Talk to me about multitools – what do you carry?

[froze]

I understand the logic of it all. I just choose a different way.

This is just the wera multi bits (from "Wera bicycle set 15") and the lightest ratchet I could find which I took from ("VIM Tools 3 Piece 1/4 Inch Drive Nano Ratchet Kit"). I

Interesting rachet, that particular one you have is the model NR400k, in case anyone is wondering. It's only 2 inches long. There is another VIM model NFR6 and NFR4 both are 3 1/2 inches long, but one is a 3/8th and the other is a 1/4th drive. I'm sure you must have seen that longer one, is there a reason you chose the shorter one?

Also, you must have seen the Wera Bicycle Set 5, 7 piece ratcheting stubby thing, the bits all fit inside the handle, was there a reason you didn't like that one?

I've known for years about the Wera brand, they make great tools, what I didn't know was that they got into cycling tools.

[alanyu]

I understand the logic of it all. I just choose a different way.

This is just the wera multi bits (from "Wera bicycle set 15") and the lightest ratchet I could find which I took from ("VIM Tools 3 Piece 1/4 Inch Drive Nano Ratchet Kit"). I

Interesting rachet, that particular one you have is the model NR400k, in case anyone is wondering. It's only 2 inches long. There is another VIM model NFR6 and NFR4 both are 3 1/2 inches long, but one is a 3/8th and the other is a 1/4th drive. I'm sure you must have seen that longer one, is there a reason you chose the shorter one?

Also, you must have seen the Wera Bicycle Set 5, 7 piece ratcheting stubby thing, the bits all fit inside the handle, was there a reason you didn't like that one?

I've known for years about the Wera brand, they make great tools, what I didn't know was that they got into cycling tools.

Wera set 5 is heavy as hell compared to OtterSpace's choice, and I don't see any leverage for over 3 Nm

[froze]

I understand the logic of it all. I just choose a different way.

This is just the wera multi bits (from "Wera bicycle set 15") and the lightest ratchet I could find which I took from ("VIM Tools 3 Piece 1/4 Inch Drive Nano Ratchet Kit"). I

Interesting rachet, that particular one you have is the model NR400k, in case anyone is wondering. It's only 2 inches long. There is another VIM model NFR6 and NFR4 both are 3 1/2 inches long, but one is a 3/8th and the other is a 1/4th drive. I'm sure you must have seen that longer one, is there a reason you chose the shorter one?

Also, you must have seen the Wera Bicycle Set 5, 7 piece ratcheting stubby thing, the bits all fit inside the handle, was there a reason you didn't like that one?

I've known for years about the Wera brand, they make great tools, what I didn't know was that they got into cycling tools.

Wera set 5 is heavy as hell compared to OtterSpace's choice, and I don't see any leverage for over 3 Nm

Good info, thanks

[OtterSpace]

Interesting rachet, that particular one you have is the model NR400k, in case anyone is wondering. It's only 2 inches long. There is another VIM model NFR6 and NFR4 both are 3 1/2 inches long, but one is a 3/8th and the other is a 1/4th drive. I'm sure you must have seen that longer one, is there a reason you chose the shorter one?

Vim dont make any of these and just rebrand parts out of Taiwan as far as I can tell. I'll keep my links to them for simplicity but if others are searching around they should shop around a bit.
NFR6: This is a 3/8" square drive. The maiting sockets will be heavy. Not what you want for a field tool.
NFR4: This is a 1/4" square drive. The maiting sockets will be heavy. Not what you want for a field tool.

It's confusing that there are 1/4" bits and 1/4" sockets but for field use if you care about weigth you need the ratchet to be 1/4" bit and not 1/4" socket. This image might help people see the difference:

At home I use 1/4" sockets more than 1/4" bits though and I use 3/8" sockets for higher torque stuff (8mm, 10mm, cassette removal, etc) all with correspondingly longer arms as the tool size gets larger.

Something like the HBR3 is interesting but a bit heavier and doesnt have a "screwdriver mode" for easier lower torque use.

Also, you must have seen the Wera Bicycle Set 5, 7 piece ratcheting stubby thing, the bits all fit inside the handle, was there a reason you didn't like that one?

