Just got into biking this year and I am ready to get riding again in 3 weeks after a horrible crash with a 12 week recovery which require wrist and leg surgery both are now screwed and plated. Is there a consensus on the best tire levers? Have 3" tires not sure if that matters figured I would start with these as flats seem like the most common repair. Any other must have bike tools? I have lots of auto mechanic tools, Allen wrench sets, Torque wrenches etc. So just really bike specific starter tools that are a must have for general maintenance.
Tire Levers and Bike Tools
- Thread starter Tubbs
- Start date
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
Welcome to the forum! Glad to hear you're on the mend after the accident.
Plastic tire levers work fairly well on bike tires smaller than 3" You'd be better off with steel for anything bigger.
I do all my own bike maintenance and my fairly complete set of auto mechanics tools are a help for some tasks. With e-bikes, you add electrical meters & tools to the mix. If you get into working on chains, bottom brackets, derailleurs, cassettes and such, there are a host of specialty tools out there. Rather than spend a lot of money on a complete tool set, I generally buy the tools necessary for the task at hand. Some tools in an expensive bike tool kit you may never need.
The handiest tool you can own is a good bike work stand capable of holding a heavy e-bike.
A couple of specialty bike tools I use regularly are:
Chain gauge, Chain link pliers, Chain cleaner, Derailleur hanger adjustment tool, Cassette wrench & sockets, Tire valve core extractor, Spoke wrenches, small Torque wrench for bicycle fasteners, and a few others I can't think of right now.
I'm sure others here will chime in and add to the list.
Again, welcome aboard and good luck!
Plastic tire levers work fairly well on bike tires smaller than 3" You'd be better off with steel for anything bigger.
I do all my own bike maintenance and my fairly complete set of auto mechanics tools are a help for some tasks. With e-bikes, you add electrical meters & tools to the mix. If you get into working on chains, bottom brackets, derailleurs, cassettes and such, there are a host of specialty tools out there. Rather than spend a lot of money on a complete tool set, I generally buy the tools necessary for the task at hand. Some tools in an expensive bike tool kit you may never need.
The handiest tool you can own is a good bike work stand capable of holding a heavy e-bike.
A couple of specialty bike tools I use regularly are:
Chain gauge, Chain link pliers, Chain cleaner, Derailleur hanger adjustment tool, Cassette wrench & sockets, Tire valve core extractor, Spoke wrenches, small Torque wrench for bicycle fasteners, and a few others I can't think of right now.
I'm sure others here will chime in and add to the list.
Again, welcome aboard and good luck!
Bicycle repair tools is a well worn topic. A bit of internet searching will lead you to some serious discussion, as well as discussions regarding what brands etc. are worth the money and what aren't for the more expensive stuff like a torque wrench. The post above is a good start. I would just add: a good set of metric allen wrenches; a good tire pump with gauge. Keep in mind too that you need a metric torque wrench that handles low torques, not the higher torques you find with autos. None of the tools you have for an auto are likely to be useful on a bike.
So my 1/4" torque wrench goes down to 40 inch pounds so would be good for anything above 5Nm other than probably not real accurate at the bottom of the range. Is Park tools the Snap on of bike tools? I only intend to buy once and want to get the best that I can afford.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
Although expensive, Park tools are usually good quality and they stand behind their products. Whether or not they are the best is debatable though and will depend on the particular tool. There are more expensive torque wrenches out there, especially the digital models, but they are not necessarily better. I've been using the Park TW-5.2 for some time and haven't had any issues. They claim a +/- 4% accuracy which IMO is good enough for most bicycle fasteners.
I got this torque wrench. With the cost of bikes, tools are not a place to skimp. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JKJTDWC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
RunForTheHills
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
If you don't have a carbon fiber frame, I don't feel like you need a torque wrench for every small screw. I do use one for the bottom bracket, but rarely/never for anything else. Blue Loctite, marine grease, and 3-n-1 oil are handy to have around. I agree that you should buy the specialty tools as you need them rather than buy a kit full of tools you may never use.
You don't need it until you over-torque one. Or it comes loose from under torquing. Don't know about your bikes, but EVERY location on mine has a torque specified. Maybe for a reason?
Back in my car repairing days, I knew I could always heli-coil something if I stripped it, although I never did. I don't think they make heli-coils for the tiny bolts you find on bikes. Note too that the torques specified are pretty low.
RunForTheHills
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I have been working on my bikes for decades. I haven't stripped out a screw once and the screws stay put. I think I have a good feel for it. A couple of my bikes are lugged steel frames from the 70's and I doubt you could find torque information for every screw.
Lugged steel? And there's the rub. Aluminum is much easier to strip or damage in other ways, like collapsing a tube.
heck, it's your bike though!
RunForTheHills
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I also have had aluminum bikes.
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