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Everyone has a set of Allen keys and some chain degreaser. But do you have;
Scotch 2228 tape. Grips for brake levers, chain guard slap plate, downturn rock guard, crank booties, covering frame holes, making saddle bumpers so you don't rip the edges against walls.. It does everything!
Silicone spray. Lube beads for tubeless installation. Polish frames and tyre sidewalls so mud doesn't stick to them (that's an xc or CX magic trick for you there - less pitting guaranteed), lube cables and pivot points.
Toothpaste. Never have a carbon compound slip again! This was the saviour of my slipping canyon Aeroad seat post.
Hayes Feel'r Gauge. Makes centring disc brakes a doddle.
What else am I missing?
The special tool for chaining bolts. Lost count how many times i stabbed myself witha screwdriver before i found out they existed.
no, but at 10 times the price is it that much better than a bog-standard amalgamating tape from Screwfix?
yes
no... does normal carbon paste not work?
never heard of it, does look good though so will probably get one!
cannot think of anything unusual off the top of my head but yes, agree that having the specific tool often makes things a lot easier, even if you could get by without it!
Fine grinding paste*. For when you're tightening chainring bolts & even with the special tool (converted broad screwdriver) the the 'nut' keeps turning. Smear a bit of paste on the shoulder of the nut & it stops it spinning.
* you can also use a tiny bit of fine sand & some grease.
Thank me after you've tried it.
2228 is not the same as self amalgamating - they are very different. I have that in the box as well, though that's mainly for TT extensions and ice axes. 2228 is a few mm thick, pliable and mouldable, like impact protective soft sugru tape.
Nail clippers are perfect for cutting cable ties, the curved end prevents the sharp edges slicing through skin. Best Christmas cracker presents ever!
@calamityjames - that's an awesome one. Sidecutters always leave a sharp edge.
Agree with the hayes feel'r and the chainring bolt tool too.
My favourite is a brake piston spreader
Toothpaste. Never have a carbon compound slip again! This was the saviour of my slipping canyon Aeroad seat post.
That's an unconventional way to get round a badly manufacturered product.
Canyon really do know how not to make an aero seat post.
Contemplating one of these to aid me in the occasional tyre battle...
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-tyre-seating-tool Tyre bead seating tool
Dental pick, trusty bit of wood for headset fitting, knippex plier things, bent spoke with ground point for hooking things.
Thought of another one.
Third hand pliers, makes cable tensioning easy
Dropout alignment tool. Don’t bother trying to index persistent skipping gears without this.
USB bore camera (and a laptop to plug it into) I'd still be trying to sort my internal cable routing without one and images I took secured a warranty replacement frame (long story short poor alignment of frame guides meant gear cables wore a groove and resulted in a bike that wouldn't change gear).
A selection of small files of various shapes, cheap to buy and seriously handy for cleaning up cable outers and sharp edges after cutting.
A pick, handy to open up cable outer ends.
Steerer microshims (FSA make them) to take up slack in tolerance on road steerers, 3 of 5 road/cx bikes I have had needed one shim to take up play.
Rags, all my worn out clothing ends up getting cut up for garage use.
Old spray can lids, use for holding degreaser when cleaning.
Old Tupperware or tubs, holding parts during disassembly or assembly.
A small screw for opening up gear and brake cable outers after cutting to size...
Undo button for instances of over-tightening.
A couple of those pointy bamboo skewers you get in hand made burgers. Really good to use as a pick if you don’t want to scratch something with a metallic object.
Ridgid 223s reamer / deburr tool.
Perfect 45deg angles after cutting alloy handlebars or steerers etc
A plastic 1pt milk bottle, with screw top. Empty and washed. Put all the little things in when you disassemble anything.
Because we have our milk delivered in glass bottles I can rarely find one when I need one.
Toothbrush for cleaning parts and a toothbrush for applying grease.
One of those magnetic dishes... To put removed bolts into, so you don't spend hours searching on the garage floor.
Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers.
An old spoke shaped into a V with a couple of small bends in the ends. Just enough tension to hold the chain roughly in place to allow mucking around with getting the magiclinks attached without getting dirty hands.
Couple of velcro straps that came free with a remote control car (battery straps apparently). Ideal for holding the brake levers closed for occasional bubble bleeds without wasting zip-ties.
Pair of those big steel Pedros tyre levers. Great for recalcitrant tubeless tyres, but the curve is also ideal for reseating brake pistons before swapping in new pads.
Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers
Hopefully a no longer required one 😁. Mind it would ween them off calpol quickly.
THREADLOCK .....
An old roasting pan. Great for cleaning up stuff and putting things in so you don't lose them.
A wooden spatula from the kitchen drawer, for easing (forcing) pistons back after a brake pad change if necessary.
Yep, two toothbrushes, one for cleaning the pistons and another for cleaning oily things.
Rubber bands of various sizes cut out of buggered inner tubes...
More of an "on the bike" one but tyre gaiters cut out of empty toothpaste tubes for bigger cuts that sealant just isn't going to deal with. Proper old school trick 🤓
Some good stuff here. Like the nail clippers for cable ties.
