Best Bike Multi tool

whitestar1

So what is the best multi tool to carry around in your toolkit? I currently own a Decathlon multi tool 8 way set. Not sure its the best as it doesn't have a chain tool. So what do you have?

walkingbootweather

I've got an ancient Cool Tool which does include a chain tool, adjustable spanner, 2 allen keys and 2 drivers. Haven't seen them for sale for a while and don't know if they are still even being made. I also carry tyre levers, a small flat screwdriver and a small spanner.

apreading

Topeak Hexus or Alien seem to get the most rave reviews and positive comments on here.

I have a hexus - ogt it real cheap and am more than happy with it but then again it aint rocket science - I am sure most of them are OK. Some have a chain breaker which could be an advantage. Hexus also has tyre levers which are useful if you get stuck in a bind but not the best.

PBo

apreading wrote:

Topeak Hexus or Alien seem to get the most rave reviews and positive comments on here.

I have a hexus - ogt it real cheap and am more than happy with it but then again it aint rocket science - I am sure most of them are OK. Some have a chain breaker which could be an advantage. Hexus also has tyre levers which are useful if you get stuck in a bind but not the best.

my alien II is ace.

even if you never need to use it you can spend hours admiring the design........

wicked2627

Another fan of the Topeak Alien!

Berk Bonebonce

I've never needed to carry more than three hex wrenches and two tyre levers.

whitestar1

PBo wrote:

apreading wrote:

Topeak Hexus or Alien seem to get the most rave reviews and positive comments on here.

I have a hexus - ogt it real cheap and am more than happy with it but then again it aint rocket science - I am sure most of them are OK. Some have a chain breaker which could be an advantage. Hexus also has tyre levers which are useful if you get stuck in a bind but not the best.

my alien II is ace.

even if you never need to use it you can spend hours admiring the design........

Had a look up of the Alien II - it is a cool bit of kit!
Topeak:
Multi tool to tackle any job on the trail or the road. The Topeak Alien 2 Tool is a 26 piece tool featuring 2 to 8mm allen keys. 8 9 10mm box wrenches. pedal spanner. Phillips and flat head screwdriver. Chain tool. spoke keys 14 and 15g. 2 tyre levers. stainless knife. bottle opener - Torx wrench for disc brakes. 10mm allen key for Shimano LX crank bolt. A compartment for 2 chain pins. Clip bag also included.

Evans Cycles has it for £32.99 there is even an upgrade - the III and some other spin offs starting at £54. I was actually planning to get the Mini 20 Pro for £24 but the Topeak Alien II 26 Function Multi Tool is going for £31 on Wiggle. Thanks for making me look further. My budget was set at £22 but I can push that to get the Alien II.

shouldbeinbed

Wicked2627 wrote:

Another fan of the Topeak Alien!

And another

godders1

Soma woodie.



No complaints at all and a decent price.

Blue Meanie

Today I'm carrying my Jethro Tool, spare tube and a Road Morph.

Rule74Please

Why carry one?

Never needed on on the road in 20 years

beverick

Rule74Please wrote:

Why carry one?

Never needed on on the road in 20 years

Now that's an Interesting comment. I have the view that, of the things that could go seriously wrong on a bike there are only very few I could actually fix at the side of the road.

I'm currently looking to rationalise my current toolset in favour of a multi-tool and I have two different thoughts:

1) On top of 'mandatory' items such as puncture kit (inc levers), pump, chain tool, 'quick' link and spare tube, work out the minimum number of tools necessary to adjust virtually every component on the bike. This leaves me with a list of four allen keys, one spanner, a slotted screw driver, spoke key, cable cutter, chain whip, cassette key, crank puller and BB spanner (the last four items I'm not likley to carry).

2) Work out what's broken in the last 12 years and what tools would have fixed the item. So that's punctures x many (puncture kit/pump/spare tube), snapped handlebar and snapped frame (welding kit), snapped spokes (no fix), snapped chain (lost link/chain tool), snapped brake cable (spare cable/cable cutter/screw driver/allen key), loose brake shoe (same allen key as before), loose cleats (different allen key), bent snapped deraileur swing arm (no fix) and a lost pedal ( :oops:).

On the back of the above, I'm just going to carry a few less tools rather than buy a multi tool.

Bob

Blue Meanie

He He, see my thread in Commute Chat (Pride comes before a...)
In trying to remove my tyre with fingers only I double checked my bag, just to see if by chance there was a tyre lever, instead I found:
15mm Pedros Pedal Spanner
2x Brand New Gear Cables
2x Brand New Brake Cables
2x Old brake levers (with cables attached)
1x 60mm valve tube (for me road bike)
1x Spokey
2x Anti-Fray Ferrules
But no tyre lever...

EKE_38BPM

I'm a big fan of my Alien II but in the MANY years I've owned it I have three negatives:
1: I left it in my saddle bag after getting caught in a downpour and when I eventually opened my saddle bag (days later) some of the tools (Allen keys) had surface corrosion.
2: The locking mechanism that holds the two halves together has failed so the tool will fall into two seperate bits, but that isn't really a problem as it is either in use (and that usually needs the tool to be separated) or not in use and in its carry case.
3: The spanner tool is a separate attachment and could be misplaced (but not so far). There is a clip to hold it in place, but when some of the tools are being used the spanner has to be removed.

Three minor issues after 5+ years of use is a good review in my opinion. None of the tools have failed in any way

If I lost it or it was stolen (I can't see it breaking in normal use) I would not hesitate to buy another.
The only thing missing are pliers.

tofu21

walkingbootweather wrote:

I've got an ancient Cool Tool which does include a chain tool, adjustable spanner, 2 allen keys and 2 drivers. Haven't seen them for sale for a while and don't know if they are still even being made. I also carry tyre levers, a small flat screwdriver and a small spanner.

