Thanks for the extensive lists. I notice that the "Living with Rohloff" picture has a set of Rohloff torx screws and pawl springs.
I assume the torx screws are for the main hub seal. Does anyone carry spares?
Are the pawl springs for Rohloff, and if so, are they field serviceable?
I think if you ask a 100 people what to carry on a tour, you get 100 answers that are different. So, you are getting a compendium on different answers based on different experiences.
I am in USA, so I have slighly different options for brands and models of things like tools, etc.
You asked about skills. I built up my bikes from parts, thus when I travel I bring all my skills with me. It is hard for me to have a list of skills you should acquire. That said, you clearly need to know how to change an inner tube, adjust your chain tension, replace a gear or brake cable. If you adjust your handlebar height or change a stem, you need to know how to get your headset adjustment right. I would say these are the must have skills you need.
For two people with new Ravens built up by SJS, I am not sure if you would need to know how to true up a wheel or replace a spoke, these skills are less likely to actually need so perhaps this you could skip. If you were on a derailleur bike that you bought off the shelf, I would say one of you should know how to true up a wheel and replace a spoke. Or instead of a spoke, a Fiber Fix Emergency Spoke.
My Rohloff bike is a rim brake Nomad Mk II with S&S, not a Raven, thus I am clueless on the internal gear cable. If it was me, I would probably carry a spare and find a good Youtube video on how to replace that.
Since most of your route will be in places where bike shops are frequent, you can probably get by with a minimal amount of spares.
I do not carry spare Rohloff screws like you mentioned, I also do not carry spare pawl springs and I would not know how to fix them.
First photo below is the took kit I carried two years ago on a five week tour.
My S&S wrench on the far left is for my S&S couplers that you do not have. I also have a short stub of 8mm allen wrench that I can put in the S&S 8mm box wrench to use on crank arms and my crank puller. I also have a crank puller that I need to pack my bike in the S&S case. These are things you are unlikely to need.
That S&S wrench also functions as a pedal wrench. You should probably have a good wrench for your pedals, whether that is a long arm allen wrench or a 15mm open end wrench is up to you to decide.
I have a tiny little multi-tool that is in my pocket during the day for little things that pop up, the big multi-tool stays in my tool kit, the multi-tools are above the swiss army knife. I think the big one is a Crank Brothers, but there are many good multi-tools out there. I have also carried an Alien II instead, but that is a bit bigger and heavier.
Most multi-tools do not include a T20 wrench, make sure you have one. I have a bit of yellow tape on mine so that I do not need to wear my glasses to find it.
Small side cutter, when I pack up my bike for transport I use a lot of zip ties, you might not need a side cutter like this.
My two blue color plastic drinking straws are 100mm long, you do not need to measure 200mm of cable like I might have to with my EX box, skip those.
Small utility knife.
Small worn out toothbrush in case I need to clean mud off something.
Tiny pliers.
An 8mm and 10mm ratcheting box wrench. When I travel with my Nomad, I have to disassemble the bike and reassemble it, this wrench is for some of my rack bolts.
The three orange handle allen wrenches are a good size for leverage and ease of use, they are 3mm, 4mm, and 5mm.
Upper right is a spoke wrench and a Rohloff threaded sprocket removal tool.
Above list mostly stays in the bottom of a pannier, I like to have the dense stuff low in pannier for lower center of gravity.
Second photo is my patch kit and spare tubes, this goes in a triangular shaped bag on my frame. Two tubes. Some disposable medical grade gloves for doing dirty work on a bike, tire lever, a 5mm allen wrench, some self adhesive patches. I use the liquid patch kits at home, on a bike tour just use the self adhesive patches. Not shown is the pump which is on the bike frame, usually carry a Lezyne Micro Floor Drive pump with gauge but might instead use a Road Morph G, both are good pumps. The reason that there is a 5mm allen wrench with my spare tubes is because I use bolt on skewers when touring (Halo, extra long) instead of quick release, those skewers take a 5mm wrench. Some tires are very hard to get on and off a rim, some are so easy that you do not need a tire lever. Bring sufficient levers of adequate strength for what you have. Not shown in photo are some rectangles of Tyvek that I can use as a tire boot. I keep some with each spare tube, I cut them from postal envelopes.
Some trips I bring a spare folding tire, some I do not. I think for your planned trip, a spare would be good. When I carry a spare, it is not a "replacement" tire to replace one that gets cut, instead it is a light weight folding tire that is good enough to get me to a bike shop, not one to ride thousands of km. Over time, 26 inch tires are becoming harder to find in a bike shop, so for two of you, you might instead consider a replacement tire instead of a just-good-enough-for short-distances one.
Chain lube (no photo) is in my handlebar bag, so if my chain is noisy, I know it needs lube and if the lube is quite handy I am more inclined to use it in a timely fashion.
I do not have a good single photo of spares, list is:
- zip ties.
- spare brake and spare gear cable. I now carry a pre-cut gear cable to correct length, but did not initially have it pre-cut.
- one set of brake pads for one wheel.
- variety of spare nuts and bolts and washers. My stem cap bolt will also function as a seatpost bolt so I do not carry a spare one of those.
- roll of electrical tape.
- some chain links and a spare quick link or two.
Rack bolts can be a show stopper if one falls out. I use a threadlocker like locktite on my rack bolts.
A lot of this stuff you only need one of for a small group. But inner tubes and other stuff that someone might need to keep rolling if you are separated, each should carry their own.
I have heard a variety of stories about how good your bike locks need to be on part of your route. I will let you research that yourself. A few years ago I met a woman that started her bike tour in the UK, planned to go around the world. All her stuff including her bike was stolen in Bulgaria or near there. She kept going but the replacement stuff she bought was not that great. I met her in central USA after she had traveled east through asia and then flew to west coast of USA. Her bike was one that I would not have wanted to tour on more than a few hundred miles, but her really good stuff was stolen so she had little choice. Situational awareness is important, if you are nervous, leave fast.
Start your trip with a chain that is new enough that you will not need a replacement chain or sprocket. Same with tires. But I think it best to put 100 km on anything new before you leave home to make sure you did not get a defective one.
Have a great trip.
