Maintenance tools…best value/quality and the essentials.

Now that I have a fleet of five bikes to maintain (not all mine, three kids plus mrs) it’s probably about time to invest in some tools rather than bodging and borrowing.

I wonder if anyone has found some good items and reasonable price that is serving them well.

I’m thinking a chain whip, bottom bracket tool, chain splitter, torque wrench?

Anything else that will come in handy?

Decent set of allen keys (bondus for example), halfords professional range of tool kits / socket sets are pretty good value especially if you wait till they are on offer. Good set of wire cutters. Chain pliers.
Ive got a cheapo chain whip, a shimano branded BB tool and the specific tool for the crank. Rock and roll super grease, copper slip and some thread lock. Add in some degreaser and IPA for disc cleaning.

Bike stand
Decent track pump
Disposable plastic gloves

Workstand
Decent spanner set and socket set
Decent Allen keys (long ones with a ball end are handy)
Cone wrenches
Torque wrench
Chain tool
Chain whip
Cassette tool
Hollow tech bb spanner (if applicable)
Crank extractor (If applicable)
Pedal spanner
Cable cutters

This should cover most routine service jobs, as for quality, go for better quality on the tools you are likley to use the most. Can’t really go wrong with park or Pedro’s. Halfrauds professional spanners and sockets are pretty good, cheaper than bike specific ones. By spending more you generally get something that will work time and time again, some cheap tools are fine as you may only use them once a year.

I have an Aldi tool set that is very similar to the Park one but much cheaper which is ideal for occasional usage.

That with a good stand is normally enough

always spend good money on good quality tools – if not used in a professional environment then many of the current “brands” will last you a lifetime

at work (bike workshop) we use a mix of Park, Pedro’s, Knipex, Draper, Snap-on, etc.

its not worth buying ‘branded’ bike tools for generic tool pieces like ring spanners, allen keys, screwdrivers; you can get better quality tools for less or similar money from proper tool brands

here is a selection of some recent work benches I have setup:

If you plasti-coted a poo blue, you could sell it on Wiggle for £40. The X-Tools kits that CRC sell can be good value when discounted, the tools are mostly of the generic-but-decent type that’ll last even a keen home diy’er years.

You’ll regret bad cable cutters or allen keys when they wreck something expensive, but in a year’s time you won’t regret spending a bit for good stuff. I like teng for standard tools but there’s tons of good brands. Knipex and Pedros are good IME. A lot of the Superstar range is also decent- you see the same tools crop up under 50 different names.

Big hammer,

rubber head hammer,

zip ties,not tools but handy,

spoke wrench,

wd 40,

disposable gloves,

tweezers for replacing ball bearings ,

magnetised metal tray, or metal tray and small magnet,

Work mat if working in a house as opposed to a shed/garage.

Small vice,

tool box,

Northwind.. ive tried to email you again about the sb8s.. maybe my email is going in your junk mail

definitely get a good set of torque wrenches with interchangeable bits

avoids this:

worth every penny

happy trails!

Got it this time cloudnine!

Cable cutters
Allen keys
Workshop chain tool
Chain whip & cassette cracker/lock ring tool
Spanners & sockets
BB tools
Cone spanners if you have those types of hub.

That would be my main starting items saving the best quality for the chain splitter, cuutters and Allen keys.

On budget tools I have found ice toolz stuff ok for the less regular use stuff. I do 95% of my own spannering. If you are not using with workshop frequency then they should last well enough ime.

A stand is pricey but will make the whole thing tolerable.

This is the best tool as it makes me money…..

BUT it CAN SAVE YOU MONEY

+1 on a torque wrench with bike specific scale.

+1 on a chain splitter. Only proper way to clean a chain is to remove it IMHO

“+1 on a chain splitter. Only proper way to clean strip all the grease out the rollers and pins and accelerate wear in a chain is to remove it IMHO “

Look at birzman for good value nice bike specific tools.

as above knippex pliers

Wera make good allen keys

trail_rat – Member

strip all the grease out the rollers and pins and accelerate wear in a chain is to remove it IMHO

Yep, because nobody realises you have to relube it properly afterwards eh.

esher_shore – that is an enviable collection of tools on display. jealous.

My tuppence worth would be that I have never regretted breaking the bank and buying quality but can think of more than one occasion when a price that seems too good to be true has turned out to be exactly that… I’m sure there are bargains out there but personally I’d tend to go for a trusted brand for anything that will either be used regularly, or which if it goes wrong will cause costly damage…

Most people get by fine without a torque wrench. If you have any expensive carbon then it’s worth it but otherwise just be sensible with the amount of force you use when tightening stuff.

A decent bike stand is great, but even a crap bike stand will make your life 8000% easier.

@trail_rat

yup, I never degrease my chains, simply ruins them!

wipe and lube, wipe and lube

exactly what Shimano and more importantly KMC (2 million chains manufactured a DAY) recommend in their technical literature

never anything harsher than soapy water.

but of course, putting chains through parts washers or exposing to aggressive cleaning solvents accelerates wear and requires customers to replace drivetrain parts more frequently…shhhhh…perhaps I should not have let that slip 😉

I’ve managed for 15+ years without a Torque wrench – by no means essential. It’s still on the shopping list, mind. For me, the tools I like most are the ones that you don’t actually NEED – they just make certain jobs far easier.