Wera set 5 is heavy as hell compared to OtterSpace's choice, and I don't see any leverage for over 3 Nm

Agreed to both points and succinctly said.

[EugeneC]

Not carrying anything is great until it isn't. The boy scout thinking drilled into me as a child has given me the tools I need to get out of most situations on my own. Mechanical failures are rare but the rewards of being prepared for them are plentiful. It isn't just about not needing to call for a rescue, it is about being able to finish the ride and feel the satisfaction of self-reliance. It usually takes less time to sort out a problem than it does to wait for a rescue to arrive.

My multitool takes up the same space as a tube. We aren't talking about lugging around a toolbox. I'm unsure why anyone would forego something so small when it can save a ride.

+1

[JMeinholdt]

On my Gravel bike, I typically carry this tool from Amazon as it has a chainbreaker (of note, this has been the only chainbreaker I've owned and used since 2018 and it's worked flawlessy on every chain) https://amzn.to/4fD0siq

On my road bike, I use a cheap small discontinued Bontrager that I got when I first started cycling as it has fewer tools and thus is lighter weight/smaller. This is basically the same exact thing: https://amzn.to/3UZmvHN

I don't feel the need to carry every possible tool for every scenario as help is never more than a phone call away these days.

[OtterSpace]

Some other details to be aware of for anyone considering the multi-sided Wera 1/4" bits.

1/4" is 6.35mm so anything 6mm and lower can be machined down from this size. Sure you can get larger things but I wouldn't use them in practice. Additionally there is a 4mm bit standard so I wouldn't use anything bigger than 4mm in that standard which for me discludes it from use for bike work where I need a 5mm or 6mm for through axles. For reference the essential8 went with nonstandard 5mm bits.

There are other multi sided bits but to me the Wera option seems both the highest quality and the highest ulility given each bit supports 4 sizes. However there are some other multi-sided 1/4" bit options to be aware of in case you want to add some other bit sizes. Given they are multi-sided they need to be able to poke through the other side of the ratchet but some are shorter and might fit in the magnetic side of some tools:

Leatherman flat 1/4" bits Given these have less tool engagement I wouldn't use these bits in anything bigger than a 4mm size. Likely below average machining on these bits if I had to guess.

Wiha double ended bits

Similar to this are also stubby bits which are shorter and therefore lighter. However they can get stuck in some tools from being too short so some research is needed. There are single sided options too.

Also here is another ratchet option that would work with the Wera bits and would be easy to make the handle longer if needed. However, it is only one sided so no "screwdriver mode" bit holder.

[froze]

Interesting rachet, that particular one you have is the model NR400k, in case anyone is wondering. It's only 2 inches long. There is another VIM model NFR6 and NFR4 both are 3 1/2 inches long, but one is a 3/8th and the other is a 1/4th drive. I'm sure you must have seen that longer one, is there a reason you chose the shorter one?

Vim dont make any of these and just rebrand parts out of Taiwan as far as I can tell. I'll keep my links to them for simplicity but if others are searching around they should shop around a bit.
NFR6: This is a 3/8" square drive. The maiting sockets will be heavy. Not what you want for a field tool.
NFR4: This is a 1/4" square drive. The maiting sockets will be heavy. Not what you want for a field tool.

It's confusing that there are 1/4" bits and 1/4" sockets but for field use if you care about weigth you need the ratchet to be 1/4" bit and not 1/4" socket. This image might help people see the difference:
Drive type.png
At home I use 1/4" sockets more than 1/4" bits though and I use 3/8" sockets for higher torque stuff (8mm, 10mm, cassette removal, etc) all with correspondingly longer arms as the tool size gets larger.

Something like the HBR3 is interesting but a bit heavier and doesnt have a "screwdriver mode" for easier lower torque use.

Also, you must have seen the Wera Bicycle Set 5, 7 piece ratcheting stubby thing, the bits all fit inside the handle, was there a reason you didn't like that one?

Wera set 5 is heavy as hell compared to OtterSpace's choice, and I don't see any leverage for over 3 Nm

Agreed to both points and succinctly said.

I have converters for hex to 1/4-inch drive sockets, so I thought they were using a converter. Thanks for the detailed explaination.

