Must-have tools for home use?

RE/

Quoted message said:

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

A torque wrench that goes down to about 25 inch-pounds.

I've found that bolts rated below 100 inch pounds are *really* easy to shear off....OTOH, maybe I'm
a klutz... but I'm at the point now where I never tighten one of those little puppies "by hand".
--
PeteCresswell

Here are some things that I use constantly ...

Well, not sure what size hex wrenches you need ... but if you need 4, 5 & 6 mm wrenches, get one
of the "Y" shaped all in one wrenches. Actually, get two. They come in very handy. I use this one
all the time:

store.airbomb.comItemdesc.aspOpen ↗

Nicely made product ... got it at [censored]'s Sporting Goods. Available in other size combinations too
I believe.

A truing stand, and a very good spoke wrench as well IMHO. True, you can true on the bike but I've
been using a stand since I was 10 and I wouldn't give it up for anything. A bad spoke wrench will
ruin your day, not to mention your spokes by rounding them off.

A refillable oil can perhaps? Not a must have, but useful none the less. You know, the old fashioned
type to get into little spots and squirt in just the right amount.

Tire levers

Cheep brushes for cleaning off gunk and dirt.

Chain whip.

I'm sure others will think up more,

HTH,
C.Q.C.

"William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent set

of

Quoted message said:

tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

I'm already planning to get a work stand. I've got a complete set of box-end wrenches, and the
like. I'm just looking for recommendations for those bike tools that I won't realize I need until
the time comes.

(For reference: I currently own a Giant Cypress ST as my primary bike,

and

Quoted message said:

have a Fuji and a Schwinn frame in the garage for later rebuilding. Next spring, I'll be getting a
bike for my wife, and a bike for each kid.)

"William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with

respect to my next

Quoted message said:

major bike shopping excursion, and I was thinking of

getting a decent set of

Quoted message said:

tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

I'm already planning to get a work stand. I've got a

complete set of

Quoted message said:

box-end wrenches, and the like. I'm just looking for

recommendations for

Quoted message said:

those bike tools that I won't realize I need until the

time comes.

Quoted message said:

(For reference: I currently own a Giant Cypress ST as my

primary bike, and

Quoted message said:

have a Fuji and a Schwinn frame in the garage for later

rebuilding. Next

Quoted message said:

spring, I'll be getting a bike for my wife, and a bike for

each kid.)

Quoted message said:

Depends what you think you'll work on - not all of these are "must have " - until you need one.....

Allen wrenches - set of eight(?) Cassette removal tool (and appropriate wrench to fit) Chainwhip
Spoke wrenches Cone wrenches (two of each size you think you'll need) Cartridge BB removal tool
Crank puller (with insert for splined cranks) Chain breaker Headset wrench 15mm wrench for pedals
Chainring nut key (holds the nut while you turn the bolt) Tire levers Cable cutter (although you can
get away with a saw for outers and a sharp chisel/steel plate for inners) - or buy a 'Dremel' tool
Rubber hammer....................... 🙂)

For older bikes..... Freewheel removal tool - at least the splined version BB pin spanner BB
lockring wrench BB fixed cup wrench (if you even need to remove/reinstall one)

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 18:12:12 -0400, "William Blum" <[email hidden]> may

have said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent set of tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

Chain breaker, spoke wrenches, cone wrenches, the special sockets for the cassette(s) or
freewheel(s) for your bikes, crank extractor, spanner and sockets as appropriate for your BB, more
or less in that order. Those should suffice for the majority of routine maintenance chores and minor
repairs, in addition to what you likely already have.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

Well, the others have mentioned just about everything. I think a good tool to have around is a
headset press used for pressing races into the head tube. A very inexpensive alternative is to buy a
seven to eight inch long 7/8" bolt w/two matching washers and nut.
7/8" washers will cover any size headset. I've done this and it works quite well. I paid $3 for this
hardware at home depot.

Dave

"William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent set of tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

I'm already planning to get a work stand. I've got a complete set of box-end wrenches, and the
like. I'm just looking for recommendations for those bike tools that I won't realize I need until
the time comes.

Hi, have you considered any of the kits that are available? Granted they do come with some tools,
that most of us already have, or in the case of adjustable wrenches, frown upon. But they do seem to
have a lot of the essentials, for a decent price. I plan on buying one of the kits that sell for
around $45, claimed to retail for $79-99. I think it is a good starting point and then I would
eventually replace/duplicate the tools that you find, that you use regularly, with higher quality
versions. For some kits, see link, the one I was referring to is the Big Tool Kit 2.
nashbar.comresults.cfmOpen ↗

Life is Good! Jeff

"William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent set of tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

I'm already planning to get a work stand. I've got a complete set of box-end wrenches, and the
like. I'm just looking for recommendations for those bike tools that I won't realize I need until
the time comes.

You must have the PW-3. It is a useful for servicing pedals as for, as my first boss found,
delegating corporal punishment to would-be thieves.