With that in mind, my favourite tools for bike-meching in no particular order
Workstand
Track pump
Vise
Decent set of T-ended allen keys (mine are Bondhus)
Chainwhip (or the Pedro’s cassette vise whip if you’re feeling flush)
Dedicated cable cutters
Bearing extractors / Shock bush tool
Rubber gloves

Obvious stuff you’ll need
Cassette tool
Chain tool
Cone spanners (if you have hubs that need them)

If I was doing it all again, I’d just buy a decent set of wrenches, some decent allen keys and a big bike-specific tool kit (X-tools do a good value one IIRC) and then replace any tools if/when they break (The likelihood is that they will last you a good few years).

I didn’t use a torque wrench until I started working for Evans Cycles some years back (I don’t work for them anymore)

I’ve used torque wrenches since, simply because it good practise to tighten bolts to the manufacturers’ recommended settings, it tends to prevent damage to components

When working for a large, commercial organisation like Evans, we would keep records of each bike built, and using torque wrenches was one aspect of preventing compensation vultures from enjoying easy returns on any liability claims

Personally? I will always use a torque wrench when working on a customer’s bike, or one of my own bikes at home.

It’s simply become an aspect of being a more professional bike mechanic, and any mechanic that tells you that they gauge torque using their “hands” is often wildly wrong or just deluded….

…this included professional mechanics working for international road bike teams which saw repeated component failures as mechanics were repeatedly “snugging up” bolts to ensure they were not loose, and were unknowingly over-tightening fittings and stretching the components until they failed.

It’s simply become an aspect of being a more professional bike mechanic, and any mechanic that tells you that they gauge torque using their “hands” is often wildly wrong or just deluded….

I don’t think I can estimate torque accurately – I just don’t think it’s essential for most applications. Clearly a shop has extra liabilities so I see why they use them and of course it is good practice, but for personal use, I’m not sure. I’ve never had a component fail / slip because of incorrect torque problems and I’m not ham-fisted enough to have sheared bolts / rounded heads. If I was starting out and putting together a toolkit (presumably as cheaply as possible) then a torque wrench certainly wouldn’t be on the “need” list and it would be quite far down the “desirable” list too.

Having said that, I do own a 5nm-preset 4mm allen key for my carbon bars. This actually resulted in me torquing the stem bolts more than I did previously.

Bike stand (get a decent one)
Vice
Rubber mallet
Decent Allen keys
Spanners in 7mm (Shimano brakes), 8mm (other brakes),10mm (most forks)
Big 8mm Allen key with rubber handle for pedals and cranks
BB tool
Cable cutters (buy decent ones)
Headset press (I have a £50 cyclus one) as this will also do pressfit BBs
Cassette tool
Chain whip

esher shore – Member

It’s simply become an aspect of being a more professional bike mechanic, and any mechanic that tells you that they gauge torque using their “hands” is often wildly wrong or just deluded….

I don’t believe I can set torques exactly- I just also don’t believe that the higher margin of error really matters that much in most bike applications. If I was working professionally on bikes I reckon I would use one though if only for oversight/protection.

And o’course, there’s the flipside of it which is mechanics who lack sensitivity but own torque wrenches, putting full faith in the things and damaging stuff where someone who knows what they’re doing will trust their instincts.

As for a torque wrench – not sure they’re needed on your own bike. Most of my bolts are either ‘nipped plus a bit’ for anything aluminium or delicate, or ‘full bastard tight’ for crank bolts, pedals and the like.

If I was a shop mechanic though I’d want to use one just to cover myself.

GB

is now a bad time to say my ocd means i own 3 torque wrenches ?

1/4 – 5-25nm
3/8 – 20-100nm
1/2 – 40-200nm

Remember and store them with the mic wound right off ! – used to boil my piss when folk in the shop put it away with the mic tensioned – its only as accurate as its last calibration – and if you store it wrong or drop it you do absolutely no favours and could be putting your faith in something that will do damage.

when i worked in the shop we used the torque wrench for anything that actually specified a torque – usually carbon componants – usually guessed by the manufacturer as well – Example – carbon bars in the early days that specified a torque – HOW can you specify a torque for a carbon bar… it hasnt any bolts. clamping force is a function of surface area – so different stems need different torques to provide same force !

more often than not – the torque wasnt specified though.

My starter kit…
Stand
Gloves
Bowl/collection vessel
Zip ties, rubber bands and other non permanent fixing things for when you don’t have enough hands
Decent set of allen keys (T Handle)
Decent set of Torx Keys (T Handle)
BB tool as appropriate
Cassette Tool and Chain Whip – but the pedros cassette grip mloe grip type thing is much better
Good Cutter
Sharp Knife
Chain Breaker and Magic Link Remover
Lots of cloths
The right greases & lubes & cleaning stuff
Track Pump
2 or 3 good hammers for hitting, tapping and persuading

Nice to haves
Torq Wrench with the right sized bits
Basic Socket Set for the odd thing
T25 bit for a cordless drill for removing rotor bolts
Vice – with the vice the right bearing press kits and bushing tools
Pedal spanner