So I've got a varied collection of tools that just about get my bike fixed when it needs to be.

But are the basic tools you need to get by?

I'm just adding as and when i need stuff now.

A Hammer, a bigger hammer and Duck Tape

😉

Elastoplast.

those £50 toolboxes that Merlin/Wiggle etc do seem to have most things you need for maintenance.

Angle grinder. Even bigger hammer.

And I really like my Pedros ratchet spanners.

"Angle grinder."

to get the crown race on your forks, apparently.

So long as you can find a suitable friend to sell them on for you.

depends on what you're trying to do (and what fittings you have to do it with)
– decent allen key set
– decent torx sets
pliers
copaslip (copper grease)
track pump
white etc smooth sheet (*if you take things apart and drop something you'll thank me)
digi camera – as thta way you have a before I took it apart image
socket set

a vice is invaluable.

More duct tape, Imperial allen keys, a broken 3/8" ratchet and a "jazz" mag…

Seriously, keep doing what you're doing… It's a fool-proof system… 😉

A decent workstand.
A good set of keys + T25 torx.
Chain-whip and cassette tool (plus appropriate driver for the tool).
Whatever you need for removing/refitting your crankset, rings and bottom bracket.
Whatever you need to bleed your brakes.
Cone spanners if you have cup & cone hubs.
Silicone spray/lube.
A spoke key.
A small (2mm) screwdriver.
Snips and pliers.
15mm spanner.
Rubber/nylon headed mallet.
Soma tyre levers.
Track pump.
Lots of old toothbrushes.
Rags and tissue paper.
Cotton buds.
General purpose thick grease.
Threadlocker.
WD40 (as water displacer and solvent).
White spirit (as solvent).
Isopropyl alcohol (as solvent).
Nitrile gloves.

+1 for the digital camera, too. A reliable source of reference is invaluable.

Several sets of allen keys – so when you misplace the one you want, you have a 2nd or 3rd chance!

Do people seriously take photos of their work so they can put it back together 😯
I really can't think of a single bike assembly that can't be 'sussed out' or rebuilt from manufacturers info……

…as for tools, in addition to above, chainring bolt spanner is good

a proper pedal spanner

Do people seriously take photos of their work so they can put it back together…

For anything moderately complex that you've never attempted before, it's a wise idea. Suspension servicing, that kind of thing…

Good set of ball ended allen keys
Pedal spanner
Track pump
Good tyre levers
Thin nosed pliers
Workshop style chain tool
Chain whip and lockring tool
Rubber mallet
Spoke key
Small screw driver (the size for mech adjustment screws)
Torx keys
Crank extractor

That will do you to begin with i think

Do people seriously take photos of their work so they can put it back together…

yes i do

but only complex things like you say.

I'm feeling quite good about my toolbox now. It's got most of this stuff in it and now….

…a soldering iron!!

woo.

I love the elastic toggle fasteners that scaffolders use to secure debris netting.

Why? I hear you ask…

Great for attaching bars to top tubes when removing stems, and indeed for holding fork to frame while removing uppper bearings from headset tp remove fork.

Acts as an extra pair of hands in loads of circumstances.

And you can find them dropped around scaffolded sites 🙂

A

Most essential – little bit of bent coat hanger so I can bring the two ends of a split chain together and put a link in.

Tiny flat screwdriver for the stop screws on mechs.

Allen keys – various.

Really good cable cutters.

The rest is just molegrips and shiat.

I'm feeling quite good about my toolbox now. It's got most of this stuff in it and now….

…a soldering iron!!

Great stuff I will be watching the inbox for an order for a light self build kit 😉

torque wrench,
socket set,
circlip (snap ring) pliers and
suspension oil.

ignition keys for your car.

So when it all goes wrong you can drive the remains of your bike to the bike shop & ask them to put it back together.

…and a metric tonne of cake with which to bribe said bike shop when presenting said broken bike to them!

I have

Allen Keys
Chain Splitter
Spoke Wrench
Torx key
Loctite
Coppaslip
Chain whip
Cassette tool
BB Tool
Screwdrivers
Cable cutters
Pliers
Little pick thing for getting at sealed bearings
Grease Gun
Various Oils and stuff.

Great stuff I will be watching the inbox for an order for a light self build kit

ha ha – cheers trout. After one night's fumbling it's still not working. My soldering skills are lacking somewhat….

HAYNES GUIDE TO TOOLS OF THE TRADE

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer is nowadays used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.

MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes containing seats, motorcycle jackets, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting holes just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

MOLE-GRIPS/ADJUSTABLE WRENCH: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETELENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your garage on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside a brake-drum you're trying to get the bearing race out of.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2 socket you've been searching for for the last 15 minutes.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar callouses in about the time it takes you to say, "F…."

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering car to the ground after you have installed your new front disk brake setup, trapping the jack handle firmly under the front wing (fender).

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X4: Used for levering a car upward off a hydraulic jack.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbour to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.

SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog-doo off your boot.

BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is ten times harder than any known drill bit.

TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating grease buildup.

TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength of ground straps and brake lines you may have forgotten to disconnect.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the handle.

BATTERY ELECTROLYTE TESTER: A handy tool for transferring sulfuric acid from a car battery to the inside of your toolbox after determining that your battery is dead as a doornail, just as you thought.

AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.

INSPECTION LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate as 105-mm howitzer shells during the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a fossil-fuel burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last tightened 30 years ago by someone in Dagenham, and rounds them off.

PRY (CROW) BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.

DAMMIT TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'DAMMIT' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

what the fek do you need pliers for?
cable cutters yes but pliers..no.

Centrefold out of Nuts Summer edition 2007 for the garage wall

ditto on the bigger hammer. It's not to be used, ever. It's merely a deterrant. The bike knows it's there.

magnetic bowl

being a machine builder think i've got enough tools for all to share 😆

full compliment at work and home, and i mean complete

and most definitely +1 for the magnetic bowl