What to Carry When Out for a Ride

Being a mountain bike enthusiast relies on looking after your bike, carrying out regular maintenance and ensuring you are always prepared for an emergency. Riding rough terrain, over jumps and trialling tricks, this adrenaline fuelled sport doesn’t come without risk and being prepared can help you to get back in the saddle if you have a fall or a MTB part breaks. So, what are the essentials to carry around when riding? Tool Kit Potentially covering a lot of distance in a single ride, mountain biking can put its toll on the bike and lead to wear and tear accumulating quickly. Bikes are complicated machines and if they breakdown or something goes amiss with some MTB parts, then you could be left stranded without the right toolkit by your side. Always carry a bike specific multi tool, a few links of the chain, tire levers and zip ties as a minimum! Spare Parts Having a few spare MTB parts on hand can help get you out of a jam is something breaks beyond a quick roadside repair. Carrying innertubes, a spare chain and even a derailleur hanger is always a good idea, particularly when you’re planning a harder ride through more difficult terrain which can put stress on the components. First Aid In some circumstances, it’s the rider that takes the force and not the bike and being prepared for a fall or injury is important. A basic first aid kit should be taken everywhere and should include medical wipes, gloves, plasters, bandages and triage scissors, as well as any important medications that any of the riders may be taking. A Patch Kit Punctures suck but they do happen and having a repair kit can help you get up and rolling again without needing to switch out an innertube.