I recently bought a Trek Fuel 90 Disk. I have also ordered the Break It, Fix It, Ride It CD which will hopefully help me learn how to work on it. I would now like to pick up the tools necessary to do so. Any advise I can get regarding what to buy and where would be greatly appreciated.

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Sincerely,

Ted Amenta
Breckenridge CO, USA
www.amenta.com

Park Tools, Pedros are goo starting placess.
They both have web sites to guide you selections and where to buy.
There are some specific tools that both make that are not great, like the Campy bottom backet socket by Park.
Since there are many tools and you may choose to start with a simpler "kit" it pays to look at what you will use before buying.

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David Ornee, Western Springs, IL USA

I picked up a generic bike toolkit for AU$90 .. they are made by Lifu but I've seen them around many places re-branded as something else.

The quality of the tools isn't stellar, but not bad.. good enough for the occasional tinkerer.

Any tools you end up using often, it'd be worth buying high quality ones.

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra

I myself bought one of those Lifu toolkits. I think I paid $44.95 USD and it was worth every penny. I also needed a cable cutter and a SPA-2 spanner for the self-extracting crank bolts. There are no tools for press-fitting or removing headset cups either. They're great for a tinkerer but an actual shop could wear the tools out pretty fast.

The chain tool and the spoke wrench were the only tools I hated and had to replace based on this alone. After being used a dozen or so times, the splined bottom bracket tool is beginning to show some wear. As other tools begin to show wear, I'll replace them one at a time with better quality stuff from Pedro's or Park too.

It has taken me about three years of working on my own bikes (three of them) and a couple of trusting friends' bikes for me to begin to feel confident about my own work. I still ask the LBS mechanic a lot of questions. He's pretty cool about it since I send a lot of business his direction. He has even threatened to bring me in as contract labor on hectic Friday afternoons.

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Bri
1,000,000 bicycles = 2 megacycles

Thank you everyone who has replied to my request for advice as to what tools to buy to work on my new mountain bike. I posted this same question on about a half a dozen different forums and, for those who are interested; I have summarized my findings as follows:

Park and Pedro's are the tool manufacturer names that come up again and again.

Some of the most popular places to buy tools are:

bikeperformancebike.com, nashbar.com, jensonusa.com, supergo.com, pricepoint.com, bikeman.com, ebay.com

Must carry tools and items for the trail are:

chain tool
multi-tool (Crank Bros., Park, Alien)
some extra chain links
spare tube
tire levers
tire patch kit
tire pump
seat bag to carry it all

There is some difference of opinion as to whether it is better to buy an intermediate or advanced level tool kit up front or to buy individual tools as they are needed. The advantage of the kit seems to be convenience and cost saving over buying all of the same tools one at a time. The disadvantage of the kits seems to be that one might be buying some tools that would never get used, which could offset the cost saving of the kit, and that the kits still won't have all of the tools one might need which will have to be bought separately anyway, which could offset the convenience of the kit.

In any case, everyone seems to agree that at a minimum one should have sets of allen wrenches, open end wrenches, and screwdrivers. Also, it would seem that chain maintenance is the most the most basic, most important, and most frequently preformed maintenance that should be done on the bike. For this one should have a chain tool, and some degreaser, solvent, and chain lube.

After this it would seem that it all depends on how ambitious one wants to get. Here is the complete list of tools that I have compiled from all of the various forums that I posted my question on:

adjustable crescent wrench
allen wrenches size 2-8mm
any specialty tools your fork and/or shock require for rebuilding
BB tool
bottom bracket or crank tools
brushes for cleaning
cable/housing cutters
cartridge bearing installers are rarely used
cassette tool
cassette/bottom bracket tool(s)
chain cleaner
chain lube
chain tool
chain whip
cone wrenches (two sets)
crank arm extractor (get the one for splined cranks)
degreaser
grease
lock ring tool
multi-tool (Crank Bros., Park, Alien)
needle nose pliers (for pulling cables taunt)
open/box comb wrenches sizes 8,9,10, and 15mm
pedal wrench
phillip's head & flat head screwdriver set
rags
seat bag
shock pump
some extra chain links
spanners
spare tube
splined bottom bracket tool
spoke wrench
tire levers
tire patch kit
tire pump
tools for press-fitting or removing headset cups
torque wrench
truing stand
wrenches (x2) for your hub

I am not sure what all of these items are so I have probably mentioned some items more than once by different names but this is what my research has turned up so far. I hope some find it helpful an informative.

Happy Trails - Ted.

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Sincerely,

Ted Amenta
Breckenridge CO, USA
www.amenta.com

Get yourself an SRAM chain with the powerlink, and you won't be using your chain tool much. The powerlink is the best invention ever - easy on, easy off! Makes cleaning a chain absolutely painless.

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nick.

www.nickcoyne.com