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Chipps would like to lead you in praise of the humble cable tie.

WORDS CHIPPS

PHOTOGRAPHY AS CREDITED

Every mountain bike guide seems to have two different tool rolls and two different first aid kits. The first kit, marked clearly with ‘Tools’ will contain a shiny multi-tool, a new tube and some tube patches. The first aid kit will have some plasters, a neat bandage and some safety pins. Look deeper into their packs, though, and you’ll find an unlabelled tool roll and alternate first aid kit. The ‘real’ first aid kit will be full of gaffa tape, tampons and clingfilm, while the ‘real’ tool roll will have the tools of the professional bodger: more gaffa tape, mole grips, toothpaste tube tyre boots, a knife and zip ties. Lots and lots of zip ties.

The zip tie is such a ubiquitous piece of every mountain biker’s kit that they don’t even register. There seems to always be a handful of them in every riding pack, or else they’re already being used creatively to hold things to other things, reusable if the need arises – and arise it will…