Biking Tools!
| On the Bike
What do you pack on the trail? Obviously, not your whole garage. Also obvious: it's not smart to go "bare" if you're riding a dozen miles away from help. Your needs may differ. But here's what I pack every time. And so far, I've never had to hike out. But my biking buddies (who came to rely on "Mr. Prepared") have hiked out when I didn't go with them.
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A. Multi-tool. Includes hex wrenches, phillips and
standard screwdrivers, brake wrenches, spoke wrenches, tire levers, and chain tool.
This one also has an open-ended wrench for the bolts on my
kid's wheels. B. Press-on patch kit. Quickie patches for tiny punctures. C. Spare tube. D. Patches. Medium and big glue-on patches for big flats. E. Sandpaper. To buff the tube before patching. F. Glue. Fresh and unopened. G. Cleat screw. Just in case one falls out. H. Quick link. For chain repairs without loss of length. I. Pump. Fits schraeder and presta valves. |
| You can do a surprising amount of bike maintenance and repair with just the multi-tool. You can true the rims, tune the brakes, adjust the derailleurs, move and replace gear, repair flats, and fix the chain. If you're not heavy into bike repair, this (plus an odd wrench or two from the garage) could serve as your entire bike repair kit. |
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Including the pump, multi-tool, repair kit and spare tube, your on-the-bike kit will be around $50.
| In the Toolbox (Mechanical tools -- explanations are below)
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A. Crescent wrench B. Phillips and standard screwdrivers C. Needle-nose pliers E. Small parts (brake nuts, boots, cable caps...) F. Crank extractor G. High pressure (shock) pump H. Multi-tool I. Cassette lockring tool J. Headset wrenches K. Cone wrenches L. Spoke wrenches M. Tire pressure gauge N. Tire levers O. Chain whip P. Pedal wrench Q. Bottom bracket tool R. Cable cutter |
You can spend as much as you like on bike tools. Shop around for the best prices. Expect to spend $125-200 for a reasonably full set of tools. The toolbox, the supplies box (below), and the workstand go with us anytime we're biking more than an hour or two away from home. We do some serious work in motel rooms.
| In the Cleaning and Supply Box |
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Yes, believe it or not, all the supplies you see below go with me on those weekends in Moab or St. George. You'd be surprised how often it saves the day. (Often, it saves the day for the unprepared biker who's with me.) Our on-line store has a full line of brake pads -- if you don't see your pad, call.
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A. Cantilever brake pads. These pads attach by
clamping the post. (I carry a full set of 4 brake pads for every bike that goes
with me. I have kids.) B. V-brake pads. Threaded-stem pads for V-brakes. C. Cartridge pads. For linear-pull rim brakes. D. Disc brake pads. These are harder to find "in the wild." E. Presta valve tubes. For high-performance tires. This is in addition to the extra tubes in the underseat packs. F. Schraeder valve tubes. For the kids bikes. G. Tires. If you cut a big slash in the tire, it's nice to have a spiffy new one for the next ride. |
| A. Degreaser. To clean chain and pulleys. B and C. Wax chain lube. Doesn't pick up dirt. D. Pressurized dry lube. Blow dirt out of the cable housings, lube derailleur mechanism and levers. E. Light oil. For the kids' chains, because they leave their bikes in the rain. F. Heavy oil. Chain lube for creek-dipping or roads. G. Bearing grease. For threaded joints that will be taken apart or adjusted routinely. H. Sunscreen. Backup. Sometimes I forget to pack sunscreen with my personal gear. I. Chain cleaner. There's nothing like a clean chain. J. Cleaning brush. Scrub the gunk off the pulleys so they track correctly. |
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A. Cable ties. Very useful for securing cable housing, speedometer cable,
etc. B. Dog leash. C. Swap-out pedals. For alternative terrain. D. Light system. In case we decide to take a moonlight cruise, headlight and taillight. E. Extra patches and glue. To replace what you've used from your on-bike kit. F. Electrical tape and duct tape. Bind down errant cables, tape a stick to a bent cable housing. Lots of uses. G. Rim tape. When the rim tape is old and the spoke holes are cutting your tubes, new rim tape fixes it. |
| H. Helmet mirror. Suppose -- heaven forbid -- I have to make a long trip
on pavement. I. Derailleur hanger. You WILL bend your derailleur hanger sometime. J. Chain links. For chain repair. K. Loctite. For bolts that should stay put -- chainring bolts, crank bolt, disc brake mounting bolts. L. Spokes. Take an extra spoke or two in YOUR size. |
| Repair stand
A repair stand sounds expensive, but is well worth the money. Once you've tuned your derailleurs and brakes on a repair stand, you'll wonder how you ever worked on a bike without one. Even for minor repairs, it gets your bike up away from the snow and mud, at a comfortable height for working. The repair stand goes with us on trips. It's soooo nice to ride a well-tuned bike on the second and third day at Moab. |
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| The Park repair stand above has an adjustable, rotating clamp that holds any part of the bike while you move it higher or lower, tilt it forward or back. You can even get a rim truing mechanism for it. |
| Repair stands run from $50 (for
something that simply props your bike up) to $250 for a professional model.
A hitch rack or trunk rack can do a lot of the same work as a cheap repair stand. Just let the bike dangle from the rack while you turn the crank and click the gears. |
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Truing stand
A full-blown truing stand is great for perfecting your wheel's performance. It's especially useful if you like close tolerances on your rim brakes, but spend your biking day dropping off ledges and logs. Frankly, the typical biker doesn't ride hard enough, or often enough, to warrant the expense of a formal truing stand. Just have the rims trued, along with your general tuneup, at the bike shop. |
For whipping a rim into true during a bike trip, we usually just do a quick'n dirty spoke adjustment with the wheel on the bike, using the brake pads as a guide to direction and degree of rim wobble.
A dedicated truing stand will run from $60 to $250.
