Building the perfect travel tool kit

[mathias720]

Hello
as i often travel with my bike and am a bit tired of sometimes forgetting important tools
i wanna build a kit to always be in my bike travel bag.
wanted some help on deciding all the stuff i need and suggestions for tools/Components in the provided needed tools.
i will consider small, multifunctioning and light tools to keep weight and size down.
i dont want something unusefull because it is to compact or lightweight.

so far on my list i have:
Small floorpump (will probaly go for lezyne)
Pedal Wrench for speedplay)
small 10ml universal oil
small tub of universal grease
small tub of carbon paste
Chain wax
cleaning wipes (mostly for chain)
Disc brake tool (to straighten disc)
Pad spacer tool (maybe same as disc straightener)
small meassuring tape
Torque wrench with folowing bits
-2,5 mm
-3 mm
-4 mm
-5 mm
-6 mm
-T25
Charger for sram axs
charger for shimano 12 speed
charger for wahoo roam
charger for sigeyi power meter
2 spare 2032 battery (power meter and hearthrate)
2 spare 1632 battery (for shimano 12-speed brakes)
Spare chain quick link (sram and shimano)
Spare spokes+nipples
Spare disc 140+160
spare disc brake pads


This is maybes
Cassette tool (also used for centerlock on disc brakes)
cassette chain whip (can it be found light enough?)

[jdecraene85]

spare derailleur hanger

[usr]

This is maybes
Cassette tool (also used for centerlock on disc brakes)
cassette chain whip (can it be found light enough?)

If you are going all in to minmax weight vs solvable problems, depending on your wheels a spare freehub body with the cassette preinstalled could be an option worth looking into: FHB can often be removed with just a hex, so you effectively add "cassette wear beyond the point where it would still run with a replacement chain" and "dead FHB bearing" to the list of solvable problems for only the net difference between cassette + FHB and chain whip + cassette tool.

[maxim809]

Maybe later I can post my full list but some things I've used in the past.

1. Venzo I-Beam Travel Torque Wrench
https://www.amazon.com/Venzo-2-10NM-Bic ... 00V4CQEGW/

When traveling normally, I'll bring a full torque wrench set in my bike box. However, when traveling super light I'd use the Venzo. Dunno if they still sell these but these were so handy.

2. Fumpa Electric Pump
https://www.fumpapumps.com/products/fumpa-bike-pump

I used to use a Lezyne Micro Floor pump. It worked well for what it was (a travel pump) but it'd obviously take a lot of time and effort. Plus the pump would get really hot after your second tire.
https://www.lezynestore.com/floorpump-t ... -2208.html

Now I use a Fumpa with Nozzle Kit. Charges using USB-C so it's convenient.

That said, there's lots of different electric pumps out there now, some much smaller. I'm interested if anyone else has recommendations.

3.Wipes
Single-Use Grease Monkey Wipes, Silca Wipes, or any Single-Use Citrus wipes. I just bring 2 just in case. But I do my best to be extremely clean while building the bike (esp in a hotel) so I try not to use it if I can help it.

4. Nitrile Gloves
As many pairs as I think I may need to teardown/build the bike. Really helps keeping things clean.

[Nickldn]

I also take tyre stuff:

Tyre sealant
Spare tyre
Tyre levers
Inner tube
Valve core

[diecast]

All good suggestions. Of course, what you choose to take is quite personal and also depends on your attitude to risk. Much can be mitigated by ensuring that your equipment is in good order before travelling. But the lists above are pretty extensive so here's a few suggestions to throw into the mix:

Pump
I also take the aforementioned lezyne pump, but I didn't get on with the valve attachment. I kept unscrewing valve cores. Probably just user error on my part but I swapped it out for a more traditional top peak fitting that attaches to the valve with a lever and zero issues since. IIRC there are versions of the lezyne with and without the pressure gauge. It's admittedly not the best pressure gauge, but it's better than none.
(Also, in Europe at least, they usually won't let you fly with CO2 cartridges so you need to take a mini pump or stop and buy cartridges at your destination.)

Sandpaper
A small piece of low grit paper for scuffing glazed pads.

Electrical tape
Useful for all sorts like handlebar tape coming undone at the wrong time. I have a length wrapped around my mini pump.