"onefred" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well, the others have mentioned just about everything. I

think a good tool to have around

Quoted message said:

is a headset press used for pressing races into the head

tube. A very inexpensive

Quoted message said:

alternative is to buy a seven to eight inch long 7/8" bolt

w/two matching washers and nut.

Quoted message said:

7/8" washers will cover any size headset. I've done this

and it works quite well. I paid

Quoted message said:

$3 for this hardware at home depot.

Dave

A headset press is expensive - it's unlikely you'll be doing many. Same is true for headset removal
tools. Easiest to take it to your LBS if you ever need either of these services - cost me $10 at REI
for a headset and BB fixed cup removal. The DIY bolt/washer/nut approach works for headset assembly
if you're careful.

William Blum said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent set of tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

I'm already planning to get a work stand. I've got a complete set of box-end wrenches, and the
like. I'm just looking for recommendations for those bike tools that I won't realize I need until
the time comes.

(For reference: I currently own a Giant Cypress ST as my primary bike, and have a Fuji and a
Schwinn frame in the garage for later rebuilding. Next spring, I'll be getting a bike for my wife,
and a bike for each kid.)

I stripped a Cannondale this afternoon and used:

Lots of Allen keys (I have a full set from 1.5mm to 10mm) Shimano bottom bracket tool Shimano crank
puller (get the "mushroom" adaptor too if you have Hollowtech cranks) Big adjustable spanner for use
with the above two tools Cable cutters Two headset spanners of the right size - if yours is
threadless you don't need these Pedal spanner

On older bikes with cup-and-cone BBs you may need a full set of bottom bracket tools - expensive
and large!

For servicing, as opposed to dismantling whole assemblies, you also need:

Two hub cone spanners Screwdrivers Various small spanners (for things like pedal bearing locknuts)
Spoke key For grease something like Castrol LM automotive bearing grease is fine. I've used the
expensive bike-specific ones but they're no better. Anti-seize compound is better for seatposts,
stem quills, pedal threads etc and is vital on any titanium threads. I use threadlock on crank bolts
and a few other places. It has some anti-seize properties too. I've never found anything that works
better than 3-in-1 oil for chains, if "works" is defined as a quiet smooth-running chain.

The truly obsessive will add headset fitting and removal tools, but these are so expensive that you
might as well get the bike shop to do the job.

A wheel jig and dishing stick are useful, but you can do basic truing in the bike frame.

And on the road I carry:

Tyre levers Spare tube Puncture repair kit Multi-tool (which can even be used to tighten 14mm crank
bolts) Hand wipes Pump or, if I'm on the racing bike or MTB, a CO2 canister. I've had to use CO2
twice - it works provided you have large low pressure tyres or narrow high pressure tyres. If you
have fat high pressure tyres like some MTB slicks, avoid drain covers and potholes on the way home
or you'll feel the rim hit the tarmac (ouch).

Roger

"William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent set

of

Quoted message said:

tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

I'm already planning to get a work stand. I've got a complete set of box-end wrenches, and the
like. I'm just looking for recommendations for those bike tools that I won't realize I need until
the time comes.

(For reference: I currently own a Giant Cypress ST as my primary bike,

and

Quoted message said:

have a Fuji and a Schwinn frame in the garage for later rebuilding. Next spring, I'll be getting a
bike for my wife, and a bike for each kid.)

$.98 stiff bristle parts cleaning brush and a good shop light so you can see everything you dropped
on to the floor and into the piles of sludge you just knocked off your bike. I also have a little
roll-around office chair and a stereo-hi-fi just to make things more comfy and convenient in my
basement shop. These are optional. If you live in a wet climate, fleet maintenance during the fall
and winter can be a part time job. -- Jay Beattie.

I'll agree with the whole nashbar big tool kit 2 recommendation. It's perfect.. and you can easily
start adding to it when you realize you need more things..

Mike mikebeauchamp.commikebeauchamp.comOpen ↗

"Jeff Starr" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent

set of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

I'm already planning to get a work stand. I've got a complete set of box-end wrenches, and the
like. I'm just looking for recommendations

for

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

those bike tools that I won't realize I need until the time comes.

Hi, have you considered any of the kits that are available? Granted they do come with some tools,
that most of us already have, or in the case of adjustable wrenches, frown upon. But they do seem
to have a lot of the essentials, for a decent price. I plan on buying one of the kits that sell
for around $45, claimed to retail for $79-99. I think it is a good starting point and then I would
eventually replace/duplicate the tools that you find, that you use regularly, with higher quality
versions. For some kits, see link, the one I was referring to is the Big Tool Kit 2.

nashbar.comresults.cfmOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Life is Good! Jeff

Quoted message said:

Okay, so I've been given some degree of freedom with respect to my next major bike shopping
excursion, and I was thinking of getting a decent set of tools to work on my bike(s).

Any suggestions for "must-have" items?

All the replys have good suggestions, but no wrench worth his spoke nipples should be without a high
quality, possibly forged tool steel, bottle cap lifter! Pedros is my current favorite, both hand
held and wall mounted units are available. Really. I ain't kiddin'. Beer is important!!! --Jim

[email hidden] (Jeff Starr) wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hi, have you considered any of the kits that are available?

