Recommend a Bicycle Tool Kit

I've got an old, lugged steel frame Fuji road bike that I'm wanting to take on longer rides. To do this I want to get a small tool kit that is light and easy to fit in a small backpack.

Given that I will throw in some sort of leatherman/gerber-multitool, what kit should I get? What are the tools I MUST get?

This is an example of what I've been looking at: http://www.amazon.com/Avenir-94-27-500-Roll-Up-Tool-Kit/dp/B00165S9ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337812713&sr=8-1

Good deal?

$25 is a price that is hard to beat, but the Avenir stuff is cheaply made. I would recommend a fold up allen set from Topeak or Park Tool and a chain tool from Park Tool, but those alone will set you back the $25 and then you won't even have the seat bag yet to carry them in.
The most important stuff to have with you is a spare tube, patch kit and tire levers, and a frame pump. A fold-out metric Allen set and a chain tool, and a dollar bill is just about all you will need.

Don't carry any tools you don't know how to use

The ones I tend to use the most are allen keys and tire levers. Next would be a Philips screwdriver and a spoke wrench. It's very rare that you need a chain tool or wrenches. And Park Tools are my favorites by far. Crank Brothers make a couple of nice ones too.

That's assuming a mechanically sound bike at the beginning of each ride.

Keith wrote: Don't carry any tools you don't know how to use The ones I tend to use the most are allen keys and tire levers. Next would be a Philips screwdriver and a spoke wrench. It's very rare that you need a chain tool or wrenches. And Park Tools are my favorites by far. Crank Brothers make a couple of nice ones too. That's assuming a mechanically sound bike at the beginning of each ride.

This.

5 and 6mm allen keys are likely all you need for allen keys while on the ride. Stem for that should take an 8mm allen, but if it's tight before you ride, then there should be very little reason to adjust it during the ride.

Philips screwdriver is used only for tweaking settings on your derailers. If they are properly set up before hand, then there should be no reason to adjust them on the ride.

Tire levers: Always. Before allen keys, get tire levers. Good ones. Not flimsy ones that you can break with your bare hands. Get 3. And a patch kit. The pre-glued ones do work, but sometimes, the glue isn't as long lasting as the old cement + patch. Also, if you have some thin, but tough plastic, cut out a chunk about 2" long, and inch wide. This can be used if you get a mangled sidewall on your tire. Use low pressure, and ride gently until you can find some place with a new tire.

Wrenches: Unless your bike has nutted axles (which, as a Fuji, I suspect it doesn't. Unless it is a fixed gear), you don't need wrenches. Pedals are loose? Well, should have tightened them right when you installed them. Axle cones need adjusting? Do that at home. Spoke tightening? Unless you know what you're doing, should leave it to the guy in the shop.

Note: Grease your bike now. Take out the stem, seat post, and pedals. Grease the damned things. You, your mechanic, and everyone in the future will THANK YOU for it. If you can, take the time to throw some FrameSaver rust proofer in the frame and fork as well.

Now. This thread is worthless without Pics! Show us your old Fuji!

I carry one of these:

http://www.topeak.com/products/Tools/hexus2

All the common Allen sizes, screwdrivers, spoke wrenches, chain tool, tire levers.

Define "longer rides". Multiple hours, or days? While in general I pretty much agree with what Scott said, if you're mtb or road and how far from home or help will help decide.

Never know when when or how some things will break. Gauge your risk level accordingly.

bluej wrote: Define "longer rides". Multiple hours, or days? While in general I pretty much agree with what Scott said, if you're mtb or road and how far from home or help will help decide. Never know when when or how some things will break. Gauge your risk level accordingly.

I was just running off the assumption of a couple hours. From my experience, when someone says "long ride" they mean 2 hours. "Really long" = longer than that, but usually less than 6. If someone means days, when they say, "Long ride"....well, they have a very different view than I! :D

Also, "lugged Fuji" = Road bike. They didn't make mountain bikes at that point in time.

Also, a tool that every bike should come with, and everyone with a bike of any quality should have is a chain wear indicator.

