Must have Tools for a bike kit

[ymarty]

Well, my new bike arrived tonight and I have been struggling to put it together. Stems dont slide, things are dont appear to fit correctly. Went out on the internet and started looking and discovered that I needed bike grease. Ran down to REI and grab some along with some chain lubricant. I have a lot of tools but thought, what else would I need to maintain this bike?

To the group, what is in your must have kit?
What do you use to maintain your bike?
How often do you provide maintenance to your bike?

 

[slomoshun]

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

https://tinyurl.com/y7dwvvur

 

[Nova Haibike]

There are really only three things you need to do to maintain any bicycle, e-bike or not: clean it, lube it, air it. On my personal bikes, I use a waterless wash product (specifically Meguiar's D114 Express Wash) for general cleaning. I just spray it on, and wipe it off. For heavy cleaning I like White Lightning Clean Streak (I almost never need this on my bike, but I use it a lot in the shop). I lubricate the chain with Rock-n-Roll Gold; it runs exceptionally clean so my chain never needs more than a wiping to remain shiny and running smoothly. Pivot points get a drop of Triflow. Since I work in a shop, I just use a compressor for air; at home a floor pump is a must. I do these things at least every week, or after a ride involving rain/puddles/mud/dirt/dust.

Of course there are a lot of tools used in bike repair, both common and component-specific. But for regular maintenance, generally speaking tools (other than a floor pump) aren't needed.

 

[mrgold35]

I didn't have any bike specific tools when I purchased my two Radrovers back in Sept/2016. I didn't have a lot of bike knowledge since getting back to biking just two years earlier after a +25 year break. My Transeo GT XL 700X40c bike was pretty much trouble free for +2 years and the most I did was check the tire pressure or clean the chain every couple of months.

I found the best tools to have is a cell phone with a plan to get back home after two years and +5500 miles on my Rover. I then added tools and materials to my rack bag that didn't leave me stranded on the side of the road.

- Topeak air pump
- Stan's tire sealant
- tire patch kit
- valve core remover
- air gauge
- spare tube
- screw driver and 18mm wrench
- zip ties
- wire cutters for zip ties
- Y design Hex wrench (4mm, 5mm, 6mm)
- velcro straps (26X4 120tpi Vee8 tire is almost impossible to hand pump without using straps to help set the tire in the rim)
- rubber gloves, shop towels, hand cleaner packets, small tarp for the seat when flipping the bike upside down on the trails to fix flats

I added stuff like a light attached to my helmet because I also like to night ride the single track trails and work commute at 5:30am. Street lights are not enough to see what I'm doing that early in the morning.

One of the best thing I purchased for my ebike was the Xpower A-2 Airrow Pro Air Pump Blower. I use this after de-greasing the chain to blow out excess cleaner, air dry my bike after a wash, and dry out my bike if I run into rain from work commute. I was really surprised the first time I used this on how much water hides within the chain, derailleur, brakes, spoke connections near the rim, and pedals, or any small crack/seam.

I add tools as needed as things break, wear out, or if I do upgrades. The last tools I added was the Brite Mark medium tip paint markers in black and white to cover up all my years of nicks from wrecks and trail riding.

 

[indianajo]

