Talk to me about multitools – what do you carry?

[froze]

You would save a lot more weight by simply shaving your hair down to the scalp, do you do that too?

Are you bald-dome-shaming?

Nope, it was a question not a shame, did you not notice that? ohh look, another question mark.

[DHG01]

Really curious when was the last time anyone snapped a chain or a quick link on a ride. I think modern day multi-tools should rather have a 4Nm pre-set torque wrench. The Wera tool looks awesome and is really light for what it is!

A few weeks ago one of the guys Electronic Campagnolo group set died on him locking him in top gear. We managed to shorten his chain and unthread it from the rear derailleur to give him a more manageable gear for the hilly 20 mile ride home.

That is the sort example I had in mind. The few chain snaps I ve seen were less experienced cyclists going up a steep ramp with the wrong gearing.

However, I have seen a rear derailleur break and needing to adjust chain length to get back home.

[DHG01]

PB Swiss "PB 470 Bike Tool"
Not sure about the weight but the quality is really good. I'm using different tire levers though.

This tool is great other than the levers and the weight. PB Swiss bits are just amazing and are best in class in my opinion unless you prioritize bolt holding over tool engagement (Wera HF). Although I retired mine due to its weight I keep it around for a very convenient travel bit set that I use in conjunction with other 1/4 inch bit drivers & small torque wrenches (CDI TLA28NM). I removed the sloted and philips and added a T20 and a 5mm because I use it with other drivers too so needed 5mm which the tool alone doesn't need. I also am experimenting with heatshrinking the bits for easier color identification. However for the 5mm and 6mm they are wider and the heatshrink will push off if seated too deep on the bit from the tightish fit in the holder. These larger head bits also need deeper relative engagement to properly load a bolt so I likely will remove the heatshrink from 5mm & 6mm. As is the 6mm color band is so small it easily pops off too.

Weight with levers (which are useless junk) is 92.85g & 81.43g without.
pbswiss.jpg

I likely will retire this tool too and replace it with a mixture of E6 bits which are much easier to label without impacting depth of engagement or insertion to the holder. However the E6 uses bit lock vs C6 more typical tool engagement.
e6.PNG
shape.PNG

I like the Wera a lot - but if its a bit of a bummer if ist no good to release a through axle.

The PB looks pretty good too; why do you say the levers are junk?

[Talrand]

I see, so tell me, just how much speed will .0255 watts of saving will generate? While you answer that I'm going to make some popcorn.

You would save a lot more weight by simply shaving your hair down to the scalp, do you do that too?

Did you perhaps get to this forum by badly misspelling 'reddit'? If you're confused about why people here are talking about bike weight I recommend looking at the website name, there's a really subtle hint within it

[208]

You would save a lot more weight by simply shaving your hair down to the scalp, do you do that too?

Are you bald-dome-shaming?

Nope, it was a question not a shame, did you not notice that? ohh look, another question mark.

Twas a joke fam

[OtterSpace]

I like the Wera a lot - but if its a bit of a bummer if ist no good to release a through axle.

The PB looks pretty good too; why do you say the levers are junk?

As you can see from the rest of my posts in this thread I'm rather particular. I'm looking for first the essential function to be done well and then make it as packable and light as feasible.

The PBSwiss levers are very light... Too light. They are very small and bend with hand force so I don't trust them to not break for their essential task when trying to get on a very tight tubeless tire compared to the clinchers of the early 2010s it was designed for. What is the odds of this 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%

Also I'd rather one good lever than two crap ones.

I last looked into levers around 2021 so there might be better options now but from what I've seen from home use Pedros is the best for everything but tubulars. For tubulars a narrow strong lever is nice to debond the glue for that I like Soma steel core. Both come in bright colors which is nice for field use as I kind of explode my tools everywhere to quickly deal with the flat and then pick up the tools so its nice to have them stand out visually from the road or wherever I have to fix a flat. I have lost tools before (Daysaver T25/4mm micro bit) and blame the colors to deflect personal responsability.

