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[Closed] Recommend me a bike tool kit...
Looking to purchase a tool kit that will let me maintain my bikes without having to scrounge and borrow tools from my mates. Needs to have all the usual stuff you'd need to do a decent service. Chain whip, cassette, crank, bottom bracket tools etc. Looking to not spend more than £50 if possible.
[url= http://www.parkersofbolton.co.uk/p-1034-bike-hand-tool-kit-with-isis-shimano-bb-tools.aspx ]Looked at this[/url] [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00336W95C/ref=asc_df_B00336W95C3755267?smid=A3H9U8TP5AJC1N&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22218&creativeASIN=B00336W95C ]and this [/url] so far. Opinions?
I got the former free with a stand from Merlin a couple of years back. The tools aren't necessarily produced to quite the same standards as Park etc. but they're good enough and the range of bits is big enough for the majority of jobs. Add in a pair of wire clippers, pliers and few other bits and bobs as you need them and you're set.
What do you need them for? Are you building a bike? If so a modern bike might not need half those tools and would need a few that arn't in there. I would buy as and when you need a specific tool. Those sets look cheap and nasty. Park and Pedros tools are good. Dont scrimp on a decent set of cable cutters though!
I got one of [url= http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/looney-max-tool-case-3960305/ ]these[/url], which is basically the same as what you've linked to, but without a Hollowtech II tool. Bought it years ago and still have it, use the chain whip, cassette tool and BB removal tools regularly. Some of the kit was pap, like the allen key (worked fine but eventually rounded off) but if you've nothing to start with there a great way of getting a lot of kit to start you off cheaply.
Lot of ppl recommend buying one decent tool at a time, and that's a good plan, but some-time you don't know what tools you'll need, so these kits can be useful to start with.
I've got a few bits and bobs already, allen and spoke keys, pedal wrench, but none of the things you need to strip/assemble a bike. Planning on upgrading my drive train in a month or so and then possibly building up a hard tail from the spare parts I have lying around. Park tools are expensive :S
Good tools are expensive for a reason, they last and won't damage the parts your working on (unlike say, cheap shonky allen keys).
Off-hand for the drivetrain, you should only need these extra tools:
Chain whip
Cassette lockring tool
BB tool
chain tool (your multi-tool should do [assuming you have one])
& maybe wire cutters for re-cabling the bike (these don't have to be bike specific)
I use this with a few Park tools as I when I need them
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-workshop-tool-kit/
There are plenty of tools on here that can mess things up for you.
IceToolz kit for me. Served me well over the years. Then buy specific tools as and when required.
...to strip/assemble a bike
I assume you're not fitting headsets and forks, but some hubs can require either specialist tools to take apart or at least to make it easier than bits of wood and socket sets. I've got Hope hubs and "made do" with make-shift tools. I bit the bullet and got the proper tools - which anyone with access to a metal lathe could have made TBH - and it made it loads easier. I'd also spend some money on decent Allen keys. They will get used a lot.
You're better buying individual tools as and when you need them IMO. Needs a bit of prior planning before doing jobs, but it means you get only the tools you actually need, and you can spend a bit more to get good ones where necessary or cheaper ones where its less important, and you won't get a big bill in one go.