Everyone has a set of Allen keys and some chain degreaser. But do you have;

Scotch 2228 tape. Grips for brake levers, chain guard slap plate, downturn rock guard, crank booties, covering frame holes, making saddle bumpers so you don’t rip the edges against walls.. It does everything!

Silicone spray. Lube beads for tubeless installation. Polish frames and tyre sidewalls so mud doesn’t stick to them (that’s an xc or CX magic trick for you there – less pitting guaranteed), lube cables and pivot points.

Toothpaste. Never have a carbon compound slip again! This was the saviour of my slipping canyon Aeroad seat post.

Hayes Feel’r Gauge. Makes centring disc brakes a doddle.

What else am I missing?

The special tool for chaining bolts. Lost count how many times i stabbed myself witha screwdriver before i found out they existed.

no, but at 10 times the price is it that much better than a bog-standard amalgamating tape from Screwfix?
yes
no… does normal carbon paste not work?
never heard of it, does look good though so will probably get one!

cannot think of anything unusual off the top of my head but yes, agree that having the specific tool often makes things a lot easier, even if you could get by without it!

Fine grinding paste*. For when you’re tightening chainring bolts & even with the special tool (converted broad screwdriver) the the ‘nut’ keeps turning. Smear a bit of paste on the shoulder of the nut & it stops it spinning.

* you can also use a tiny bit of fine sand & some grease.

Thank me after you’ve tried it.

@zilog6128

2228 is not the same as self amalgamating – they are very different. I have that in the box as well, though that’s mainly for TT extensions and ice axes. 2228 is a few mm thick, pliable and mouldable, like impact protective soft sugru tape.

Nail clippers are perfect for cutting cable ties, the curved end prevents the sharp edges slicing through skin. Best Christmas cracker presents ever!

@CalamityJames thanks for that!

@calamityjames – that’s an awesome one. Sidecutters always leave a sharp edge.
Agree with the hayes feel’r and the chainring bolt tool too.

My favourite is a brake piston spreader

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143959808731?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=143959808731&targetid=1140163972449&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9046363&poi=&campaignid=12689627653&mkgroupid=120098841523&rlsatarget=pla-1140163972449&abcId=9300529&merchantid=7431094&gclid=Cj0KCQjw16KFBhCgARIsALB0g8Kmt32zJCE5dOqq-D0REtaUtgBGGean4ZfxAGsOFnZBgCeBxuMwsV8aAlXCEALw_wcB

Toothpaste. Never have a carbon compound slip again! This was the saviour of my slipping canyon Aeroad seat post.

That’s an unconventional way to get round a badly manufacturered product.

Canyon really do know how not to make an aero seat post.

Contemplating one of these to aid me in the occasional tyre battle…

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-tyre-seating-toolTyre bead seating tool

Dental pick, trusty bit of wood for headset fitting, knippex plier things, bent spoke with ground point for hooking things.

Thought of another one.
Third hand pliers, makes cable tensioning easy

Dropout alignment tool. Don’t bother trying to index persistent skipping gears without this.

USB bore camera (and a laptop to plug it into) I’d still be trying to sort my internal cable routing without one and images I took secured a warranty replacement frame (long story short poor alignment of frame guides meant gear cables wore a groove and resulted in a bike that wouldn’t change gear).

A selection of small files of various shapes, cheap to buy and seriously handy for cleaning up cable outers and sharp edges after cutting.

A pick, handy to open up cable outer ends.

Steerer microshims (FSA make them) to take up slack in tolerance on road steerers, 3 of 5 road/cx bikes I have had needed one shim to take up play.

Rags, all my worn out clothing ends up getting cut up for garage use.

Old spray can lids, use for holding degreaser when cleaning.

Old Tupperware or tubs, holding parts during disassembly or assembly.

A small screw for opening up gear and brake cable outers after cutting to size…

Undo button for instances of over-tightening.

A couple of those pointy bamboo skewers you get in hand made burgers. Really good to use as a pick if you don’t want to scratch something with a metallic object.

Ridgid 223s reamer / deburr tool.

Perfect 45deg angles after cutting alloy handlebars or steerers etc

A plastic 1pt milk bottle, with screw top. Empty and washed. Put all the little things in when you disassemble anything.
Because we have our milk delivered in glass bottles I can rarely find one when I need one.

Toothbrush for cleaning parts and a toothbrush for applying grease.

One of those magnetic dishes… To put removed bolts into, so you don’t spend hours searching on the garage floor.

Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers.

An old spoke shaped into a V with a couple of small bends in the ends. Just enough tension to hold the chain roughly in place to allow mucking around with getting the magiclinks attached without getting dirty hands.

Couple of velcro straps that came free with a remote control car (battery straps apparently). Ideal for holding the brake levers closed for occasional bubble bleeds without wasting zip-ties.

Pair of those big steel Pedros tyre levers. Great for recalcitrant tubeless tyres, but the curve is also ideal for reseating brake pistons before swapping in new pads.

Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers

Hopefully a no longer required one 😁. Mind it would ween them off calpol quickly.

THREADLOCK …..

An old roasting pan. Great for cleaning up stuff and putting things in so you don’t lose them.

One of these…
Tyre levering thing

A wooden spatula from the kitchen drawer, for easing (forcing) pistons back after a brake pad change if necessary.

Yep, two toothbrushes, one for cleaning the pistons and another for cleaning oily things.

Rubber bands of various sizes cut out of buggered inner tubes…

More of an “on the bike” one but tyre gaiters cut out of empty toothpaste tubes for bigger cuts that sealant just isn’t going to deal with. Proper old school trick 🤓

Some good stuff here. Like the nail clippers for cable ties.

Quite specific, but I have a short length of 40mm waste pipe with nice smooth square ends, with “Hope Freehub Seal Tool” written on it in marker”

Motorcycle cable Oiler thingy from Halfords reduced bin…. best £2 I’ve ever spent.

Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers.

Excellent, and saves me having to sneak using our tiny measuring jug and getting it into dish washer before I am caught

On tools, a pair of wooden blocks with a deep V cut into them for holding things in a vice, e.g. steerers when cutting them

A 2.5cm long bit of 2.5cm square steel box section, cut in half along its length to make a square C shape – for holding the other brake piston in place while you work the reluctant one to free it up.

Something for tightening centerlock nuts on DT Swiss 12mm thru axle wheels.

Help. My HT2 sockets won’t go over the 12mm hub cap.

Several 2mm packers (green, kitchen fitting etc) tucked into a corner of the car. Pop one between the brake pads when the wheels are off to stop the pistons being pushed out.
This is all getting very Viz – Top Tips!

Brake pad spring- great for popping seals off bearings to allow a regrease.

I’ve bodged a lot of the above but now have some proper tools- the Hayes caliper aligner and the R3Pro 3D printed piston tool that allows one piston at a time to be pushed out and lubed make life a lot easier.

I do have a piece of waste pipe for combined Hope freehub seal and crown race seating duties though 🙂

Do those brake tools work well (the Hayes and lifeline ones mentioned)? Tempted
For a tenner to try one.

Haven’t tried the Hayes one but the Birzman Clam is excellent.

I recently upgraded from a chain whip to cassette pliers and do not know why I didn’t do it sooner!

I’ve cut up many old inner tubes (remember them?) to make rubber bands of various lengths for odd jobs, not just bike related. Cut them on an angle to get longer lengths/thicknesses.