How Do You Carry Your Tools?

[Mr. Coffee]

All the tools, gadgets, accessories, an extra layer, and lunch go in that enormous front bag:

 

[Viking1]

I just use a zippered “money bag” from a local bank. They will give them to you for free and they are mostly water resistant. I keep the bag inside of my panniers. I carry tools on both bikes. Pictured is a friendS Como beside mine.

 

[m@Robertson]

as far as knives go Now I have several version of one of these. they use scalpel blades that cost a whopping .10 each so they are always sharp and really light weight.

Amazon.com

wow thanks for posting that. I had to order one. And a box of #23 blades. Twenty bucks, stocked with 110 blades, and its a flipper that weighs less than an ounce. If it works out I can see buying a couple more and using them for my on-bike toolkit knives.

 

[fooferdoggie]

wow thanks for posting that. I had to order one. And a box of #23 blades. Twenty bucks, stocked with 110 blades, and its a flipper that weighs less than an ounce. If it works out I can see buying a couple more and using them for my on-bike toolkit knives.

I have three different ones Now I dont have to carry a regular knife and fear loosing it. but they are light duty knives you cant put much pressure on one.

 

[m@Robertson]

but they are light duty knives you cant put much pressure on one.

Yeah I figured. Probably its toughest job is to open a box. An on-bike knife is usually really light duty. But I also have a multi-tool and they have a more substantial blade if thats what is needed. I typically EDC a folder along the lines of a Kershaw Leek.

Speaking of multi-tools, I have two of these Gerbers in two different bikes' tool kits. At about $25 a pop on sale, they are no Leatherman Wave but they're also 1/4 of the price or maybe a little less these days.

https://amzn.to/48N7cqO

 

[Catalyzt]

My West Coast Weight Weenie Tool Kits: One small bag on the top tube and handlebars (tire inflator+sealant, which I probably couldn't figure out how to use, allen wrenches, micro pump) and under seat bag which is mainly for an extra microfiber shirt or poncho (depending on the weather) and maybe a leatherman-style tool. I carry a spring-assisted knife with a safety (to lock it closed or open) in my pocket, sometimes a compact stun gun (about the size of a really fat fountain pen, but twice as long and even lighter) and more recently added SABRE pepper spray. All carried so part of them is visible, so all legal in CA.

The knife has been useful for weird stuff like cutting away cloth from a ripped pant leg, self defense is its secondary purpose. (There's a separate thread for SD, but some tools serve double duty.) And SD is as much for really rare animal encounters as well as really rare hostile human encounters. Haven't had one I couldn't avoid in the last 20 years or so at least. And yeah, I have also used sticks and rocks to tighten weird bolts on the crank of my Raleigh acoustic that require some really special zoidoid tool I've never had. And on that bike, I carry black electrical tape to keep that particular bolt from becoming unscrewed.

I am hereby amending my post and replacing it with this one, which must remain in the hall of shame for at least 30 days:

I am a dumb-ass who claimed to carry tools, but in reality did not, and needed to be rescued by my wife after a fast flat less than 12 hours after I posted the lie above.

I used to carry tools. Then I get lazy. I actually looked at the tool kit before I went out and thought, "Gee, I wonder why I'm not strapping that to my bike."

Please do as I say, not as I do, so you never join me in the Hall of Shame!

 

[PCeBiker]

Please do as I say, not as I do, so you never join me in the Hall of Shame!

I could have joined you in the Hall of Shame.

This is everything that I carry with me in my tool bag,..

I Really like the compressor.
It's got a HUGE battery and can fill many 26" fat tires before it needs to be recharged and can be used to power accessory lights or charge a phone because it's also a power bank.
And you can charge it with the 12V from a car.
(It is quite heavy though, but I don't care about that.)

Its also got a built in red and white light. The red light will also flash.

The valve connector was a piece of crap, and wouldn't seal or stay connected, so I replaced it.

It's got a built in digital pressure gauge so I don't need to use my separate pressure gauge.

It worked so well that I decided to take the little hand pump out of my tool bag to save space.

After a couple of weeks, I decided to check the pressure before my ride, AND THE BATTERY WAS DEAD !!
WTF !!

It turned out that I must have hit the corner button and turned on the light after strapping down the tool bag.

I spent a day trying to think of a way to prevent the button from being pressed accidentally and I found this and taped it over top of the buttons.

It fits Perfectly.
It's a stainless steel contoured plate washer from the bottom of a hanging ceiling lamp shade.

So after charging the battery back up, I put the little hand pump back in my tool bag. The micro pump will take me about seven days and nights to pump up my huge tires, but at least I have a backup.
I've also got a CO2 inflator, but I don't carry that. It's too much stuff, and it would probably take 4-5 CO2 cartridges to fill my tires and that's too much to carry.


This is the compressor if any is interested.
They know that the valve connector is crap, and offer a new screw on version instead.

Portable Tire Inflator Air... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09NQ2Q211?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[DaveMatthews]

I could have joined you in the Hall of Shame.

This is everything that I carry with me in my tool bag,..

View attachment 164761View attachment 164762View attachment 164763View attachment 164764View attachment 164765View attachment 164766View attachment 164767View attachment 164768


I Really like the compressor.
It's got a HUGE battery and can fill many 26" fat tires before it needs to be recharged and can be used to power accessory lights or charge a phone because it's also a power bank.
And you can charge it with the 12V from a car.
(It is quite heavy though, but I don't care about that.)