Chain wear indicator does what it says on the tin. Indicates when the chain is worn between .75 and 1.0% excess. When your chain gets to .75 start thinking about checking your chain. Try to get it changed before it reaches 1.0, why? Because usually when it hits 1.0, your cogs and chain wheels are by then, really getting worn into the longer pitch of the chain. Putting a new chain on, will mean that chain lasts a lot less, etc.

Replacing a $25-$40 chain is a lot less expensive than changing the chain, the cogs, and the most heavily used chain ring. Changing it at around .75 usually means you can swap chains about 3-5 times before needing to replace the cogs and chain wheels.

When I worked at a bike shop 2 years ago, we had that conversation with a lot of owners...If it's already past 1.0? Ride it till it skips going up hill, then change everything.

Also, tip: Lubricate your chain sparingly, but frequently. Lubricated chain = longer lasting chain. But too much will attract dirt, grit, etc. Suggest a Teflon lube, during summer, lube chain every 5ish days of riding. Lube it after a heavy rain. Lube it lightly: drop per link, wipe off the excess with a rag. Done. Don't worry about the outer plates, you want the lube inside, on the pins where it does its work.

Well, I guess I'm considering rides in the 2-4 hour range "longer", basically "long enough that it would really suck to walk home."

And the 9th and 10th words in my original post were "road" and "bike", so no single track for me.

Thanks everybody! Thanks for the maintenance tips Scott, I'll get some photos up, but don't get your hopes up, it is intentionally ratty in order to avoid attracting bike thieves. I ride it to campus at Ohio State, a place where it is not uncommon for locked bikes to be stolen in busy areas in the middle of the afternoon.

i would say getting good (as in thick) tires and tubes would be good. I used to have to replace a tube (i couldnt get a patch to stick) almost every time I rode, then i bought some thorn resistant tubes and tires and didnt have anymore problems.

In reply to Travis_K:

I'm interested, do you have any brand recommendations?

My wheels are 27" x 1 1/4", if that matters.

Travis_K wrote: i would say getting good (as in thick) tires and tubes would be good. I used to have to replace a tube (i couldnt get a patch to stick) almost every time I rode, then i bought some thorn resistant tubes and tires and didnt have anymore problems.

Eh, personally gotta disagree on the "thorn resistant tubes". If your tire is getting perforated, then it isn't doing its job right....Or you need to stop riding through construction sites :P

A good quality, flat resistant tire will save weight, and keep thorns, glass, and staples at bay. A rubber belt is better than nothing, but worse than everything else. It's heavy, and kills the feeling that the tire can provide. Some tires offer a nylon+rubber, barrier, and these work alright, as the rubber is a lot thinner, using the strength of the nylon to make up for it. Straight up nylon is good, but then there's the poly-aramids (Kevlar) which stop basically everything. For those who are absolutely paranoid about flats, I think Continental had a tire with kevlar, nylon and a rubber belt....

The problem with thorn resistant tubes, is that they are heavy damned things. Rotating mass on a car is bad. Rotating mass on a bicycle is worse.

Tires I recommend basically come from 3 companies when it comes to road bikes: Continental, Vittoria and Schwalbe.

Owners of the store I worked at pretty much rode Conti's only. I ride Vittoria, as it is a bit less expensive, and so far, haven't had a problem. A lot of touring guys swear by Schwalbe Marathons.

Shadow, you're welcome. Don't worry about ratty-ness, I know a lot of bikes get stolen. Best defense is to keep it with you at all times. If it must be locked up, U-lock the rear wheel and frame to the rack, and throw a cable through the front wheel and frame. Unfortunately, all locks are just theft deterrents. Basically hoping that the thief will take easier prey than yours.

+1 on the conti gatorskins. I think they make them in a 27 1/4 but you may have to go wire bead and not foldable.

Also, I know shadowsix was referring to road rides but that doesn't mean he's the only one who might look here or that he might want to consider what he'd want if he were to mtb in the future when making a purchase now.

