I carry more tools than most cyclists, but this is the stripped-down bicycle tool kit I have settled on after years of experimenting, fixing flats, and helping solve mechanical problems during rides. It handles the failures most likely to end a ride while still fitting in a single jersey pocket.
I carry the kit in my middle pocket, with my phone, a credit card, and a spare tube in my left pocket and food in my right. It also moves easily into a messenger bag for riding around town or a hydration pack for mountain-bike rides.
The complete kit
The exact spare tube and chain link need to match the bike, but the rest of the kit moves between my road and mountain bikes.
| Group | Item | Why I carry it |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Vaultz mesh storage bag | Keeps the entire kit together in one jersey pocket |
| Tools | Crankbrothers M17 multi-tool | Hex keys, screwdrivers, spoke wrenches, and a chain tool |
| Tire repair | Two Park Tool tire levers | Removes a tight tire without carrying the full three-lever set |
| Inflation | Topeak Micro Rocket pump | A dependable backup after the CO₂ is gone |
| Inflation | Planet Bike Red Zeppelin CO₂ inflator | Quickly inflates a repaired tire with a threaded cartridge |
| Repair | Flattened roll of Scotch Super 33+ electrical tape | Strong, compact material for improvised repairs |
| Tubeless | Refillable Stan’s 2-ounce sealant bottle filled with Orange Seal | Adds sealant through a removable valve core |
| Tube repair | Park Tool VP-1 vulcanizing patch kit | Makes a durable repair to a punctured tube |
| Tube repair | Skabs glueless patches | Makes a quick temporary repair when the group needs to move |
| Tubeless repair | Lezyne tubeless repair kit | Plugs punctures that sealant cannot close on my mountain bikes |
| Small storage | Altoids Smalls 0.37-ounce tin | Protects the smallest repair and emergency items |
| First aid | Flexible fabric bandages | Covers knuckle, thorn, and briar cuts |
| Cutting | Victorinox small Swiss Army knife | Provides a knife, scissors, file, and tweezers |
| Inflation | Presta-to-Schrader valve adapter | Lets me use a borrowed pump or gas-station air hose |
| Chain repair | Speed-correct SRAM connecting links | Repairs my chain or a friend’s broken chain |
| Tubeless | Stan’s valve-core remover | Removes a Presta valve core to add sealant |
| Emergency | 50 cents and a folded $20 bill | Pays for air, food, or help getting home |
| Hot weather | Contact-lens case with sunscreen and lip balm | Carries enough protection to reapply during a long ride |
Rule 31
Rule 31 says that spare tubes, multi-tools, and repair kits should be stored in jersey pockets.
Don’t have a floppy, dangly bag under your saddle. Build this tool kit and keep it with you. Toss it in your messenger bag for riding a townie to work, keep it in your hydration pack for mountain-bike rides, or put it in your center jersey pocket for road and cyclocross rides.
Go ride.
Tools and tire supplies
The Crankbrothers M17 remains the center of the kit. It has the common hex keys, screwdrivers, spoke wrenches, and a good chain tool. The 8 mm hex key is especially useful for pedals.
I carry two levers from a three-pack of Park Tool tire levers. Practice with your own tires and find out whether two are enough before leaving the third one at home. I hold the levers against the pump with a rubber band so they do not wander around inside the bag.
I normally reach for the Red Zeppelin CO₂ inflator first. Its control knob lets me use only part of a cartridge when I need to top off a tire. The Topeak Micro Rocket is the backup for a second flat, an empty cartridge, or a repair that needs more than one inflation attempt.
Buy good electrical tape. It is worth it for the durability and strength. I remove at least half of the tape from the roll, cut the cardboard core out with a knife, and flatten what remains. It packs like the flattened duct tape MacGyver carried.
The Altoids tin
The Altoids Smalls 0.37-ounce tin keeps the smallest items organized and stops them from being crushed. Mine contains flexible fabric bandages, a small Victorinox knife, emergency money, a valve adapter, and connecting links for the chains I might encounter.
The Victorinox gives me scissors, a knife, a nail file, and tweezers in very little space. I filed the tweezers to a point, which makes them better for splinters and cactus needles. Depending on the exact knife, removing the key-ring attachment may help it fit inside the tin.
I keep 50 cents for an air machine at a gas station in case things have gone very wrong. I also fold a $20 bill into the bottom of the tin and leave it there for emergency food or persuading a friendly pickup-truck driver to help me get home.
The Presta-to-Schrader adapter makes a borrowed pump or service-station air hose usable. Be careful with a powered air hose because it can fill a bicycle tire extremely quickly.
Carry a connecting link that matches each chain you expect to repair. What used to be a simple collection of 8-, 9-, and 10-speed SRAM PowerLinks now includes more speed- and chain-specific designs. Some modern PowerLocks are intended for one installation, so I carry new links and treat them as bike-specific spares. These have saved more rides by fixing friends’ chains than my own.
Road tubes and mountain-bike tubeless tires
My road bikes still use tubes, while all of my mountain bikes are tubeless. The kit covers both systems.
For tubes, I prefer the Park Tool VP-1 vulcanizing patches. They take a little longer to apply than a glueless patch, but I trust a properly prepared vulcanizing patch for a lasting repair. I keep an extra piece of sandpaper in the case for roughening the tube. The Skabs are the quick option when I need to get a group moving and can make a more careful repair at home.
For tubeless mountain-bike tires, I carry a Lezyne tubeless repair kit for holes that the sealant cannot close. I also carry a reusable two-ounce Stan’s bottle filled with Orange Seal. The small sealing insert in the bottle is easy to lose, but if I keep it, I can refill the bottle at home. The valve-core remover lets me add that sealant through a removable valve core.
I still carry a spare tube on a tubeless bike. A plug and sealant handle many ordinary punctures, while the tube gives me another way home when the tubeless repair does not hold.
Hot-weather additions
After living in New Mexico, I added a contact-lens case to the bag. One side holds mineral sunscreen, and the other holds sunscreen lip balm. It carries just enough to reapply to my face and lips during a long, hot ride without packing full-size containers. When conditions are especially dry, I also bring a small bottle of eye drops.
If you have a small tool or repair supply that has repeatedly earned its place in your jersey pocket, send me an email.
Long live long rides.