Bike repair tools, and I guess bikes since it’s kinda the topic

[Oldandfat]

I bought a Park Tool multitool that I carry in my saddle bag. It's basically a swiss army knife of allen wrenches in common sizes, plus a few more things. Couldn't tell you about more intensive tools.

For bikes, I went looking for a hybrid bike last summer. Something fast on the road, but also good for gravel roads, two tracks, etc. Found absolutely nothing locally in bike shops or second hand, but found exactly what I wanted on a couple 'direct order' sites. I bought a "Strada Express" bike in the '1By 1x11' variant (there are other gearing options available for lower prices.) It was a hell of a deal for the quality bike and components you get, and it's just awesome to ride. Just ordered another one for the wife that hasn't arrived yet.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... r-road.htm
https://bikeshopwarehouse.com/cgi-bin/B ... rodID=2798

The websites look like 1990's viruses and they're organized horribly, but the bike I got is great, much cheaper than comparable bikes with big brand names (they're all made in Taiwan, ultimately), and my customer service experience has been surprisingly good. I recently crashed the bike I bought and bent the fork back, and a service guy responded right away to my email and ended up sending me a replacement fork (carbon fiber upgrade!) for $90 shipped. My local bike shop installed it for $15.

Of course, you don't get to try it out for size or function, and you have to do some easy assembly yourself. Nothing requires more than an allen wrench. And I think a lot of models are on a little bit of a back order, and they don't make it easy to figure out which are available or not. But if you can deal with that stuff, the bike you get for the price can't be beat.

Bikesdirect is painful to,surf, lol.

Did,you,assemble the bike yourself? Or did a bike shop? If you did, was it,difficult?

I’m interested in assembling a bike. Looks like it’s be fun and rewarding

It's a pretty terrible site, but the bikes are legit.

It came in a box, just disassembled enough to fit. I just had to put the front wheel, handle bar, and seat on. Maybe pedals, can't remember. Easy peasy. The tires even had a reasonable amount of air in them.

Assembling an entire bike would be really fun, with the right tools and instruction.

As strange as this may sound, a co worker messaged me for another co workers contact info. Turns out my co worker (an avid cyclist) has been wrenching bikes since he was 10. Has a nice little home shop and a little side hustle. No advertising strictly word of mouth. He lives 5 minutes,from my house and said to stop by anytime to learn, just bring beer!

He said get a really nice stand, and a basic kit. Should cover 95% of what I need. Specialized,tools,as needed.

[Root]

As strange as this may sound, a co worker messaged me for another co workers contact info. Turns out my co worker (an avid cyclist) has been wrenching bikes since he was 10. Has a nice little home shop and a little side hustle. No advertising strictly word of mouth. He lives 5 minutes,from my house and said to stop by anytime to learn, just bring beer!

He said get a really nice stand, and a basic kit. Should cover 95% of what I need. Specialized,tools,as needed.

Well, shit. That couldn't work out any better!

[Oldandfat]

As strange as this may sound, a co worker messaged me for another co workers contact info. Turns out my co worker (an avid cyclist) has been wrenching bikes since he was 10. Has a nice little home shop and a little side hustle. No advertising strictly word of mouth. He lives 5 minutes,from my house and said to stop by anytime to learn, just bring beer!

He said get a really nice stand, and a basic kit. Should cover 95% of what I need. Specialized,tools,as needed.

Well, shit. That couldn't work out any better!

Yup! It’s fucking mind blowing how sometimes the stars line up and things work out. He was actually upset I had to wait and pay for repair. We’ve known each other for 15 years and also share an interest in guitar.

I had absolutely no idea he wrenched bikes. I knew he was a serious rider but I assumed he took his stuff in for service. He’s “that guy” on the trails that comes to your rescue in the middle of no where and can repair your,bike. He will also have the needed part.

[richieportly]

It's a pretty terrible site, but the bikes are legit.

It came in a box, just disassembled enough to fit. I just had to put the front wheel, handle bar, and seat on. Maybe pedals, can't remember. Easy peasy. The tires even had a reasonable amount of air in them.

Assembling an entire bike would be really fun, with the right tools and instruction.

It is and it isn't.

I bought a used titanium frame last year (because, well, titanium), and having built bikes from component parts before, I enjoyed it and thought it would be fun. It also means you spec the parts you want.

In the ten years that have passed though, it has gotten way harder. Not so much with the wrenching, although there is a lot of new stuff to learn, but the variation in standards. There are three ways to mount discs for example - the 'original' IS mounts, post mounts and now flat mounts. There are a multitude of gear ratios (there always was mind you), but getting exactly all of the right parts is hard work. And don't start me on headsets.

Or wheels for that matter. Disc or rim brake? QR or thru axle? 10, 11 or 12 speed? Tubeless or clincher? What width of hub? Shimano or SRAM freehub?

However, I am about to bleed my rear hydraulic brake (the front one turned out to be IS mount and I'm waiting on an adapter). Once the brakes are done, I can wrap the bar tape and test it out. It's looking good and hopefully will be worth the wait.

I should also add, that in 'these times', getting parts is hellish.

[Cellist]

I like working on bikes. With a stand and good tools it’s like Meditation. I listed all my fasteners for all the bikes and put together my own set. The worst thing with wrenches is poor fit. I bought some Park Tool stuff, like 13mm cone wrenches and the 4-5-6 hex, which I probably need the most.I think they outsource and if you look around you’ll find the original stuff cheaper and the sets aren’t such a deal because you’ll still be missing some tools and won’t like others that come in the set, so you want to swap them out anyway. I really like the larger-size cone wrenches from Pedros, and Birzman makes good stuff like extractors and chain tools. For drivers, pliers and Cable cutters look at Felo, Wiha and Knipex. Good cable cutters make a big difference for brakes and shifters.I would also get Wera or PB Swiss especially for hex. My torque wrenches were pretty inexpensive from a motorcycle shop. Expensive set-up tools aren’t worth it for me since my lbs will do derailleur alignment or torque spokes on wheels I build. I do truing on the bike.

[richieportly]

+1 for Wera.

I got a set of Silverline hex keys but the tolerance is such that they keep getting stuck in the bolts, which is infuriating.

New annoyance for the build - I got my post to IS mount adapter, but the body of the caliper is too big. Another one ordered and on its way. Pfft.