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I wrote this a while ago for someone who asked what tools they should get.
As much as I would like to say this is a list of tools in the order you should buy them in, it's not. There are too many considerations and differences in rider abuse... er "style" which play a roll in what you will need to buy tools for first. Not to mention, what you have plays a huge roll in what you need too. For example, my Klein bottom bracket tool is super cool, but for $250, you can get a lot more use out of the full set of hex wrenches, sockets, ratchet, screwdrivers and wrenches you could buy for $250 than you will ever get out of a Klein bottom bracket tool if you don't even own a Klein made in Chehalis. For example, it's usually worth the labor to have someone press in a headset rather than buy a headset press to do it yourself once you consider:
1. How much the labor to install a headset is ($20-$40 as a rule)
2. How much a headset press costs ($80-$200)
3. How often you will have to use the headset press to justify it's cost (between four to twenty times)
4. How much space a press will hog up in your toolbox or on your tool board (One of the biggest and most awkward bike tools)
First, seriously think about what you will actually need to use once a day, week, month, and year. Then buy the tools that you will use the most often first. Not to say you should turn down a full Campy tool kit from someone at a garage sale who doesn't know what they have for $20, but those "opportunities" are rare to non-existent. Focus of repeatable value.
Second, have a storage and organization plan first, then buy tools after. Digging about in a box trying to find a tool you need is really annoying, but loosing tools or having them get damaged is even worse. Surplus ammo cans are water tight and have sturdy construction and handles. You can also bolt them down and lock them if you are worried about your tools wandering off. There are even some great customizable lift out organizers for them so you don't have to dump out the whole box to find what you want. I also like to throw a few of those silca bead packets you get in electronics in the tool box to reduce moisture and rust. A sturdy dresser from a thrift store may fit your cost, design, and or space needs better than an ammo can or toolbox. Drawer organizers, sliding trays, and tool storage options can make the most of your space and leave you more space to keep your other things, while looking like part of your bedroom.
Third, it's not a race. Tools haven't changed much over the years. Sure, ratcheting combination wrenches are newer to the common market, but not many people need them compared to a regular combination wrench, the design of which has not changed in more than one-hundred years. With this in mind and being price conscious, there is no need to rush out and buy everything. You can get great deals by shopping smart and watching for sales. Ebay is great for this as many people buy the huge tool sets, then break them up to sell off as smaller sets. These are great ways to get full runs of sizes on sockets, wrenches, and screw drivers to name a few.
Forth, and I can't say this enough, so I'll put it in quotes and use a whole other sentence. "Good tools aren't cheap, and cheap tools aren't good." There are exceptions for the savvy ebay shopper, lucky estate/yard sale find, fortuitous flea market discovery, etc... but tools you find at Ace, Ikea, TruValue are usually not worth owning. I find owning crappy tools more frustrating, expensive, and annoying than not owning any tools. You will want forged tools from a name you recognize like Allen, Craftsman, Husky, Mac, Matco, or Snap-On which have a high chrome finish if possible. Of these, I personally think Craftsman offer the best value, availability, and customer service, but you may have a family member who works at Home Depot, or a tool company. I also feel Harbor Tool and Freight is almost always worth more as bird cage liners than a tool catalog because they sell very few tools with a name you can find anywhere else if you need to replace them. Also worth considering, multi-tools are are intended to get you home, not to be used as a daily tool on your work bench. Multi-tools are frequently designed with compactness and light weight at the expense of ergonomics and durability, which is a trade off you do not want to make. Keep the folding tools in your bag and get the real thing for home. As I said from the start, this is not a list of tools in the order you should buy them in. I have tried to group them into Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Tetsuo, the Iron Man (www.imdb.com) levels of tool commitment. Here we go...
Basic Tools You Should Have
Ball End Hex Wrenches: (10mm, 8mm, 6mm-3mm, 2.5mm, 2mm, 1.5mm) This is usually one of the most common sets sold and has everything you need. If you have imperial bolts, get the set which has three or so more wrenches than this one.
Combination Wrenches: 18mm-7mm (Craftsman sells this set, which is great. It's also made in Imperial sizing.
Screwdrivers: 1/8" and 1/4" flathead, #0 and #2 Phillips
12" Adjustable Wrench: It’s a wrench, which adjusts.
