Getting a flat: well since I ride my scooter everyday I feel like it's not a question of whether it will happen, but a question of when it will happen. And since I like to be prepared for these kinds of things, I recently decided put a little emergency kit together of tools that can be used to fix a flat on the road. I'm not sure how common it is for people to do this, and although I've had several flats since I've started riding a scooter, this is my first emergency kit. It's a reasonably compact kit, and fits well within the front dashboard with some extra room leftover.
Here's what I put in my kit:
- Tire plug kit. I got mine from the local NAPA auto-parts store, it was the smaller variety. Came with some smaller and bigger plugs, rubber cement, and a plugging tool for $7.
- Small knife. This one's just a box cutter I picked up for less than a dollar. This is used to trim the plug down once it's been placed in the tire.
- Portable bicycle pump. I happened to have an extra one around, but they can typically be found on the cheaper end for less than $20 (make sure these work with Schraeder valves, and not just Presta).
Instead of the tire pump you can get a CO2 tire filler at a bicycle shop save you some space :)
ReplyDeleteGood point, the CO2 cartridges 1) take up less room and 2) are easier to use since they don't involve pumping, and 3) can probably get a higher PSI than the hand pump.
DeleteOnly advantage of the hand pump would be that it's reusable and is sustainable : )
Me too actually (graduate student). I've found that one of the best things that's kept me from getting flats is to keep the tire inflated to the max PSI (as printed on the tire) regularly. When the tire's hard it's much less likely to get punctured by glass, etc than when it's under inflated.
ReplyDelete