I tend to carry a minimum of tools with me on road rides. A 2 hr ride is "short". A long ride is ~8 hrs. In the small saddle bag is one tube, old metal tire levers, and a patch kit (replaced every few years because the glue dries out), with a Zefel HP frame pump. My Swiss army knife is usually with me as well, plus the cell phone. I usually keep my wallet and cell phone is sandwich bags to protect them from sweat or rain. My next road bike will probably be a touring bike since that tends to be the kind of road riding I do (long, solo rides with less concern about all-out speed).

Mtn biking is another matter entirely, but will depend on if I'm racing or just riding with friends.

My "ride kit" consists of a Vaude pack with a NLA Park tool pouch (chain tool, tire levers, dog-bone multi-wrench, spoke wrench), the SA knife, Leatherman, a folding hex key set, RD hanger, (2) tubes, patch kit, compact pump, emergency TP, a length of duct tape, snake-bite kit, more food than I plan to eat, 100 oz bladder and sometimes a couple of water bottles as well. I often carry a spare rear derailluer, too. Yes, my pack has been known to be quite... hefty...

The "race kit" uses a smaller pack with a 70 oz bladder, the Park pouch, SA knife, RD hanger, tube, patch kit, CO2 inflaters and reserve food. Gels are put under the leg elastic of my shorts with maybe a power bar in a jersey pocket.

My DH ride kit will vary depending on the ride. For lift-serve, a light pack with just water. For shuttling, usually a bit more, but generally just enough to get me back to the pick-up point and then back to my car where I'll usually have my full tool set, folding work stand and a tub of spares.

A spare derailleur? You can usually lock them in one place or convert the bike to a fixie if you have a chain breaker. I've never managed to break one myself, and I've been mountain biking for 25 years now.

I'll bet you're a handy guy to ride with though!

Flats are a pain. The goatheads around here will go right through a good mountain bike tire. I use the Slime tire liners on my mountain bike tires, they work well. It's less of an issue on the road, but I also don't tend to go on long, long road rides.

Well, on NE trails, a broken derailleur usually is caused by catching a stick it gets twisted into a pretzel. And through various parts aquisitions, I had an extra XTR 8spd RD. They don't weigh much and figured it wasn't much good to me at home if I needed it. I'm not likely to run out and buy a spare XTR 10spd derailluer for my new bike.

But... I really don't like riding a single speed...

You have no idea... When I raced DH, I used to carry the equivalent of a small bike shop in the back of my van. Having access to a BTI wholesale account at the time helped.

I got the specialized armadillo tires, other than being extremely hard to get on the rim they seem fine. I don't really ride that much so I don't have experience with others though. I was normally getting flats riding on a bike path, with lots of star thistles around, so the thick tubes were probably worthwhile there, but yeah maybe not needed for everyone.

Ian F wrote: Well, on NE trails, a broken derailleur usually is caused by catching a stick it gets twisted into a pretzel. And through various parts aquisitions, I had an extra XTR 8spd RD. They don't weigh much and figured it wasn't much good to me at home if I needed it. I'm not likely to run out and buy a spare XTR 10spd derailluer for my new bike. But... I really don't like riding a single speed... You have no idea... When I raced DH, I used to carry the equivalent of a small bike shop in the back of my van. Having access to a BTI wholesale account at the time helped.

yeah, rear der. best friend did this riding near his home last week in NH. don't know if I would have thought spare der. before that. the hanger is a real good idea, though. maybe even for road riding.

I ride a Rocky Mountain when I'm offroad. I really should carry a spare hanger, they're made of soft cheese on those bikes. But our environment (think Moab) isn't full of sticks. Given my failure rate and those of others riding with me, I'll take the chance and improvise if one goes

I have broken a bottom bracket axle, though.

For me it was just insurance. I've never broken a derailleur in 20+ years of mtn biking. Lost a pulley once, but was able to fix it. Even racing DH, I used the same XTR RD on 4 different frames over my 6 year career (it's still on my Lawwill DH-6).