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Old 02-21-11, 01:29 PM
  #25  
neeb
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And comparing a mini tool to carrying a 4mm and 5mm allen key, I can think of a number of repairs that the mini tool handles that your setup doesn't, such as:

1) loose cleat screw,

2) truing a wheel (which can come in handy with a broken spoke),

3) adjusting a limit screw ( again handy post crash)

4) tightening a crankset (8mm allen key)

5) chain repair

6) emergency single speed conversion

7) opening a beer bottle ( chain tool does this pretty well)

How much repair capability you choose to carry is of course a tradeoff, and involves consideration of how risk adverse you are, and how much you value self reliance.

For me the Lezyne, which handles about everything short of a broken frame, at 115 grams is a good compromise.
You're right about the limit screws / cleat screws, I'm looking for some appropriately sized sliver of metal to use for this and keep in the patch kit along with the allen wrenches. Nothing worse than finding 10 miles into a ride that you can't shift onto the big ring because you trimmed the front derailleur it a little too tightly during a checkup the night before...

Spoke key - I'm running Eurus wheels which are pretty bomb-proof and have never needed a spoke key yet. For me it makes more sense to have to open up my brakes a little and limp home with an out-of-true wheel once every 5 or 10 years or so than to carry a spoke key every single day I go out. It's similar to the philosophy I used to apply to my bike lights when leaving my commuter in the on-premises outdoor bike rack at a previous work place. I figured that it was easier to buy new lights in the unlikely event they were stolen than to remove them and re-attach them every single day. In 3 years they were stolen once and cost me about £15 to replace, which as far as I am concerned was a price well worth paying just to avoid that daily hassle.

My campag crankset needs a specially extended 10mm wrench in any case - it's never going to be a roadside repair.

Beer drinking for me is also a home-based rather than a roadside repair...
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