Blog

Be prepared without carrying extra weight

By Richard Trombly

I recently accidently left my waterproof panniers unclipped and slightly open while parked during a serious rainstorm. They filled with water so I had to take out my toolkit and dry the tools. I became curious about the inventory because my kit far outdated my past few bikes and has evolved over time. I really could not remember what tools remained and what I had abandoned.

It is important to be prepared for eventualities without carrying unnecessary weight, so I should say I have two different kits.

One basic kit for daily commuting and local rides (under 30 km or 20 miles round trip) where I know the local bike shops, it may be possible to walk it home or to the destination or, at worst, I know what options are available if I must lock it up and take an alternative transportation.

My other tool kit is for longer trips and touring beyond the comfort of normal daily rides where I may need to rely on my own repairs.

What you need for your toolkit depends on your own bike, the terrain, whether it is urban or wilderness and your own level of mechanical repair skills. In Asia, where I currently live, there are bike shops almost everywhere, even in small towns.

Now let’s inventory what is in these two different kits.

Quality improvements

With how much the reliablility of even very inexpensive bike comonents have improved, if you do regular maintenance, breakdown have become quite rare. I used to travel everywhere with what seemed like half of my dad’s workshop tool inventory to keep my old bike on the road. In the early days of 21-speed bikes, even higher quality road bikes seemed to need constant maintenance and adjustments while out and about on a simple ride. Brake quality and component reliability has increased dramatically. Also Shimano indexed shifting (SIS) was introduced in 1984 and became ubiquitous technology among all the derailleur manufacturers by the early 2000s. SIS allows precise shifting increments on the shifter itself so once the derailleur is correctly adjusted, it should work properly for thousands of kilometers without requiring adjustment.

The quality and durability of components, even on relatively inexpensive bikes, has increased so you can probably ride trouble-free for months whether commuting, cruising slowly about town, training or taking cross country tours.

An ounce of prevention

One must not get careless. To avoid unnecessary hassles, breakdowns or even dangerous accidents, you should always do a quick safety check. This involves at least checking that tires are properly inflated with ample tread and no visible defects, the wheels are properly attached and moving freely, the brakes are functioning normally, the frame is undamaged, the chain is lubricated, undamaged and travels freely, and there are no loose bolts on elements like the saddle and handlebars, drive components, and gear racks and other accessories. This seems like a tedious routine but takes just a few seconds.

The basic kit

When you head out for even the shortest ride, you need to be prepared at minimum to fix a flat tire, make a small adjustment, or tighten a loose nut or bolt. So my basic kit holds the following:

• A cheap and simple multi-tool can handle most of these incidental repairs and can fit in the smallest pack. It should include a variety of Allen (hex) keys that fit your bike, spanner wrenches that fit the nuts and bolts on your bike and both Phillips and flathead screwdrivers.
• A tube, tire irons and a portable pump. I just change tubes rather than patch flats. Flats are rare and I find it better to install a new tube rather than change a bad patch job.
• A small roll of tape and zip ties.
• Money, not just credit cards or smartphone apps. You may need something where only cash is accepted.
• Phone in case you have a serious breakdown or need other assistance (mounted in a cradle if you wish to safely check online maps.)
• A warm / or rain layer in case the weather changes (I keep a down vest that has its own stuff sack.)
• A few self-adhesive bandages, large gauze pads, medical tape and medical disinfectant

Keep these in a small pack that can easily be mounted and removed from the bike if you stop where theft is likely. There is no need for a backpack or bulky panniers and many bikes do not accommodate a rear rack. The above items can fit in small handlebar, saddle or frame-mounted packs.

These are just the bare minimums and you might choose to add more in your basic kit but I do not leave home without the above gear. Usually I have a drink and a snack as well rather than relying on convenience stores.

For longer rides

When I travel longer distances I find it is better to not only rely on a multitool so in addition to my basic kit, I add:

• A set of wrenches and hex keys for all the fittings on my bike. The most common hex sizes for bikes are  2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10mm and for wrenches 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17mm will fit most needs. You can remove any that do not fit your bike but I personally carry the full set in case other folks need some support. I have more often fixed other people’s bikes than my own.
• *Cone wrenches, if your bike uses them.

• Phillips and flat head screwdrivers. My screwdriver is reversible with a Phillips and flat blade on either side of the removable shaft. It therefore could hold the electric drill tools or the square end attachment for a mini socket set. I do not carry sockets but I know some riders do.
• Pedal wrench. On a longer ride, a failed pedal can happen. You might not carry a spare pedal but you do not want to have to pay high repair shop rates for such a simple repair. Lubricate your pedal threads with grease so you will not have a hard time removing them. (Remember the left pedal is reverse-threaded.)
• Pliers (needle nose are most useful.)
• Adjustable wrench.
• Vice locking pliers, small.
• Chain tool, replacement master link and a bent spoke (or other hard wire to hold together the ends of a broken chain during repairs.)
• Replacement spokes (not all shops will have the size you need.)
• Cable cutter.
• knife (follow local laws.)
• A tube, tire irons and a portable pump.
• Flat repair kit (I carry new tubes, but I carry the flat repair for others in need.)
• Lubricant (chain oil and a small tube of lithium grease – *not WD40 which is a water dispersant and not a lubricant.)
• Disposable latex gloves.
• Cloth rag.
• A first aid kit (*I will post an article about what I carry in my bike first aid kit.)
• Rain / cold gear (consider chemical warming packs when winter riding.)
• Chemical glow sticks.
• Spare batteries.
• Backup headlight if night riding especially in rural areas.