Quite specific, but I have a short length of 40mm waste pipe with nice smooth square ends, with "Hope Freehub Seal Tool" written on it in marker"
Motorcycle cable Oiler thingy from Halfords reduced bin.... best £2 I've ever spent.
Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers.
Excellent, and saves me having to sneak using our tiny measuring jug and getting it into dish washer before I am caught
On tools, a pair of wooden blocks with a deep V cut into them for holding things in a vice, e.g. steerers when cutting them
A 2.5cm long bit of 2.5cm square steel box section, cut in half along its length to make a square C shape - for holding the other brake piston in place while you work the reluctant one to free it up.
Something for tightening centerlock nuts on DT Swiss 12mm thru axle wheels.
Help. My HT2 sockets won’t go over the 12mm hub cap.
Several 2mm packers (green, kitchen fitting etc) tucked into a corner of the car. Pop one between the brake pads when the wheels are off to stop the pistons being pushed out.
This is all getting very Viz - Top Tips!
Brake pad spring- great for popping seals off bearings to allow a regrease.
I’ve bodged a lot of the above but now have some proper tools- the Hayes caliper aligner and the R3Pro 3D printed piston tool that allows one piston at a time to be pushed out and lubed make life a lot easier.
I do have a piece of waste pipe for combined Hope freehub seal and crown race seating duties though 🙂
Do those brake tools work well (the Hayes and lifeline ones mentioned)? Tempted
For a tenner to try one.
Haven’t tried the Hayes one but the Birzman Clam is excellent.
I recently upgraded from a chain whip to cassette pliers and do not know why I didn't do it sooner!
I've cut up many old inner tubes (remember them?) to make rubber bands of various lengths for odd jobs, not just bike related. Cut them on an angle to get longer lengths/thicknesses.
A dentist's scraper / pick tool for poking, hooking, scraping things and opening up snipped outer cables.
Dental Tooth Cleaning Kit Dentist Scraper Pick Tool Calculus Plaque Flos Remover | eBay
I'll see your nail clippers and raise you a pair of Knipex flush cutters (like these)
Proper star nut setting tool, one of those why didn't I buy one of these sooner moments the first time I used mine.
Also, quick link pliers, I have some cheap dual function ones that were less than a tenner.
Half a Trailgator to use as a breaker-bar.
(Markus Stitz's mechanic uses the top-tube from my old Cotic Soul for this same purpose).
Old mascara brush (mrs mons not mine) for cleaning or lubing mini stuff like calliper pistons.
Agree with the calpol syringe for forks, they also work well as a grease guns.
Silicone medical or Modelling tube for tubeless top ups with a ‘vets syringe’ or can also be used over cables/zip ties to stop frame rub
I recently upgraded from a chain whip to cassette pliers and do not know why I didn’t do it sooner!
Yep, I find my chain whip slips more often than not.....
Proper star nut setting tool, one of those why didn’t I buy one of these sooner moments the first time I used mine.
I use an old quick release with the lever removed.
Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers.
Just had one of those "why didn't I think of this" moments. Thank you.
And I fully support the OP's enthusiasm for 2228 tape. Brilliant stuff.
My most-recent toolbox addition: A pair of cheap reading glasses, so I can actually see what I'm doing when doing stuff like re-aligning brake calipers or fitting cables at the van.
Syringe from the kids Calpol to measure and inject fork oil for lowers.
Happy to say I've been doing this too, originally with some old rubber tubing to extend the range.
Liking the mascara brush idea.
Liking the mascara brush idea.
I use cotton buds for this, you can definitely see if your cleaning the crap off the caliper and their cheap as chips. I have an R3pro piston tool but it seems an 4 or 3 mm allen key will work pretty well too:
I’ll see your nail clippers and raise you a pair of Knipex flush cutters
Duuuude... Zip tie gun but I really like the nail clipper idea
I've found set of pick set to always come in handy
Picked up mine cheap and use it nearly every day. Bike in stand, chuck it on the bars, front wheel stays in place to make it easy to do routine maintenance. Don't pay full price, or make your own, but it's a cracking tool!
The other is good quality hex keys. I know that hex keys are top of the list, but it's amazing how often I see people working with shitty, half-rounded tools. Get some decent ones!
A good grease gun. I have a 25 year old Pace-branded one of these and it's great for precise application of grease.
I’ve found set of pick set to always come in handy
This. Use my picks all of the time for lots of crazy things. e.g. opening the ends of cut outer cables.
A small bench grinder. I've got a tiny Aldi one and use it for sharpening tools, cleaning ragged edges on parts and even things like cleaning the ends of cut outer cables which makes a HUGE difference to the quality of shifting! If you've only ever chopped the cable with pliers and bunged it on the bike, you'll be astonished in the difference that proper cable finishing makes.
I scored some 60mL syringes from the lab at work, perfect fit in a valve with the core removed. 1 shot for the gravel bike, 2 for the mtb.
The old straw from a fancy camelback bottle is perfect for punching out suspension pivot shafts.
The cushcore tyre lever is also worth the money.
Proper star nut setting tool
I use a long socket with some electrical tape for depth mark. Pop the top cap bolt through the socket, screw the star nut onto it. Tap it in, unscrew bolt, job done.
