my new bike tool design - like nothing you have seen before!

adshelton

Hi BikeRadar community, I am new to the forum but am a biker in Atlanta, GA. I wanted to share a new design for a bike tool that I think is right up the alley of the road-bike community. A disclaimer, I have posted this up for presale on a major crowdfunding website, but I won't post the link unless everyone asks so I don't spam you guys.

I am interested in feedback from the Road-bike community, I got some really great feedback on MTRB from the mountain bike guys, so I am anxious to hear what you all think!

Now onto the fun stuff! The concept of the bike tool is that is contains everything you need for your commute or ride, 22 bike tools in all plus glueless tube patches. And, the best part, it is completely integrated into your phone case, so you just grab your phone and away you go. I think this will be especially interesting for road-bikers, as you guys often carry what you need in your jersey pockets. This way you can have your phone and multitool in one pocket!

The included tools are:

• Two tire irons
• Pedal/Axle wrench (15mm)
• Flathead screwdriver
• Phillips screwdriver
• 6 Allen wrenches (1/16, 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm)
• 4 Box wrenches (5.5mm, 7mm, 8mm, 10mm)
• two spoke wrenches (.127 and .130)
• Three glueless tire patches
• Roughener for tire patch application
• Bottle opener (for the end of the ride!)

Here are some photos of the product, it weights 80g total, and packs a lot of tools into a super slim space that is really convenient to carry. Ultimately I would like to add a handlebar mount accessory if my crowdfunding campaign is successful so you got your nav and tools all in one! Anxious to hear the community's feedback, thoughts and questions!

A few answers to common questions that I got on the MTBR forum:
1) The tools are 1.5mm hardened 440C stainless. You won't be able to bend or break them by hand - I did a lot of work on optimizing the hardening process!
2) The case is 6mm thick and has a removable tray.
3) I actually do have other options for tools in the tray, I have an URBAN option with scissors, USB drive, mirror, pen/stylus etc. and a blank tray so you can put anything you want into it. All are interchangeable.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Buckie2k5

will the case fit various phones or do i need a new one everytime i upgrade?

dennisn

Looks like you put some thought into it. A nice piece of work. If I ran clinchers I would be interested. FWIW I like to
carry a small chain tool. Am sort of questioning the need for a pedal wrench as it seems that most of them use allen keys these days. All in all though - very nice.

Phil_D

What does it do that a multitool doesn't do?

Can it be taken with you when you decide not to take your phone with you?

Can it be used if you have a phone other than the sort of phone in the picture?

How much leverage do you get on those allen wrenches? It doesn't look much.

ddraver

As a piece of design I think it looks fantastic. However, to be honest I can't see the tools being good enough to be used in an emergency. If i was going for any sort of long ride I'd want a more substantial multi tool. On the other hand, as a puncture repair kit alone ot would be good.

that 15mm pedal spanner is never going to be long enough to put on or release enough torque to use anyway...

bsharp77

Not for me im afraid. I don't see the problem you are trying to solve.
Why would I need tools attached to my phone?

1. Most road users keep all such tools in a saddle bag which never comes off the bike, so theres no worrying about forgetting to bring stuff with you.
2. You will need different models to suit every phone type - greatly increasing your production spend and will be left with bad stock when a phone model is discontinued.
3. Due to the design you are having to compromise the efficiency of the tools, just so they fit into a slim case.

A simple multi tool performs all these tasks and more at a very cheap cost and is not a chore to carry either in a pocket or in a small saddle bag as mentioned - we need to carry tubes etc anyway.

Sorry for the negativity, but its just my honest 2 cents.

ai_1

Nice idea but the fact that the tools need to be so slim will surely be a major compromise and also make them very uncomfortable to use?
In particular I can't imagine you could apply enough torque to the pedal and axle wrench for it to be usable.
However the allen wrenches and philips screwdriver will also be very limited by only engaging with a small proportion of the socket/head and surely will not be able to apply typical torques without risking damage?

darkhairedlord

Bottle opener looks useful but rest is pretty average fare for a student industrial design project.
Why would you carry a pedal spanner? more likely to need a chain splitter.
Box wrenches look like they'll just open up when (if) a useful torque is applied.
Allen keys don't actually appear to be there.
where's the glue for the patches?
Might be useful if you can loop all the parts on a cord to flail the windscreens of inattentive drivers.

