What wrenching skills/tools do I need for independent touring?

[malkin]

Credit card and all that other stuff.

[MomOnBike]

At the risk of sounding irresponsible, you don't need to carry a whole repair shop for the short (overnight-ish) tours you seem to be doing. Yep, if you were heading out across the state, country or Mongolia you'd need all those things and more. Really, though, a bike is a pretty sturdy piece of equipment, and you won't be far from home. Worst case, you can either limp back or call for a rescue. In that case, your pride will need repair, but we all deal with that.

So, my personal list:

Patch kit/pump
Small screwdriver (if you can get one with the interchangeable flat/Phillips head, so much the better)
multi hex wrench

You can do a lot of damage, er, repair with just that much. Once you start going further afield, you will find out for yourself just exactly what tools you need for your particular style of touring. Take those.

[NadiaMac]

Others have covered the tool/skill question, but I thought I'd chime in with the points that resonated because they are also pretty straightforward to learn how to do:
-chain tool (can fix damaged/broken chain, obviously; can also use to render bike functional if DR breaks/malfunctions-- chain will need to be shortened)
-spare spoke(s) and spoke tool
-spare cables- brake and DR
--lube (squeeky chain is annoying and hard on your drive train)
--boot material/spare tire (if tire rips or tears)

Also super handy to have on hand is duct tape (wind some around a pen to make it easier to carry)-- it's amazing what you can do with duct tape and it saved my ride when my glasses snapped at the nose piece as I crested a mountain pass in the rain on a recent tour (I am blind as a bat and had forgotten my spare glasses).

-a couple of zip ties-- plastic doohickies, can use to lash things down and as emergency fasteners.

[sfa]

A lot depends on where you're going. When I toured heavily, I pretty much just carried the tools to fix and patch flats, lube the bike, and a multi tool and allen wrench set to adjust things on my bike as needed. I didn't carry spare cables, tires, spokes, chains, etc. because I knew that I'd never be too far from a bike shop and I'd rather trust those sorts of repairs to a professional (and would rather not be dragging the weight around for things that I likely wouldn't need). I knew that even if I did do a quick repair by the side of the road, I'd still take the bike to the next LBS and make sure it got done right.

But I was traveling in populated areas, never more than 30 or 40 miles from the next town, so it wasn't likely that anything much would happen that couldn't wait until I got to the next town (and didn't--I've had just a few flats, had to adjust the brakes and derailleurs a few times, and had to tighten a few attachments. The worst damage to my bike - stolen handlebars - I wouldn't have been able to fix on my own under any circumstances!). If I were in less populated areas, I'd start adding to my tool list and bolstering my mechanical knowledge. But I've also discovered, after reading way too many journals on Crazyguyonabike, that most people, when they run into mechanical problems, either put up with the problem until they get to the next LBS, or do a quick field repair to get the bike as far as the next LBS, or they call for assistance. It's a balancing act between wanting to be prepared and not wanting to overpack, and where the balance lies depends on the likelihood that you'll be stuck by the side of the road with no way to get the bike into a shop.

[jolie]

You shouldn't take too many tools for there is a long riding distance for you. Just take the basic repair tool is ok.

[PscyclePath]

What I pack around for touring/commuting/whatever:

--- Park MTB-3 multi-tool. Can just about disassemble a bike and put it back together by the side of the road with this thing.
--- Leatherman multi-tool. Good for the pliers, cable cutter, and knife blade tools. Also kewl every now and then for the wine corkscrew ;-)
--- 6" crescent wrench. Used mostly in good Samaritan mode, sometimes there are things your standard bike multi-tool just doesn't fit, quite often on kids' and box store bikes.
--- Park patch kit, with tire levers, micro-inflator, and a handful of CO2 cartridges. Couple of spare tubes.
--- Topeak Road Morph frame pump. (Yes, I have CO2, but I'm a belt & suspenders type of guy. The number of flats you're subject to having can be mathematically defined as the sum of the spare tubes and patches/cartridges you are carrying, plus one.)
--- A Surly Jethro Tool. Just because it's cool.

Haven't had but one problem where I had to replace a spoke, but if I were out on a long, long loaded tour, I'd probably pack along a cassette lockring tool and maybe a chain whip...

[OakLeaf]

Haven't had but one problem where I had to replace a spoke, but if I were out on a long, long loaded tour, I'd probably pack along a cassette lockring tool and maybe a chain whip...

Have you, or has anyone here, tried one of those temporary cable spokes that the ACA has in its catalog?


ETA - sounds like DebW has, how far would you ride on one? Is it like a spare car tire, just good enough to limp to the next shop?