Cleats
Likely it's preferable just to fit brand new ones before travelling, but I have broken a keo cleat whilst away and had to do some unplanned scrambling over rubble. Thankfully my friend had a spare, and that reminds me I still owe him. Probably not an issue with speedplay.

Cables/end caps
Personal choice, but I usually travel with a mechanical rim brake bike. I often wonder if I should take spare cables but breaking one seems unlikely and also I can't find a cable cutter tool that's travel friendly. It doesn't hurt to bring a couple of end caps though. Frayed cables give me terrible anxiety.

Non cycling multi tool
You'll never regret bringing something like a victorinox or a leatherman. (Unless you accidentally leave it in your carry on luggage and it gets permanently confiscated by security.)

Old eye drops bottle
These work great for travel drip wax.

[ccie6872]

I would add a centerlock removal tool to take the rotors off and ditch the disc alignment tool (if you are looking to save room/weight). I like the Silca Ti printed one since it weighs next to nothing.

addions: small utility scissors (you mentioned a leatherman) and a combo wine bottle / bottle opener

+1 on fumpa nano for the rides instead of co2 and the larger fumpa pump at the hotel room.

spare presta valve and valve tool..

[DA7800]

Anyone know of a cassette (rotor also) tool that takes an 8 or 10mm Allen key rather than a square drive? Especially for disc brakes, would save me some bag weight over the big cassette tool that's only used for my rotors.

(I'm not giving Silca that much money for a cassette tool unless I absolutely have to)

[Steve Curtis]

I like the Silca Ti printed one since it weighs next to nothing.

I snapped mine without even trying. I would not trust that, or their other 3d printed tools as an only option.

I roll of gorilla tape. The handy roll is perfect
Or just wrap 12 inches around your pump in two locations so you have two feet of tape with you at all times. It can help in many situations.

[froze]

At first, I thought you were going on bike touring/camping trips, but it sounds like this is a bag of stuff you'll throw in the trunk of the car while on trips, I'm not sure why you need all of that stuff, are you a mobile bike mechanic? All I take with me is what will fit in my saddle bag! Is this a MTB and you're going to be trashing it? If so, you might need that stuff you listed.

If you are checking your bike over you should know how thick your rotors and pads are before you go, you don't need any of that.

Pedal wrench? do you swap pedals on a trip? Pedals rarely break, I've never had a pedal break in all my 50-plus years of riding, so that's the least of my concerns when on a trip.

I have a Park MTB3 mini tool I take that has all the tools and then some that I will ever need, but more modern mini tools do come with a rotor straightener, but why do you need that? I have yet to bend a rotor.

Why do you need a tape measure? Are you going fishing and need to make sure that whatever fish you catch is of legal size?

Lezyne makes a great torque wrench set, small, compact, it has a larger better inch-pound scale than Silca has.

Batteries are pretty compact, not a big deal to take those, but if the batteries for the computers last 2 years and you replaced them 6 months ago, do you really need them? That's fine, they're light and small no big deal, take them. And of course, you need your charger.

If you're not going to be far from civilization, you don't need spare spokes, nipples, chain whip, or cassette tool. All you need is 2 or 3 maybe 4 Fiber Fix spokes, those go on without any need to remove the rear gear cluster as you would have to with solid spokes, they are cheap to buy, weigh next to nothing, and take up a very small amount of space. Put those Fiber Fix spokes on, ride back to the car, and ride into town to get the spokes replaced with solid spokes. The problem is, with today's modern low spoke count wheels if you break a single spoke, the chances are extremely high you will taco the wheel anyways, then you're not going anywhere except on foot.

Your list sounds like a little too much OCD if you ask me, but you have to do what makes you comfortable.

Stay away from those tiny electric bicycle pumps, they're not ready for prime time yet, they can only do one high-pressure tire inflation or one large volume tire inflation, it's just a waste unless you're a gadget person, I'm not, I don't play with nonsense stuff.

Topeak Mini or Turbo Morph G is another small compact design pumps to look at, nothing wrong with the Lezyne though, those are great pumps.

Some Gorilla or duct tape and a couple of different sizes of zip ties are nice to have, I only carry that stuff on my touring bike, I don't carry it on car trips. No need for electrical tape if you have one of the other tapes.

