Mountain Biking Essentials. Ride Out, Not Walk Out.

What are the mountain bike essentials for every ride?

The mountain bike essentials for every ride are fresh sealant in tubeless tires, a plug kit for the holes sealant cannot close, a tube and boot for a big cut, a multi-tool, a way to add air, water you carry on your body, and a way to call for help.

That kit is what has you riding out instead of walking out. Most of it fits in a hip pack or a hydration pack.

We rewrote this page in October 2026 around what we see on the repair stand. The video we filmed on the same subject in November 2020 is further down.

What we see at the Lab after trail flats

A lot of mountain bikes come into the Lab with flat tires, and the causes repeat. These are the ones we see most often.

1. The rider never topped up the tubeless sealant, so it dried out inside the tire and had nothing left to seal the hole.
2. The hole was too big for sealant to close, and the rider was not carrying a tire plug to close it.
3. The bike was still set up with inner tubes, and the tube punctured or pinch flatted. A pinch flat happens when the tire squashes hard against the rim on a rock or edge and the tube gets cut between them.

Tires play a part too. We regularly see riders doing long rides on chunky, aggressive trails on lightweight cross-country race tires. Those tires are built light for racing, and on rough trail they puncture more easily. Match the tire to the trails you actually ride, not to the race you might do someday.

Just about every mountain bike we work on is set up tubeless now, because a tubeless tire gives you better traction and fewer flats than a mountain bike tire with a tube in it.What we see on the repair stand at Dialed Cycling Lab.

Plenty of our customers and teammates also run a tire insert like CushCore inside their tubeless tires. Our CushCore unboxing and setup post walks through installing it.

The repair kit, from small hole to big cut

You hear the hiss, and then sealant starts spitting out of the tread. Sometimes it seals before you can stop, and sometimes it keeps going.

Sealant is a liquid that rides around inside the tire. Escaping air carries it into the hole, where it builds up and plugs it. It does its best work on small punctures. The bigger the hole, the less sealant can do alone, which is where a plug comes in. You push the plug into the hole with a plug tool, and the plug and the sealant close it together.

The part most riders miss is what to do with a long cut. In that case the fix is to put a tube in and cover the cut from the inside with a boot, so the tube cannot bulge out through it. Park Tool says its boot is for tires that use an inner tube, not tubeless, and that it is a temporary fix, so ride it out and then replace the tire.

Our flat protocols post walks through the full roadside and trailside routine, and why do I keep getting flats covers the causes in more depth.

The mountain bike essentials checklist

1. Fresh sealant in both tiresTop it up before it dries out. We carry Orange Seal Endurance, Orange Seal Regular and Stan's Original.
2. A tubeless plug kitThe plug kit closes the holes sealant cannot. We stock the Dynaplug Racer Pro, the Dynaplug Pill and Dynaplug refill plugs. More in tubeless flat repair.
3. A spare tube and a tire bootThese are for the cut a plug will not close. Park Tool emergency tire boots come three to a pack.
4. A multi-tool that fits your bikeCheck that it fits every bolt on your bike before you need it on the trail. The Crankbrothers Multi 17 is one we carry. See all multi-tools and our multi-tool post.
5. A way to add airA CO2 inflator like the PDW Shiny Object is fast, and a mini pump like the Silca Gravelero never runs out of cartridges.
6. Water you carry on your bodyA hydration pack keeps water, tools and a layer in one place, with no bottle to bounce out on rough ground. We carry the USWE MTB Hydro 3L and more in hydration packs.
7. A way to call for helpPlenty of good trail sits past the last cell tower. We cover satellite messaging below.
8. Chamois cream for long ridesBoth creams from the video are still here: Chamois Butt'r and the Muc-Off Athlete Performance Women's Luxury CC Chamois Cream.

Getting help when there is no signal

A lot of good trail sits past the edge of cell coverage. A Garmin inReach is a satellite communicator, and Garmin lists two-way text messaging and an SOS trigger, with a satellite subscription required for texting. If you carry an iPhone 14 or later, Apple's Emergency SOS via satellite can text emergency services when you have no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, as long as you have a clear view of the sky and horizon.

Under tree cover that view is not a given, so test whichever one you carry before the ride where you need it.

Our mountain biking essentials video

What changed since we filmed the video

The video description lists the Garmin Edge 530, 830 and 1030 Plus, and the Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM and BOLT. As of October 2026 we carry the Garmin Edge 550, Edge 850 and Edge 1060, and the Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM 3 and ELEMNT BOLT 3.

It also lists a CamelBak Chase vest, a Park multi-tool and a Garmin inReach, none of which we list on our site right now. For current bikes, see mountain bikes.

Common questions

What do you need on every mountain bike ride?

Fresh sealant in tubeless tires, a plug kit, a spare tube and tire boot, a multi-tool, a CO2 inflator or mini pump, water, and a way to call for help where there is no cell signal.

Why do mountain bike tires keep going flat?

The flats we see most at the Lab come from dried out tubeless sealant, holes too big for sealant with no plug on hand to close them, and bikes still running inner tubes that puncture or pinch flat. Lightweight race tires on rough trails also puncture more easily.

Should mountain bikes be tubeless?

Yes, for nearly every rider. Tubeless gives you better traction and fewer flats on a mountain bike, and just about every mountain bike we work on is set up that way.

What is a tire boot for?

A boot covers a cut in the tire from the inside so a tube cannot bulge out through it. Park Tool says its emergency tire boot is for tires that use an inner tube and is a temporary fix until you replace the tire.

The rest of the 2020 essentials series

1. Gravel bike essentials, for remote roads far from help.
2. Riding a bike at night, for lights and group habits after dark.
3. Road bike essentials, from the basics to radar.

Pack the plug kit where you can reach it without unpacking everything else.