Juan Foote

I am looking for an affordable but sturdy basic maint. set of tools. I am not comfortable with spending hundreds of dollars on a set that has a couple of the things I need and mostly just filler to round out the kit. The only "complete-ish" kit that I have seen under a hundred bucks is the Nashbar set and the reviews are not good.
Basically, short of spending a $100 on a couple of good cone wrenches and then piecemeal the things I need together...is there anyone selling a kit LESS than those name brands but not as poor as the Nashbar and like kits?

HillRider

Kits are always going to have a bunch of tools that don't fit your particular needs. For $100 you can get most of the tools you can really use and avoid the useless ones. A complete set of good quality cone wrenches should be well under $100 and you probably don't need them all anyway.

Bill Kapaun

Many of the tools in a "kit" should already be in your possession if you do any kind of mechanical work or home maintenance.
Buy the tools you need as you need them, if you already have some basic hand tools.
EXAMPLE- I already have a full complement of Metric box, open end & combination wrenches.
Since hub locknuts are on the outside, I don't need a thin 17mm cone wrench for them. IF you ever need a 17mm cone wrench, you'll only need ONE vs two for the other smaller sizes.
There's no sense having BB & cassette/Freewheel removal tools that you don't use.

a77impala

Can't say which cone wrenches to buy but stay away from Performace Bikes, soft metal, not worth buying.

jimc101

Plenty of threads about tool kits on here, but the best advice is normally to buy tools as needed, tool kits rarely keep up with the requirements of a bike.

For cone wrenches, Park do them individually, so just buy the sizes you need.

CliffordK

What are your goals? Maintaining your bike/bikes? Maintaining the community bikes? Running a small shop?

I agree with others... Start with a good metric mechanics tool set (metric wrench set, metric Allen wrench set, screw driver set, small Crescent wrench, really big Crescent wrench).

Add a set of cone wrenches (13,14,15,16) does all of the old style cones, but you may need bigger ones for new style cones. Also a good Chain Tool and a few spoke wrenches.

Fill in the rest with specifics of what you need for your bikes. Cassette Tools, Bottom Bracket Tools, Freewheel Tools, etc.

Then fill in the rest as needed.

Lanovran

Check it: Best tool kits for cyclists - BikeRadar

Scroll down to the "low budget choices." I have the Shimano PRO Toolkit myself, and I really like it.