Unfortunately both Pedros (21g) & Soma (26.4g) are fairly heavy compared to other options and the angled hooks take up pack volume. However, I never use the spoke hook function on a lever so for field use I just cut down a Pedros lever and remove the stacking block protrusion. The rear of the Pedros lever is also a nice place to stash smaller items both to reduce pack volume and remove rattling from lose items. I use clear TPU patches to hold them so I can see them. These patches are not for use only to hold small parts in place and is a good way to dispose the crap TPU patches that many vendors sell (use park tools GP-2 instead & carry individually packaged alcohol wipes)

[HannibalLecter]

This Unior 17N made in Europe. Unior is a legit tool manufacturer (not the best, but good enough) and I am a bit of a tool snob.
Its a pork though

[BenCousins]

81 and 1/2 grams? is that correct? That's only just under 3 ounces, and that's too heavy?? My Park MTB3 weighs 3 times that, I don't know I'm carrying it!

It only takes roughly .0255 watts to carry those 3 ounces of weight, and it takes more than 12 watts for us to begin perceive any lag from watts being consumed by something.

Some of us are interested in actuall speed increases, not just perceived decreases in effort. So every optimisation is valid, even if they are not perceptable.

I see, so tell me, just how much speed will .0255 watts of saving will generate? While you answer that I'm going to make some popcorn.

You would save a lot more weight by simply shaving your hair down to the scalp, do you do that too?

Why are you even on this forum lol.

[DHG01]

I like the Wera a lot - but if its a bit of a bummer if ist no good to release a through axle.

The PB looks pretty good too; why do you say the levers are junk?

As you can see from the rest of my posts in this thread I'm rather particular. I'm looking for first the essential function to be done well and then make it as packable and light as feasible.

The PBSwiss levers are very light... Too light. They are very small and bend with hand force so I don't trust them to not break for their essential task when trying to get on a very tight tubeless tire compared to the clinchers of the early 2010s it was designed for. What is the odds of this 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%

Also I'd rather one good lever than two crap ones.

I last looked into levers around 2021 so there might be better options now but from what I've seen from home use Pedros is the best for everything but tubulars. For tubulars a narrow strong lever is nice to debond the glue for that I like Soma steel core. Both come in bright colors which is nice for field use as I kind of explode my tools everywhere to quickly deal with the flat and then pick up the tools so its nice to have them stand out visually from the road or wherever I have to fix a flat. I have lost tools before (Daysaver T25/4mm micro bit) and blame the colors to deflect personal responsability.
levers.PNG

Unfortunately both Pedros (21g) & Soma (26.4g) are fairly heavy compared to other options and the angled hooks take up pack volume. However, I never use the spoke hook function on a lever so for field use I just cut down a Pedros lever and remove the stacking block protrusion. The rear of the Pedros lever is also a nice place to stash smaller items both to reduce pack volume and remove rattling from lose items. I use clear TPU patches to hold them so I can see them. These patches are not for use only to hold small parts in place and is a good way to dispose the crap TPU patches that many vendors sell (use park tools GP-2 instead & carry individually packaged alcohol wipes)
kit lever.PNG

Thank you; very useful.
As a side note, as you mentioned tubulars- funny how trouble free I feel with them whilst terrified to puncture with a clincher....

[BenCousins]

This user has been given a two week holiday for antagonising other users, not adding to the discussion and breaking forum rules. Please can everyone else take this as a reminder to respect the forum rules and add to the discussion, don't detract.

Best,

The Mod team

[OtterSpace]

As a side note, as you mentioned tubulars- funny how trouble free I feel with them whilst terrified to puncture with a clincher....

Yeah I have the same vibe. I think some of it is the super narrow contact patch of the tubular era of 23mm or narrower tires. Plus I am more careful in picking lines on narrow tubulars vs the monster 42 WAM tires I run now on another bike which plow straight ahead over all sorts of detritus. The plow through approach is faster but seems to pick up all sorts of crap. Sure I'll avoid big things on the road and pot holes on 30+ WAM but not much else.

The bigger thing is likely a small negative of tolerances getting better from the market shift to tubeless impacting both tires and rims. There was a lot of slop in these tolerances a half decade to a decade ago that is slowly getting hammered out almost fully for the better. However, it makes changing a flat more of a hassle now where you really want to follow all best practices to get it on by hand (bead in center of channel and work the tire towards the valve to have the last bit snap over it instead of losing some bead being pushed out of the channel by the valve reducing the workable radius of the unseated tire). Plus the tubless ready tires feel far stiffer than the old clinchers and tubless combatible tires.

