What tools to start with? (and good VFM suggestions please!)

garnett

I'm looking to put together a decent basic workshop of tools and was wondering what people would recommend for good value for money suggestions. These won't be getting as much use as in a proffessional workshop, but I don't like my stuff borking after a couple of years.

I've bought a cheap stand from Lidl, which has got dodgy reviews but which seems fairly solid and fine for my purposes.

I was going to get some new hex keys as I only have shite ones or my parktool multitool set which are a bit of a faff. I've read that Halfords Professional is a good set.

On WIggle they have a few "starter" tool kits, and I might buy one of thesefor £90.

Lastly, I was thinking of getting a torque wrench because I'm paranoid about over tightening - in fact I am certain I've already overtightened my headset and stem.

Does this sounds like a reasonable starting point?

winterdancer

+1 for the half decent hex keys and a torque wrench - but you'll probably need two torque wrenches for the different range of torques you'll be wanting to measure (e.g. stem vs BB).

I've made up my own tool kit over the years as I've got more confident with working on my bikes, and the one that you showed from Wiggle has stuff in it that I don't use (so I'm advising you to have a look at it and check if all the bits are compatible with your bikes or the ones you might be working on). Thinking about what I do most often, I'd be looking at the following (in no particular order)

A BB tool specific to your bike is a good idea - and I think one that is a full circle rather than a 'C' shape is a better option as there's less chance of it slipping (but that's just my opinion).
Cassette removers that were compatible with e.g. Shimano or Campag, depending on what you need, and a chain whip to use with them. If they're not already with handles, then you need a socket or wrench of some sort to lever them.
Good cable and housing cutters are a godsend.
Pliers (needlenose and 'regular - snubnose?').
Another more expensive set of tools that I bought for my bf but use regularly enough are a headset remover and press - makes changing a headset such an easy job - they'll set you back about £60 on wiggle.
Rubber mallet to bash things with.
Good tyre levers, but you probably have them already
Screwdrivers (slot and philips as in toolkit)
Stanley knife or craft blade
Grease (in grease gun or a syringe possibly)
Socket set or adjustable wrench(es)
Spirit level
Measuring tape
Insulating (electrician's) tape
Cable ties of various sizes
Loctite
Torx keys (if you've a mtb with discs for example)
Spoke wrench (with different sizes)
Lots and lots of rags
Patience

Oh, and a good up to date bike mechanic book e.g. Zinn and the art of Road/Mountain bike maintenance, or one I picked up recently from Bicycling. I know there's lots online but I find it easier to use greasy fingers on my books than on my laptop :-)

Hope this is of some help to you

winterdancer

:oops:, realised that you'd asked for value for money suggestions rather than what tools to get. I'll leave the above and say that I've a fair bit of lifeline tools and they've been doing me fine! Got hex keys, screwdrivers etc (the 'normal' toolkit stuff) in Lidl or Aldi over the years too and it's done me well.

garnett

Thanks a lot Winterdancer! Some useful info there. I have Zinn and another book collecting dust somewhere ( :roll: ) but got them out recently. Definitely agree about using books rather than the lappy when covered in grease.

The kit does seem to be set up for my bike (2005 Trek 1400, with 9 speed shimano 105 running gear) so I should be OK there. WHat you've mentioned that doesn't figure in the kit I either have already (pliers, stanley knife, mallet, spirit level etc), I'm considering but might hold off because I'm not sure how much I'll use them (socket set) or I'm not familiar with (Cassette removers, headset remover and press, patience).

brettjmcc

Garnett wrote:

On WIggle they have a few "starter" tool kits, and I might buy one of thesefor £90.

Similar tool kit done by Bike Hand here on FleaBay, but £22 cheaper: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-Hand-Bik ... 3f09b247d6

garnett

Thanks Brett, I like the look of the kit on Wiggle because it has a few independent reviews saying the tools are reasonably good quality.

So, the wiggle kit, some decent hex wrenches and a £50 torque wrench - Anyone advise differently/

brettjmcc

Go try Screwfix, they do a Laser 5-25Nm torque wrench for 34.99, they also do a bigger one for your BB etc for 18.99.

Toolstation also do a nice set of ball end hex keys for about a fiver.

Garnett - Merlin sell Bike Hand, so I doubt it will be that bad... actually when you look at the kits they just seem to have different colour handles and branding.