[froze]

Not carrying anything is great until it isn't. The boy scout thinking drilled into me as a child has given me the tools I need to get out of most situations on my own. Mechanical failures are rare but the rewards of being prepared for them are plentiful. It isn't just about not needing to call for a rescue, it is about being able to finish the ride and feel the satisfaction of self-reliance. It usually takes less time to sort out a problem than it does to wait for a rescue to arrive.

My multitool takes up the same space as a tube. We aren't talking about lugging around a toolbox. I'm unsure why anyone would forego something so small when it can save a ride.

+1

Exactly.

[OtterSpace]

I have converters for hex to 1/4-inch drive sockets, so I thought they were using a converter. Thanks for the detailed explaination.

Thanks for asking. This is what forums are all about.

Sometimes someone has an answer and sometimes it takes some back and forith to converge on a solution for more challenging things. At a high level I view forums as a kind of peer review that usually is useful going through to consider differnt perspectives. If you are thinking something likely others are too and the more we engage the better solutions we can ultimately come up with.

[eli76141]

Another option for OP is merging several tools into one with only the tools you actually will need on your bike:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_5CO-evFS8

[joebusby]

Deleted

[joebusby]

131g? Outrageous.

Shimano already do a classic multi tool with everything for 80g including a chain breaker and it's cheap as chips:

https://www.bikeparts.co.uk/products/pr ... 3328595101

What about forgoing the ratchet?

A light 5mm key and

https://pb-direct.eu/detail.asp?Lang=3&Prod=115562

Then you just need a lightweight way of carrying the bits?

For what it's worth I spent like a whole evening doing the maths on all of these combos then went and bought a daysaver (with the rubber cover but not the co-working) because none of them seemed to make much more sense.

[OtterSpace]

131g? Outrageous.

Shimano already do a classic multi tool with everything for 80g including a chain breaker and it's cheap as chips:

https://www.bikeparts.co.uk/products/pr ... 3328595101

What about forgoing the ratchet?

A light 5mm key and

https://pb-direct.eu/detail.asp?Lang=3&Prod=115562

Then you just need a lightweight way of carrying the bits?

For what it's worth I spent like a whole evening doing the maths on all of these combos then went and bought a daysaver (with the rubber cover but not the co-working) because none of them seemed to make much more sense.

If you missed it I currently have a ratchet and Wera bits down to Essential8 weight and depending on if I can modify an Al ratchet the lever will get longer with even more weight savings. Thats why we have been discussing ratchets & bits all of a sudden.

Regardling the PBSwiss adapter it requires a steel 5mm which eats up a lot of the Essential8 weight before you add in any extra bits if you use a conventional L-key. Maybe someone could make a fold out 1/4" bit adapter which then could be used in L mode for medium torque or straight in "screwdriver mode" for low torque. The bottom portion of the L would likely need to be steel but the rest can be two rods and two carbon plates that fold down to also house the bit adapter. However then the rods or plates could fail and the bit adapter head can freely fold open or closed compared to the housing adding some risk. Alternatively you could use the bit adapter with a hole in it and a circular rod as a kind of T tool too for medium torque tasks and then slide to more of an L for still medium torque values but for a bit more leverage for through axles etc.

Unfortuately these bit adapters dont work with longer bits as they are effectively one sided from what I've seen so far. Some of the two sided stubby bits might work but the long 4 in 1 wera bits are not an option for such adapters. Also weight from individual conventional 1/4" bits add up fairly quickly compared to essential8 system weight like joebusby said in the quoted post.

[DHG01]

Shimano already do a classic multi tool with everything for 80g including a chain breaker and it's cheap as chips:

https://www.bikeparts.co.uk/products/pr ... 3328595101

Excellent recommendation; in its way. Thank you.
Broke a chain two weeks ago and was saved by a budy. Seems plenty for daily road rides.

I was also looking for thoughts on these two from the crowd.I was thinking more in multi day/gravel rides (I typically do two 550-650 km rides per year.

The Topeak is a bit bigger, but includes a couple more things (eg levers). The Blackburn seems quite compact for what it is.

For both I need to also understand if those chain tools work with Ekar/12 S Record.

As said - would really appreciate thoughts.

https://www.topeak.com/global/en/produc ... ET-LITE-DX+


https://www.blackburndesign.com/p/big-s ... 00027.html