I need another multitool to make sure I have one on each bike – needs to cover the usual range of bits for screwing and unscrewing, and ideally a mini, but practical, chain tool.

Currently have one of the early Crank Brothers ones, looking at the review section on here they seem to like Birzman and Lezyne, anyone got other suggestions?

Ratchet rocket

Love my Topeak Mini 20

https://www.topeak.com/global/en/products/mini-tools/350-hexus–ii

Or…..
Spesh top cap chain tools and a tiny thing like this;

Birzman 5

OK, so less simple with multiple bikes, but I’ve got this set up for my gnarmac and gnarpoon, both with a Spesh Top Cap always in, then just have a Birzman and Lezyne Power levers to take with me. Usually in the saddle bag on the gnarmac, but easy to swap across.

I’ve had a Crank Brothers M17 for a number of years and it’s good. The right amount of allen keys and screw drivers etc. and it also has a chain tool that WORKS!. Most companies make similar looking ones, so pic whichever you prefer. I’d avoid the Topeak Hexus.

I now use a small chain tool and a Radial ratchet set, customised with an 8mm bit bought separately.

The ratchet set is only £7 here and I paid maybe £1.50 for the extra 8mm bit

I’ve had a Topeak Hexus for a number of years and it’s good. The right amount of allen keys and screw drivers etc. and it also has a chain tool that WORKS!.

🙂

I wonder if they do a multi-tool de nuit ? 😉

Topeak 18. Brilliant little tool

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/topeak-18-mini-tool/rp-prod11318

I’ve had a Topeak Hexus for a number of years and it’s good. The right amount of allen keys and screw drivers etc. and it also has a chain tool that WORKS!.

I imagine your bike is tweaked to perfection and never needs the services of a multi tool.

There’s not many things that get me wound up, but a Topeak Hexus is one of them; I cannot help but chime in when someone posts a “what multi tool” topic.

Topeak Hexus II a bargain for £16

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-hexus-ii-16-function-multi-tool/

Mtzoom is awesome.

+1 for the Birzman 5. Mine lives in my pocket when out riding as it is so light and great for quick tweaks.
Have a bigger, weightier Birzman 15 that lives in my main pack.
Both are really nicely made.

Park I-Beam 3 for me still. I’ve done a surprising amount of stuff with that.

+1 for the Birzman 5. Mine lives in my pocket when out riding as it is so light and great for quick tweaks.

I’ve ridden with mine in a pocket before, on shakedown/post-service rides when I feel I might need to stop and fettle a little en route.

Basically, Lezyne without the brand premium. Good kit!

De jour.
Sounds a bit foreign to me. Can we not get this sort of thing picked up by the swear filter?
Reported.

Had a Hexus for 10 years; always been very pleased with it.

All multitools have at least one compromise, it’s just a question of figuring out which features are most important. Which for most people will be what ruined the last ride because you didn’t have the right tool to hand!

2nd the crank bros recommendation. Mines been great for years.

I’ve been looking at carrying a multi tool on my bike rather than in a bag or pocket.

Here are my research notes https://seekerbikes.com/2017/05/14/ditching-the-mtb-backpack-research-notes/

I’ve decided to try the OneUp EDC option and have a couple in order, one for my bike, one for Natalie’s. Still waiting for them to ship. Expecting it to be in a week or so

I’ve collated all the EDC info into a blog post here https://seekerbikes.com/2017/05/27/oneup-edc-now-available/

I’m hoping the tool is decently engineered and is not made of cheese.

Topeak 18. Brilliant little tool

Is the correct answer

Topeak 18 here too.

I’ve been using Topeak Hummers for years, very happy with them. Has every tool I’ve needed out on the trail and can slip into a pocket if necessary. Looks like the Hexus is the replacement for that. That would be my first choice. The Topeak 18 would probably be my second choice.

Topeak Hexus II. Recommended to me by a bike mechanic, only bought a 2nd one to have one for each bike. Enough to get hold of when you need it, compact enough for riding with.

Topeak mini 20..best one I’ve ever used

Iggs – please keep us updated on the EDC when it arrives. Looks a very neat solution.

