Favorite tool kit upgrades

Another biking season is in full swing and many of us will be hittin' the highways for some long hauls. We all know how crappy the Rocket tool kit is, so how's we list your favorite additions to it, either for stashing on bike all the time or taking just for a longer trip.

I'll start with...

A decent tire repair kit and air pump - I think the mushroom type tire plugs are most effective and while those CO2 cartridges are compact, you'd need a ton of them to fill just half a flat Rocket rear tire. I found a rugged, compact air pump at www.whitehorsegear.com called the "CyclePump Adventure Model", 2x4x6 inches, $100 USD, and plugs into your auxilary socket (if you have one) or connect to your battery. Too big to carry all the time unless you have sidebags, but I'll be sure to carry one when I'm on a road trip.

A bunch of wise-arses, eh? Whatever happened to self-sufficiency and takin' care of your own butt? Ah well... luck be with you. :wink:

Good luck getting a cell signal in the boonies of the California desert. Half the time I try out there, I get nothing.

A small pump that would plug into the accessory plug sounds like a good idea. I have a flat fixer kit with the CO2 cartridges. I'm not sure I want to find out how many it would take to fill the back tire of the Rocket (only comes with 3, I think).

Oh, and pack some heat. 8)

I love the techgadgets as much as any other guy, but relying on tech alone is asking for headaches. In the U.S., unless you stick to the major Interstates and cities, cell phone service is iffy. And unless you subscribe to some roadside service who do you know to call in unfamiliar territory, if you can find anybody at all?

No Sir, I'll go as prepared as I can and avoid playing the HELP! game on a deserted isle. Though, if I can't throw my horse outta a ditch then Plan Cell Phone comes out.