[valentin_84]

I need to disassemble my entire bike so that I can have the frame and forks painted. While I have a ton of auto tools, there are obviously a few things that I can't disassemble / reassemble without actual "bike" tools. Can you guys suggest the things I'd need that auto tools can't cover? I know the chain whip and cassette locking tools are a couple...

Also, would it just be better to just get a kit? I only have about $100 to spend though and it seems like the Spin Doctor Team 33 tool kit would have it all, or maybe the Spin Doctor Essential tool kit?

Any advice would help. Thanks!

 

[rockofullr]

NOOOOoooo don't buy cheap tools!

Park or Pedro's only.

When I started wrenching on bikes as a little grom I got the Park Advanced Mechanic Tool Kit and never looked back. The Home Mechanic Starter Kit might also cut it.

No matter what you get you will need to either borrow the expensive ones like a head set press or take it to the LBS.

 

[OGRipper]

You might not need much in the way of specialty tools but it depends on the bike. What bike are we talking about here?

At the very least you will need to remove (and reinstall) your headset cups and bottom bracket. There are special tools for those jobs, but some people hack it with common tools. If you don't know what those parts are, I suggest you get some help from a pro.

You might also need a special tool to remove your cranks, but again it depends on the bike.

You don't need a chain whip or cassette tool to repaint your frame - just remove your wheel and then reinstall it later.

Assuming you've got some metric stuff the rest should be doable with regular tools if you have the knowledge.

 

[Yeti]

I guess you'll also need to remove bearings. There are special tools to remove them, but finding circular metal bits that are the same size as the bearings and carefully hammering them out has worked for me in the past.
Besides that you only need allen keys. Then take the frame with the bb and headset still on to a bike shop and borrow some tools...bringing them some beer helps.

 

[Casey-Ryan]

NOOOOoooo don't buy cheap tools!

Park or Pedro's only.

When I started wrenching on bikes as a little grom I got the Park Advanced Mechanic Tool Kit and never looked back. The Home Mechanic Starter Kit might also cut it.

No matter what you get you will need to either borrow the expensive ones like a head set press or take it to the LBS.

If you ever consider buying bike tools don't get cheap with them because they are going to take a lot of abuse and you don't want to be stripping any bolt heads because of cheap tools. Bike shop is going to the place to go without damaging anything. I would suggest spending the money on a Master Kit from pedros or one of the top tier park kits. Its a lot of money now but when you get a smaller essential kit and add the cost of the tools you be adding it starts to make sense why you spend that money in the first place.

I work in one would appreciate beer and possibly a pizza or sub to help you take off the remainder of parts

 

[canadmos]

To work on bikes you don't even need that many tools.

A decent set of allen wrenches, some sockets for the fork, cable cutters, bottom bracket tool, cassette tool. You can even use the sockets to hammer out the bearings and use a bolt and some washers to press them back in. You don't always need to go blow a whole lot of cash to get the tools you need. For other things like the headset, you can either blow your budget on the actual tool, or spend $5 and ten minutes taking it to shop to do it.

Heck, one suggestion I have is to goto a bike shop and ask if they have any slightly used tools you could buy. I tried to buy a bottom bracket tool once, but the shop was out of them so they sold me one of theirs for $5.