Flat Tire on Your Bike? Comparing Four Patch Kits

Flat Tires are an Inevitability

Explorers in the new world, history would have it, spent years questing for the fabled Cibola, a city whose streets were said to have been paved with gold. They never found it. If those same explorers were to come to the city where I used to live (Houston), they might think the streets were paved with diamonds because of their sparkle in the rays of the morning sun. The glitter isn't diamond-studded pavement, though: it's acres of broken glass, the legacy of a city that owns no street sweepers and depends on torrential rains to wash debris from the local roadways.

Road Bike Essentials, Part 1: Comfort and Safety

So you just bought a new road bike? Well, congratulations! Now that you’ve brought that new toy home from the store, you probably think you're ready to ride. Whether you plan to ride out in the country, on neighborhood streets or on the city trails; the addition of some accessories will make your ride safer and more comfortable. So you might want to head back to the store: here are five (or so) items that are guaranteed to enhance.

Always Ride with a Helmet

I've been heard to say that cyclists can show their brains one way or another, by wearing a helmet or not. Helmets are the number one item of safety equipment for anyone on a bike. Don't be fooled, though: the number one safety rule is to ride smart.

A road helmet is lightweight and has plentiful openings that allow flow-through ventilation. A helmet with a visor isn’t suitable for road cycling, because the visor may block a rider's vision when bent over the handlebars. Because of that, some helmets have a removable visor. Either way, choose a helmet that fits well and is comfortable, one that can be adjusted so it fits over a headband in summer and a heavier skullcap when the weather turns cool.

Hydration: It’s Essential

Combine an inexpensive water bottle cage that mounts on the bike frame with a plastic water bottle, and you'll be set for short rides. For a longer ride, you may want to invest in a hydration pack such as the one shown here, manufactured by CamelBak.

Purists like to scoff at any rider wearing a hydration pack, but more often than not those same purists end up scrounging for water at convenience store prices. Hydration packs carry not only several liters of water from home (plus ice, if you like), but they also provide additional pockets for carrying cell phones, identification, cash, tools, tubes, patch kits and the like. Models designed for cyclist use like the CamelBak Lobo (right) and CamelBak M.U.L.E. are form-fitting and lie close to the back, which cuts down on wind resistance.

Gloves Provide Comfort and Protection

When you're in the proper riding position, up to one third of your weight is resting on your hands; so doesn't it make sense to put some padding between you and your handlebars?

A pair of well-fit cycling gloves is padded at several pressure points around the palm of the hand and on fingers and thumbs. The padding should let you shift your hands around in several positions on the handlebars and shifter hoods and still stay padded. Modern gloves use gel for shock absorption, which helps prevent keep your hands from falling asleep mid-ride. Road gloves for warm-weather use leave the fingertips exposed. Full-finger gloves are more common for mountain biking and/or cool weather. Good gloves come with an absorbent patch on the thumb so you can wipe sweat from your brow while riding.

The Long and Shorts of It

You may be of the opinion that those Spandex® shorts look silly, but your butt – not to mention neighboring bits – will be thankful when you wear padded bike shorts on longer rides. Tight-fitting, sleek bike shorts don’t just pad your hiney, they reduce wind resistance and the form-fitting cut reinforces quads and hamstrings on extended rides. Bike shorts come in men's and women's styles, and are intended to fit tightly -- very tightly. For your first pair, you'd be wise to visit a good local bike store to find some that fit properly and are comfortable. They're expensive, but they're worth it and they also last more than one riding season, so you can amortize the purchase over several years.

Don't wimp out and buy a pair of baggy shorts like mountain bikers: these will flap in the wind, and other road bikers will point and laugh…

Light it Up

Day or night, flashing lights will alert oncoming motorists that a cyclist is ahead (assuming the driver isn't answering an email). Battery-operated lights typically feature blinking strobes front or back and flashing red lights on the rear for daytime use, and can be changed to a steady white headlight and steady red or combination of flashing and steady tail lights at night. Many are available with rechargeable batteries and a USB charging cable. The cost of lights is a small investment to cover your rear.

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Next time I'll visit some road-bike essentials for improving your ride and for taking care of the most common roadside emergency: a flat tire.