I only use levers for removal but the same thinking applies for removal of modern stiff tight tubless ready tires.

In my mind this has made some of the tire tools of yesteryear a bit dated like the PB Swiss levers I discussed earlier.

Given I last looked in 2021 or so there could be even better options out there than what I posted.

[bones]

For road I use the Daysaver Essential 8, but it has issues that I documented here, iPump Twist, cut down pedros tire lever, tpu tube, quick link, patches, all in a small bag which I repaced with a camping specific dyneema one that I bought from garagegrowngear.

The picture is old so current weight is somewhere between 100-110g.
on bike tools.jpg

Just curious. Why did you cut off part of your Pedro's tire lever? Is it because you couldn't fit all of your tools in your bag? Just also curious. I was thinking of doing the same. Have you lost any leverage trying to get off really tight fitting tires?

[OtterSpace]

Just curious. Why did you cut off part of your Pedro's tire lever? Is it because you couldn't fit all of your tools in your bag? Just also curious. I was thinking of doing the same. Have you lost any leverage trying to get off really tight fitting tires?

It is a shorter lever so it certainly has less leverage. However, I haven't seen any functional difference between a stock pedros and a cut down one for any of my tire & rim combos. If you cut one down try it at home on your tightest tire & rim combo before trusting it out on the road.

I've always jersey carried except when using a backpack for commuting so pack volume matters more to me than most but I also used to be a lot more weight concious back in 2020 when I modified the lever for my now 4.4kg izalco max rim. At the time I was rubber banding all my tools to a terrible micro pump (topeak micro rocket "carbon") so the angled spoke hook and stacking block protrusion prevented the lever from packing well. Also the lever would grab on my jersey when removing the bundle while the hook was still there so it got the chop.

Since 2023 I carry all my tools in a 5g dyneema stuff sack so a unmodified pedros would fit now, and I have plenty at home to swap if I ever need too, but I havent found I've missed any of the features I cut down in 2020.

[froze]

For road I use the Daysaver Essential 8, but it has issues that I documented here, iPump Twist, cut down pedros tire lever, tpu tube, quick link, patches, all in a small bag which I repaced with a camping specific dyneema one that I bought from garagegrowngear.

The picture is old so current weight is somewhere between 100-110g.
on bike tools.jpg

Just curious. Why did you cut off part of your Pedro's tire lever? Is it because you couldn't fit all of your tools in your bag? Just also curious. I was thinking of doing the same. Have you lost any leverage trying to get off really tight fitting tires?

All normal tire levers are made to fit into even a small saddle bag. I use to have a Pedros set, but since went to Lezyne Power XL levers, they're longer than the Pedro levers, and they fit easily into my smallest bag. The problem with cutting most tire levers is that they have a slot for locking the lever onto a spoke to hold the tire and lever in place so you can get the second lever in.

What would be interesting to know is what kind of saddle bag he had that wouldn't handle an average length tire lever.

On my touring bike I have a large Topeak Aero Wedge saddle bag, and I had to cut of about a 1/2 an inch off a Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack because it was a tad too long. That 1/2 an inch hasn't ruined any leverage issues. Whenever you cut plastic, it's a good idea to file the edges smooth so it doesn't tear into your hand, or rub a hole in the fabric of your saddle bag.

[OtterSpace]

bumping this thread with more info for reference.

earlier in this thread I said I wanted to try a Ti L-key for Ti & Al axles to prevent marring from different metal softness. These will likely remain as home use tools for awhile but I received a 5mm and a 6mm. The 5mm I plan to use to remove and install view speed Ti axles for rim brake bikes while the 6mm will be used to remove Al axles for one of my disc brake bikes. Both axle types show a tiny bit of wear, the viewspeed in particular from shallow tool engagement, either from bad fit and/or harder steel tools. The weights are better than steel but nothing amazing for a field use tool. The whole plan is kind of fubar for the disc bikes as I like to torque to a spec for better caliper centering which I have to do with steel still but at least I can use the Ti tool for removal. It should go without saying but these are a terrible idea for steel bolts.