Tool Kit for day to day use

[samsbike]

I am getting that knife!

[reohn2]

+ with the nail file you can give yourself a manicure on that Hangnail you got fixing the bike.

I also carry some grease in a small re-sealable bag.
One other thing to carry is some "wet wipes" to clean your hands afterwards and a carrier bag to put the rubbish/broken/dirty bits in.

Wet wipes in the MTB bag,
No grease but I do carry a small tin of Vaseline,another thing that has all sorts of uses,not just for saddle sores

[freiston]

I've never been good at taking little with me whether on a bike or not.

I always carry my Leatherman Juice Pro and so this is with me on my bicycle too and amongst other things, functions as pliers.

If I'm travelling further than I would be able walk back, I take my puncture and tool kit. If it's three miles down the road to the supermarket, I don't bother with the puncture and tool kit. My tool kit probably needs re-assessing (feel free) and most likely has some glaring omissions. I have a couple of cheap bicycle multitools but I find them fiddly and difficult to use - fat club fingers don't help.

I take a tube and levers inside an old compact binocular soft case (because I'm paranoid that I will damage the tube if it isn't protected), a pump and a tool roll.

The tool roll has a couple of spare toe-clip straps around it and inside, it has a puncture repair kit, a couple of cone spanners, insulation tape, 4, 5, 6 & 8mm hex keys (I really ought to use fewer sizes on my bike) 6" adjustable spanner, 8mm & 10mm open/ring spanners, chain rivet tool, spare brake and gear cables, piece of bent coat-hanger wire to hold the chain, small rag, duck (or duct) tape wrapped around an old plastic card, loads of assorted nuts, bolts washers, cable-ties .

Edit addendum - luckily I've rarely needed to use it.

Here's the pictures (clickable thumbnails to open 1600x1200 images)...

Firstly, the whole caboodle packed away

then the tool roll open but unpacked

and finally the contents of the tool roll

[landsurfer]

Dos'nt matter how many tools you carry there will always be one you don't have ....

it depends how carefully you choose your kit [/quote]

No it dosnt ......

[reohn2]

No it dosnt ......

Along with the tools mentioned,I carry a couple of tubes,two tyre levers,spare brake and gear cable inners,a crank bolt,a couple of m/guard stay bolts a couple of 25x4mm allen bolts,a spare pair of disc/Vbrake pads and a few zipties.

The only things I can't do on the bike by the roadside is remove the s/taper BB,or adjust wheel bearings**,the rest of the bike can be stripped completely if needs be and the whole lot fits into a medium sized seat pack.
So with respect,I disagree.

**on tour I also carry a lightweight cassette lock ring tool,the name of which escapes me ATM.

[landsurfer]

I'll stick to regular maintenance. One breakdown in 20 years does not justify carrying the kitchen sink.

[Tangled Metal]

https://www.victorinox.com/global/en/Products/Swiss-Army-Knives/Medium-Pocket-Knives/CyberTool-M/p/1.7725.T

This is the Swiss army knife I carry. It's a decent tool that I often find I use instead of dedicated versions of the tools it contains. It's kept in my bike tool kit drybag that's always easy to access whether cycling or not.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/homebase-value-hex-key-set---16-piece-120153

This is my allen keys but I only carry the metric ones in their plastic holder.

Pump, levers and patches. Inner tube of course. I've never had a damaged tyre so not sure I'll get a tyre boot, or whatever that's called.

I don't carry spare spokes because in the UK you're never that far from a bike shop. Plus I've.never tried to replace a spoke nor broken one ever in over 30 years cycling. I've never broken a chain and have never replaced one or a link. So I don't carry a chain tool. If you've never used one I don't think I by three side of a road is the best place to try it. Tools are only any good for what you know. No point carrying something if you can't use.it,

[reohn2]

I'll stick to regular maintenance. One breakdown in 20 years does not justify carrying the kitchen sink.

I don't carry the kitchen sink.