Like I said, I don't know where you're going, if you are going to be far from civilization that could take a day or two drive to get to a city that has a bike shop, then you might need all that stuff you mentioned, and maybe more stuff, like spare derailleurs, and brake levers. A list could go on and on and on, but you have to decide what is absolutely necessary, the rest just leave behind.

[TheBelgian]

Like I said, I don't know where you're going, if you are going to be far from civilization that could take a day or two drive to get to a city that has a bike shop, then you might need all that stuff you mentioned, and maybe more stuff, like spare derailleurs, and brake levers. A list could go on and on and on, but you have to decide what is absolutely necessary, the rest just leave behind.

You don't take into account that bike shops aren't open 7/7 or might not be able to help you right away.

[TheBelgian]

I don't understand why you would bring grease and carbon paste with you. If you prepare your bike for such a trip everything should be greased and "pasted" up front, no? What emergency repair would require application of carbon paste? A broken seat post or handlebar that needs replacing? Would all need to be catastrophic failures IMO. I would bring the opposite: degreaser. Can be used to remove gunk from your bike or clean your brake discs.
Same for the measuring tape. Would be required if you go about replacing certain bike parts, but nothing that you would do during a trip.

[usr]

I don't understand why you would bring grease and carbon paste with you. If you prepare your bike for such a trip everything should be greased and "pasted" up front, no?

My grease use case, unconventional I guess: when i put my bike in "airplane mode" I take off the cranks. Very tall frame (very tight fit with crank in place), and the airplane bike still has Bepros you don't want to separate from their cranks (really, you don't..). People who remove pedals might pre-grease crank threads?

[froze]

Like I said, I don't know where you're going, if you are going to be far from civilization that could take a day or two drive to get to a city that has a bike shop, then you might need all that stuff you mentioned, and maybe more stuff, like spare derailleurs, and brake levers. A list could go on and on and on, but you have to decide what is absolutely necessary, the rest just leave behind.

You don't take into account that bike shops aren't open 7/7 or might not be able to help you right away.

Of course, but I'm not that paranoid, for some reason my brain isn't wired that way, even when I use to smoke pot as a teen I never got paranoid, laughing about stupid stuff yes, but never paranoid.

You are very well versed on repairing a bike, I can tell because you like to take a lot of tools and supplies with you, nothing wrong with that, but for me personally the weight I have to carry on a backpack or on a bike is crucial, so I only take minimal stuff.

Look, you are well versed with bike repairs as I mentioned, therefore you know that before you start such a trip you do a very extensive pre-trip inspection, and you should also know how to do daily pre and post inspections so you can see the beginnings of a problem, and be able to head to a bike shop, or wait for one to open then ride in. Even if you breakdown in the middle of a ride, and you can't fix it, a lot of motorists with vehicles that can handle a bike will see your predicament and help you to get to a shop, and in some cases I've heard of shops sending a part and a repair person to the broken down rider that was touring.

In the 45 plus years I've been riding I've only had 3 breakdowns, and all of them I was able to fix with a mini tool. Pedal wrenches and cassette removal tools, and brake rotor removal tools to remove a broken spoke are not really necessary because you can instead use the FiberFix spoke to repair your wheel with, no tools needed other than tire tools and a pump.

Breakdowns can be virtually eliminated with good pre and post inspections every day.

Of course you have to be you, and do what makes you sleep at night. It's like this, I live in a conceal and non-conceal carry state, my friend carries a gun wherever he goes because it makes him feel better, I don't carry one because I feel just fine without one on my side wherever I go. On the cycling side I don't carry extensive medical injury system either, you can't carry enough stuff for a severe emergency injury, minor yes, major no. So, in that vein I carry enough to do minor repairs on the bike and I'm perfectly comfortable doing that. Obviously if I was riding only off-road across the country then I would take a few more steps to be mechanically ready, as well as bit more for medical preparedness, but again an eye on weight is crucial even off-road, so compromises must be made there just as they do when road touring.

[liam7020]

Agree with froze - unless you're going into a complete wilderness for a multi day trip you don't need half that clobber. You certainly couldn't fly with that lot. Trying to manage and remember all that would suck the joy out of riding but heyho each to their own!