Floor Pump: Don't skimp here. Spend $40 or more and make sure you get one with replaceable parts. Hoses split, gaskets wear out, and some small thing will break. A $30 pump you replace every six months costs more than a $100 pump you use for years.
Spoke Wrench: There are five or six common standards, only about three are common on modern bikes. Get the size you need.
Chain Tool: Just like chains, there are two sizes you will find. 1/8" and 3/32". Get the one your bike uses.
Cassette or Freewheel Tool: There are lots, but get the one you need for your bike first. If you ride a fixed gear bike, get a Lockring tool instead.
Chain Whip: Just like chains, there are two sizes you will find. 1/8" and 3/32". Get the one your bike uses.
Hammer: Ball peen is preferred, but any iron based hammer will do.
3 Piece File Set: Should have a flat mill, half round bastard, and a round file
Utility Knife: Replaceable blades too
Pointy Thing: Awl, sharpened spoke, probe, or whatever. Round, no bigger than 1/16" diameter, metal and pointy on one end.
Linesman Pliers: These are bull nosed pliers with cutters.
Ruler: If you don’t have a ruler, you should really get one with both Imperial and Metric markings.
Bottle Opener: You drink beer, right?
Intermediate Tools
Grease Gun: Shoots grease into stuff. Great for hubs, headsets, and lubing hard to get things. Also keeps the grease inside clean and free of contaminants like dirt, dust, stray metal bits, etc which WILL fall into an open grease tub.
Headset Wrenches: Get what you have. 32mm, 36mm, and 40mm are the most common sizes for 1", 1 1/8", and 1 1/4" headsets. There are a few odd sizes too.
Cone Wrenches: Two each of 13mm, 15mm, and 17mm. Other sizes exist, but not many and not often.
Cow Magnet: Great for removing old bearings from hubs and such.
3/8" Drive Ratchet: No flex head or stubbies. Just a regular ratchet.
3/8" Drive Shallow 6 Point Sockets: (17mm-8mm) NOT 12 point!
3/8" Drive Hex Drive: (10mm, 8mm, 6mm-4mm)
T-handle Hex Wrenches: (6mm-3mm, 2.5mm, 2mm) NOT Ball end!
Cable Cutters: The cutting blades must cross like these. Diagonal cutters are not what you want.
Arc Joint Pliers: 9 1/2", give or take 1/2"
Soft Face Hammer: Like a hammer, but softer on what you are hitting it with. Good for painted things and fizzball.
Pedal Wrench: Long, thin, and full of leverage.
Chain Ring Spanner: Comes with many Shimano crank sets. This will probably be free.
Crank Bolt Tool: This can be as simple as a 14mm socket (see above), 15mm socket, or an 8mm hex wrench, or a special tool.
Crank Arm Extractor: I recommend a regular one instead of an ISIS or Octilink specific one. The adapter to use a regular one on ISIS or Octilink is $4.00, but a whole extractor is closer to $20.00. Spend $24.00 and have the ability to do both.
Bottom Bracket Tool(s): Get the one(s) your bike uses. If you have a sealed bottom bracket, it'll be one tool. If it's a cup and ball bottom bracket, you will need three: lockring tool, bottom bracket spanner (specific to bottom bracket model), and a fixed cup wrench.
Needle Nose Pliers: For small hard to reach things.
Forth Hand Tool: This one pulls the slack out of a cable. Not used for derailleurs, but helpful on brakes.
Metric Veneer Calipers: Used to accurately measure nearly anything 6 inches or smaller. Make sure it has depth measuring capabilities. Then commit 22.2mm-7/8", 25.4mm-1", 28.6mm-1 1/8", and 31.8mm-1 1/4" to memory.
Bench or Work Area: Having a dedicated work area is one of the best tools you can have. You should be making a bench or buying one.
Extras: Having a few tools for your friends bikes is a good idea by now as a rule. Maybe a spoke wrench for some other size, or a freewheel tool for something you don't own. You get the idea. By this point, you are investing in tools which are going to benefit more than just yourself. Some common ones that are not more than $20.00 will likely get you a free six pack from a friend about once a month or so, which pays for the tool in about a month.
Advanced Tools
Repair Stand: By now, working on a bike is something you do often enough that a stand is pretty much required. You don't need a Park PRS-2 OS to change a flat. Many folding stands like the Pedros and Ultimate repair stands are less than half the cost, a quarter of the weight, portable, and can be put away to save better than six square feet of floor space in your home.