I used to have one of thoes it was great. If I could get one these days I would!

wgwarburton

Hi,
Depends what you're aiming to cover and how far you are from help. Some folk will call for a lift if they get a puncture, others will pick up whatever's lying about to kludge a get-you-home repair. I've re-joined a chain using a stone and a nail I found in a car park before...

Mostly, I think all you really need most of the time is a tyre lever (one), spare tube and patch kit, pump and and any spanners for removing your wheels. If you're not in a hurry you can ditch the spare tube and spanner and fix the tube on the bike....
I virtually always carry a swiss-army knife anyway (not specifically for cycling) so that covers some bases (screwdrivers, for example) . A small adjustable spanner covers most of the rest, so I often have that.
Thereafter, it's down to what "special" tools you think are worth the weight and hassle- a chain tool is a good example, as is a spoke key. Allens are a likely bet, if your bike uses them. Once you get to things like cone-spanners, chainwhips and crank/cassette removers you're probably going too far!!
My feeling is that simple tools are often more effective than fiddly ones. I like the look of things like the Jethro-Tule and Pedros Trixie more than fancy gadgets with swivelly bits, but if your bike is all hex-bolts, adjusters, hoses & cables I guess they're more useful!

Cheers,
W.

El Gordo

Rule74Please wrote:

Why carry one?

Never needed on on the road in 20 years

Good point - in something like 50,000 miles of commuting I don't think I've ever needed the allen keys or screwdriver I continue to carry around. My tyre levers however are looking pretty well used and the chain tool has had a couple of outings too.

I too like simple tools rather than the huge multitools. A couple of single allen keys probably weighs less anyway.

The Rookie

I carry a Lezyne12, its pretty light, has the main allen key sizes, both scredrivers and a chain tool, additionally I carry a powerlink and 3 plastic (decent quality) tyre levers and a spare tube and 2 scabs.

Simon

mudcow007

i've got a topeak alien MX thing and an older Topeak tool as well.

heavy but more versatile than Swiss army knives

EKE_38BPM

I have a friend who complains that saddle bags (or "tool bags" as he calls them) are too flimsy for the stuff he carries. He generally rides with pretty much every tool needed to fix anything on the bike. He has only recently stopped riding with a BB tool, headset tool and crank remover. His spanners are full-size mechanic jobbies, his pliers are full-size electrician ones etc.

His tool kit weighs a ton and he rattles like a very rattly thing. He really should buy himself a multitool.

whitestar1

EKE_38BPM wrote:

I have a friend who complains that saddle bags (or "tool bags" as he calls them) are too flimsy for the stuff he carries. He generally rides with pretty much every tool needed to fix anything on the bike. He has only recently stopped riding with a BB tool, headset tool and crank remover. His spanners are full-size mechanic jobbies, his pliers are full-size electrician ones etc.

His tool kit weighs a ton and he rattles like a very rattly thing. He really should buy himself a multitool.

So if he really is your friend why not get him a birthday present - an Alien II would be nice

tptvmbircn

I got a topeak alien III for christmas, more than enough stuff on there, got the carbon one too so a bit eye candy i suppose. looks and feels it will last years, quite into the topeak range at the moment good stuff.

Personally the alien II has more than enough on it however!

whitestar1

MBUK did page on bike multi tools for this month (that would be last month issue?) anyhow they only covered 5 and they didn't even have the Alien II or III there. Could have given more coverage I say! This thread as done a better job

EKE_38BPM

whitestar1 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

I have a friend who complains that saddle bags (or "tool bags" as he calls them) are too flimsy for the stuff he carries. He generally rides with pretty much every tool needed to fix anything on the bike. He has only recently stopped riding with a BB tool, headset tool and crank remover. His spanners are full-size mechanic jobbies, his pliers are full-size electrician ones etc.

His tool kit weighs a ton and he rattles like a very rattly thing. He really should buy himself a multitool.

So if he really is your friend why not get him a birthday present - an Alien II would be nice

He ain't that good a friend!

whitestar1

EKE_38BPM wrote:

whitestar1 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

I have a friend who complains that saddle bags (or "tool bags" as he calls them) are too flimsy for the stuff he carries. He generally rides with pretty much every tool needed to fix anything on the bike. He has only recently stopped riding with a BB tool, headset tool and crank remover. His spanners are full-size mechanic jobbies, his pliers are full-size electrician ones etc.

His tool kit weighs a ton and he rattles like a very rattly thing. He really should buy himself a multitool.

So if he really is your friend why not get him a birthday present - an Alien II would be nice

He ain't that good a friend!

ok thats just sad man :roll:

whitestar1

Rule74Please wrote:

Why carry one?

Never needed on on the road in 20 years

You saying that you never had to fix anything on your bike? That is, you do ride a bike?

cloggsy

I've got a Topeak Hexus Tool...

Has got all the bits on it I need!

Blue Meanie

Yeah, i got a Hexus too, with a snapped tyre lever attachment if you wanna buy it? Free postage (edit: not snapped by my hand) Also another Hexus complete and two Aliens.
Story:
Flew home with bike and had Alien in my hand luggage, when approched by customs I admitted that my Alien had a 'blade' on it. They had to unload the plane to retreive my hold luggage so I could put it into that. I was last onto the delayed plane and suffered the 'looks'.
Flew with a CO2 cartridge from Faro to Schipol and Portu Security man x-ray'd my box, clearly showing my CO2 cartridge, in my pidgeon portuguese 'a bomba' (means a pump) didn't go down that well. Thankfully Mrs Meanie, quite the cunning linguistic, explained my error and all was good.
Those anti-bomb x-ray machines show density differentiation, you could see the welds, the axles the like everything. My advice: tell them you're carrying and please x-ray my bike and give you the print out