Proper star nut setting tool, one of those why didn’t I buy one of these sooner moments the first time I used mine.
A long piece of M5 threaded bar, big flat washers and a nut. Instead of pushing the star nut into the steerer tube from the top, use the washers on the bottom of the tube and pull the nut in.
A cut spoke bent in to a long C shape.
Great when joining or splitting chains.
Ball ended torx keys. They seem even more useful than ball ended hex keys.
Quite specific, but I have a short length of 40mm waste pipe with nice smooth square ends, with “Hope Freehub Seal Tool” written on it in marker”
I wish I had seen this before I bought the specific tool that I use once a blue moon. 🙂
@bikerevivesheffield, Thanks for the link, I've ordered a couple.
This park tool valve core remover has been used a lot. (cheaper unbranded ones are available)
But my favourite tool that's saved me the most money is a hope bottom bracket tool for effortless removal of bearings and replacing them. Forgotten how many times I've cleaned the bearings and put them back in.
This here clamp on stub shaft (what I made) to park your handlebars while forks are removed for servicing -
ok @fruitbat, that cockpit garage thing is unbelievably cool.
Unusual items lurking in my tool boxes are:
Bit of old bent spoke to hold a chain with while it gets riveted.
Flat faced sockets for fork caps.
Bottle opener.
Single chop stick for dipping fork levels.
Soft faced hammer(s) for thwacking things
Old 330ml tropicana bottle with another bent spoke gaffa taped to it - hang it on things and collect brake fluid in it.
450nm impact driver for asserting will.
Spare bottle opener.
Do those brake tools work well (the Hayes and lifeline ones mentioned)? Tempted
For a tenner to try one.
Can anyone explain how these work any better than activating the brakes against the rotor in the normal way? Seems like they just effectively make the rotor thicker which would be compensated for by the pistons moving out less... but I see lots of people rate them highly.
R3Pro do a caliper-specific tool for this too, needs the pads out, but it does take piston imbalance out of the equation.
Wife’s unwanted coloured nail varnish, small dab on back of dropper/seat post to mark position relative to frame.
A fork seal insertion tool from Amazon for [url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0863734CQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details ]£12.[/url]
Or one with a pretty Fox logo for [url= https://www.tftuned.com/fox-fork-guided-seal-driver/p3520 ]£44!!![/url]
how I laughed.
tube of superglue, or as it is in my tool box: "liquid cable crimp"
A fork seal insertion tool from Amazon for £12.
£12? Prrrft:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2671245
(And yes, I've used this and it works well. No, it won't stand daily use but if it does a couple of services, that's ok with me - doesn't take long to print another)
Perhaps we need a separate thread for "cool things you can 3d print for your bike"...
after reading about the hope tech reservoir lid screws de-threading i just treated myself to a mini wera torx10 mini screwdriver, stops me over tightening it.
I also bought a topeak nano torqbox thing. Works really nicely for tightening stem bolts and other low torque things. It's pretty small so easy to carry in a pack.
£12? Prrrft:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2671245
/blockquote>Well, that'd be way more expensiver than even a Fox branded one. I mean how much is a 3D printer?
[i]No, it won’t stand daily use[/i]
My £12 one would stand hourly use I reckon. It's a nice thing to just sit and fiddle with too. My middle finger makes a fun farty noise when I push it in the central hole.
I feel like I have a lot of tools that are no good any more. I have a chainring bolt tool, and a little drawer of chainring bolts, but I don't have a single bike in the shed that uses chainring bolts any more, everything is direct mount.
Loads of BB tools and the like that I have no use for also, other than fixing bike for others.
Bits of tin can/ alu drink can to use as shims on old freehubs and seatposts that are a bit loose.
Second the Threadlock for pedal pins.
Superglue for pedal cleats though!
@finephilly Have you got a Planet X London Road of a certain vintage by any chance!?
A small joiners clamp. Perfect for holding bars in a certain way whilst bike is on the work stand, or to stop crank rotating.
Also perfect for holding non disc brakes together on the rim whilst tightening cable etc - just put a thin packer between rim and pad and you're sorted.
I use one like this;
https://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-quick-grip-clamps-12/98247
A packet of Rizlas, just in case.
Oddest bits in my toolbox are a jeweller's loupe, hand wipes and an anodised alloy knitting needle with a rounded point thats perfect for tidying up the internal bore of hoses and outer cable after cutting to make barb and inner cable entry easier, if you had them you would definitely use them.
One of the best cheapo little things I've got is a set of these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolson-Pick-Hook-Set-Pieces/dp/B001MJ0JOA
Got em from TK Maxx or Lidl or something. So useful.
The double jointed pivoting allen keys are something I just couldn't live without now too. Especially for bottle cages and brake callipers. Every other hex key just seems so awkward.
[silicone spray] Lube beads for tubeless installation
I don’t know what happens if the tyre slides around the rim under hard braking but I imagine it’s surprising, unpleasant and probably painful.
I ordered some more picks thanks to this thread, thanks!
I have an engineers scribe, it's bloody ace and gets used for all sorts
Tell me more about the double jointed allen keys?