Fifty Plus (50+) - What tool do you carry to.....?

What tool do you recomend as a carry along for bikes with bolted on (no QR) wheels. Is there for example a bike tool on the market with an axle nut wrench built in?

My bikes all are QR, but I've recommended the old "dog bone" wrenches to people who have bikes with nutted axles.

A wrench, two are better.

Just carry the right size wrenches. But i have 2 multi tools specifically for a bike that i carry. I am sure they would have the correct fittings.

A 6 inch adjustable crescent wrench works well, too.

2 x 6mm allen keys and a 4 mm.

Know this is not the type you mean but it is a bolt on axle and I couldn't resist it.

Not certain on the size spanner but one spanner of the correct size that is open one end and a ring the other. Always use the ring. And the problem I found was if the cones were not set up tight enough- You would turn the Nut- Axle and cones at one end of the axle- whilst the cone at the other end would be tightening or undoing itself. So Conventional axle and make certain the Cones are tight and I do mean tight.

So that is another expense as good Cone spanners are not cheap and you need them in pairs and each size from 13 to 17 mm size. You can never tell which size you need. Give me Roller bearings any day.

A 6 inch adjustable crescent wrench works well, too.

I used to carry a 4" adjustable spanner for bikes with nutted axles.

A 6 inch adjustable crescent wrench works well, too.

My wife and I used to have a tandem that had a bolt on rear wheel. I carried a 6" Crescent wrench on that bike. Actually, I think that it was a 5 1/2" Crescent wrench because I cut the handle down to fit my saddle bag.

The only bike that I have today with bolt on hubs is my fixed gear. That was part of my decision to use Armadillo tires and not to carry any tools at all. If I ever get a flat I hope that it happens close to home.

OK, it boils down to carrying either a spanner or a wrench, but not both. Decisions, decisions.

For my Worksman Industrial Cruiser, on longer rides, I take several wrenches, including two of the ones that fit the axle nuts, and most of the other nuts and bolts I might need to adjust- several different ones. On any ride short enough to walk it back home (IE, riding in my neighborhood), I leave 'em at home, along with the flat-fixing stuff. The wrenches are just regular box end/combination wrenches sold auto places or wherever, not bike-specific wrenches. If I was riding a 10-lb bike, I might do things differently.

Get the smallest crescent wrench you can find that is still long enough to tighten wheel bolts sufficiently. Go to a hardware store.

I carry a 15mm combination wrench in my seat bag on my fixed gear. I couldn't see spending $20 to get the "peanut butter" wrench just to be cool however I recently saw a titanium 15mm wrench that also opens beer bottles. I could see spending money for that!

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=8958

http://www.universalcycles.com/images//products/medium/8958.jpg