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Any recommendations please ?
The silca one looks lovely, comes with a torque control but is £99
There are two topeak ones, with and without torque at a much more sensible price.
I use the wera one daily
Again, Wera.
They have a nice little set with ratchet plus bits.
Ha. This thread is 2 days too late for me. I had to make a trail side repair this week, and although I managed with my Crank Brothers M19 multi tool, I realised it would be been much easier with a ratchet tool.
I bought the Topeak Mini Ratchet tool - the one with the chain tool. I haven’t used it in anger yet, but it’s so lovely I can’t stop fiddling with it.
I've got the mini Topeak one too and it is a lovely thing to use.
I have the Silca one, it really is a lovely piece of engineering, too nice really ! So I also have a couple of the Topeak ones with torque option, which are permanently in seat packs on the gravel bikes.
The Silca one has had a few redesigns and mine only lasted 6 months before it broke (locked solid). Was replaced by a new design under warranty. My mates one did the same.
Had a Toepeak Mini Ratchet for many years and it’s been great. Also have the additional chain tool which fits in same pouch but never needed to use it. Only need it for emergency trail use, so wouldn’t bother with a torque feature. Never going to stay accurate being battered about in a tool kit ever ride.
I’ve got the one with the torque feature, I wouldn’t bother wjth it next time.
My only (minor) gripe is that the elastic holding the bits in has perished so that they fall out. If there was another way of holding them then that would be great.
For occasional use I bought some cheapy thing off Amazon and it works surprisingly well. The main use was putting in roof rack bolts on those horrible bolt down into the roof fittings on our old SMax where regular hex keys didn't fit round the ends of the roof bars etc. It gets used for loads of little jobs at home in the shed and house and sometimes in the boat park as well.
If you want one for your toolbox for the odd awkward job it's decent enough. If you want one for your pack I'd suggest it's probably going to suffer with corrosion and trail grit.
Mine was £3 from TragoMills. And is 90% alu, so light for carrying. Anodised bright red for dropping in the undergrowth. Use it with a mixed set of bits in a tiny Wera bit check, which also has the extender you need to get to awkward bolts.
I have the granite version of the topeak one. Never felt I needed the torque feature. I have a good feeling for what is about right for trailside issues.
I have mini ratchets from Wera, Topeak and Granite. They have all worked fine but if this is for carrying on a bike I think it is worth getting a version that will take a bit in the end of the handle, this lets you use it more like a screwdriver and can be a real bonus if access is tight. Silca...I would expect them to have sourced good quality tools but they are marking them up significantly
Wera do a bicycle specific one, but you might want to check it comes with the bits you need. They also do a number of bike specific ratchet screwdrivers with the bits in the handles.
Prestacycle do a whole load of little ratchet tools to suit whatever your need is. I have this one and it gets more use than my normal hex keys now: https://prestacycle.co.uk/products/prestacycle-pro-t-handle-kit-with-12-s2-and-2-round-holder
Their wee torque wrench is very good as well.
I've got this one - don't usually take it out on the bike though - https://www.ukplanettools.co.uk/bahco-rachet-socket-bit-set-26pc-bah2058s26.html
Wera bike specific one here. Gets used daily.
one benefit of it being very expensive is I’m never tempted to put a bit down to tidy up later, so several years on the kit is complete which is very unlike me
I have this set which has been super useful for both on and off bike.
I had one of these which I used almost daily for years but forgot and put it in my hand luggage going to the Alps in the summer so had to bin it. Bought another to replace it whilst I was handing it over to the security guys to get rid of...
Obviously not bike specific but the only time I've ever really wanted a ratchet tool for bike stuff vs a normal multi tool is for (un)doing rotor bolts on a whole wheelset (so pre/post travelling etc) when you've got 12 bolts to undo/do back up. Anything else is fine with a multi tool...
I'm a sucker for these, they're always on my Xmas list
I really like the feedback one - Guy Kesteven reviewed it here
Have thisalso, I think it's a really good one in terms of value, all the bits plus a usable torque wrench, it's the one I take with me on trips for refitting bars after unpacking the bike, etc.
Have a Makita set that's super useful around the house and on customer jobs (as it's got a full set of screwdriver, hex and Torx). One of these
there are times when it gets used for bits on the bike but I'd not carry one (or something similar) as as trail tool - too many small bits to lose on the ground for me.
Here’s an incredibly detailed breakdown of ratchet tools from the Legendary Dave Rome:
https://escapecollective.com/threaded-25-a-guide-to-ratchets-and-bit-ratchets/?gift-token=EV17HiR0
(it’s a gift link so the paywall will kick in if loads of you read it)
I have the Silca, Wera and Topeak versions. The Topeak one I bought first and stays in a saddle bag for road side stuff (I think I've only used it once in several years), the Wera one is in my garage for general fettling where I don't care about torque and the Silca one I bought mainly to take on a cycling holiday and for garage fettling after where I do care about torque). I like the look of the Prestacycles torque one to but went with the Silca one as it was a last minute decision and I was more confident it would be delivered in time.
I have this in my toolbox that I take in the car when I go for a ride (never needed to use it!):
https://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-fatmax-1-4-drive-socket-bits-set-39-pcs/2806k
I keep this in the garage and use it on my bike (and everything else around the house) all the time, it's such a useful kit:
I have one of the Topeak mini ratchets and love it, for things like saddle clamps it’s perfect but I don’t use it. Why you might ask? Because the pouch that holds the bits is next to useless so every time you open it you play the ‘how many bits can I chase round the floor’ game. I just take my oneup multitool in my stem now and have a wera set which goes on holiday with me for assembling the bike.
I have one of the Topeak mini ratchets. I'm a big fan of mine, the tool works well and the bits stay put and don't fall out. I have the one with the chain tool too and can verify that it worked well the other week when my riding buddy's chain snapped and needed repairing.
I believe the Granite tool version is the same and there's a few other versions that are that same but rebranded, so shop around a bit and you might find it a bit cheaper.