Tool kits

[Brucey]

you are making a lot of assumptions there, most of them completely unjustified.

I'll say it again; the single most useful toolkit item (that I have habitually carried for years) is a 6" adjustable spanner, and I've more often used it on other people's bikes than my own.

Carry what you like if you think you will need it yourself, but I'd go as far as to suggest that if you often ride in a group and you want to carry something genuinely useful, there is absolutely no point in carrying allen keys and the like (as found on common multitools); most other folk (who bother to carry anything) will have that kind of stuff anyway.

cheers

[Ruadh495]

The idea of replacing Allen heads with Torx appeals, but I'm guessing there will always be some fasteners that aren't available in Torx heads (Quill stem centre bolts?) so you would still end up carrying Allen keys. How does Torx cope with being full of crud?

My bike has several fastenings which are machine screws with a nut on the back and that means you need something to hold the nut. Multitool pliers will do it if you are careful, but an adjustable is better. The right size spanner (ring if you can get it on, open end if you must) is better still, but we are talking about what you carry not what you use in the workshop.

[Brucey]

My bike has several fastenings which are machine screws with a nut on the back and that means you need something to hold the nut...

a good example of this is found in typical DP brake calipers; the pivot for the offset arm often uses a hexagon nut as a locknut. [BTW if it doesn't, it may use a Nylock nut in a captive fitting. These brakes are very often not much good, since they either cannot be adjusted at all (fixed bushing length) or they adjust themselves (loose) in use.... ]

Hexagon nuts of various sizes are very commonly found on nearly every possible bicycle part. I find that if you stop to help someone (usually on a less expensive machine) and you don't have any hexagon spanners, so can't really do anything, it is very difficult not to come over as something of a bike snob, no matter how well-intentioned you might be.

I think that cycling ought to be as inclusive as possible; there are already enough (mostly entirely artificial) potential divisions amongst cyclists, and carrying a toolkit that is useless except for your bike alone just adds another one.

cheers

[JohnW]

Assuming that you have more than one bike that you use regularly....


...do you have one tool kit per bike that stays on the bike ready to go?
...................?

Yes - that's what I do - tool kit (small and compact, but all that's necessary) - spare inner tubes - tyre-boot - lights - batteries - lightweight waterproof - hi-viz - after-sting cream - toilet paper - wet-wipes - emergency bonk rations - spare brake blocks - spare inner cables - pump - saddle hat (aka rain-cover) - string - rubber bands - empty bread bag............do you want me to go on? ......................BECAUSE.............

Assuming that you have more than one bike that you use regularly....

................... do you have a single tool kit with all the stuff in it to fit all your bikes, that you have to remember to put on the day's bike before going? And how often do you forget it?

...................because what Si says happens to me every time..........I FORGET IT!!!!!

[pete75]

My bike has several fastenings which are machine screws with a nut on the back and that means you need something to hold the nut...

a good example of this is found in typical DP brake calipers; the pivot for the offset arm often uses a hexagon nut as a locknut. [BTW if it doesn't, it may use a Nylock nut in a captive fitting. These brakes are very often not much good, since they either cannot be adjusted at all (fixed bushing length) or they adjust themselves (loose) in use.... ]

Hexagon nuts of various sizes are very commonly found on nearly every possible bicycle part. I find that if you stop to help someone (usually on a less expensive machine) and you don't have any hexagon spanners, so can't really do anything, it is very difficult not to come over as something of a bike snob, no matter how well-intentioned you might be.

I think that cycling ought to be as inclusive as possible; there are already enough (mostly entirely artificial) potential divisions amongst cyclists, and carrying a toolkit that is useless except for your bike alone just adds another one.

cheers

If people carry a toolkit that is useless except for their own bike why do they need someone else to carry tools to fit their bike?

[[XAP]Bob]

pete75 - ask not what other cyclists can do for you, but what you can do for other cyclists.

Not everyone carries a toolkit - normally this is a good thing, because they'd likely break something anyway - but it does mean that mine comes out when I come across a stranded cyclist.

[Gattonero]

you are making a lot of assumptions there, most of them completely unjustified.

I'll say it again; the single most useful toolkit item (that I have habitually carried for years) is a 6" adjustable spanner, and I've more often used it on other people's bikes than my own.

Carry what you like if you think you will need it yourself, but I'd go as far as to suggest that if you often ride in a group and you want to carry something genuinely useful, there is absolutely no point in carrying allen keys and the like (as found on common multitools); most other folk (who bother to carry anything) will have that kind of stuff anyway.

cheers

A lot of assumptions?
Whether I am commuting in London, riding an Mtb in Epping or the Chilterns, or touring in Hampshire; the vas majority of the bikes I see are relatively modern.
That means they are more likely to use Allen head bolts than Hex head ones.Was the OP about carrying tools for other riders ? Don't think so.

As a matter of real fact, the vast majority of fastenings in a bike are meant to be done with relative low torque, from 4 to 6Nm. It's only parts that rely on a single-fastening that need more torque.
Here comes the advantage of using more bolts in those areas (say, handlebar clamp): not only the clamping force is better distributed, you can also use the same size of bolts as used for less critical areas (fixing mudguards, racks, derailleur wires...) name it M5. Four Hex head bolts on a stem faceplate are going to be rather impractical to work with. Make it all Allen head M5, or better with M6, and you have one size of fastener head and often the same size of thread too.
Easy to understand that if one wants to carry spare bolts, this way it only needs a couple of them: unified head, same bolt, same tool. One bolt can fix a pannier rack, a stem, a derailleur, etc. because an Allen head is strong enough for the task and more practical to work with.

[pete75]

pete75 - ask not what other cyclists can do for you, but what you can do for other cyclists.

Not everyone carries a toolkit - normally this is a good thing, because they'd likely break something anyway - but it does mean that mine comes out when I come across a stranded cyclist.

Hmmm and there was me thinking folk carried tool kits in case something broke.....

[[XAP]Bob]

pete75 - ask not what other cyclists can do for you, but what you can do for other cyclists.

Not everyone carries a toolkit - normally this is a good thing, because they'd likely break something anyway - but it does mean that mine comes out when I come across a stranded cyclist.

Hmmm and there was me thinking folk carried tool kits in case something broke.....

I do - I just recognise that it may well not be something that is mine to start with that has broken.

Same reason I carry a tow rope and jump leads in the car - I've twice had to use the jump leads on my own car. Lost count of the times I've used them for other people...

[pete75]

pete75 - ask not what other cyclists can do for you, but what you can do for other cyclists.

Not everyone carries a toolkit - normally this is a good thing, because they'd likely break something anyway - but it does mean that mine comes out when I come across a stranded cyclist.

Hmmm and there was me thinking folk carried tool kits in case something broke.....

I do - I just recognise that it may well not be something that is mine to start with that has broken.

I was referring to your suggestion that it's normally a good thing not everyone carries a toolkit because they'd likely break something. I thought folk carried a toolkit for just that eventuality in case they broke something on their bike you know so they could mend it.

[[XAP]Bob]

Ah... no. But to let some people loose with something as technically complex as a screwdriver is asking for trouble...