Now, let’s be honest, this isn’t some special gadget we’ve dug out to impress you with, it’s a mini ‘box-cutter’/Stanley knife from B&M costing a couple of quid. But if you use tubeless tyres we thoroughly recommend carrying one of these in your saddlebag, they’ve saved rides, honestly!

We have probably used this knife to aid fellow cyclists more than our own bikes, but here are two reasons this could save your ride.

1. On one 400km ride we experienced a puncture on Tubeless tyres but, although the gash sealed, the dried sealant protruded a little and every few miles snagged a piece of tarmac and got ripped out, with the consequences of another puncture. After about 5 puncture stops a fellow cyclist produced one of these tiny knives and trimmed the excess dry sealant so that it was in line with the tyre surface and we completed another 200km without any fuss.
2. Similarly, where one inserts an anchovie / worm to bloc the hole in a tubeless tyre, part of the anchovie protrudes and also risks being snagged an ripped out. You can trim the anchovie with one of these.

They don’t cost much, are very small and are available in hardware stores. The one illustrated above fold like a penknife.