On-bike toolkit: multitools and multifools.

[Ashaman42]

The "multitool" I find most useless though is not a cycling one at all; it's the scissors in some Swiss Army knives. Small scissors attached to a much bigger lump of metal and plastic mean they're unwieldy. They're too clumsy to cut eg fingernails and too small to cope with much else. Which is a shame on such a classic piece of toolery. They should make them detachable, like the tweezers and tooth pick.

Just goes to show we're all different really. I hate our nailscissors and always use the ones on my little keyring Swiss Army knife, find them much better although the return spring has snapped off and there's a certain knack to using them now.

[Kim]

I really liked my swiss army knife scissors for precise trimming type jobs.  Unfortunately, I used them for cutting wire too often, and now they're not so useful.

[hellymedic]

As well as the usual stuff I carry a few spare M4 and M5 bolts plus various tie wraps, their weight to usefulness ratio is off the scale.

I stuff M5 bolts into every unoccupied boss...

[slohill]

I've only broken a chain once. I was 2 miles from home and it was mostly downhill. I coasted and walked.
[/quote]

But the one time I have broken a chain was half way round the last ride in my RTY 200 series---saved the ride and possibly the series.  A sram powerlock weighs nothing and sits there in reserve in my small bike tool kit.  I also take an ancient, very lightweight, alloy multi tool which combines chain splitter, 4/5/6/mm allen keys and small screwdriver.  It was bought at some bike jumble sale years ago---I have never seen another one before or since.  It still does the job.   

[vorsprung]

Topeak Alien TX
Small pliers
8mm/10mm spanner
Small screwdriver
2x Steel tyre levers
Electrical tape
In the puncture repair box, some m5 nuts and bolts, powerlinks, patch, glue, Jockey wheel screw

Also carry cable ties and tyre boot

In commuting bag have a small adjustable as the rear wheel on winter bike uses track nuts

Most used tools in the Alien: knife, 5mm Allen key
But I'm pretty sure I've used all the tools at least once for real

[frankly frankie]

The Topeak 18 does look like a great tool if you're leading a ride, say, and want to have something for all cases, but I think there'll be a lot of superfluity otherwise.

I'd carry a much bigger multitool when leading a ride, to include spanner heads and a knife, at least. And I do carry small pliers separately.  The clever thing though about the mini-tools like the Mini 18+ is - harking back to an earlier comment about multitools being too heavy compared with the individual items - each tool acts as part of the handle for the other tools - this is quite weight-efficient and ensures you have plenty of leverage available (more than enough, actually).

[Cudzoziemiec]

The other day I was adjusting my saddle angle. Today it slipped while riding - nothing drastic, just enough to be annoying. It takes a surprising amount of leverage!

[Cudzoziemiec]

And on Wednesday those baby wipes came in useful - not for myself but for a companion whose chain had unshipped.

[Canardly]

Toppeak Alien 2 plus bits and pieces

[mzjo]

There is nothing like having the tools that are adapted to the fastenings on your bike. An example: two weeks ago I was on a control/feeding station for our club hilly ride. We were not officially a repair point but on the offchance I put a multitool and a pump in with the stove and kettle. We had a rider come through with a flash carbon missile with a saddle loose (and no tools, obviously; carbon missiles only use race back-up  ). My multitool would tighten up his saddle but the loose seat-pillar required a real (cranked) allen key (or dismount the saddle to get access to tighten the pillar). Fortunately someone else had a little set of allen keys in their car (not bike-related) and equally fortunately the largest one was the 4mm needed for the seat pillar.
What I carry depends on what bike I am riding (loads of spanners for the tandem, including whitworth sizes for seat pillars and clamps and eccentric, multi-size spanner for the wheels and several little ones for the hub brake cables; just a multitool with allen keys and flat and crosshead screwdrivers for the racer). I always carry a tool for the crank bolts (8mm allen key or 15mm tube spanner depending on the bike) and a spoke key (one of two because the spoke nipples vary a bit and my old hexagonal key won't fit all of them; the cheap round one is a bit loose on some nipples as well). On the mono I usually carry a chain tool and a few spare links but not on the geared bikes (although I have come close to needing it on one occasion). I also carry spare spokes!
One of my friends from a neighbouring club always carries a chain tool. He has never needed it for himself but last season he had to use it four times for other riders - the first time in over ten years. We think that modern 10v chains are not as reliable as the older 9v. (I am still on 7-8v so very few problems).
My pump (I only have one) is a telescopic multi-valve job which has a bracket on the racer; on all the other bikes it goes in a bag (so I have to carry a bag, front or back, which will hold the pump). It pumps tyres up pretty much as hard as my (cheap) floor pump.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Back to hand-cleaners - I was told the other day, a propos of nothing, that Swarfega contains an ingredient banned in much of the rest of Europe and the USA as carcinogenic.

[plum]

Well if someone uses it to clean the oil off their hands it's probably academic.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I suppose so, as long as you rinse the Swarfega off your skin well.

[hellymedic]

Substances can permeate the skin and cause trouble, especially organic compounds IIRC.

[slohill]

Back to the tool kit---on a modern bike with Shimano groupset, a 4mm and 5mm alan key, + small screwdriver to fit gear mech adjustment screws, will fit just about everything likeley to need adjustment.  For the rubber bits,  all you need is a spare tube & some patches that work and a lightweight pump.

[MacB]

I'm another that carries plenty:-

2 x tubes normally in a dummy storage bottle along with a selection of cable ties and some rubber gloves

Saddlepack/Rackpack = Topeak Hexus multitool, leatherman style pliers which include mini torch, more gloves, puncture kit, powerlinks in different sizes, more cable ties, batteries, adjustable wrench, torx keys.

Frame - tri/TT bag normally with another set of gloves, Topeak Morph pump.