Including the tool bag, my cheap tools and medical kit I carry, it comes in at a whopping 3 kilograms (approaching 7 pounds.) These are normal workbench tools. If weight is a big concern, there are lighter bike tools but they often carry a much higher price tag.

I no longer carry some of the excessive tools I used to but, as a foreigner in Japan, I like to be the person to stop and offer aid. You likely will not need all of the tools on the list and if you are touring on a long trip, it is a trade-off of more camping gear, clothes and food or certain tools you probably will not need. Make the kit that is right for your mechanical skill and your security.

Be prepared. Stay safe. Enjoy the ride.

By Richard Trombly

Don’t pass the bus? They are slow and stop repeatedly. Of course, any cyclist wants to leave them in their dust, right?

“Don’t pass the bus,” is one of my favorite, if obscure, Chinese sayings. It is more than just safety advice.

I am mostly an endurance rider but when I was younger, I would push the speed on rides and challenge my best time on every leg of my daily circuit. I was riding for the rush of speed and the thrill of pushing myself and the machine to its limits through the stunning beauty of the New England country roads near where I lived in Western Massachusetts.

When I moved to Shanghai in 2003, I was thrust into a whole new environment. China has a history as the bicycle kingdom. It also has shockingly dangerous roads with among the highest traffic accident rates in the world. Shanghai is one of the world’s largest and most hectic cities but in much of the city, there are separate and relatively safe bike lanes.

I would pass the cars in traffic, pass all the other cyclists, pass the ubiquitous EV scooters and even pass some of the motorcycles that would sneak into the bike lanes to avoid traffic on the road. Urban riding like that is thrilling and dodging moving obstacles can be exhilarating but it is not without its dangers. There are many bike accidents as pedestrians and slow moving city bikes clog the cycle lanes.

I once went riding with a group of locals on a century (1OOkm) tour out of the city around the relative countryside. We kept up a good pace and had a great day of exploration and enjoyed a Chinese tradition of eating great food at a local farm house. One of the fastest members of our ride asked to go riding in Shanghai just for daily exercise. I of course agreed.

When we met up, I was riding at top speed and expected he would do the same. He was lagging far behind me. I wondered if he was having mechanical problems because he had been leading the group on the tour. When I slowed for him to catch up, he simply said, “Richard, don’t pass the bus.” I had not noticed passing a bus, but we rode slower and still had a nice ride at his pace.

Afterwards I asked him what he meant by, “don’t pass the bus.” He explained that it means slow down and do not hurry and it was more than about traffic. In China, the bus drivers were often pushed so sternly by their managers to keep their schedules that they often drove recklessly and it could end in tragedy. In the city, there are so many other people and traffic is hectic, so slow down and watch out for others and relax.

Since that time, I have found that to be a phrase that comes back to me often. As I pass through Osaka center on my commutes, I take it at a slower pace whenever I find myself about to make a daring move on the bike. Whenever I feel the pressure to hurry and get stressed about it, on or off the bike, I try to think about this philosophy of reducing stress off the bike as well.

It is a guiding philosophy at Osaka Design Works because tricycles definitely are not slow but they are not as speedy as racing bikes. They also are lower and cars can easily miss seeing them, so trike riders need to take extra effort to be visible, ride courteously and to assure their safety.

Don’t pass the bus. Don’t just arrive alive, slow down and take it easy on the journey.

By Richard Trombly

I decided to launch this site in connection with an auspicious date, the anniversary of the passing of the inventor of the modern bicycle, John Starley. For the past 150 years or so, bikes have revolutionized human transportation and despite the love of the personal automobile, energy efficiency and healthy lifestyle are bringing us back to the bike. EV technology improvements are now revolutionizing mobility by improving on the bike and allowing it to be more flexible and do more for us.

I also like Starley because he first focused on tricycles and at ODW, that is our specialty. More posts on that will follow. For today, It is enough for us to just honor the great accomplishment of this inventor and his great development, the modern chain-driven bike. The results of the bike industry have lead to many developments. The wright Brothers made bikes before developing airplanes.

John Kemp Starley (24 December 1855 – 29 October 1901) was a British inventor and industrialist who is widely considered the inventor of the modern bicycle and also originator of the tradename Rover. Stanley was the son of a London gardener. By 1874, he was working with an uncle manufacturing Pennyfarthing style bikes.

The Cycle Revolution

In 1877, he founded Starley & Sutton Co with William Sutton, a local cycling enthusiast. They wanted to develop bicycles that were safer and simpler to ride than the exisintg bikes, starting with trikes. In 1885, Starley made history when he produced the Rover safety bicycle, a rear-wheel-chain-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels. This is the form of nearly all bikes today.

In 1889, the company became J. K. Starley & Co. Ltd and in the late 1890s, it had become the Rover Cycle Co. Ltd.

Welcome to the Osaka Design Works! We have a commitment to human powered mobility whether it is for transportation, adventure, travel, exersize or sport. We make boats and bikes as well as other outdoor gear.

We are especially interested in the new opportunites to bring the new light, affordable and effecient EV-assisted vehicles – Those that primarily rely on human power but incorporate EV and solar technologies. There have been amazing changes in the industry.

We hope you follow our developments! More material will be added as we prepare to launch.