Monty Dog

Pedal spanner is useless - you'd never exert enough torque to remove a tight pedal. Box wrenches - I only need these for the brakes on my 1980s retro-bike. 3/4/5/6mm Allen keys, chain tool, cross-head driver and spoke wrench is all I ever need for 99% of on-the-road problems.

adshelton

Wow, some great responses, thanks everyone!

The pedal wrench on my Topeak Alien multitool is about 57mm long, and is barely enough to tighten a loose pedal. My pedal wrench is nearly 120mm long, and I have been able to both remove and tighten pedals with it. Now if you tightened your pedal with a big old Park pedal wrench, then there is no way you'll be able to remove it with any other shorter pedal wrench! But to tighten loose pedals, it actually does a great job, and will get you home for sure!

The depth of the Allen was definitely a compromise with space and the ability to fit 6 wrenches on one tool. Working with the apex of the screw actually functions quite well, and on everything 4mm and larger is no problem. The tolerances on the 2.5mm and 3mm wrench are tougher, so these struggle a little bit with stripped screws, but on good screws you can still apply good torque to tighten a loose screw or remove moderately tight screws.

Surprisingly I can access every single Allen screw on my Mongoose Teocali Comp with the Allen Wrench EXCEPT the screw that holds the brake pads in-place as it is too deep and the derailer-side Axle (The Allen wrench can be inserted here but not turned due to clearance). The length of the tool does limits your ability to apply torque, no question there. But for tightening a screw that is loose, the tool will have no problem - it can handle right around 55in-lbs before bending, which is more than you can apply by hand.

The phone model issue is of course something that is a compromise to having the convenience of one unit - the concept is with a new phone model (e.g. the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S), you would only need a new PC base-case, not new tools. The new tools would be transferable to the new phone case - I can re-jigger the layout to make them fit. But yes, you would need a different base case part (a few dollars) for you're new phone.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming!

Phil_D

Why does it have to attach to a phone anyway? What is the need?

Surely if you just made a box with a lid the same size as the one but without the phone attachment, together with a phone it would take the same amount of or marginally more space up as your design. No? That would then be a one size fits all solution as you wouldn't need more than one size to fit loads of phones. But if you did that, you wouldn't need to make it because we already have the multitool.

gethinceri

If you need a specific tool to open a bottle when you've got those levers available then you've never been thirsty enough.

bernithebiker

I think it's a very neat piece of design, and I would rather have it tucked into my phone, as I don't like or use saddlebags.

The tools look perfectly adequate for roadside repairs / adjustments.

bsharp77

Good design? I consider good design something which has been designed to perform its required job(s) as well as, and as elegantly as possible.
This is totally the opposite - sacrificing its primary objective in order to fit into a case, which for no good reason, must be attached to a phone.
There are now a lot of responses with similar feeling - what is the need?? There is no problem being solved here - in fact id say more of a problem being created if this is what you were left with on the roadside compared to a standard, easy to carry multi tool.
But after all that, best of luck - I just hope to really take on board the feedback being left by regular cyclists, as after all, they will be your target market.

nicklouse

Can't see how it helps anything. As an MTBer it all goes in the Camelback (others are available).

It looks good but metal tyre levers!

And it does not even keep your iPhone dry.

Wirral_paul

Not for me either i'm afraid - my iPhone is too expensive to replace to not keep it in its own protective case that would give me a decent chance of it surviving a crash. I'd be more inclined if you found a way to protect the edges of the phone and flip front for the screen.

DiscoBoy

I wouldn't put a metal tyre lever anywhere near my rims.

As said, a pedal spanner is of no use. I can fit and remove my pedals with only a hex key anyway...

The lack of chain tool is a big turn off too.