Just my $0.02

chicken_leg

Personally I'd go for only the tools you need for the particular job your planning. And get the best you can afford at the time. IME good tools work better, and are more likely to get used again in the future (and will last years if you give them a rub with an oily rag from time to time)
G

Curious Yellow

Was thinking about this when I started doing my own servicing a while ago. It comes down to your budget really.

I splashed out on a Park Tools PCS 10 stand. The way I figure, I can always sell it on and recover some of my costs. Plus the peace of mind is worth it.

The most regular maintenance I do roughly in order of frequency is:

- Front/rear gear adjustment.
Tools: Philips screwdriver, long nose pliers, Park Tools Allen Key multitool

- Front/rear brake bleeds on the MTB. This shouldn't need to be done often once I've fixed the brakes.
Tools: Quad bleed kit, Park Tools Allen key multitool, Park Tools Torx T10 tool, adjustable spanner.

- Cassette cleaning.
Tools: Chain whip, lockring tool, chain breaker. All from Ice Tools. Borrowed these off a mate who now wants them back. I'll try to replace them with Park Tools if possible.

These get me by fine for all my work. I'll try and get decent kit when I need to do more work. The way I see it, buying decent tools is an investment. You're more likely to look after them. And if you look after them, they will look after you (figuratively speaking).

Curious Yellow

Was thinking about this when I started doing my own servicing a while ago. It comes down to your budget really.

I splashed out on a Park Tools PCS 10 stand. The way I figure, I can always sell it on and recover some of my costs. Plus the peace of mind is worth it.

The most regular maintenance I do roughly in order of frequency is:

- Front/rear gear adjustment.
Tools: Philips screwdriver, long nose pliers, Park Tools Allen Key multitool

- Front/rear brake bleeds on the MTB. This shouldn't need to be done often once I've fixed the brakes.
Tools: Quad bleed kit, Park Tools Allen key multitool, Park Tools Torx T10 tool, adjustable spanner.

- Cassette cleaning.
Tools: Chain whip, lockring tool, chain breaker. All from Ice Tools. Borrowed these off a mate who now wants them back. I'll try to replace them with Park Tools if possible.

These get me by fine for all my work. I'll try and get decent kit when I need to do more work. The way I see it, buying decent tools is an investment. You're more likely to look after them. And if you look after them, they will look after you (figuratively speaking).

garnett

Thanks for the input guys. Wise words I agree with, through some lessons learnt from buying cheap.

That said, quite often I've been shafted by the lack of the one tool I needed for a job -a good range of tools does appeal.

Curious Yellow

You're right. However, if you plan your maintenance, then you could get away with accumulating these tools as needed instead of buying all of them at once.

For example, multi tool kit come with a range of cone spanners, screwdrivers and rather rubbish pliers. I'd rather just order decent cone spanners in the sizes I need and get decent pliers and screwdrivers separately than have a range that will never get used.

You can't go wrong either way. Just preference really.

anto164

i personally only have a very small amount of tools, these are what i have (And can do 99pc of all bike maintenance)

1x Park Allen key multitool (I'll never skimp on allen keys, rounding bolts is a pain and will end up costing more in the long term when you end up getting decent allen keys.)
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=3886

1x chain whip
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=4598

1x cassette tool
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=60748

1x 3-15nm torque wrench (Can be got for much cheaper)
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=37294

1x T25 t-bar style torx driver
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=10216

1x 8mm allen key for cranking round some chainsets before the torque wrench gets used.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=10208

1x mavic spoke key which has spoke key and the bearing preloaer built in!
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=55955

and that's it. Oh, and the normal mallet, decent set of snips from B&Q and a small hacksaw. Next thing i'm getting is a BB tool, but i'll get that when i need it.

You don't need to buy a kit, just get what you need when you need it.

silverpigeon

Chicken Leg wrote:

Personally I'd go for only the tools you need for the particular job your planning. And get the best you can afford at the time. IME good tools work better, and are more likely to get used again in the future (and will last years if you give them a rub with an oily rag from time to time)
G

Agreed. I started with a Park tool crank puller and a folding set of allen keys. That was 12 years ago

Berk Bonebonce

Park & Cyclus.

The Cyclo range was good, and still is. Only it is now marketed by a bunch of numbskulls where they make trying to buy Cyclo just about as difficult and complicated as possible. But that's a British company for you.