Bike Tools and Gear
So many tools, so many accessories. How to choose between them?
On this page, we talk about the tools and bike-specific equipment and accessories you’ll want to get you over smooth and rough roads.
You can also Ask A Bicycle Mechanic about any technical bike questions on your mind.
The Essential Tool Kit is something every cyclist should take with them. Once you’ve got that together, then consider a few additional things.
Ortlieb Panniers
Cyclists rave about Ortlieb panniers and in our opinion the praise is justified. These are truly bicycle bags for life. Even after our 3-year world trip, our bags are still in great shape. The only signs of wear are a little sun fading and a few broken plastic clips (easily replaced). There is also one small hole read more...
Take-A-Look Mirror
The Take-A-Look mirror is often called the best rear view mirror for cyclists and after using it for 3 years, we’d have to agree. We call this mirror our lifesaver because it provided a constant view of what was happening behind us. When a car was approaching too quickly or about to pass too closely, the () read more...
The Best Tires For Bike Touring
When Schwalbe decided to stop making the Marathon XR, I was devastated. Sure, it might have been heavy, and it definitely required a firm grip to get on and off the rims, but I found it hard to hold much against a tire that rolled happily for more than 15,000km, with hardly a puncture to speak read more...
Essential Tools for Bike Touring
Every cyclist should carry a few tools but you don’t need the whole workshop. A tool kit ready to fix absolutely everything is also one that will weigh down your bags and in our experience you’re unlikely to need most of it. Unless you’re going on a lengthy expedition to the earth’s truly remote places, read more...
Thermarest Camping Mats
Good riding means getting a good night’s sleep so if you’re going to be camping you should put a bit of thought into which sleeping mat is good for you. Don’t even consider camping without a mat. Even in warm weather you’ll want some insulation from the ground. We started our trip with the inflatable Prolite read more...
Topeak Morph Mountain Pump
A bicycle pump is a key piece of equipment for your tour. Buy a good one and flat tires will be a breeze to fix. A bad pump will turn what should be a five minute job into a half hour trial full of sweat and stress. When we bought our first pump, we were so focused read more...
Water filters – MSR Miniworks EX
Touring cyclists heading for remote locations should consider a water filter or purifier. Almost any stream or river comes with the risk of picking up parasites and viruses without treatment and tap water in many less developed countries is not fit to drink straight out of the faucet. We carry the MSR Miniworks EX water filter, one read more...
Equipment For Bike Touring In The Rain
When we first started bike touring, a friend gave us 3 words of advice for rainy days: “Gore-tex. Gore-tex. Gore-tex.” Wise words indeed. Good waterproof equipment is essential for cycling in the rain. Of course, no one really plans on bike touring in wet weather but unless you’re going to the Sahara, chances are you’ll encounter read more...
Choosing Racks for Bicycle Touring
You only need to know one thing about buying a rack for your bicycle tour: don't get a cheap one. Racks take a beating on a bike tour and cheap ones break down too easily. This is one area where it really pays to invest in quality. read more...
Going Soft: Adding A Pillow To Our Bike Touring Gear
We've taken another step towards the 'pampered' end of bike touring. After 3 years of sleeping on a "pillow" of scrunched up clothes, we've finally splurged on the real thing: a Thermarest Compressible Pillow. read more...
10 Reasons To Bike Tour With Duct Tape
There are few products in this world more versatile than duct tape. No bike tourist should be caught without at least a few feet of it to use in emergencies. Here are our top duct tape tips. Can you add any? read more...
Tents for Bike Touring
A tent is perhaps the most crucial piece of equipment that the independent bicycle tourist will carry. It will be your home away from home, a haven from wind, rain and cold temperatures, a key to travelling on a budget and one of the few constants that appears every night as you go from place to read more...
Equipment List for Bike Touring
What you pack for a bike tour will depend on many factors. Before you fill your panniers, ask yourself how long you will be gone (longer trips can require more equipment, for reasons for comfort, budgeting and self-reliance), whether or not there will be bike shops nearby and what kind of weather you’re likely to read more...
MSR Whisperlite Internationale
Every long bicycle trip needs a good campstove and for our journey we bought the MSR Whisperlite International (). It was an excellent choice. What we like: It runs on many fuels. You can burn Coleman Gas (White Gas) and unleaded petrol for cars as well as a variety of other fuels. With so many options, we knew read more...
9 Things We Wouldn’t Bike Tour Without
Every cycle tourist has their prized possessions, things they wouldn’t dream of leaving home without. Among the many products vying for your attention, we proudly present our all-star list. Each one has withstood repeated daily use and been worth every penny. Hilleberg Nallo 3GT Tent – Your tent is going to be your home on the road read more...
Bike Security & Locks
A lot of people are concerned about having their bike stolen while on tour but it’s really not much to worry about. “Not much to worry about???” we hear you cry, while imagining every cycle tourist’s worst nightmare – a holiday spent in a police station filing reports, rather than enjoying the open road. Yes, true, you read more...
Schwalbe Marathon XR Tires
Schwalbe’s Marathon XR tire has become the tire of choice for expedition tourers in recent years. Unfortunately, Schwalbe have now discontinued the Marathon XR. Unless you can find some remaining stock in a bike shop, you’ll have to choose another tire. Learn more about the Best Tires for Bike Touring currently on the market, as recommended read more...
Cycling Shoes & Pedals
It’s important to choose the right shoes and pedals for your bicycle trip. First, let’s talk about the shoes. Sure, you can hit the road in any old pair of sneakers, but their soles are flexible and won’t provide the right support for your feet and ankles. To see this, pick up a normal sneaker and read more...
Sunglasses and Why You Need Them
Quality sport sunglasses are a must-have for any serious cyclist. We didn’t realise how much we would come to love our glasses before we started our trip but now we wouldn’t consider cycling without them. Next to the bikes, they’re right up there with our most treasured possessions. The last thing you want is a bug to read more...
Ortlieb folding bowl
It’s hard to separate the important accessories from the frivolous ones when choosing what to take on a tour. For a long time we put Ortlieb’s 10 litre folding bowl () in the second category. We couldn’t imagine why we needed one. It wasn’t until we met a couple with not one but two folding bowls read more...
Camelbak Unbottle 70
Water bottles mounted to your bike frame are fine for shorter journeys but you need to carry far more water than your bottles will hold when wild camping or crossing isolated landscapes. That’s where the Camelbak Unbottle 70 () comes in handy. It holds 2 litres of water and weighs about 340 grams. We actually didn’t start read more...
%7Cutmccn%3D(direct)%7Cutmcmd%3D(none)%3B%2B__utmv%3D79429353.-%3B)