Thinking of getting a Leatherman for my bike tool on the trails. Does anyone have any advice as to which one to get and will I need any additional ‘bits’ to go with it?

Thanking you all in anticipation…..

Are they not normally better for pliers/screwdrivers/knife rather than chain tool/allen keys/spoke key etc?

I used to have a leatherman alongside a “normal” bike multitool, having pliers and a decent knife was handy, lost it a while ago and been meaning to replace it since…

I have a Leatherman Wave that i carry on big days out but i have never really needed it apart from snipping off some cable ties.
Im sure other ones may have more specific tools that would be beneficial but i stick with a my Multi-tool for most stuff.

The leathermn is good for the pliers and knife etc for big days out when you have the most chance of needing them.

have a small Gerber multitool in my Mountain bike saddle pack, alongside a Crank Brothers 17 bike-tool.
I’ve used the pliers a couple of times but it isn’t vital.
I wouldn’t carry one on the roadbike – don’t really see the need.

A chain tool is quite an important item IME.

I have a leatherman sidekick with me pretty much constantly for general use at work and home and it’s great. Nice and compact with lovely spring loaded plier action, good selection of basic tools and a really good blade. It’s something I use probably 3 or 4 times every day without thinking about it – just really well designed.

It will be popped into my pack for longer rides, and has been used several times for bodging trailside repairs, repairing kit and preparing lunch but there is no getting away from the fact that you will still need some hex keys and a chain tool to deal with any bike related issues, so it’s an addition rather than an alternative to a normal bike tool.

You could of course get a set of hex drivers but I see two problems with that:

1 – You’ll inevitably end up losing some of the bits
2 – The short shaft on the hex bits and bulk of the tool will be a big compromise when trying to access difficult bolts.

I carry one of these:

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/TOPHMICRO/phaart_micro_multi_tool

And one of these:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=7843

Never used a leatherman on a bike ride. Used to carry one in my camelbak, removed it after a year as it was just unnecessary baggage.
Better off with a decent multi tool imho

Thanks very much for your responses. Alway carry a chain breaker, but wondered if I needed more that my basic multi-tool and I guess I don’t.

You just saved more some money, so thanks again.

My CB17 is the only tool I generally take.
I’ve just put my Leatherman Skeletool in my pack after we had some stuck tubeless valve cores on a group ride. Just got a Sidekick for work after losing the screwdriver bits from the Skeletool.

I carry my Leatherman Wave with my on MTB rides, to be honest it gets used mainly for it’s saw for clearing small branches. The pliers and file have been used before now though.

Having a set of pliers can be amazingly useful – I’ve salvaged several rides by carrying a Leatherman. Don’t think I’ve ever used anything other than the pliers whilst riding, though.

Compliments a decent bike-specific multi-tool, but not a substitute for one.

The Leatherman I have compliments the bike multi tool.