Forum menu
Halfords professional 150 piece tool kit. Used and abused it for 10 years, broke some bits, mainly torx and allen keys but Halfords replace no questions asked.
Torq wrench, Gerber and Pedros tyre levers always get used.
Mole grips; got many a stuck bolt and other seized things off. Also, a bit of wood and a hammer for inserting press fit BBs and headsets. There's great satisfaction to be gained from having trued a wheel perfectly so my Spokey is a bit of a favourite.
Proper cable cutters were probably the biggest revelation when starting work as a mechanic. Every since I've been an advocate for proper tools. I say that and I still don't own a torque wrench...
+ another for Park AWS9 and AWS10. Great bits of kit.
Leatherman Sideclip was a godsend while guiding. Absolutely gutted when I lost it somewhere between Tring and Kitzbühel. The newer ones just don't seem to have quite the same balance of practicality and size.
I love a decent tool kit, and don't like to bodge or make-do with the wrong implement, but generally you can get by in an emergency with something not quite right.
Except my Multimeter. Nothing that can really replace that. Never really found a bike repair application for it thought.
Oh, and Bahco ring ratcheting spanners are better than shifters all day long. [img] 
[/img]