Lezyne SV10 – small, light, has chain tool, high quality.

Highly recommended!

I am still quite impressed by my CB 17:

I think I’ve had it almost a decade, it’s the only CB product I have come across that doesn’t crumble when looked at…

+ 1 for the CB17. Sadly lost my original green band version but the current version is a little more refined.

+1 lezyne SV10. Lightweight, compact, has all you need inc a chain tool.

The one time I had to use the chain tool on my Crank Bros 17 (on someone else’s bike), I found that having to rotate the bulky main body of the tool in order to turn the pin was awkward and a poor design, which made it difficult to use. I expect I would find the same for the tools made by Lezyne and others who use this same basic design.

The chain tool on the Topeak Hexus is better inasmuch as the design is more like a workshop tool, in that the main body of the tool provides a large handle to grip which is static, and the chain tool stays at 90 degrees to the handle.

The chain tool is key to the choice of any multi-tool (the rest of the tool is simply a lever/handle for some allen keys). If I did not have a Hexus, then I would rather have a stand alone chain tool like the Park CT5 and a separate tool with allen keys etc.

With regard to the ingenious designs which put a chain tool in the steerer or the hollow crank axle, I am sceptical of how these seemingly fiddly designs will perform under testing real world conditions: if when you need them they fail to do the job, then they are worse than junk. Better to have no tool than one which gives you a false sense of reassurance only to let you down when you are in trouble.

The Spesh top cap chain tool has worked fine for me but only tested twice. It only pushes out pins so you need a quick link to rejoin the chain but one is stored with the tool

+1 for Lezyne- can’t remember the number but the dinky chain tool repaired a snapped chain in the middle of a rainswept Yorkshire moor for which I am very grateful!

@iggs that summary of stealth tool options is quite handy actually, I’ve already ditched the pack, but I could do with emptying my pockets on the MTB and maybe losing the saddlebag on the CX bike, there’s some useful options to try there…

I feel some more bodges coming on… 😉

+1 for the topeak 18….

Iggs – please keep us updated on the EDC when it arrives. Looks a very neat solution.

I really hope it’s as good as it looks

Hexus = heavy, rusty and tyre levers that snap. Lezyne SV10 has never let me down and still looks new 8 years later. Hexus is a discarded, rusty lump.

Hexus = heavy, rusty and tyre levers that snap. Lezyne SV10 has never let me down and still looks new 8 years later. Hexus is a discarded, rusty lump.

Yeah tell me about it brother! Hexus support group right here.

It’s made from cast iron coated in tin foil. Initially it’s nice and shiney, so ideal if you need to signal an SOS when you’ve come to fix your bike and realise the tool’s not upto the job. But keep it in a backpack or saddle bag and the tin foil gets rubbed off, leaving a rusty lump behind.

Then you’ve got the 8mm hex key bit, which is slid onto the 5mm allen key. Every time you need to use the 5mm allen key, you have to remove the 8mm bit first, which isn’t too much of a problem unless they’re rusted together!!!!

As for the chain tool; FML. You have to use one of the (separate) plastic tyre levers to operate it. So you’ve got a rusty lump of iron in one hand, a little bit of brittle plastic (that’s probably half **** after you tried to use it to remove a tyre) in the other hand, and then a oily chain in the other hand, and yeh, you don’t have three hands!! All of this on a freezing cold mid November evening. You’re better off leaving the Hexus at home and just taking your mobile phone so you can call for a lift if needed.

It got to the point where I was scared to ride my bike incase I had a mechanical and I had to use the Hexus.

Every time you need to use the 5mm allen key, you have to remove the 8mm bit first, which isn’t too much of a problem unless they’re rusted together!!!!

You don’t need to remove it, just slide it back towards the body of the tool. I’ve never had a problem with them rusting together. When I ride in the rain, I empty all my gear out of my bag and dry it off, then give the tools a light spray of lube and wipe them down. I’ve been using a Hummer for 15 years or so, never been a problem.

Topeak Alien, about 12 years old…still working well.

I’ve had the catches break in 2 aliens. Great tools that still do work out of the tool box but aren’t out on the trail anymore. Both did many years of work though