Bike grease?? When I have to replace missing axle balls or rusty crank balls (used), I use petroleum jelly. Bikes are not high speed bearings, you don't need the lithium soap to keep it from melting out like a car or conveyor.
I go off the cell phone service grid and if I could get the wife to come get me, the car would be too full of bargains to fit the bike in. So I carry :
Open end wrench 9/16" for seat tilt, 3/8", 8 & 9 mm OE for changing batteries on light and fender mounts. 2 x Open end crescent wrench 6" Mtn bikes require 1/2" open end for seat post, others don't. Some bikes need 7/16" OE for calipers or brackets, others don't.
Combo wrench 15 mm for axle ends, 17 mm for shimano hub, 10 mm for various. 17 mm is specially flattened for replacing axle balls.
Electric hub requires 18 mm OE wrench.
Allen wrench 2,5 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm. Can delete 2.5 3 & 6 if the bike doesn't need them, mtn bikes don't.
Two Flat 5/16" screw driver for removing tire from rim and 1/8" screwdriver for various
Phillips #2 screwdriver for accessories
slip joint plier 6" for adjusting cables
On mtn bike with shimano shifter, 11" groove adj pliers for unloading the derailleur, SRAM shifter doesn't need this.
schrader core removing valve cap, milton
half dozen of 1/4" axle balls. Especially urgent on shimano 6 & 7 spd hubs.
Flashlight
Two or three tubes - I've had one spare blow up immediately out there, requiring an 11 mile walk to town. They are made in ***** no alternative mostly. I'm using simple tubes, nothing special except long stem for power wheel. Occassionally slime brand, but they don't seem to last much longer than regular ones. Slime sometimes won't let the air out to clear the frame when changing tire.
Air pump
I've got the hand tools except the groove adj pliers in a metal kid school box, secured close with velcro glued to it.
BTW i've been using 5W ATF (type F or type A, non detergent oils) or sus 32 hydraulic fluid (no additive grade for no detergent) for lubing chain, keeps it from rusting in the rain as well as I've never worn out one. Also oil sprockets, idlers, shifter joints, cable ends, shifter & brake controls, crank hub (hole in bottom), pedal shafts, steering post bearing, brake calipers, To keep pants clean I use binder clips from office depot. I clean oily dirt from the derailleur idlers about thrice a year with 1/8" screwdriver, where it builds up.
I'd like to carry a spare tire, one tire that cracked and blew two tubes last month required a 7 mile walk pushing the bike. But the roll up tires sold by Schwinn won't hold onto the rim, they gap and the tube blows up through the crack. Great idea, *****y quality. Schwinn tubes and the foot air pump are okay. I pump up tire so it doesn't bang rim on the pavement, have a feel for how tight that is with fingers and don't use a gauge. Every time you open the schrader valve it can stick and slow leak, so additional openings to check the pressure are risky IMHO.

 

[FSRBart]

I carry a few things;

• Spare tube
• Patch kit
• Tire Irons
• Compact Bike Tool (all in one)
• Air pump
• Multi-tool

If I go out ti the back-country I'll bring a few extra "tools"; Fire starter, light-weight flashlight, larger knife, cordage, and a firearm.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I have to replace the brake pads every 500 miles. For most everything else I can do with maintenance every 1000 miles or so. I also usually send the bike to the bike shop in late February and have them get it in great riding shape when I start riding in March, and similarly if I am taking a big trip with my bike I like to start with the bike in perfect condition.

Several people here gave pretty good lists that should be great starting points for you. There are a couple of things that I might add:

• A yellow or silver sharpie to mark where holes are on tubes before you patch them. You can make a great big "+" on the tube before you sand the tube and the ends of the "+" will still be there to help you perfectly align the patch.
• If you have a mid-drive bike with a derailleur, and especially if you have a ten or eleven speed cassette with an extra-thin chain, consider bringing some quick-links, a chain removal tool, and a quick-link removal tool. They sell very clever quick-link removal pliers which double as tire levers.
• Even if your bike has built-in lights, get an external bike light that you can use as a helmet-mounted light and as a flashlight when you need to fix a flat in the dark.
• Spare rack and/or fender bolts

 

[ebikemom]

When I was at the bike tech's, he put a little lubricant on the latch that can be used to adjust the seat up and down. I didn't ask what he used, but what lubricant would be good for that purpose? Thanks.

 

[Nova Haibike]

You could use just about any lubricant on a seatpost quick release, even the oft-dismissed WD40. In my shop I will use Triflow, or whatever thin lube I can buy inexpensively.

 

[ebikemom]

Thanks! The bike tech also said that it's important to lubricate wheel axles, to prevent them from getting stripped over time. Is Triflow good for that, too?

 

[Nova Haibike]

When I overhaul wheel bearings, I typically use the same grease on the axle threads that I used for the bearings. But Triflow would be fine too. It is not that a lube is going to prevent stripping of the threads, I do it as a corrosion prevention measure. On bicycles with quick release hubs, lube on the QR skewer is especially helpful; I have run into more than a few QR's that were stuck due to corrosion.

 

[ebikemom]

Thank you!