View attachment 164769

Its also got a built in red and white light. The red light will also flash.

View attachment 164773View attachment 164772


The valve connector was a piece of crap, and wouldn't seal or stay connected, so I replaced it.

View attachment 164771


It's got a built in digital pressure gauge so I don't need to use my separate pressure gauge.

It worked so well that I decided to take the little hand pump out of my tool bag to save space.

After a couple of weeks, I decided to check the pressure before my ride, AND THE BATTERY WAS DEAD !!
WTF !!

It turned out that I must have hit the corner button and turned on the light after strapping down the tool bag.

I spent a day trying to think of a way to prevent the button from being pressed accidentally and I found this and taped it over top of the buttons.

View attachment 164774

It fits Perfectly.
It's a stainless steel contoured plate washer from the bottom of a hanging ceiling lamp shade.

So after charging the battery back up, I put the little hand pump back in my tool bag. The micro pump will take me about seven days and nights to pump up my huge tires, but at least I have a backup.
I've also got a CO2 inflator, but I don't carry that. It's too much stuff, and it would probably take 4-5 CO2 cartridges to fill my tires and that's too much to carry.


This is the compressor if any is interested.
They know that the valve connector is crap, and offer a new screw on version instead.

Portable Tire Inflator Air... https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09NQ2Q211?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Props for the Shure microphone bag.

 

[PCeBiker]

Props for the Shure microphone bag.

Ohhh
I didn't know what Shure was or where I got the bag?
I've had it for of over 25 years as well.
Sometimes it's good if you never throw out anything.

The compressor does come with a prissy silk storage bag that's useless.

The compressor fits perfectly in the Shure bag with a bit of extra space on the end that folds up just tight enough to fit the Shure bag into the tool bag compartment.

It all worked out great.
And my battery stays charged now.


PS,..
A lighter is a great tool to carry. You don't have to be a smoker.
You can use it as a scissors or knife for plastic things, or heat up plastic to mold it or something.

I've had a bunch of threads coming off my tool bag that I melted off instead of cutting them or pulling them off.
You can melt the ends of a cut piece of rope to prevent fraying or make a ball of melted plastic so it won't untie itself.

You can melt the cut end of a zip tie so it isn't sharp.
Lick your finger and press it on the melted plastic to mash it down.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

The 2023 Tool Roll for the Co-Motion Siskiyou:

Top to bottom:

• Valve core remover
• Leatherman Micro multi tool
• Pedro's Multi tool with micro tire levers
• Stan's Darts
• Bacon Strips
• Funky hex wrench from Velo Orange
• 10mm wrench for some rack bolts

Another small stuff sack has: spare tube, tire pressure gauge, patch kit, spare valve cores, some spare bolts, zip ties
Pump (with duct tape wrapped around the body) is carried in the same Rando Bag.

 

[PCeBiker]

Are you sure that you've got the right wrench?
I'm seeing 10mm.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Are you sure that you've got the right wrench?
I'm seeing 10mm.

Sorry, it is a 10mm wrench and I had a typo.

 

[PCeBiker]

I had a similar type of hex wrench for my windsurfer that I carried with me when I was sailing, but it was a $10 cheapie and would get rusty.

I kept oiling it to help stop the rust (I used gear oil, it's thicker) but it finally rusted up so bad that it completely seized and I threw it out.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I liked the "spare throttle" of PCebiker. The next step would be carrying a spare motor and possibly a spare wheelset

 

[PCeBiker]

I liked the "spare throttle" of PCebiker. The next step would be carrying a spare motor and possibly a spare wheelset

I don't have my PAS sensor hooked up, so if my throttle fails I'd have no power.
I've got half a dozen throttles, so I carry a spare with me.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I don't have my PAS sensor hooked up, so if my throttle fails I'd have no power.
I've got half a dozen throttles, so I carry a spare with me.

And I thought carrying a spare quick-link, a chain tool and a quick-link tool was an exaggeration... (for very rare situations when the chain breaks)
How in the world can a throttle fail?!

 

[PCeBiker]

How in the world can a throttle fail?!

They can fail when they get wet and I could break off the throttle lever if I rotate the throttle too far while applying the throttle lock/"cruise control".

The 300X throttle doesn't require the handlebar grip and brake lever to be removed to install it.

I simply unplug the broken throttle, plug in the spare and install it anywhere on the handlebars to get me home.

The 300X throttle is IPX5 waterproof but won't work as a throttle lock for me because my shifter lever will hit the throttle housing.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

And I thought carrying a spare quick-link, a chain tool and a quick-link tool was an exaggeration... (for very rare situations when the chain breaks)

Yes, it is rare for a chain to break. However, it is much less rare to have a crash that bends your derailleur hanger and your chain. Then you have to use the chain tool to extract the parts of the chain that aren't bent, and either carefully use the chain tool to put the shorter remains back together, or use quick links to do the same. Either way you're limping back with either a single speed or (at best) without your lowest gears.

Don't tell me how I know...

 

[PCeBiker]

Yes, it is rare for a chain to break.

Especially on a hub drive, and I don't pedal anyway.

However, it is much less rare to have a crash that bends your derailleur hanger and your chain.

I've got it covered.
It's all in my tool kit.

Plus, I can just throttle home with my hub drive if I have a drive train failure.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

They can fail when they get wet and I could break off the throttle lever if I rotate the throttle too far while applying the throttle lock/"cruise control".

I hope you do not call it "a quality product" It is hard for me to imagine any part of my e-bikes failing because it rained