How Do You Carry Your Tools?

[6zfshdb]

A lot has been posted here on what tools you carry but little on how & where you carry them.

In my case, I've tried dozens of different tool carriers, boxes, bags and tool rolls over the years, some cheap and others not so much. I've carried them in rear rack bags, panniers, frame bags, under seat bags, handlebar bags and strapped to the bike frame. I've found the most convenient are flexible containers that will fit in any bag and conform to the available space without any waste. As well as saving space, flexible, non rigid bags also minimize rattle and prevent items inside from bouncing around when riding on rough surfaces.

I came across this one a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised at how well it's made for the < $20 price tag. It isn't a name brand or specifically made for bike use, but the heavy canvas material and strong brass zipper have held up quite well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0936RRBJ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like the fact that I can throw it into whatever bag I happen to be using on a particular ride or bungee it to the bike frame.

Let's see your tricks and tips on how you do it.

 

[PCeBiker]

A lot has been posted here on what tools you carry but little on how & where you carry them.

I saw your post and realized that I had to do something for my tools.

I found an empty tool bag in the garage.
It's about 25 years old.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have a chrome rollup bag. it's a bit long but I have my pump in there too. my wrench almost fits in there.

 

[PCeBiker]

A bungee cord to keep the tools from rattling around,..

 

[indianajo]

Fabric bags would make all my tools rust. Bag had an inch of water in it after the grocery+bank run Thursday. I lost a niterider headlight in the bag due to shorting out. New catseye headlight rides in a peanut butter jar now.
I used a kids school pencil box (steel) for three years, with the fall-off snap clasp replaced by velcro strips glued to the top and front with tire bead sealer. Was pink plaid, ICHK color to any self-respecting male. Rode in my 33 gal pannier with the spare tubes and tire.
However that box was stolen last spring. Thief missed the $60 lyzene air pump & 11" chanl-lock plier which were in a separate 6 mil zip lock bag from mcmaster.com, because they were too long for the box.
The replacement kids pencil box was chrome & black raised diamond pattern, much too fancy.
I've since found a 10" long cash steel cash box at the flea market for $4. Better clasp than any kids' box. Forest green with brown wood grain vinyl cover. The Lyzene pump & chanl-lock plier would fit, but I left them in the mcmaster bag because the pump costs as much as all the other tools added together. In the dark down under the tire.
Rattling? Who cares? It's way back there in a 33 gal pannier, pretty sound resistant anyway. I ride on road 99%. The spare tire & 3 tubes under it provide some suspension, I suppose.

 

[PCeBiker]

Fabric bags would make all my tools rust.
I used a kids school pencil box (steel) for three years,
11" chanl-lock plier which were in a separate 6 mil zip lock bag from
I've since found a 10" long cash steel cash box at the flea market for $4.

OK,.. With that in mind, I bought one of these.

Unigear Dry Bag Waterproof, Floating and Lightweight Bags for Kayaking, Boating, Fishing, Swimming and Camping with Waterproof Phone Case https://a.co/d/hww7o8S



It is big enough for all my tools and should fit nicely inside my tool bag.

 

[PCeBiker]

@indianajo
I'm thinking of buying ¼" drive set of 6 point shallow sockets,.. just the sockets.

Any recommendations?

I don't want to buy crap, but don't want to spend a fortune either.

 

[Viking1]

I use panniers, and keep the tools inside a zippered money bag from my bank. Small, flat, and strong enough, and if it gets a hole or tear, the bank is happy to give me another one! Did I mention they are FREE?

 

[Viking1]

Here is a Top Peak multi tool I keep Velcro strapped to my bars as well.

 

[Gordon71]

I like the Topeak system of rear rack and snap on bag. I use that on my Rad Rover. When I bought a Rad Mini I had to go with the rack that they sold as the Topeak wouldn't fit it but I found an attachment plate that I mounted on the rack so the snap on bag/pannier can be used on either bike. Tools, extra tubes etc. easily fit in the top of the bag and the fold out panniers are alway available if needed for other things.

 

[indianajo]

I'm thinking of buying ¼" drive set of 6 point shallow sockets,.. just the sockets.
Any recommendations?
I don't want to buy crap, but don't want to spend a fortune either.

99.999% of 1/4" sockets are ****ese ****. I had a set made in taiwan sold by Katy industries, I bought at Big Lots about 2000, but the burglar got those in 2020. Best bargain I find is used Sears Proto Cornwall Wright Armstrong or Snap-On sockets at the flea market. You won't find a whole set at the flea market, just individuals. Last generation of Sears tools were ****ese ****. Sears are bankrupt, good riddance.
If you have the money, mcmaster.com still sells mostly US made tools. I've bought some combo wrenches @ mcmaster this year since no 8 mm 10 mm 15 mm combo wrenches showed up at the flea market over 9 months. The bumpy mcmaster ones were Wright, the smooth chrome ones were Proto. Mcmaster won't tell you what they are sourcing.

 

[Rexlion]

I keep my tools in my pants.

 

[PCeBiker]

I keep my tools in my pants.

I had my tools stored on top of my bike seat a few times.
That's a REALLY bad place to store your tools.

 

[PCeBiker]

99.999% of 1/4" sockets are ****ese ****. Last generation of Sears tools were ****ese ****.

I just went through my tools and found a bunch of ¼" sockets from my Sears Craftsman set from the 80's.
They will work fine.

The bumpy mcmaster ones were Wright, the smooth chrome ones were Proto.

