MatWeller
Of all the things I brought, I wish I'd had a socket wrench
Everyone carries a Leatherman multitool on these trips, but they're really not great for doing much work on a bike. At any rate, I learned on this trip that multitool pliers aren't wide or narrow enough to fix a crank arm. I had to limp into Breezewood to get a socket wrench.
The first place I came to (Valero) had these two sets. I didn't think the small one was big enough for the bolt, and I didn't want to spend $30 on the bigger one. The second place (Exxon) had nothing. Sunoco had the cheaper one but I didn't get it. Shell had the cheaper one, and by this point I was getting desperate and bought it. When I got it out to the bike, it was obvious that none of its sockets were big enough, and stupidly I didn't take it right back in for a refund. Finally, I went to Flying J where they had the same two sets. I couldn't talk them into taking the set I had already bought off of my hands, so I got stuck with both at a total cost of $40. I was glad to have it, the return trip would have been MUCH harder without it. But $40 for tools I already had at home was a tough pill to swallow. You better believe this socket wrench and a socket to fit every bolt on my bike are now a part of my long haul kit.
Of all the things I brought, I wish I'd had a socket wrench
Everyone carries a Leatherman multitool on these trips, but they're really not great for doing much work on a bike. At any rate, I learned on this trip that multitool pliers aren't wide or narrow enough to fix a crank arm. I had to limp into Breezewood to get a socket wrench.
The first place I came to (Valero) had these two sets. I didn't think the small one was big enough for the bolt, and I didn't want to spend $30 on the bigger one. The second place (Exxon) had nothing. Sunoco had the cheaper one but I didn't get it. Shell had the cheaper one, and by this point I was getting desperate and bought it. When I got it out to the bike, it was obvious that none of its sockets were big enough, and stupidly I didn't take it right back in for a refund. Finally, I went to Flying J where they had the same two sets. I couldn't talk them into taking the set I had already bought off of my hands, so I got stuck with both at a total cost of $40. I was glad to have it, the return trip would have been MUCH harder without it. But $40 for tools I already had at home was a tough pill to swallow. You better believe this socket wrench and a socket to fit every bolt on my bike are now a part of my long haul kit.