

 

Health! You need a good cardio! Without it, you're nothing on the trails, and I know what I'm talking about.

 

Speaking of handy items, my tool kit did not come with a wrench the correct size to remove the front wheel. You need a 19mm to do so, which just so happens to be the same size as a Stihl chainsaw tool.
I also carry all the fuses, 3 tire levers, in addition to an improved tool kit and the odds and ends already mentioned.
Oh yeah, I also tossed in some red and blue loc-tite and hose clamps of various sizes.

 

If you opt for duct tape a tip is to wrap some around an old credit card. You can roll a lot and it doesn't get very thick. I learned to do this for my BOB.

 

hmmmm not bad. I have always just taken a strip of duct tape and stuck the first two inches or so back on itself, and then wrapped the rest of the length up around that. Same idea, but maybe a little easier to handle, when you wrap it around an old credit card.
Dan

 

have to try the card, I always had it rolled around a screwdriver handle or plug socket

I recently discovered gorilla tape so like to have some of that too.

for a universal axle tool I have a crecent with the handle cut stubby foot kick short, and the thumb worm gear ground juuuust enough so it opens that hair more to fit the biggest axle nut in my fleet. have the fancy lightweight wrenches for MY bike, but tools seem to get used as often on other peeps bikes.

most bikes come apart with 8,10,12 , but ktms have some 13, gas gas use 7 and 11's. Point being if you got odd stuff don't think your bud has you covered.

 

Ok cool. Duct tape and electrical tape are good ideas. I'll have to go through my tool kit to see what's there and add any necessary items.

From reading ride reports I am under the impression that the rear tire is the one that fails 9 times out of 10. Is this correct? Would it be worth carrying a spare tube for the front as well as the back?

Thanks for the ideas. Keep them coming.