I prefer my wrenches to be smooth, they feel better in my hands, but I like my sockets and extentions to be knurled or shaped so I can grip them and turn them by hand without the ratchet handle.
I even took the grinder to one of my ½" extensions to give me something to grip. lol


I think what I should do is buy a half decent ¼" drive torque wrench.
Then I can use it as my ratchet handle for all the Allen bolts on my ebike and not have to worry about under/over torquing anything.
The maximum torque on my ebike is 33 ft/lbs for the crank bolts, so a nice torque wrench that reads up to 50 ft/lbs would be perfect.

So, now I want to ask the community for recommendations of a small torque wrench.
I definitely don't want to buy a piece of crap for a torque wrench, but they can get really expensive.

 

[6zfshdb]

I think what I should do is buy a half decent ¼" drive torque wrench.
Then I can use it as my ratchet handle for all the Allen bolts on my ebike and not have to worry about under/over torquing anything.
The maximum torque on my ebike is 33 ft/lbs for the crank bolts, so a nice torque wrench that reads up to 50 ft/lbs would be perfect.

So, now I want to ask the community for recommendations of a small torque wrench.
I definitely don't want to buy a piece of crap for a torque wrench, but they can get really expensive.

I've had good luck with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JKJTDWC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It isn't a name brand and it isn't the cheapest out there but IMO, it's well made for the price point.

 

[PCeBiker]

I've had good luck with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JKJTDWC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It isn't a name brand and it isn't the cheapest out there but IMO, it's well made for the price point.

I did a bunch of searching and research.

I found that torque wrench that you linked to and it has sold over 10,000 wrenches with 4.7 stars, but I always check the negative reviews and found this,..

I wonder how many people have one and think that it's working great, but it's way out of spec?

It seems like everything available has the same inaccuracy with exception to the quality brand names.

I searched the brand names that @indianajo referenced and they are quite expensive, and a torque wrench that has a scale of about 0-50 Newton Meters is rare.

I suppose I should just do it right and spend the $3,700 and get a proper torque wrench?
It does come with free shipping.


I'm kinda liking the old school style Park Tool torque wrench.

No fancy clicky thingies, batteries, or expense.
And I'll bet it doesn't wear out or lose accuracy over time?



I really like this one, but it's got the same accuracy issue, and is good for a single use before it bends outta shape.

I've got 3 torque wrenches now.

The big one is scaled to 350 NM and is useless for measuring ~10 NM.

The ⅜" drive clicky wrench stopped clicking so I took it apart and got it to cluck again, but now it is out of spec and needs to be calibrated.

My old school torque wrench in the middle is still pointing to zero and I think that I can trust it's reading?

It's more than 30 years old, so chances are that it was built to last back in the day.

I found this video about testing an ancient torque wrench.

It was accurate to within 4%,..


I think that I'll just use my old torque wrench and assume that it's accurate.
The pointer still points to zero (if you look straight on to avoid paradox)

I can take it with me on my bike for the time being while I'm messing with all the nuts and bolts trying to adjust my bike to my preferences, then keep it at home after everything is set.

I can connect my Crank Brothers multi-tool to it to practice my torque pressures so that I'll be in the ball park if I ever need to torque something in the field.
Close me eyes, torque to 12, then check the scale.


I never used my torque wrenches on my car.
I would just go by feel and choke up on the handle when I needed less torque.
I never snapped a bolt or had one loosen up and fall out.

The only time that I would use a torque wrench on my car was to tighten up the cylinder head bolts, but I never got that far with my car.
Now I've got an $80 (on sale) torque wrench that I'll never use.
I tightened up my lug nuts twice, now it sits.


Oh, by the way, for anyone reading this that has a clicky type torque wrench, make sure that you ALWAYS turn your wrench down to zero after you use it.
If you leave it turned up, the spring will sag and give you an inaccurate reading.
But at least it will under-read as apposed to over-read.

In my experience, it's better to under-read than over-read.
If you snap the head off a cylinder head bolt, then your car is going to the machine shop to have the bolt removed. (you simply can't install the head without all the head bolts installed and properly torqued.)
If you under-torque your head bolts, you can always tighten them up later.

It's good practice to check your torque after about 50 km of driving anyway to see if they are all still torqued properly.
Especially wheel lug nuts.

 

[PCeBiker]

I found this antique Sears Craftsman torque wrench on ebay for 70 bucks.

I'll bet that it it kicks the SHyTe outta any fancy computer controlled, battery operated, fancy, clicky, crap that's available today?

 

[Avg_Joe]

I carry my crap in a North Face ditty bag I won at an event years ago. The pseudo-MOLLE straps on the exterior are great to secure it. https://www.thenorthface.com/en-us/...ase-camp-travel-canisters-pNF0A52TG?color=KY4

 

[PCeBiker]

I carry my crap in a 30 year old tool bag

 

[indianajo]

I had the sears craftsman 1/2" bending with pointer torque wrench from the 1970's, before the burglar took it. Not suitable for bicycles. Some of those klein wright proto wrenches you posted were 3/4" or 1", which are not suitable even for autos. I suggest you buy 1/4" torque wrench from modernbike.com or universalcycles.com . Personally, I've tightened enough bolts I don't need one, except for head bolts on car engines, which must all be the same value for the head gasket to seal.
Most fabric bags leak, and I ride in the rain. My velcro fastener panniers from Yuba won't stay closed after the first year.