Truing Stand: One make of metal, with two uprights, and lots of adjustably. The Park TS-2 has been the standard for years.
Nipple Driver: Makes building wheels loads easier.
Ball End Hex Drivers: Like screwdrivers for hex bolts, but ball ended for those hard to reach areas. Not used to torque the bolt ever.
Housing Cutters: The cutting blades must cross like these. While functionally the same, you do not want to use the same cutters for housing as you do for cables. Housing wears cutters out much faster.
Hack Saw: 12" size and a few extra blades.
Fork Cutting Guide: For trimming forks. Kind of obvious, but still a good tool to have.
Taps: 5M x .8, 6M x 1, and maybe another size you personally own or see a use to own (like a 10M x1 for derailleur hangers or 4M x 7 for horizontal dropout screws).
Tap Handle: To fit above taps.
Chain Ring Aligner: Used to bent chain rings so they are true, but very useful for reshaping all manor of thin metal bits, like front derailleurs, rack struts, and your temper.
Headset Cup Remover: I'd get the Park one because it does both 1" and 1 1/8". If you only work on one size, you can think about something else, but seriously, you won't remove than many headsets.
Headset Press: Get one with adapters for 1", 1 1/8", and 1 1/4". You may only ever use 1", but the odd MTB friend with a old Fisher or Cannondale will thank you, and there is no price difference.
Star Nut Press: More hammering than pressing, but it's what installs the star nut.
Crown Race Installer: Can be a slid hammer style or the newer press on type, but you'll need something. They are sized, so consider what you are going to be installing.
Dropout Alignment Tools: Makes the dropouts parallel to each other which makes QRs clamp better and hubs last longer with easier wheel installation and removal.
Rear Hanger Alignment Tool: Makes shifting work when all else fails.
Bench Vice: 5 inch. Nothing smaller, maybe a little bigger if you have other hobbies or job which use something bigger.
Axle Vice: This lets you clamp an axle in a vice without crushing it. Good to have, but not needed very often.
Extras: Wrap up the odd sizes you don't have for taps (apart from bottom bracket taps mentioned below), spoke wrenches, headset wrenches, and bottom bracket tools.
OK, now it really serious. By now you have a professional bike shop and you can fix most anything. The only thing separating you from a business is a tax license and insurance. Many successful bike shops don't have some of these tools, so anything past this point is a fetish, or a business venture.
Tetsuo, the Iron Man Tools
Headtube Mill: Mills the headtube so the headset cups press in smoothly and seat evenly. There are four sizes, only three are common, and of those three, only two that you will see with any regularity. You want 1" and 1 1/8", 1 1/4" if you know someone who owes you their soul with a Bike Friday, Cannondale, Fisher, or tandem, and 1.5" for the crazy downhill person you know who owes you their should and first born.
Bottom Bracket Taps: English, then Italian, then anything else you need, which there isn't any of anymore. Seriously, unless you are planning on reviving French and Swiss threading just some the whole bike world can laugh at you until they pee themselves, English and maybe Italian only.
Bottom Bracket Mill: Mills the bottom bracket shell to make sure the ends are parallel to each other. Pretty much only useful if you deal with expensive cup and ball bottom brackets, which you shouldn't be.
Fork Crown Mill: Mills the fork crown to the correct size for the crown race.
Fork Threaders: Threaded forks are getting harder to find, so not much needed here. There are four common sizes: 1" English, 1" Italian, 1 1/8" English, and 1 1/4" English. Anything else is to rare and weird to care about.
Wheel Dishing Tool: If you're building wheels, this it the thing that makes sure it's centered. If used right, is accurate to -/+.005" or better. Hope your truing skills can match it.
Expandable Reamer: Makes odd seattubes round and accepting of equally round seatposts.
Fork Alignment Guide: Good for realigning some forks after a bend.
Phil Wood Spoke Machine: Pretty much the Holy Grail if you build wheels and a total mystery if you don't.
Frame Jig: Pretty much the Holy Grail if you build frames and a huge heavy piece of junk if you don't.
TIG Welder/Brazing Torch/Cutting Torch: By now, you don't need me to explain why you have this.
Originally posted 47 months ago.
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Seditious Canary edited this topic 47 months ago.
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