Long desert bikepacking trip – repair/maintenance kit?

Hi Dave,

This is geared more towards preventive maintenance. Depends on where you are but if you haven't experienced goat heads (commonly found in the desert) before, I'd take on the weight penalty to toughen up your tires. I personally use a protective strip, thicker inner tube, and slime. This combo has worked for me so far.

Trying to deal with them with a standard inner tube and patch kit is mission impossible but YMMV.

Two inner tubes – even if your setup is tubeless
Tire and suspension pumps
Tire irons and patch kit
Multi-tool which has a chainbreaker
Extra Sram connector or Shimano hyperglide pin if you're using a Shimano chain
Some Sram chain links – they can be spliced into Shimano chains if you don't have a Hyperglide pin or break your chain more than once.
Spoke wrench
An extra bolt for clipless pedal cleats
A yard of Duct tape – lots of uses -tire boot, etc
Oil

I normally don't carry extra spokes or cables but would if the ride included long sections of rocky singletrack

Where are you planning to ride?

Will likely be running pre-slimed 29er tubes. Gotten a couple of slow star-thistle flats in the last couple weeks, and think that it's time for slime, even though it's apparently a little finicky with Presta valves sometimes. Goat-heads are a problem too.

All the rest sounds good, except full-rigid so no suspension pump, and platforms and hiking shoes so no cleats. And plenty of duct tape and zip ties for sure!

A quick disclaimer for the long post: I'm a bike mechanic…

Here is what I personally bring on pretty much all bike rides, regardless of length or locale:

-two tubes; 26" because your can use them on any size wheel and they pack smaller and lighter

-patch kit; because there is no doubt you'll get one more flat than you have tubes to deal with

-two dollar bills; work great as tire boots and as…money

-curved sewing needle and 3-5 ft of waxed floss; use to repair any bags that blow or large tire gashes

-tire pump; get a small one, specialized, blackburn, and pro make smaller ones

-suspension pump; ignore for your purposes

-spare spokes; x2 and if you've got the right set of wheels, you can make the same length work for each wheel and side; if you've got a freehub on the rear that can't be pulled of with the entire cassette (dt swiss, joytech style, etc.) you might plan on having a 'fiber fix' spoke

-3-4 heavy duty zip ties

-allen/torx keys for all bolts; for me personally it's limited to a 4,5,10mm allen and a t10 and t25 torx; definitely figure out what you need and don't take things that you don't

-Leatherman Squirt PS4; has one or two things I don't need (scissors, file), but has screwdrivers for derailleur and other adjustments, and pliers for any nut heads and/or nipples

-chain tool

-spare chain links and master link

-spare cleat bolts; ignore for your case

-spare bolts in appropriate lengths for various parts of the bike; I personally take bolts to replace any bolt on the seatpost and collar and a stem bolt. Figure out what you might need for yours. Do note it's waaaaaay easy to got overboard on this one. Just figure out the common things that could break and ask yourself if you could ride in reasonable comfort and safety without that bolt. For things that have multiple redundant-ish bolts (chainrings, 4-bolt stem plates, disc rotors), don't worry about an extra, for others, use your judgement.

-spare derailleur hanger; don't forget bolts if applicable

I think that is it. A great way to minimize the bulk and weight of the kit is to either take apart a multitool or buy individual tools (allens, torx, etc.) only in the sizes you need. The only 'full-size' tool I have is a 4mm allen wrench. I use it as the handle for all the other sizes that were pulled out of a disassembled multitool. It sounds like a pain in the ass, but if your bike is dialed and you don't always have to work on the bike on the trail, it's good. To put a little context into the size and weight that you can get to; I fit all the above except the tire pump and spare spokes into an Arundel Dual seatbag. Everything fits in, it all stays on the bike, and I never have to worry about forgetting something.

Of course, as with everything ultralight, or really just anytime you're away from civilization: the more knowledge you have, the less you can bring. A good bicycle repair book, and the knowledge from it, will go a long way towards getting you back to civilization via bike instead of on your feet with a bike on your back.

Greg, Chris, and Ian… thanks for all the good ideas and pointers. I continue to collect a list and refine, so all your help (and any others!) are much appreciated!

I always keep an extra Stans presta valve stem (removable core) in my bag. Broke one carelessly reinflating my tire using a Crank Bros mini pump earlier this year. I've since switched to a Lezyne Pressure drive with a hose attachment that eases pumping considerably, putting less strain on the valve stem.

– enough chain lube to get you through (*I hate a gritty chain!)

– Small amount of sealant for both front/rear (2-4oz.). Top off and/or check your sealant (assuming you're setup tubeless).

– check your brake pads before taking off on your ride.

– Tire selection. Find a tire with robust solid sidewall protection. I run a Geax AKA that has reinforced sidewalls and it's taken a beating out here without issue. Of course tires are a matter of preference and availability, but there are better options out there in the area of durability with little weight penalty.

all above the above plus;

chainring bolt tool, or swap to hex- or torx-head chainring bolts, but those tend to be alloy, so perhaps less bombproof.

2 brake pads, if you think you won't need them much you can save some weight by going for the alloy backed ones, but you lose fade resistance.

if you are using a (disassembled) mini-tool, make sure you can actually reach the bolts and still turn it, and break the chain with it.

make sure your mini pump has a hose, this makes pumping much easier(and you might do a lot of that in the desert) and prevents damaging/ripping off the valve stem.

Hi all.

Thanks for the helpful info. Definitely carried much of it along in a small stuff sack, and I am happy to report that the only thing used was a rag and some chain lube. No bike issues of any kind.

Did nine days in Death Valley, and covered about 360 miles of (good to lousy) jeep track and paved roads, from 7200' to -262' elevation. Excellent.

Well done!

Looking forward to the trip report.