[Abradable Chin]

I'm wondering what's better out there. Also is there a good way to carry it?

Stick some of it up your seat pillar. Form a tool snake from an old innertube that can be slid in and out in one go. Fold the protruding end over multiple times and jam it in pillar to retain it. It's should be possible to get box spanner, leatherman, patches & glue, quicklinks, CO2 cartridge, dismantled chain breaker in. Or you could stuff your spare tube up there.
If your pillar is very short, the same could be done to the seat tube, but a bit of cord would be needed to pull out the snake. Put a weight on the cord so it can drop out of the seat tube when the bike is inverted.
If you have tools or spares that are specific to a particular bike, then keeping them on the back prevents gaffs. For examples: carrying the wrong size innertube; if you have a singlespeed or IGH bike, then keep 1/8" chainlinks; if you have a bike without QRs, then keep a spanner on it. I need a tommy bar on one of my bikes for the "QRs".

[reohn2]

Yebutt if all your tools are in the seatube,how do you slacken off the seatpost binder bolt

[landsurfer]

I think that the best tool kit for day to day use is the one each of us carry.
"Our" tool kit has everything WE need. Fits perfectly on our bikes and never rattles.
Everybody else's tool kit has all THEY need.

[reohn2]

I think that the best tool kit for day to day use is the one each of us carry.
"Our" tool kit has everything WE need. Fits perfectly on our bikes and never rattles.
Everybody else's tool kit has all THEY need.

But demonstrably you're kit didn't have everything you needed,and you had to call out your wife to pick you up.
Admittedly you've never needed an 8mm key for the past 20 years,but I bought the Crank Bros multi 17,because it had almost everything in one tool(the DSL multitool was bought mainly for the pliers and hasn't ever been used in anger only tested out in the workshop).
I don't consider a tool kit that anticipates everything but a very major breakdown to be overkill or akin to carrying 'the kitchen sink'.
As I posted before it all fits,including tubes tyre levers and spare bolts into a medium seatpack,which is mainly due to the larger tubes than a roadie would use.
The only time I've ever needed to call anyone out was once when I had an accident and was injured and once when I forgot to put the seatpack on the bike and Mrs R2 brought it out to me as I was 5 or six miles from home and I didn't want to risk a century ride without a tool kit with me.
I'd be stumped these days as Mrs R2 doesn't drive anymore due to her disability,and my extended family would all be at work or live too far away to help out.
It's my Boy Scout upbringing

[freiston]

I don't usually have a phone-a-friend/family rescue service available to me and so if I can't walk it, I have to fix it, abandon it or find another solution (like walk to the nearest train station). Luckily I've never had to resort to any of those options but that is why, as well as taking a tool kit, I also take a hefty lock (plus you never know if it might come in handy for a fuel/comfort break).

[IanW]

I think that the best tool kit for day to day use is the one each of us carry.
"Our" tool kit has everything WE need. Fits perfectly on our bikes and never rattles.

+1

Everybody else's tool kit has all THEY need.

But if you want to be able to help other cyclists, then carrying a couple more tools that:
a) You know how to use
b) Are not necessarily strictly required for your bike
is not difficult.

So, besides:
a) 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm and 8mm hex bits and hex bit driver / wrench
b) 2 tyre levers
c) Puncture repair kit,
d) Spare inner tube for my bike (Presta 36-559)
e) Pump (for both Presta and Schraeder and Woods/Dunlop valves)
e) Chain tool, some quick links
f) 8mm / 10mm and 14mm / 15mm open-ended spanners

I also carry:
h) 6" adjustable spanner
i) Spare inner tube (Presta 25-622)
j) flat and cross-head screwdriver hex-bits
k) T20 and T25 Torx bits

[Samuel D]

You’re missing a pair of headset spanners, IanW! And a way to remove a cassette and a broken spoke. But it’s nice to think of others. I offered someone my Zéfal HPX pump the other day when he was fiddling around with a useless no-brand mini-pump, and he went away content on 90-odd PSI tyres.