'couldnt agree more. i now have what seems like a more than complete set of name brand bike tools,
but i remember my roots. i started off with the nashbar big tool kit, and still think it was (and
remains) an unbeatable value. i still use some of those tools every single day.

i remember four years ago i walked into my LBS with the nashbar catalog and asked them if they had a
toolset like the nashbar one. they didnt beleive it sold for as cheap as it did. i showed them the
page, and they scratched their head and shrugged, and told me they didnt have anything like that and
they couldnt come close to matching
it. too bad. i bet LBSs could sell a lot of those kits if QBP would distribute them instead of the
100$+ kits from pedros/park/etc.

off the top of my head, if i were to start from scratch, i would get

-nash big tool kit -park cable/housing cutter -park spoke wrench in appropriate size for your
wheels, or get the park mul;ti-size one if you do different bikes -metric combination wrenches/allen
keys. if youre only going to have one set of allen keys, i think that ball ends and "y"
configurations are a mistake. ymmv.

a simple lockring wrench, like the hozan one, goes a long way, too. less so with the contemporary
headset and bb standards. nice for fixies!

some normal hand tools make life easier too. rubber mallet, hammer, pliers, vice grips, that kind of
stuff. did you already buy the stand? if i were starting out, i would rather spend the stand money
on tools. i think tools go a lot further than a workstand. ill opt for hanging the bike from the
rafters or otherwise improvising if i could drop a hundred bucks on tools instead.

and then add as your bicycle dictates.

other vitals: tub of auto grease motor oil penetrating oil of some sort i also very much like
tri-flo for lubing cables, moving parts. decent lube, and less messy than the motor oil for exposed
bits. some loose bearings degreaser. i like deisel, if theres no one around to complain abotu the
smell. rags, from the wastebin of the local laundromat.

fin, anthony

"ant" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

if i were starting out, i would rather spend the stand money on tools. i think tools go a lot
further than a workstand. ill opt for hanging the bike from the rafters or otherwise improvising
if i could drop a hundred bucks on tools instead.

I agree, and I'd add that if you have a trainer, you can use that as a stand. It's particularly
useful for drivetrain adjustment, as you can actually ride the bike between adjustments.

Quoted message said:

off the top of my head, if i were to start from scratch, i would get

Quoted message said:

-park cable/housing cutter

I don't know, the reviews have been kind of bad
mtbreview.comproduct 23436.shtmlOpen ↗

Personally, I think a Dremel with a fiber-reinforced cutoff wheel works great for cutting housing,
perhaps a bit slower, but cutting housing isn't that common a task, and the Dremel is pretty handy
for lots of other stuff.

is there a bike club nearby?? maybe a memebr hasa third hand catalog to read. their gone but the
catalog isa terrific manual for basic tool thought

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Personally, I think a Dremel with a fiber-reinforced cutoff wheel works great for cutting housing,
perhaps a bit slower, but cutting housing isn't that common a task, and the Dremel is pretty handy
for lots of other stuff.

Dear Peter,

At last, a fellow Dremo-phile!

Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world --Archimedes

Give me a Dremel tool and enough cut-off wheels and I'll cut it in half.

Carl Fogel

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

-park cable/housing cutter

I don't know, the reviews have been kind of bad
mtbreview.comproduct 23436.shtmlOpen ↗

I believe those reviews are for the CN-4. The new model is the CN-10 and I haven't heard the same
complaints about it.

--
Wayne Menzie

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I don't know, the reviews [of the park cable cutter] have been kind of bad
mtbreview.comproduct 23436.shtmlOpen ↗

well, i admit i havent shopped around. the only other cable/housing cutter i used was park's old
one, which was a POS. at the time when i boguht this one, the shimano was too expensive, the pedros
didnt have a picture online at the site i was ordering from, and the others looked cheesy. the one i
use is this one

parktool.comCN 10.shtmlOpen ↗ is that the one they're talkign about?

it cuts inner cables cleanly. outer housing generally takes two snips. one to cut the housing. one
to cut the burr off. you end up with a nice cut, doesnt take but a second or two. i use this tool
something like 30 times a day most days, and i dont see it getting dull soon, nor can i think of
anything i would want to change. maybe i just got a good one..

(actually, the one thing i would change is a different design on the wire that flips over the handle
to keep the tool closed. every once in a while, it orients itself in such a way that closing the
tool to cut some housing compresses this wire, and then it pops out of the tool and flies across the
room. its happened dozens of times, but ive miraculously found it every time 😉

anthony

[email hidden] (g.daniels) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

is there a bike club nearby?? maybe a memebr hasa third hand catalog to read. their gone but the
catalog isa terrific manual for basic tool thought

Dear Gene,

I miss the Third Hand catalogue, too.

But the company is still in business as Loose Screws (formerly the Third Hand) and offers tools,
just without the wonderful pictures and comments.

loosescrews.comloosescrews.comOpen ↗

Perhaps they'll get the old catalogue going again.

Carl Fogel