[Old_Dude]

At the LBS tonight after a great ride (new PR) they told me I'll need a $150 stand with a $300 set of tools, plus lubricants, de-greaser, this cool thing with brushes for my chain, a take-along pump , spare tire & tiny all-in-one tool, & blah, blah, blah. I added up all the "stuff" I need to keep the bike maintained & I came out with $630 for a nicely equipped at-home shop.

So, I was thinking, how much have you folks invested in maintenance items - tools, chain cleaner machine, lubes, & other shop equipment, including tools packed along for trail rides and all types of spares?

Thanks,

OD

 

[spincrazy]

Don't feel overwhelmed. You don't need a repair stand right away, and a lot of the tools that you may need you can wait to get them till you have a job to do. Get some of the basics at first and wait til you need them for the others if money is an issue.

You can build your own repair stand if need be.

Start small. Carry extra tubes and and a multi tool with you when you ride. A first aid kit is a good idea as well.

You don't need spoke wrenches if you don't know how to true a wheel, and if you're not building wheels a truing stand isn't entirely necessary. Get a good book on repair and go from there.

 

[riderx]

Get a pod of Allen wrenches that covers every bolt on your bike - this means you should have an 8mm for the cranks. Get a chain breaker, a mini-pump, some tire levers, a patch kit, a spare tube and a 3 sided spoke wrench.

You should be able to handle almost any repair with this and can be both your trail tools and your start for a home tool setup. Total spent should be under $50.

Although it was suggested you don't need a spoke wrench, they are very cheap and I highly recommend you learn the basics of trueing a wheel. It's not that difficult and can mean the difference between continueing a ride or heading home early.

 

[riderx]

Also, look for alternatives to some of the "bike" stuff. Old toothbrushes work good for cleaning chains, Simple Green is a great degreaser and a gallon costs as much as a pint of bike specific degreaser, water proof bearing grease can be bought in an auto parts store for much cheaper, moto stores have better deals on shock oil.

If it made specifically for a bike, you can bet they try to charge you more.

 

[RhinofromWA]

I can't even comprehend the $$$$ I have spent of specialty tools so that I can take my bike apart. I stopped short on a trueing stand and items like head set presses and the like. I will go to a shop for installation of headset and I really need someone else to build my wheels. I can touch up my wheels but when you find a veteran that can "build wheels" I tend to use them.

I have just about everything I need in a big (Luggable) tool box. I can tear down my bike in the back of my truck if need be and I have been able to save a buddies ride for the day.....my tool box is a work in process. I just bought a XTR BB tool....not because I have a XTR BB but because my Rotec needs it to remove the Swing arm.

I can torque that ...bleed this .....lube that thing I ignored for too long etc. I feel better when I work on my bike so I now what is in what state of repair. I see people with the spokes so loose the wheel is waving a hard time clearing the swing arm. Not because it is bent but that they have loosened to the point of being floppy....and have nothing but a pliers and multi-screwdriver in their truck....

I don't want that to be me.

I wonder if I should take an inventory and post it for everyone......that would take awhile.

 

[oldfart]

I've been collecting tools for over 20 years and I shudder ti think what it would cost to replace them all. Stand, wheel building stand, dishing tool drawer full of allen keys in varying stages of wear, locktite, greases oils hydraulic fluids, brake pads up the ying yang (why do we save half used stuff anyway) boxes of old broken parts that I keep for spares. I think I have just about every freewheel remover known to man..which are next to useless now that evry one uses freehubs. Tool for taking a freehub apart, really nice tubing cutter, star nut setter and enough headset tools that I can adjust all those threaded headsets ( except those funky shimano's with the lobed nuts cause I lost those somewhere) like there's a lot of threaded headsets out there, especially 1 1/4 inch.

When it comes down to it there are really only a handful of tools that are used constantly. And I still need a headset press.

 

[BullBiker]

I've got more invested in tools than I care to think about. The caveat being, I didn't buy all of them. Every Christmas and around my birthday, I give my wife a mail-order catalog with tools circled or highlighted. When someone asks her what to get me. Whala! Just pick one, order it and send it on down! I've probably gotten half of my tools this way! I get what I want and friends/family still feel like they're "picking" something out! win/win.

 

[bomberz1qr20]

My tactic has always worked:
wait till it needs fixing then buy the tool if you need it!

This way you're not buying a kit full of tools that will never get used. The expense seems not so severe when it's stretched out, and it's also a good excuse to support your LBS, every time you need a tool.

The one tool I was happy to recieve was the book "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt. It's a classic. (Avocet puts it out I think)

 

[bomberz1qr20]

Originally posted by riderx
and a 3 sided spoke wrench.

Although it was suggested you don't need a spoke wrench, they are very cheap and I highly recommend you learn the basics of trueing a wheel. It's not that difficult and can mean the difference between continueing a ride or heading home early.

Sorry but I would suggest a Park single wrench, much more comfy in the hand and less chance of rounding spoke nipples out cause you used the wrong side!

 

[riderx]

Originally posted by bomberz1qr20


Sorry but I would suggest a Park single wrench, much more comfy in the hand and less chance of rounding spoke nipples out cause you used the wrong side!

Well, the 3 sided gives you 3 tools in one (this guy needs to build a tool collection for cheap) and you can fix just about any wheel with it.

If you can't figure out which side to use, you probably shouldn't be using such a sophisticated tool!:wink:

 

[Micro-Sanjay]

I'm not sure how much I have spent but most of my tools were generously provided by the shop I used to wrench for. Overall, my tool box weigh in at 44 lbs...excluding the othe rbigger special tool left out.
One tip: Every little you think may no longer need, bolts, screws, nuts, washers, whatever..keep them.. and replace you hex key wrenches after some time..round-edged hex keys will strip the hex head bolt...

good luck
Ozzer

 

[edoz]

My advice, don't skimp on the stuff you use all the time. Allen wrenches will take the most abuse, so get good ones. Yea, the 45$ I spent on t-handle hex wrenches of the Snap-On truck hurt, but that was 5or6 years ago. I used them in the shop working as a mechanic and they outlast Park stuff, and as professional auto mechanics will tell you, they will be the last ones you ever buy. I have three or four sets of Snap-on and Matco wrenches that my dad gave me, and he bough them 30 years ago. Judging by the condition they are in now, they will be in my 6 yr old's tool box when he is my age. Of course, they are always better when they are free.

 

[spincrazy]

Originally posted by bomberz1qr20
My tactic has always worked:
wait till it needs fixing then buy the tool if you need it!

This way you're not buying a kit full of tools that will never get used. The expense seems not so severe when it's stretched out, and it's also a good excuse to support your LBS, every time you need a tool.

The one tool I was happy to recieve was the book "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt. It's a classic. (Avocet puts it out I think)

My sentiments exactly.

 

[Big John]

You can't live without them that's for sure. I think your poll stopped a little short on pricing though.LOL! I have been turning wrenches for over 20 years and figure between everything I have in tools is well over 40k. Now before the flames start, no they aren't all bicycle tools, I owned a body shop for some time and been wrenching cars, trucks, Harleys, and rv's longer than most Ride Monkey members have been alive. One thing I have learned, don't buy cheap tools, it only cost more in the long run. For the home "mechanic" Snap-On, Matco, Mac are a little much.

Stay out of the WalMart tool isle.LOL!