Bike maintenance update

Tonight I cleaned and re-lubed my bike chain. I got another 2000km on the previous lubing, thus bringing my total mileage for the chain to over 5000km with only two cleanings/lubings. (Is it OK to say mileage when using metric?) This is twice farther than I've gotten with any other chain, and my current chain shows little wear. So consider tonight's blog post another unpaid advertisement for Chain-L.

So now I'll claim to have conquered what were my two biggest peeves of bike maintenance:

1. Too many flats

2. Chains don't last long enough

The too-many-flats I fixed with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. I have yet to get a flat tire in 8000km or so on my current tires, which is quite a feat in goathead-infested Phoenix. As for broken glass, I now ride right through it.

So what are my new maintenance peeves? Here are some candidates:

• Bent rear derailleurs arms

• Handlebars needing new wraps

• Putting on and taking off fenders

• Truing wheels

Chain-L

I'm making it official. I'm now a believer in Chain-L chain lube. This last Sunday I cleaned and lubed my touring bike's drive chain after having gotten 2.2Mm (1400mi) of smooth, quiet pedaling since last applying Chain-L. Though I haven't kept mileage records with ProLink or other lubes, I believe 2.2Mm is at least doubly better than I've gotten with any other lube—and probably closer to four times better than average. For me and the quantity of riding I do, that's the difference between cleaning my drive chain once every couple of months versus once every few weeks.

Strangely, I didn't get good results with Chain-L on a new chain. I read somewhere online—I don't remember where—that Chain-L is compatible with the greasy factory lube that saturates new chains, but I got only about 1.2Mm (750mi) on a new chain with Chain-L mixed in with the factory stuff. That's about the same distance as I get with the factory lube alone. It wasn't until after I degreased the chain and reapplied Chain-L that I got the big mileage boost. In the future, when using a new chain, I'll skip the Chain-L and just wait for the factory stuff to wear off before applying the good stuff.

By the way, if anyone wants a half-used bottle of ProLink, they can have mine.

Wedge pack cruise kit

Today's ride was a short streak extender around the neighborhood this evening. Palm trees silhouetted against the soft pink of the sky, and the air had cooled enough for children to pause their video games and go outside. Near the AC–DC path, I found some goathead plants growing in a public space rock bed and yanked out of the ground as many as I could.

So much for today's ride. In this post I'm instead going to write about some of the stuff I lug around with me on rides.

Wedge pack attached to bike, below saddle. Rear blinky attached to wedge pack.

Through the years, I changed my on-the-ride tool kit countless times. My current kit is only a couple of months old, but so far it's my best and favorite kit. I based it off Kent Peterson's kit. I figure if Kent's kit is good enough to ride the Tour Divide, it's good enough for my around-town riding.

Here's what I cram inside my wedge pack.

Clockwise from top-left: cable lock, patch kit, Topeak multi-tool, tire levers, tubes, pump, Park multi-tool.

(Note this is my utility riding kit. For competitive, recreational riding, I carry a much smaller and much lighter kit.)

My utility riding kit is, among other things, a complete flat fix-it kit, without CO₂ cartridges, all tucked beneath my saddle. I like being able to stuff everything beneath my saddle because it means I can devote my backpack or panniers to carrying other stuff. The key for making this work is the super small Topeak mini pump, a fully working pump that weighs less than three servings of Grape Nuts.

As for the tubes, I've carried two with me since shortly after moving to Phoenix and flatting multiple times on one ride because of goatheads. Phoenix has a lot of goatheads, mostly because of its abundance of landscaping rock beds devoid of native plants. Native plants choke out goatheads, but goatheads win against nearly everything else here in Phoenix. Cyclists suffer as a result, another testament that people generally suck at distinguishing between pretty and functional. But that's a rant for a different day.

Flats are by far the most common bike problem. Probably the second most common problem is the occasional loose screw. Most screws on a bike are metric Allen, and either of my multi-tools is suitable for tightening or loosening those. I can also handle flat heads, Phillips head, Torx, and spokes. Lots of capability for tightening and loosening things. And the Park tool also has 8mm, 9mm, and 10mm socket wrenches. I got this tool for adjusting my fenders, which require a 10mm wrench.

Besides fixing flats and tightening and loosening things, the next-most common catastrophic bike problem is a broken chain. The Topeak multi-tool can handle this because one of its 16 functions is a chain tool. I was skeptical about such a dinky chain tool before buying the multi-tool, but I changed my last chain with it, and it works well.

The Topeak tool also includes a pair of tire levers, but they're also dinky, and I don't trust dinky tire levers, so I carry another, more rugged pair. It's also good to have tire levers that are brightly colored—useful for those cold, dark winter morning flats.

That's my kit. May I use it as little as possible.