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We keep cone wrenches on the bus in case a wheel needs grease or adjustment…..and one floor pump..I’ve busted rear hub high flange multiple times on Ragbrai. ..once in BEDFORD!. Anyone remember that town? Next years route will certainly be SOuth…in Shenandoah
steve.
Best advice I can think of is to prevent the problem. If you’re not comfortable doing the work yourself, take the trusty steed to the local shop, get a good solid tuneup on it. Shifters, brakes, cables, hubs, wheels trued and properly tensioned (Just ‘cuz they are ROUND doesn’t mean they are RIGHT), bottom bracket adjusted and cranks at the right torque (more of an issue with older traditional square taper BB), chain cleaned and checked for wear.
If you do that about a month before the ride, that will give plenty of time for any fine tuning that may need to be done. I suspect that would eliminate 90% of the potential problems, other than a car backing over the bike or a frame cracking.
This will be my first RAGBRAI, but it’s not my first tour, and sometimes I’m a bit shocked at the condition of maintenance on some of the rides I see. Of course, I’m probably a bit at the other end, most of my bikes get pretty much a full overhaul each winter, not because they need them, but because I’m bored and have too many tools. 
Just my .02
Steve
Lots of good advice in this thread. Keep in mind, too, that stuff happens. While there are those of us, myself included, who come prepared to field maintain virtually every component on the bike, most choose not to carry a full kit. It’s really not much different than setting out on a long trip by car. If the vehicle has been well taken care of, then the trip will likely go just fine. If it’s been neglected or abused, you run a much higher risk of something going wrong. Either way, the services available to RAGBRAI riders far exceed what you’d find for dealing with car troubles on the open road.
Those of us that come fully kitted out often do so as a result of bike touring experience where the nearest bike shop may be a hundred miles away. On RAGBRAI you can ride with the comfort of knowing that help can always be found right at your side.
Take Steve’s advice. Give the bike a careful inspection and tune up or take it to the shop and have it done. Once you get to RAGBRAI, let go of the worries about mechanical failure and enjoy the ride. You’ll be in good hands (many, many thousands of them).
Best,
~ Kevin
Mich: Steve is the poster with big orange cat, call him (the cat) Dewey. Bedford was an overnight some time back. Bedford was memorable because it was a very small town and they had to work very hard to take care of us. They even spotted KYBOs in yards to keep the sewer usage down. Tell ya all about it in July!!
Ride Right.
Good info Cyduke on the stripped pedals. I’m gonna torgue mine down securely tomorrow before I take off.
last year, a chain link was bent and twisted on my way out of carroll, causing my drivetrain to lock up. I had an awesome guy stop and use his chain tool to fix me up enough to ride one mile using only one gear. i got to the bike shop on the outskirts of town before the crowd (about 6:45am). Bought a high quality chain $70 and they re-aligned my deraileur for free. I was back up and running in 20 minutes.
the only thing they don’t really carry (from my conversations while waiting) is seats/seatposts.
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